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Background: Sleep problems and poor sleep quality are important issues for medical students. This study aimed to investigate the sleep patterns, measure the prevalence of poor sleep quality, and identify the predictors of poor sleep among medical students in King Khalid University (KKU), Saudi Arabia.Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 318 medical students during OctoberNovember, 2015. Participants were selected by convenience sampling and data were collected using self-administered questionnaires to obtain information regarding socio-demographic variables and indicators of sleep quality.Results: The overall mean sleep quality score was 6.79 with a standard deviation of 3.06. Poor sleep quality was reported by 74.2% students. Significantly high mean sleep quality scores (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) were observed for students with very poor subjective sleep quality (mean = 10.50, SD = 2.58), least sleep efficiency (mean = 11.21, SD = 2.23), shorter sleep duration (mean = 7.83, SD = 2.88), sleep onset latency more than 30 minutes (mean = 7.82, SD = 2.53), sleeping after midnight (mean = 7.53, SD = 2.95), and use of sleep aiding medication (mean = 8.78, SD = 3.5). Significant differences were observed between good sleepers and poor sleepers regarding these sleep characteristics. Poor sleep was predicted by sleep behaviours such as going to sleep after midnight (AOR = 2.18, 95% CI: 1.20, 3.94) and sleep duration of less than seven hours (AOR = 7.49, 95% CI: 4.24, 13.22).Conclusion: Medical students of KKU have poor sleep quality. Longer sleep latency, going to sleep after midnight, and shorter sleep duration are important problems in this group.

Background: Social media are increasingly being used by young adults worldwide. The question is whether they can be successfully incorporated into health programmes to promote physical activity. Aims: To measure the effect of a WhatsApp-based intervention for promoting physical activity among female college students in Abha, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This randomized control trial from November 2019 to January 2020 included 110 students. The intervention group received a brief orientation on exercise and up to 4 physical activity promotion messages per week via WhatsApp for 10 weeks. The messages were obtained from the websites of the US Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization (WHO). Physical activity was assessed at baseline and at 10-weeks’ follow-up using the WHO Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. Results: The 2 groups were similar in sociodemographic and baseline physical activity levels. Postintervention data analysis revealed significant improvement in the proportion of participants with moderate-intensity physical activity in the work and recreation domains. Compared with the control group, mean metabolic equivalents/week of the intervention group improved significantly. The mean difference in total physical activity before and after intervention was significant in all domains and in all categories of activity. The proportion of participants who met the WHO criteria for minimum physical activity per week increased from 69.8% to 90.5% after intervention. Conclusion: Social-network-based interventions improve physical activity and may be incorporated into youth-targeted health programmes.

Improving stroke-related knowledge may advance stroke prevention and reduce pretreatment delay and disabilities. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among a representative sample of primary healthcare adult patients between January-May 2016 and used a validated Arabic questionnaire to evaluate the participants' awareness about stroke. Results: The study involved 1472 adults. Only 63.6% and 43.7% of participants correctly recognized thrombosis and hemorrhage as types of stroke. Commonly identified risk factors were hypertension)55.8%(, dyslipidemia)45.8%(, and smoking)41.9%(. Sudden severe headache)54.1%(, dizziness)51.0%(, and difficulty in speaking)44.3%(were the most frequently recognized symptoms. The most frequently reported correct responses to stroke were contacting a doctor)73.0%(, going to the hospital)67.2%(, and calling an ambulance)52.4%(. Improper responses to stroke)ignoring the condition or self-prescription(were noted in 18.8% of participants. Logistic regression revealed that physicians, nurses, friends and relatives as a source of knowledge were significantly associated with a lower insufficient knowledge of stroke symptoms and risk factors. On the other hand, women, persons above 40 years old, and married persons were significantly more prone to have insufficient knowledge about a proper response to stroke. Conclusion: Our study revealed a notable deficit of knowledge about warning symptoms, risk factors, and proper response to stroke. Health education strategies to improve stroke awareness are required and could potentially prevent and improve the outcome of stroke.