Background: Influenza is one of the infections in which a specific pattern is observed according to seasons which result in severe forms of disease. By providing regular and extensive quality in epidemiological studies, the surveillance system can help in reducing the threat to public health posed by influenza that eventually minimizes the effect of illness. They also help in reporting the health ministry about the relevant information as an aid to reduce the impact of disease on public health. Objective: To assess the incidence of seasonal influenza in Abha City, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This surveillance report conducted among citizens of Abha, Saudi Arabia, 2019. It is based on sentinel surveillance and case-based data collection of laboratory-confirmed cases through electronic health records. All data were obtained from the department of infectious diseases of public health department in Aseer health directorate. Results: The total reported positive cases for influenza viruses were 808 (22.30%) patients in the city of Abha for the year 2019, among them 435 males and 373 females (F= 9.5149; P=0.002038) which 665 (82.3%) were typed as influenza A and 143 (17.7%) as influenza B. (F= 674.46; P=0.001). The prevalence of the disease is commonly seen in the age group of 5-15 (42.35 %) with a mean age of 15.45±4.50 followed by 16 to 50 years age (37.45%) and 51-65 age group (10%). There was no death registered among these cases. In February maximum cases were found, whereas in June and July minimum cases were recorded. The influenza positivity rate showed one primary peak and three secondary peaks that were recorded in February and January, March and December. Conclusion: Importance of conducting effective epidemiological surveillance for influenza virus in various regions in Abha specially in winter season with a peak in the month of February.

The rising incidence of non-communicable diseases is one of the greatest concerns confronting health systems worldwide in the twenty-first century. The elderly population's high prevalence of non-communicable diseases has increased drug prescriptions. Consequently, polypharmacy, or numerous drugs, has become prevalent. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of polypharmacy among the elderly population in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, who attends primary health care centers. A cross-sectional study was done on 400 participants. 60% of participants were 55-70 years old. 23.7% of elderly participants were with minor polypharmacy, 34.7% of elderly participants were with moderate polypharmacy, and 32.7% of elderly participants were with major polypharmacy as they had more than five medicines at the same time. This study revealed that most participants suffer from chronic health conditions and use high-dose medicines daily. In conclusion, the Saudi Arabia government and the welfare organizations of the Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah must arrange seminars and campaigns to raise awareness about the dependency on medicines and limit the negative effects of polypharmacy among this special group.

Background: Antenatal depression is a recognized global burden. However, it has remained an ignored part of public health. Most of the maternal depression interventions have been directed towards post-natal depression. Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this study was to understand the third-trimester antenatal depression risk factors and prevalence among Saudi Arabian women. Method: This study employed cross-sectional study design from April 2020 to June 2020 and 201 participants were recruited for this study. The study was conducted at Medina in the Maternity and Children's Hospital (MCH) from April 2020 to June 2020. The inclusion criteria were pregnant women who visited the outpatient clinic of antenatal care in MCH. Pregnant women who had a known familial history or already been diagnosed with depression before pregnancy were excluded from this study. The collection of the data was through researcher administered questionnaire to the pregnant women meeting eligibility criteria who were visiting the clinic of antenatal care at the Maternity and Children's Hospital. Data were collected using a structured and validated Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). All the collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Anova and t-test statistics.  Results: Antenatal depression among participants stands at 35.8% for normal/ minimal depression, 31.3% for mild depression, 3.9% for moderate depression, 5.5% for moderately severe, and 3.5% for severe depression. Antenatal depression was mostly prevalent in the third trimester. Conclusion: The antenatal depression prevalence among pregnant women in Medina is high. Screening for mental health problems and provision of supportive mental health services as a component of antenatal care services is recommended.

Background: Considering the important role of health workers in increasing seasonal influenza vaccination coverage and the similarity of seasonal influenza to COVID -19, it is important to increase vaccination rates to reduce the risk of both diseases. Objective: In this study, we aim to investigate how health workers perceive the importance of influenza vaccination, especially in the era of COVID -19. Results: The study involved 316 health workers from Abha in 2021, most of them were physicians, male and young. Participants agreed that influenza can be a serious illness and that the vaccine is very safe. Most HCWs would have preferred to inform their patients about the vaccine. This result changes if the patient disagrees with the COVID -19 vaccine. Conclusion: Despite the low rate of seasonal influenza vaccination, there is a need to recruit health workers to increase this rate, especially in the Covid 19 era.