AIMTo study the uptake, barriers and motivators of influenza, pneumococcal, meningococcal and pertussis vaccines among members of public in Arabian Gulf countries.METHODSA cross-sectional survey among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries’ residents. Data collected electronically through a smartphone app. The survey variables aimed to investigate the respondents’ awareness about vaccines against influenza, pneumococcal, meningococcal and pertussis infections. Collected data concerning the respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics, their perception toward vaccine uptake and the factors that motivate or demotivate them from taking influenza vaccine. The data were analysed statistically using the SPSS v.23.0. Differences in the characteristics of users from different countries were quantified through bivariate analysis. Other important variables and controlling factors were studied using logistic regression.RESULTSA total of 1812 respondents participated in the study. Their mean age was 27 years, 82% were male and 24% had ≥ 1 chronic diseases. The overall uptake of influenza vaccine was 17% (21% among “at risk” people) and ranged from 15% in Saudi Arabia to 24% in Qatar. Doctor’s advice (23%) and a perception of having low body immunity (21%) were the main cited reasons for being vaccinated, whereas unawareness about the vaccine (43%) was the main barrier. The overall uptake of pneumococcal vaccine in the preceding three years was 22% (25% among “at risk” individuals) and ranged from 0% in Bahrain to 79% in Kuwait. The overall uptake of pertussis vaccine was 16% (31% among “vulnerable” people), and ranged from 7% in Saudi Arabia to 75% in Oman. The overall uptake of meningococcal vaccine was 20% (29% among the “at risk” people) and ranged from 3% in Oman to 50% in Bahrain.CONCLUSIONThe vaccination uptake across GCC countries is suboptimal and varies widely across the countries. Further research is needed to unearth the reasons and formulate action plan.

To examine the effect of long working hours on anxiety and depression among resident physicians working in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using an anonymous and confidential self-administered electronic questionnaire. Mental health status (depression and anxiety) is measured using hospital anxiety and depression scale. A multi-stage stratified sampling technique was used. Data were analyzed using the SPSS version 24.0. The Chi-square test and ordinal logistic regression (OLR) were used to test the association. Results: A total of 258 medical residents participated in the study. The prevalence of anxiety was 39.5% (n=102) and depression was 20.9% (n=54). In multivariate OLR against anxiety, working more than 64 hours per week was significantly associated (p=0.013) with an increase in the odds of observing a higher level of anxiety (odds ratio=2.91, 95% confidence interval (CI):1.25-6.77) compared with working up to 40 hours per week after adjusting for age, amount of sleep and exposure to injustice. For the depression multivariate OLR, it would increase the odds of observing a higher level of depression for working 41-48, 49-64 and more than 64 hours per week by 2.21 (95% CI:1.07-4.58, P=0.033), 2.07 (95% CI:1.01-4.27, P=0.049) and 2.37 (95% CI:1.03-5.50, P=0.044) respectively, compared with working up to 40 hours per week and adjusting for the amount of sleep and exposure to injustice. Conclusion:Resident physicians are at increased risk of developing anxiety and depression which is influenced by long working hours and a variety of other factors. Therefore, attention needs to be paid to this association. The implementation of interventions for the prevention and screening of physicians' mental health disorders is needed.

The role of hand hygiene in the prevention of respiratory tract infections in Hajj pilgrims has not been assessed through a focussed systematic review of the literature. Considering this, a systematic review was undertaken to synthesize the up-to-date literature on the compliance and effectiveness of hand hygiene among Hajj attendees. Major databases, including OVID Medline, were searched by using a combination of MeSH terms and text words for potentially relevant articles. Data from identified articles were abstracted, quality assessed and combined into a summary effect. Twelve observational studies containing data of 6,320 pilgrims were included. The compliance of hand washing with non-alcoholic surfactants was 77.7% (ranged from 31.5% to 90.3% in individual studies) and the compliance of hand cleaning with alcoholic products was 44.9% (ranged from 30.7% to 67.4%). Education was a key influencer of hand hygiene practice. Only three of the six studies that assessed the effectiveness of hand hygiene against clinical disease found the practice to be effective, and only one of the two studies that evaluated its effectiveness against a laboratory-confirmed infection found it to be effective. This systematic review suggests that hand hygiene using non-alcoholic products is generally acceptable among Hajj pilgrims but there is no conclusive evidence on its effectiveness.