Strategies to nurture patient safety culture in Omani hospitals should focus upon building leadership capacity that support open communication, blame free, team work and continuous organizational learning.

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BackgroundUrinary incontinence (UI) continues to affect millions of women worldwide and those living in resource poor settings seem to be more affected. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of UI and factors associated with UI symptom severity (UISS) among women in a selected district in India.MethodsA cross-sectional design was used to collect data from a sample of 598 community dwelling women in the age range of 20 to 60 years. Data was collected using a questionnaire survey of participants who were found in their homes.ResultsThe prevalence of UI was 33.8% and the majority of women had negative attitudes about the condition. For instance most women were in agreement with statements such as: UI cannot be prevented or cured (98%); women with UI are cursed (97%); women are not supposed to tell anyone about the problem (90%) and others. Of the 202 women with self-reported UI, the majority reported having moderate UISS (78%) and others rated the symptoms as mild (22%). The woman’s age at first birth (p<.01) was negatively associated with UISS, while the number of pregnancies (p<.01) and weight of the largest baby ever delivered (p<.01), were positively associated with UISS. The weight of the largest baby delivered had the strongest impact on predicting UISS.ConclusionsMany community dwelling women are suffering from UI at proportions which warrant significant public health consideration. Therefore public health programs to prevent UI or worsening of symptoms are required and should emphasize health education, because of the pervasive negative attitudes among affected and unaffected women. The predictors reported here can be used to priotize care for affected women and to encourage early uptake of health actions and behaviors that promote pelvic floor strengthening in at risk women who may be reluctant to disclose UI.

abstract:Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of Omani adults regarding conventional coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors and to identify demographic variables associated with these knowledge levels. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional pilot study was carried out among a convenience sample of 130 adults attending a health awareness fair held in a local shopping mall in Muscat, Oman, in November 2012. A modified version of the Heart Disease Facts Questionnaire in both English and Arabic was used to assess knowledge of CHD risk factors. Scores were calculated by summing the correct answers for each item (range: 0-21). Inadequate knowledge was indicated by a mean score of <70%. Descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to establish the participants' knowledge levels and identify associated demographic variables. Results: A total of 114 subjects participated in the study (response rate: 87.7%). Of these, 69 participants (60.5%) had inadequate mean CHD knowledge scores. Knowledge of CHD risk factors was significantly associated with body mass index (odds ratio [OR] = 0.739; P = 0.023), marital status (OR = 0.057; P = 0.036) and education level (OR = 9.243; P = 0.006). Conclusion: Low knowledge levels of CHD risk factors were observed among the studied community sample in Oman; this is likely to limit the participants' ability to engage in preventative practices. These findings support the need for education programmes to enhance awareness of risk factors and prevention of CHD in Oman. Sultan Qaboos University Med J, May 2016, Vol. 16, Iss. 2, pp. 189-196, Epub.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening and early detection can effectively decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with this disease. Health care providers (HCPs) working in primary care settings as the first contact with the health care system can play a pivotal role in cancer prevention and screening for early detection. The purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge, experiences, and perceived barriers to CRC screening among HCPs working in primary care settings. A cross-sectional design and a self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) was used to collect data from 236 HCPs working in health centers in Jordan. The 236 HCPs were nurses (45.8%), physicians (45.3%), and others (7.2%). A third of the HCPs (30%) knew the recommended age to begin CRC screening for patients with average risk. Overall physicians scored higher than nurses on questions assessing CRC screening knowledge. The majority of HCPs were not knowledgeable about CRC screening recommendations but believed that CRC is preventable (75.8%). The main perceived barriers to CRC screening were patient's fear of finding out that they have cancer and lack of awareness about CRC screening tests, shortage of trained HCPs to conduct invasive screening procedures, and lack of policy/protocol on CRC screening. HCPs working in primary care settings in Jordan do not have adequate knowledge about CRC screening. There is a need for tailored continuing educational programs and other interventions to improve HCPs' knowledge, as this can increase CRC screening in primary care settings and compliance with current screening guidelines.