Minimizing inequalities in pregnancy outcomes between Syrian refugees and Jordan women is a healthcare priority. The findings could guide the planning and development of health policies in Jordan that would help to alleviate the situation regarding refugee populations. Action is required by policy makers, specifically targeting public and primary healthcare services, to address the problem of adequately meeting the needs for antenatal care of this vulnerable population.

Background Counselling, education and support from health professionals is key to increasing breastfeeding practices. Aim To evaluate the effectiveness of a breastfeeding educational workshop on Jordanian nurses' and midwives' knowledge, attitudes and practices towards breastfeeding. Methods A convenience sample of 82 nurses and midwives were recruited and randomly assigned into intervention and control groups. A pre-test was conducted for both groups and a post-test was conducted 2 weeks after the intervention for both groups. Findings The results showed significantly higher mean and standard deviation in the intervention group (M=11.73; SD=2.6), compared to the control group (M=8.38; SD=2.59) after conducting the workshop (P<0.001), indicating that the workshop was beneficial in improving knowledge and practice towards the importance of breastfeeding. Conclusion The 2-hour educational workshop increased health professionals' knowledge and this may lead to improvements in practice and better breastfeeding outcomes.

Blowflies are the primary facultative agent in causing myiasis of domestic sheep in the whole world and, at the same time, it is an important tool for forensic medicine. Surprisingly, and in contrast to its importance, almost no data regarding the embryology and molecular markers are known for this insect. In this report, we present a detailed description of the blowfly Lucilia sericata embryogenesis and of imaginal disc development. The embryogenesis of Lucilia strongly resembles that of Drosophila, despite their apparent size difference. Moreover, imaginal disc development appears to be equally well conserved. Through cloning, expression, and functional studies, we show that the Lucilia Wingless (Wg) protein is highly conserved between the two species. We further show that parasegments are established in Lucilia, however, engrailed expression shows a more dynamic expression pattern than expected in comparison to Drosophila. Over-expression of Lucilia Wingless in Drosophila shows wingless-like wing phenotypes, suggesting that Lucilia Wingless blocks the signalling activity of Drosophila Wingless. Upon injection of wg dsRNA, we observe a "lawn of denticle" phenotype, closely resembling that of Drosophila. Due to the large size of the insect, the distance over which Wingless exerts signalling activity is up to three times larger than in Drosophila, yet the consequences are very similar. Our data demonstrate long-range wingless signaling mechanisms adapted for patterning large domains of naked cuticle and suggest signaling properties of Lucilia Wingless that are distinct from those of Drosophila Wingless. Developmental Dynamics 235:347-360, 2006.

No abstract

Aim The aims of this study were to (1) assess the levels of Jordanian midwives’ job satisfaction, intention to stay and work environment; (2) examine the relationship between work environment and intention to stay, and the level of job satisfaction among midwives working in Jordanian hospitals and maternal and child health centres and (3) to investigate the associations between job satisfaction and selected demographic variables among Jordanian midwives. Background The shortage, turnover and retention of midwives are global problems and Jordan is one of the countries thathas a shortage of midwifery workforce. Job satisfaction is well studied among nurses worldwide; however, there are inadequate studies that have assessed the job satisfaction among midwives including Jordan. Methods A descriptive, correlational design survey was used and a sample of 413 midwives were recruited from 14 different hospital settings (12 governmental and 2 teaching hospitals) and 8 health centres. Results The levels of job satisfaction of Jordanian midwives were neither satisfied nor unsatisfied. The overall mean intent to stay at work was between neutral to agree in general. A positive significant correlation was found between job satisfaction, work environment and intent to stay. The work environment was neither a favourable nor an unfavourable. Conclusion and implications for nursing, health and education policy Jordanian midwives have neutral job satisfaction and work environment. Managerial plans and interventions are needed to improve midwives' job satisfaction and to create a favourable work environment which might reflect positively on their work and performance and improve their retention. Policymakers and mangers should enhance midwives’ job satisfaction through external reward via salary, vacation and benefits packages. Engaging in research activities, publication and more collaboration with academic staff may improve midwives’ professional development. Midwives should take more active roles in hospital affairs and receive more support by their management in Jordan.