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Context: College students worldwide have low levels of knowledge on human papillomavirus (HPV)-related diseases, highlighting the lack of awareness about HPV infection. To date, no study has examined the level of knowledge of cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine in the northern region of Saudi Arabia. Aim: This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge of cervical cancer and its risk factors, as well as HPV vaccine acceptance among female students in Saudi Arabia enrolled in health colleges. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted using a valid and reliable self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was completed by 966 female students enrolled at the University of Hail, northern region of Saudi Arabia, with a response rate of 83.5%. The main outcome measure was the identification of the knowledge gap pertaining to HPV infection and its prophylactic vaccine. Results: The findings highlighted a lack of knowledge about cervical cancer, Pap smears, and HPV vaccine among most female university students. The knowledge score positively correlated to the duration of education. Students enrolled in applied medical science and medical colleges showed significantly higher knowledge scores, as did students in their senior academic years. Vaccine uptake barriers included concerns about its side effects and a lack of information. Conclusions: Our findings can be used to formulate effective future awareness programs in the northern region of Saudi Arabia. A larger number of educational programs are required to enlighten Saudi women about cervical cancer and its prophylactic vaccine, including the benefits of screening programs and prevention strategies.

Context: The healthcare sciences college students have a lifestyle with low physical activity and disordered eating habits, which exposes them to a higher risk of obesity. Health science college students were the target group of particular interest in this study as they are future physicians. If they are overweight or obese, they will carry the wrong impression to the general population. Aim: To assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity among healthcare science college students at private university in Saudi Arabia. Also, it assesses the relationship between the sociodemographic characteristics and risk of overweight and obesity in this population. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare science college students. A validated, structured, closed-ended questionnaire was self-administered through the Monkey survey. All data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: 401 students participated, in which 33.4% were male and 66.6% were female students; and the mean age was 22 years. The study showed that 23.7% of participants were overweight, and 11% were obese. The prevalence of obesity was higher among males. Family history of obesity and fatigue were risk factors for obesity. Conclusion: The healthcare Science College students showed a high prevalence of obesity and overweight. This is strengthening the need to encourage a healthy lifestyle, healthy food habits, and physical activities to avoid obesity-related complications.

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The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is increasing in resource limited settings. Simultaneously, there has been an increase in the number of novel therapies for the management of diabetes mellitus. However, use of novel antidiabetic therapies is limited because of major market access challenges in resource limited settings. Niching products to those patients with the highest absolute risk for major adverse cardiovascular outcomes, and thus most likely to benefit from the therapy, are less likely to have negative budget impact for funders. To improve access, and reduce morbidity and mortality, requires alignment amongst key stakeholders including patient advocacy groups, health care professional councils, national departments of health, the pharmaceutical industry, treasury and finance departments.