Influence of patients' disease knowledge and beliefs about medicines on medication adherence: findings from a cross-sectional survey among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Palestine

BACKGROUND

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common serious health problem. Medication adherence is a key determinant of therapeutic success in patients with diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to assess medication adherence and its potential association with beliefs and diabetes - related knowledge in patients with type II DM.

METHODS

This study was carried out at Al-Makhfia governmental diabetes primary healthcare clinic in Nablus, Palestine. Main outcome of interest in the study was medication adherence. The Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ) was used to assess beliefs. Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMSA-8©) was used to assess medication adherence. The Michigan diabetes knowledge test (MDKT) was used to assess diabetes - related knowledge. Univariate and multivariate analysis were carried out using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20).

RESULTS

Four hundred and five patients were interviewed. The mean ± SD age of the participants was 58.3 ± 10.4 (range = 28 - 90) years. More than half (53.3%) of the participants were females. Approximately 42.7% of the study sample were considered non-adherent (MMAS-8© score of < 6). Multivariate analysis showed that the following variables were significantly associated with non-adherence: disease-related knowledge, beliefs about necessity of anti-diabetic medications, concerns about adverse consequences of anti-diabetic medications and beliefs that medicines in general are essentially harmful. Diabetic patients with high knowledge score and those with strong beliefs in the necessity of their anti-diabetic medications were less likely to be non-adherent ([O.R = 0.87, 95% CI of 0.78 - 0.97] and [O.R = 0.93, 95% of 0.88 - 0.99] respectively). However, diabetic patients with high concerns about adverse consequences of anti-diabetic medications and those with high belief that all medicines are harmful were more likely to be non-adherent ([O.R = 1.09; 95% C.I of 1.04 - 1.16] and [O.R = 1.09, 95% C.I of 1.02 - 1.16] respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Beliefs and knowledge are important factors in understanding variations in medication adherence among diabetic patients. The BMQ can be used as a tool to identify people at higher risk of non-adherence. Improving knowledge of patients about their illness might positively influence their medication adherence.

Bibliometric analysis of worldwide scientific literature in mobile - health: 2006-2016

BACKGROUND

The advancement of mobile technology had positively influenced healthcare services. An emerging subfield of mobile technology is mobile health (m-Health) in which mobile applications are used for health purposes. The aim of this study was to analyze and assess literature published in the field of m-Health.

METHODS

SciVerse Scopus was used to retrieve literature in m-Health. The study period was set from 2006 to 2016. ArcGIS 10.1 was used to present geographical distribution of publications while VOSviewer was used for data visualization. Growth of publications, citation analysis, and research productivity were presented using standard bibliometric indicators.

RESULTS

During the study period, a total of 5465 documents were published, giving an average of 496.8 documents per year. The h-index of retrieved documents was 81. Core keywords used in literature pertaining to m-Health included diabetes mellitus, adherence, and obesity among others. Relative growth rate and doubling time of retrieved literature were stable from 2009 to 2015 indicating exponential growth of literature in this field. A total of 4638 (84.9%) documents were multi-authored with a mean collaboration index of 4.1 authors per article. The United States of America ranked first in productivity with 1926 (35.2%) published documents. India ranked sixth with 183 (3.3%) documents while China ranked seventh with 155(2.8%) documents. VA Medical Center was the most prolific organization/institution while Journal of Medical Internet Research was the preferred journal for publications in the field of m-Health. Top cited articles in the field of m-Health included the use of mobile technology in improving adherence in HIV patients, weight loss, and improving glycemic control in diabetic patients.

CONCLUSION

The size of literature in m-Health showed a noticeable increase in the past decade. Given the large volume of citations received in this field, it is expected that applications of m-Health will be seen into various health aspects and health services. Research in m-Health needs to be encouraged, particularly in the fight against AIDS, poor medication adherence, glycemic control in Africa and other low income world regions where technology can improve health services and decrease disease burden.

Prevalence of depression among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a cross sectional study in Palestine

BACKGROUND

Diabetes mellitus is a common chronic metabolic disorder and one of the main causes of death in Palestine. Palestinians are continuously living under stressful economic and military conditions which make them psychologically vulnerable. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depression among type II diabetic patients and to examine the relationship between depression and socio-demographic factors, clinical factors, and glycemic control.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study at Al-Makhfiah primary healthcare center, Nablus, Palestine. Two hundred and ninety-four patients were surveyed for the presence of depressive symptoms using Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) scale. Patients' records were reviewed to obtain data pertaining to age, sex, marital status, Body Mass Index (BMI), level of education, smoking status, duration of diabetes mellitus, glycemic control using HbA1C test, use of insulin, and presence of additional illnesses. Patients' medication adherence was assessed using the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8).

RESULTS

One hundred and sixty four patients (55.8%) of the total sample were females and 216 (73.5%) were < 65 years old. One hundred and twenty patients (40.2%) scored ≥ 16 on BDI-II scale. Statistical significant association was found between high BDI-II score (≥ 16) and female gender, low educational level, having no current job, having multiple additional illnesses, low medication adherence and obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2). No significant association between BDI score and glycemic control, duration of diabetes, and other socio-demographic factors was found. Multivatriate analysis showed that low educational level, having no current job, having multiple additional illnesses and low medication adherence were significantly associated with high BDI-II scores.

CONCLUSION

Prevalence of depression found in our study was higher than that reported in other countries. Although 40% of the screened patients were potential cases of depression, none were being treated with anti-depressants. Psychosocial assessment should be part of routine clinical evaluation of these patients at primary healthcare clinics to improve quality of life and decrease adverse outcomes among diabetic patients.

Mapping the situation of research on coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19): a preliminary bibliometric analysis during the early stage of the outbreak

BACKGROUND

The novel coronavirus, named as 2019-nCoV or coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has recently appeared in China and has spread worldwide, presenting a health threat to the global community. Therefore, it is important to understand the global scientific output of COVID-19 research during the early stage of the outbreak. Thus, to track the current hotspots, and highlight future directions, we performed a bibliometric analysis to obtain an approximate scenario of COVID-19 to date.

METHODS

Relevant studies to COVID-19 were obtained from the Scopus database during the early stage of the outbreak. We then analysed the data by using well-established bibliometric indices: document type, country, collaboration patterns, affiliation, journal name, and citation patterns. VOSviewer was applied to map and determine hot topics in this field.

RESULTS

The bibliometric analysis indicated that there were 19,044 publications on Scopus published on COVID-19 during the early stage of the outbreak (December 2019 up until June 19, 2020). Of all these publications, 9140 (48.0%) were articles; 4192 (22.0%) were letters; 1797 (9.4%) were reviews; 1754 (9.2%) were editorials; 1728 (9.1%) were notes; and 433 (2.3%) were others. The USA published the largest number of publications on COVID-19 (4479; 23.4%), followed by China (3310; 17.4%), Italy, (2314; 12.2%), and the UK (1981; 10.4%). British Medical Journal was the most productive. The Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Tongji Medical, and Harvard Medical School were the institutions that published the largest number of COVID-19 research. The most prevalent topics of research in COVID-19 include "clinical features studies", "pathological findings and therapeutic design", "care facilities preparation and infection control", and "maternal, perinatal and neonatal outcomes".

CONCLUSIONS

This bibliometric study may reflect rapidly emerging topics on COVID-19 research, where substantial research activity has already begun extensively during the early stage of the outbreak. The findings reported here shed new light on the major progress in the near future for hot topics on COVID-19 research including clinical features studies, pathological findings and therapeutic design, care facilities preparation and infection control, and maternal, perinatal and neonatal outcomes.

Relationship of treatment satisfaction to medication adherence: findings from a cross-sectional survey among hypertensive patients in Palestine

BACKGROUND

The concepts of medication adherence and Treatment satisfactions are commonly used in clinical research for assessing pharmaceutical care and improving treatment outcomes. Generally, one would expect a positive relationship between the two concepts. The objectives of this study were to investigate the factors associated with adherence to antihypertensive therapy among hypertensive patients and to assess the relationship between antihypertensive medication adherence and treatment satisfaction.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted, adopting the Morisky eight-item Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS) for the assessment of medication adherence and using the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM 1.4) for the assessment of treatment satisfaction. Descriptive and comparative statistics were used to describe socio-demographic and disease-related characteristics of the patients. All analyses were performed using SPSS v 15.0.

RESULTS

Four hundred and ten hypertensive patients were enrolled in the study. The mean age of participants was 58.38 ± 10.65 years; 52% were female and 36.8% had low antihypertensive medication adherence. There was a significant difference in the mean scores in the Effectiveness (p < 0.001), Convenience (p < 0.001), and Global Satisfaction (p < 0.001) domains, but not in the Side Effects (p = 0.466) domain among patients with different levels of adherence. After adjustment for covariates using multiple linear regression, global treatment satisfaction was still statistically significantly (p = 0.001) associated with medication adherence.

CONCLUSIONS

Low treatment satisfaction may be an important barrier for achieving high rates of adherence to treatment. These study findings could be helpful in clinical practice, mainly in the early treatment of hypertensive patients, at a point where improving treatment satisfaction is still possible.

Worldwide research productivity of paracetamol (acetaminophen) poisoning: a bibliometric analysis (2003-2012)

PURPOSE

There is a lack of data concerning the evaluation of scientific research productivity in paracetamol poisoning from the world. The purposes of this study were to analyse the worldwide research output related to paracetamol poisoning and to examine the authorship pattern and the citations retrieved from the Scopus database for over a decade.

METHODS

Data were searched for documents with specific words regarding paracetamol poisoning as 'keywords' in the title or/and abstract. Scientific output was evaluated based on a methodology developed and used in other bibliometric studies. Research productivity was adjusted to the national population and nominal gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.

RESULTS

There were 1721 publications that met the criteria during study period from the world. All retrieved documents were published from 72 countries. The largest number of articles related to paracetamol poisoning was from the United States (US; 30.39%), followed by India (10.75%) and the United Kingdom (UK; 9.36%). The total number of citations at the time of data analysis was 21,109, with an average of 12.3 citations per each documents and median (interquartile range) of 4 (1-14). The h-index of the retrieved documents was 57. After adjusting for economy and population power, India (124.2), Nigeria (18.6) and the US (10.5) had the highest research productivity. Countries with large economies, such as the UK, Australia, Japan, China and France, tended to rank relatively low after adjustment for GDP over the entire study period.

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrates evidence that research productivity related to paracetamol poisoning has increased rapidly during the recent years. The US obviously dominated in research productivity. However, certain smaller country such as Nigeria has high scientific output relative to their population size and GDP. A highly noticeable increase in the contributions of Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions to scientific literature related to paracetamol poisoning was also observed.

Factors affecting quality of life in patients on haemodialysis: a cross-sectional study from Palestine

BACKGROUND

Haemodialysis (HD) is a life-sustaining treatment for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). HD can bring about significant impairment in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and outcomes. Therefore, we sought to describe the patterns of HRQOL and determine the independent factors associated with poor HRQOL in Palestinian patients on HD.

METHODS

A multicenter cross-sectional study was performed from June 2014 to January 2015 using the EuroQOL-5 Dimensions instrument (EQ-5D-5L) for the assessment of HRQOL. ESRD patients undergoing HD in all dialysis centres in the West Bank of Palestine were approached and recruited for this study. Multiple linear regression was carried out to identify factors that were significantly associated with HRQOL.

RESULTS

Two hundred and sixty-seven patients were participated in the current study giving response rate of 96 %. Overall, 139 (52.1 %) were male, and the mean ± standard deviation age was 53.3 ± 16.2 years. The reported HRQOL as measured by mean EQ-5D-5L index value and Euro QOL visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS) score was 0.37 ± 0.44 and 59.38 ± 45.39, respectively. There was a moderate positive correlation between the EQ-VAS and the EQ-5D-5L index value (r = 0.42, p < 0.001). The results of multiple linear regression showed a significant negative association between HRQOL with age, total number of chronic co-morbid diseases and the total number of chronic medications. However, a significant positive association was found between HRQOL with male gender, university education level and patients who live in village.

CONCLUSION

Our results provided insight into a number of associations between patient variables and their HRQOL. Healthcare providers should be aware of low HRQOL among patients with no formal education, female gender, patient's residents of refugee camps, multiple co-morbid diseases, multiple chronic medications, and elderly patients to improve their quality of life.

Sleep habits and sleep problems among Palestinian students

AIM

The aim of this study was to describe sleep habits and sleep problems in a population of undergraduates in Palestine. Association between self-reported sleep quality and self-reported academic achievement was also investigated.

METHODS

Sleep habits and problems were investigated using a convenience sample of students from An-Najah National University, Palestine. The study was carried out during spring semester, 2009. A self-administered questionnaire developed based on The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV criteria and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used.

RESULTS

400 students with a mean age of 20.2 ± 1.3 were studied. Reported mean duration of night sleep in the study sample was 6.4 ± 1.1 hours. The majority (58.3%) of students went to bed before midnight and 18% of the total sample woke up before 6 am. Sleep latency of more than one hour was present in 19.3% of the students. Two thirds (64.8%) of the students reported having at least one nocturnal awakening per night. Nightmares were the most common parasomnia reported by students. Daytime naps were common and reported in 74.5% of the study sample. Sleep quality was reported as "poor" in only 9.8% and was significantly associated with sleep latency, frequency of nocturnal awakenings, time of going to bed, nightmares but not with academic achievement.

CONCLUSION

Sleep habits among Palestinian undergraduates were comparable to those reported in European studies. Sleep problems were common and there was no significant association between sleep quality and academic achievement.

A bibliometric analysis of toxicology research productivity in Middle Eastern Arab countries during a 10-year period (2003-2012)

BACKGROUND

Bibliometric studies are increasingly being used for research assessment by involving the application of statistical methods to scientific publications to obtain the bibliographics for each country. The main objective of this study was to analyse the research productivity originating from 13 Middle Eastern Arab (MEA) countries with articles published in toxicology journals.

METHODS

Data from January 1, 2003 till December 31, 2012 were searched for documents with specific words in the toxicology field as a "source title" in any one of the 13 MEA countries. Research productivity was evaluated based on a methodology developed and used in other bibliometric studies. Research productivity was adjusted to the national population and nominal gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.

RESULTS

Documents (n = 1,240) were retrieved from 73 international peer-reviewed toxicology journals. The h-index of the retrieved documents was 39. Of the 73 journal titles, 52 (69.9%) have their IF listed in the ISI Journal Citation Reports 2012; 198 documents (16.0%) were published in journals that had no official IF. After adjusting for economy and population power, Egypt (193.6), Palestine (18.1), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) (13.0), and Jordan (11.5) had the highest research productivity. Countries with large economies, such as the Kuwait, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Oman, tended to rank relatively low after adjustment of GDP. The total number of citations at the time of data analysis (August 4, 2013) was 10,991, with a median (interquartile range) of 4 (1-11). MEA collaborated more with countries in the MEA regions (16.7%), especially KSA, Egypt, and UAE, followed by Europe (14.4%), especially with the United Kingdom and Germany.

CONCLUSIONS

The present data show a promising rise and a good start for toxicology research activity in toxicology journals in the Arab world. Research output is low in some countries, which can be improved by investing in more international and national collaborative research projects in the field of toxicology.

Global cocaine intoxication research trends during 1975-2015: a bibliometric analysis of Web of Science publications

BACKGROUND

Cocaine is subject to recreational abuse as a stimulant and psychoactive agent, which poses a major worldwide health problem. The aim of the present study was to perform a bibliometric analysis of publication related to cocaine intoxication an insight of the research trends at a global level to enable recommendations for future research strategies in this field.

METHODS

Publications about cocaine intoxication were retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database on December 28, 2016, and analysed regarding the following bibliometric indicators: research trends, document types, languages, countries/territories with their h-index, collaboration patterns, journals with their impact factors (IF), and institutions.

RESULTS

In total, 2,902 scientific publications from 1975 to 2015 were retrieved from the WoS database. The annual number of publications related to cocaine toxicity increased slightly after 1990 and reached a peak of 148 in 1992, with an average of 103 publications per year. The USA outranked other countries/territories with 2,089 publications, of which 1,927 arose exclusively from the USA and 162 involved international collaborations. The h-index for all publications related to cocaine was 212, and the h-index for all publications related to cocaine intoxication was 99. Moreover, the USA had the highest h-index of 95, followed by Spain with h-index of 24, and Canada with h-index of 24. The main research topics were consistently reproductive toxicity, clinical management of acute cocaine exposure, laboratory methods for detection of exposure to cocaine, cocaine metabolism, and cocaine toxicity in animals.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first bibliometric approach to examining research related to cocaine toxicity and shows that research activity has become more global and extensive since 1990. The USA remains the leading country regarding published literature, the highest h-index, and greatest role in international collaborations.

Treatment adherence and perception in patients on maintenance hemodialysis: a cross - sectional study from Palestine

BACKGROUND

Adherence to diet recommendations, fluid restriction, prescribed medications, and attendance at hemodialysis (HD) sessions are essential for optimal and effective treatment of patients with end-stage renal disease. No data regarding this issue are available from Palestine. Therefore, this study was carried out to assess adherence to diet, fluid restriction, medications, and HD sessions.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study of HD patients at An-Najah National University Hospital was carried out during summer, 2016. Self-reported adherence behavior was obtained using a valid and reliable questionnaire (End-Stage Renal Disease Adherence Questionnaire: ESRD-AQ). Predialytic serum levels of potassium and phosphate were obtained as clinical indicator of diet and medication adherence respectively. In addition, interdialytic body weight (IDW) was also obtained from medical records and analyzed in relation to reported adherence of fluid restriction.

RESULTS

A total of 220 patients answered all questions pertaining to ESRD-AQ. The mean age ± standard deviation of participants was 56.82 ± 14.51 years. Dietary adherence was observed in 24% while that of fluid restriction adherence was observed in 31% of studied patients. Reported adherence to HD sessions was 52% while that for medications was 81%. Overall, 122 (55.5%) patients had good adherence, 89 (40.5%) had moderate adherence, and 9 (4.1%) had poor adherence behavior. Male patients had significantly higher overall adherence scores than females (p = 0.034). A significant correlation between reported diet adherence and serum pre-HD potassium level (p < 0.01) was observed. A significant correlation between reported fluid restriction adherence and IDW (p < 0.01) was also found. However, no significant correlation between reported adherence and pre-HD phosphate level. There was significant correlation between overall perception and overall adherence score (p < 0.001). Counselling of patients regarding importance of adherence modalities was lowest for "staying for the entire dialysis time". Multivariate analysis indicated that elderly male patients who were city residents had higher odds of having higher adherence score.

CONCLUSIONS

There was a good percentage of patients who had overall moderate or poor adherence. ESRD-AQ could be used to assess some aspects of HD adherence. Counselling and education of patients on HD are important to improve therapeutic outcome.

Beliefs and practices regarding childhood fever among parents: a cross-sectional study from Palestine

BACKGROUND

Fever is an extremely common occurrence in paediatric patients and the most common cause for a child to be taken to the doctor. The literature indicates that parents have too many misconceptions and conflicting information about fever management. The aim of this study was to identify parents' beliefs and practices regarding childhood fever management.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional survey among parents whose children were enrolled and presented for health care at primary health care clinics in the Nablus region of Palestine. Data were collected using structured questionnaire interviews with parents. The questionnaire consisted of 'yes/no' responses and multiple-response questions. Descriptive statistics were used.

RESULTS

Overall, 402 parents were interviewed. All parents believed that fever could cause at least one harmful effect if left untreated. The harmful effects most frequently reported by parents were brain damage (38.1%), dehydration (15.7%), and other organs damage such as liver and kidney damage (14.2%). The study showed that 65.4% of parents would recognise fever by only touching the child, 31.6% would measure the temperature and 3.0% would assess temperature by touching and measuring the child. Antipyretic was preferred to be used by 34.8% of parents, while 49.8% stated that they preferred cold sponges, and 3.2% stated that they preferred homeopathic methods to treat fever. The most common factors influencing frequency of medication administration included physician's instruction (61.7%), the degree of elevated temperature (14.9%) and instructions on the medication leaflet (13.7%). Of the participant parents, 53.2% believed antipyretics used to reduce fever were harmful. Parents reported the most harmful outcomes from these antipyretics to be allergic reactions (20.9%), effects on the stomach (16.9%), kidney damage (16.2%) and overdose (11.4%).

CONCLUSIONS

Parents were anxious when dealing with a feverish child, which resulted in incorrect or inappropriate practices. Parents require reliable evidence-based information about the care of feverish children. These results indicate a need to develop and evaluate educational programs in our setting that will provide parents with education on fever and fever management.

Substance use disorders in Arab countries: research activity and bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

Substance use disorders, which include substance abuse and substance dependence, are present in all regions of the world including Middle Eastern Arab countries. Bibliometric analysis is an increasingly used tool for research assessment. The main objective of this study was to assess research productivity in the field of substance use disorders in Arab countries using bibliometric indicators.

METHODOLOGY

Original or review research articles authored or co-authored by investigators from Arab countries about substance use disorders during the period 1900-2013 were retrieved using the ISI Web of Science database. Research activity was assessed by analyzing the annual research productivity, contribution of each Arab country, names of journals, citations, and types of abused substances.

RESULTS

Four hundred and thirteen documents in substance use disorders were retrieved. Annual research productivity was low but showed a significant increase in the last few years. In terms of quantity, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (83 documents) ranked first in research about substance use disorders while Lebanon (17.4 documents per million) ranked first in terms of number of documents published per million inhabitants. Retrieved documents were found in different journal titles and categories, mostly in Drug and Alcohol Dependence Journal. Authors from USA appeared in 117 documents published by investigators from Arab countries. Citation analysis of retrieved documents showed that the average citation per document was 10.76 and the h - index was 35. The majority of retrieved documents were about tobacco and smoking (175 documents) field while alcohol consumption and abuse research was the least with 69 documents.

CONCLUSION

The results obtained suggest that research in this field was largely neglected in the past. However, recent research interest was observed. Research output on tobacco and smoking was relatively high compared to other substances of abuse like illicit drugs and medicinal agents. Governmental funding for academics and mental health graduate programs to do research in the field of substance use disorders is highly recommended.

Scientific publications from Arab world in leading journals of Integrative and Complementary Medicine: a bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

Bibliometric analysis is increasingly employed as a useful tool to assess the quantity and quality of research performance. The specific goal of the current study was to evaluate the performance of research output originating from Arab world and published in international Integrative and Complementary Medicine (ICM) journals.

METHODS

Original scientific publications and reviews from the 22 Arab countries that were published in 22 international peer-reviewed ICM journals during all previous years up to December 31(st) 2013, were screened using the Web of Science databases.

RESULTS

Five hundred and ninety-one documents were retrieved from 19 ICM journals. The h-index of the set of papers under study was 47. The highest h-index was 27 for Morocco, 21 for Jordan, followed by 19 for each Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and Egypt, and the lowest h-index was 1 for each of Comoros, Qatar, and Syrian Arab Republic. No data related to ICM were published from Djibouti, and Mauritania. After adjusting for economy and population power, Somalia (89), Morocco (32.5), Egypt (31.1), Yemen (21.4), and Palestine (21.2) had the highest research productivity. The total number of citations was 9,466, with an average citation of 16 per document. The study identified 262 (44.3 %) documents with 39 countries in Arab-foreign country collaborations. Arab authors collaborated most with countries in Europe (24.2 %), followed by countries in the Asia-Pacific region (9.8 %).

CONCLUSION

Scientific research output in the ICM field in the Arab world region is increasing. Most of publications from Arab world in ICM filed were driven by societal use of medicinal plants and herbs. Search for new therapies from available low cost medicinal plants in Arab world has motivated many researchers in academia and pharmaceutical industry. Further investigation is required to support these findings in a wider journal as well as to improve research output in the field of ICM from Arab world region by investing in more national and international collaborative research project.

Bibliometric analysis of worldwide publications on multi-, extensively, and totally drug - resistant tuberculosis (2006-2015)

BACKGROUND

The year 2015 marked the end of United Nations Millennium Development Goals which was aimed at halting and reversing worldwide tuberculosis (TB). The emergence of drug resistance is a major challenge for worldwide TB control. The aim of this study was to give a bibliometric overview of publications on multi-, extensively, and totally drug-resistant TB.

METHODS

Scopus database was used to retrieve articles on multidrug resistant (MDR), extensively drug-resistant (XDR), and totally drug-resistant (TDR) tuberculosis for the study period (2006-2015). The number of publications, top productive countries and institutions, citation analysis, co-authorships, international collaboration, active authors, and active journals were retrieved and analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 2260 journal articles were retrieved. The mean ± SD citations per article was 7.04 ± 16.0. The h-index of retrieved data was 76. The number of publications showed a three - fold increase over the study period compared with less than two - fold increase in tuberculosis research during the same study period. Stratified by number of publications, the United States of America ranked first while Switzerland ranked first in productivity per 100 million people, and South Africa ranked first in productivity stratified per one trillion Gross Domestic Product. Three of the High Burden Countries (HBC) MDR-TB (India, China, and South Africa) were present in top productive countries. High percentage of international collaboration was seen among most HBC MDR-TB. Except for Plos One journal, most active journals in publishing articles on MDR, XDR, TDR-TB were in infection - related fields and in general medicine. Top 20 cited articles were published in prestigious journal such as Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine. The themes in top 20 cited articles were diverse, ranging from molecular biology, diagnostic tools, co-infection with HIV, and results of new anti-TB drugs.

CONCLUSION

Publications on MDR, XDR and TDR - TB are increasing in the past decade. International collaboration was common. Many low resourced African and Asian countries will benefit from research leading to new diagnostic and screening technology of TB. The exchange of expertise, ideas and technology is of paramount importance in this field.

Bibliometric analysis of publications on Campylobacter: (2000-2015)

BACKGROUND

Campylobacter species are widespread zoonotic pathogens. Campylobacter jejuni causes a form of gastroenteritis called campylobacteriosis. Campylobacter drug resistance is considered a serious threat. In order to better understand national and international research output on Campylobacter, we conducted this bibliometric overview of publications on Campylobacter. This study can be used to assess extent of interaction and response of researchers, food regulators, and health policy makers to global burden of campylobacateriosis.

METHODS

Scopus database was used to retrieve publications with the following keywords (Campylobacter/campylobacteriosis, C. jejuni, C. coli). The study period was set from 2000 to 2015. All types of journal documents, excluding errata, were considered. Bibliometric indicators such as annual growth of publications, country contribution, international collaboration, and citation analysis were presented. The quality of retrieved data was indirectly assessed by Hirsch index and impact factor of journals.

RESULTS

A total of 5522 documents were retrieved with median (Q1-Q3) citations of 9 (2-23) and h-index of 113. Annual number of publications showed a fluctuating increase. The core leading journals were Applied and Environmental Microbiology journal and Journal of Food Protection with 246 (4.46%) publications for each. The USA (1309; 23.6%) was the most productive country while Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (150; 2.7%) was the most productive institution. Half of the top ten productive countries were European. France had the lowest percentage (33.5%) of articles with international collaboration while Netherlands (57.7%) had the highest percentage of articles with international collaboration. Approximately half (50.1%) of retrieved articles were published in journals under the subject area of "immunology/microbiology". Main themes in highly cited articles were molecular biology/genetics and public health burden of campylobacteriosis. There were 728 (13.1%) articles on campylobacter-related drug resistance, and the top cited articles focused mainly on increasing resistance to quinolones and fluoroquinolones.

CONCLUSIONS

There was a clear increase in number of publications on Campylobacter. Rational use of antimicrobials in humans, poultry, and animals is highly recommended. International collaboration is highly required particularly in implementing new diagnostic screening technologies to minimize global health burden of Campylobacter and ensure food safety.

Relationship of treatment satisfaction to health-related quality of life: findings from a cross-sectional survey among hypertensive patients in Palestine

BACKGROUND

Evaluation of the association between treatment satisfaction and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) may enable health-care providers to understand the issues that influence quality of life and to recognize the aspects of hypertension treatment that need improvement to enhance the long-term treatment outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between HRQoL and treatment satisfaction in a sample of Palestinian hypertensive patients.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted, adopting the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM 1.4) for the assessment of treatment satisfaction and using the European Quality of Life scale (EQ-5D-5L) for the assessment of HRQoL. Descriptive and comparative statistics were used to describe socio-demographic and disease-related characteristics of the patients. All analyses were performed using SPSS v 15.0.

RESULTS

Four hundred and ten hypertensive patients were enrolled in the study. This study findings indicate a positive correlation between all satisfaction domains and HRQoL. Significant differences were observed between this study variables (P < 0.001). After adjustment for covariates using multiple linear regression, an increase of one point in the global satisfaction scale was associated with a 0.16 increase in EQ-5D index scores (r = 0.16; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with reportedly higher satisfaction scores have reported relatively higher EQ-5D-5L index values. These study findings could be helpful in clinical practice, mainly in the early treatment of hypertensive patients, at a point where improving treatment satisfaction and HRQoL is still possible.

Use of complementary and alternative medicines in haemodialysis patients: a cross-sectional study from Palestine

BACKGROUND

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and herbal therapies, are accepted worldwide, and have been important from medical, sociological and economic perspectives, among haemodialysis (HD) patients. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the use of CAM among patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who are undergoing HD.

METHODS

Face-to-face interviews of patients with ESRD undergoing HD from ten outpatient renal departments at a national level in Palestine were conducted from June 2014 to January 2015. A survey questionnaire, which included questions on socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, and on the CAM therapies that were used, was administered.

RESULTS

Out of 267 patients interviewed, 172 patients used at least one type of CAM in the last month prior to the interview, and thus the utilisation rate was 64.4 %. Forty one (15.4 %) patients reported using one type of CAMs, while 18.7 % used two different CAMs and 30.3 % used more than two types of CAMs for their health status. Of the patients who used CAM, herbal therapies were used most often (43.5 %), followed by honey (35.6 %), diet (22.8 %), and exorcism in Islam (16.9 %). The herbal therapies mentioned most often were Nigella sativa L. (18.7 %), followed by Salvia officinalis L. (16.9 %), and Pimpinella anisum L. (10.5 %).

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, the prevalence of CAM is relatively high in the selected population. Most patients used biological therapies such as herbal remedies, thus highlighting a greater need for patient education regarding CAM therapies and possible herb-drug interactions. Health care providers must be aware of the potential benefits and risks related to CAM use. There is a need for more clinical research pertaining to CAM to reach stronger evidence regarding potential benefits and risks related to CAM use.

Global research trends in microbiome-gut-brain axis during 2009-2018: a bibliometric and visualized study

BACKGROUND

The pathways and mechanism by which associations between the gut microbiome and the brain, termed the microbiome-gut-brain axis (MGBA), are manifest but remain to be fully elucidated. This study aims to use bibliometric analysis to estimate the global activity within this rapidly developing field and to identify particular areas of focus that are of current relevance to the MGBA during the last decade (2009-2018).

METHODS

The current study uses the Scopus for data collection. We used the key terms "microbiome-gut-brain axis" and its synonyms because we are concerned with MGBA per se as a new concept in research rather than related topics. A VOSviewer version 1.6.11 was used to visualize collaboration pattern between countries and authors, and evolving research topics by analysis of the term co-occurrence in the title and abstract of publications.

RESULTS

Between 2009 and 2018, there were 51,504 published documents related to the microbiome, including 1713 articles related to the MGBA: 829 (48.4%) original articles, 658(38.4%) reviews, and 226 (13.2%) other articles such as notes, editorials or letters. The USA took the first place with 385 appearances, followed by Ireland (n = 161), China (n = 155), and Canada (n = 144).The overall citation h-index was 106, and the countries with the highest h-index values were the USA (69), Ireland (58), and Canada (43). The cluster analysis demonstrated that the dominant fields of the MGBA include four clusters with four research directions: "modeling MGBA in animal systems", "interplay between the gut microbiota and the immune system", "irritable bowel syndrome related to gut microbiota", and "neurodegenerative diseases related to gut microbiota".

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that the research on the MGBA has been becoming progressively more extensive at global level over the past 10 years. Overall, our study found that a large amount of work on MGBA focused on immunomodulation, irritable bowel syndrome, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Despite considerable progress illustrating the communication between the gut microbiome and the brain over the past 10 years, many issues remain about their relevance for therapeutic intervention of many diseases.

Medical and biomedical research productivity from Palestine, 2002 - 2011

BACKGROUND

Medical research productivity reflects the level of medical education and practice in a particular country. The objective of this study was to examine the quantity and quality of medical and biomedical research published from Palestine.

FINDINGS

Comprehensive review of the literature indexed by Scopus was conducted. Data from Jan 01, 2002 till December 31, 2011 was searched for authors affiliated with Palestine or Palestinian authority. Results were refined to limit the search to medical and biomedical subjects. The quality of publication was assessed using Journal Citation Report. The total number of publications was 2207. A total of 770 publications were in the medical and biomedical subject areas. The annual rate of publication was 0.077 articles per gross domestic product/capita. The 770 publications have an h-index of 32. One hundred and thirty eight (18%) articles were published in 46 journals that were not indexed in the web of knowledge. Twenty two (22/770; 2.9%) articles were published in journals with an IF > 10.

CONCLUSIONS

The quantity and quality of research originating from Palestinian institutions is promising given the scarce resources of Palestine. However, more effort is needed to bridge the gap in medical research productivity and to promote better health in Palestine.

Medication dosing errors in hospitalized patients with renal impairment: a study in Palestine

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Reduced renal function requires dose adjustment for certain drugs to avoid toxicity. The aim of this study was to determine whether appropriate dosage adjustments were made for drugs that are nephrotoxic, excreted, or metabolized (TEM medications) by the kidney in patients with renal impairment.

METHODOLOGY

A cross-sectional study of a group of hospitalized patients was carried out at Al-Watni governmental hospital, Nablus, Palestine. All patients with creatinine clearance </=59 ml/min were included in the analysis. Data regarding patients' clinical, laboratory findings and medications whether they were prescribed at hospital or at discharge were collected from patients' medical files. Evaluation of appropriate dosing was based on Physician Disk Reference (PDR). All data were collected for further research and subsequent statistical analysis using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) for windows version 10.

RESULTS

A total of 78 patients had calculated creatinine clearance </=59 ml/min. Those patients were prescribed a total of 1001 lines of prescription medication. Dosage adjustment was necessary for 193 TEM medications. Analysis of TEM medications with guidelines for adjustment indicated that 73.58%(142) were found to be inappropriate and 26.42% (51) were found to be appropriate. The most common inappropriate medications were ranitidine, antibiotics, and digoxin. Approximately 77.5% of the unadjusted medications were prescribed during hospitalization.

CONCLUSION

In our study, a wide range of dosing errors was common among patients with renal impairment that was common during hospitalization. Continued medical education in the field of clinical pharmacokinetics is important for physicians.

Global trends in research related to social media in psychology: mapping and bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

Social media, defined as interactive Web applications, have been on the rise globally, particularly among adults. The objective of this study was to investigate the trend of the literature related to the most used social network worldwide (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and Instagram) in the field of psychology. Specifically, this study will assess the growth in publications, citation analysis, international collaboration, author productivity, emerging topics and the mapping of frequent terms in publications pertaining to social media in the field of psychology.

METHODS

Publications related to social media in the field of psychology published between 2004 and 2014 were obtained from the Web of Science. The records extracted were analysed for bibliometric characteristics such as the growth in publications, citation analysis, international collaboration, emerging topics and the mapping of frequent terms in publications pertaining to social media in the field of psychology. VOSviewer v.1.6.5 was used to construct scientific maps.

RESULTS

Overall, 959 publications were retrieved during the period between 2004 and 2015. The number of research publications in social media in the field of psychology showed a steady upward growth. Publications from the USA accounted for 57.14% of the total publications and the highest h-index (48).The most common document type was research articles (873; 91.03%). Over 99.06% of the publications were published in English. Computers in Human Behavior was the most prolific journal. The University of Wisconsin-Madison ranked first in terms of the total publications (n = 39). A visualisation analysis showed that personality psychology, experimental psychology, psychological risk factors, and developmental psychology were continual concerns of the research.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study reporting the global trends in the research related to social media in the psychology field. Based on the raw data from the Web of Science, publication characteristics such as quality and quantity were assessed using bibliometric techniques over 12 years. The USA and its institutions play a dominant role in this topic. The most preferred topics related to social media in psychology are personality psychology, experimental psychology, psychological risk factors, and developmental psychology.

Bibliometric profile of the global scientific research on autism spectrum disorders

BACKGROUND

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group conditions classified as neuro-developmental disorders. Research activity on ASD is important for all countries since such disorders have both social and health consequences. The objective of this study was to analyze research output on ASD during the period 2005-2014.

METHODS

All articles relevant to ASD plus all articles published in autism journals were retrieved using Scopus database. VOSviewer software was used to create density and network visualization maps. Bibliometric indicators were investigated by analyzing annual research output, languages, countries, institutions, journals, title terms, highly cited articles, and co-authorship relations.

RESULTS

A progressive annual growth of ASD research was observed from 2005 to 2014. During this period, a total of 18,490 articles were retrieved. The majority of these articles was published in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders with 48,416 citations and an average citation of 23.59 citations per article. The countries that published the largest number of articles were the United States (US) (n = 8594; 46.48 %), United Kingdom (n = 2430; 13.14 %) and Canada (n = 1077; 5.8 %). International collaborations produced 30.18 % of the articles published by top 10 productive countries. King's College London (UK) ranked first in number of publications and total citations. The top 10 list of productive institutions was dominated by US academic and research institutions. More than half of the highly cited articles were in the field of molecular genetics. Articles with more than 50 citations were published mainly by authors from USA, UK and Canada.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a worldwide growth of publications on ASD led by countries in Northern America and Europe. Retrieved articles were published in a wide range of journals. Molecular genetics of ASD is the primary hot topic on ASD. For some leading countries, intra country collaboration is dominant.

Bibliometric analysis of scientific publications on waterpipe (narghile, shisha, hookah) tobacco smoking during the period 2003-2012

BACKGROUND

Waterpipe tobacco smoking has spread worldwide. However, the evaluation of scientific output in the field of waterpipe tobacco smoking has not been studied yet. The main objectives of this study were to analyze worldwide research output in the waterpipe tobacco smoking field, and to examine the authorship pattern and the citations retrieved from the Scopus database for over a decade.

METHODS

Data from January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2012 were searched for documents with specific words regarding waterpipe tobacco smoking as "keywords" in the title. Scientific output was evaluated based on a methodology developed and used in other bibliometric studies: (a) total and trends of contributions in waterpipe tobacco smoking research between 2003 and 2012; (b) authorship patterns and research productivity; (c) collaboration patterns; (d) the citations received by the publications; and (e) areas of interest of the published papers.

RESULTS

Worldwide there were 334 publications that met the criteria during the study period. The largest number of publications in waterpipe tobacco smoking were from the United States of America (USA) (33.5%), followed by Lebanon (15.3%), and France (10.5%). The total number of citations at the time of data analysis (October 18, 2013) was 4,352, with an average of 13 citations per document and a median (interquartile range) of 4.0 (1.0-16.0). The h-index of the retrieved documents was 34. The highest h-index by country was 27 for the USA, followed by 20 for Syrian Arab Republic and Lebanon.

CONCLUSIONS

The present data reveal a promising rise and a good start for research activity in the field of waterpipe tobacco smoking. More effort is needed to bridge the gap in waterpipe smoking-based research and to promote better evaluation of waterpipe smoking, risks, health effects, or control services worldwide.