FreshRSS

🔒
❌ Acerca de FreshRSS
Hay nuevos artículos disponibles. Pincha para refrescar la página.
Ayer — Octubre 2nd 2025Tus fuentes RSS

Mental health literacy and perinatal mental health experiences among healthcare professionals in the United Arab Emirates: a qualitative study

Por: ElKhalil · R. · Bayoumi · R. · Karuveetil · P. · AlMekkawi · M. · Ahmed · L. A. · Al-Rifai · R. H. · Masuadi · E. · Elbarazi · I.
Objectives

This study examined the mental health literacy of perinatal healthcare professionals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and analysed how their knowledge, attitudes and confidence impact their clinical practices in addressing perinatal mental health disorders.

Design

A qualitative study with a descriptive phenomenological design. Data were collected via semi-structured individual interviews and focus group discussions. The data were analysed inductively using Braun and Clarke’s six-step thematic analysis.

Setting

The study was conducted in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al Ain in the UAE. Participants were recruited from various healthcare facilities and professional educational events.

Participants

The participants consisted of perinatal healthcare professionals from seven disciplines, including lactation consultants, midwives, nurses, obstetricians, paediatricians, family medicine practitioners and psychiatrists/psychologists. All participants were required to be actively involved in providing care to perinatal patients and to have a minimum of one year of clinical experience. The study included three focus group discussions and 28 semistructured individual interviews, culminating in a sample of 43 participants for analysis.

Results

Three key themes emerged: (1) Knowledge and awareness, highlighting variable understanding of perinatal mental health and reliance on instinct over formal screening; (2) Navigating professional roles and realities, showing empathy and willingness to support patients, yet role ambiguity, low confidence and societal stigma influence perinatal healthcare professionals’ responses and care practices and (3) Strengthening support systems and resources, where participants called for improved training, clear policies and psychosocial resources to overcome institutional and educational gaps and to enhance perinatal mental healthcare and patient outcomes.

Conclusions

The study reveals gaps in mental health literacy and institutional support that hinder the delivery of effective perinatal mental healthcare. Strengthening provider training, implementing standardised screening and referral pathways, and promoting culturally sensitive, multidisciplinary approaches are essential. Such interventions can enhance early detection and improve outcomes for mothers and infants. Further research should focus on developing and evaluating the efficacy of such interventions to enhance early detection and improve outcomes for mothers and infants.

AnteayerTus fuentes RSS

Educational outcomes of emerging teaching methods in undergraduate nursing education: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

Por: AlMekkawi · M. · Al Maqbali · M. · ElKhalil · R. · Ibrahim · R. K. · Aldawsari · A. · Qatouni · F. · Sherif · M. · Pandarakutty · S. · Nalubega · S. · Arul Raj · A. R. · Hughes · C.
Introduction

Undergraduate nursing education is essential in preparing competent and compassionate healthcare professionals capable of addressing the complex challenges in today’s healthcare landscape. This protocol proposes a systematic review of the educational outcomes of virtual/augmented reality, flipped classrooms, team-based learning and gamification compared with traditional or didactic methods in undergraduate nursing education.

Methods and analysis

A systematic review protocol based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Protocol guidelines will be conducted. Experimental and observational studies published from 2014 through 2024 will be identified by searching the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science and CINAHL that compare emerging with traditional or didactic teaching methods among undergraduate nursing students. Two reviewers will independently assess titles and abstracts to identify relevant studies based on eligibility criteria. Two additional reviewers will extract data from full-text articles that meet these criteria, evaluate the risk of bias and assess the quality of the selected studies. The meta-analysis will include effect size, heterogeneity, subgroup analyses and publication bias tests.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval is not required. The publication will be in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42024618288.

Epidemiology of congenital anomalies in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries: a scoping review

Por: Adam · H. · Ghenimi · N. · ElKhalil · R. · Narchi · H. · Elbarazi · I. · Al-Rifai · R. H. · Ahmed · L. A.
Objectives

Congenital anomalies (CAs) are significant contributors to perinatal mortality and morbidity. The epidemiology of CAs in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries remains insufficiently explored. This scoping review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing literature on the epidemiology of perinatally diagnosed CAs in the GCC countries.

Design

Scoping review.

Data sources

We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science for articles published between 1 January 2000 and 1 February 2024.

Eligibility criteria

This review included (a) original observational studies such as cross-sectional, cohort or nested case–control studies, which were sourced from general populations, hospital records or registries; (b) published in English between 2000 and 2024; (c) conducted in any of the six GCC countries; and (d) reporting the prevalence or incidence of CAs.

Data extraction and synthesis

Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts and full texts for inclusion and extracted data using Covidence software.

Results

In total, 51 studies reporting the epidemiology of CAs in the GCC countries were eligible and thus summarised. Saudi Arabia dominated with nearly two-thirds of the studies, while Bahrain contributed the least. All studies were hospital based and primarily retrospective. The most researched CAs were cleft lip and cleft palate as well as nervous and circulatory system anomalies, whereas the least researched CAs were chromosomal abnormalities, digestive anomalies and urinary system anomalies. The review reported discrepancies in CA rates across the region, ranging from 2.5 to 68.7 per 1000 live births for multiple anomalies. Few studies explored the association between CAs and risk factors; the main factors reported were advanced maternal age, maternal diabetes and consanguinity.

Conclusions

This review summarises the heightened prevalence of CAs in the GCC countries, discrepancies in estimates and gaps in research on specific anomalies. Future research is warranted to explore the association between CAs and various risk factors, thereby enabling the development of targeted preventive strategies.

❌