April 2007 - Volume 1, Issue 2

Abdul Abyad, MD, MPH, MBA, AGSF, AFCHSE (Editor) Abdul Abyad, MD, MPH, MBA, AGSF, AFCHSE (Editor) Abyad Medical Center & Middle East Longevity Institute Azmi Street, Abdo Center, 2nd Floor PO BOX 618, Tripoli LEBANON Tel & Fax: 961 6 443684/5/6 Email: aabyad@cyberia.net.lb Web: www.amc-lb.com

This is the second issue of the new journal which has been well received in the region. We received a large number of papers after the first issue and we look forward to working with the authors, the editorial board and the production team to make this journal a pioneer in the region, in the field of nursing.

In this issue two papers dealt with pregnancy Dr Yassaee using a descriptive study involving 106 women, discussed the role of mother's preference on the type of delivery. He stressed that most cesareans are performed in private hospitals mainly due to the mother's preference and without obstetric indications. The author stressed that mother's preference has a meaningful impact on the route of her delivery. The paper from Iraq discussed the issue of safe pregnancy. The author carried out an observational longitudinal study, which included (2080) cases of pregnant women. It had been found that of the total (2080) women, (1060, 51%) had a safe pregnancy outcome for both mother and her fetus/newborn, and (1020, 49%) had an unsafe outcome either for mother or her fetus/newborn. The authors concluded that maternal complications are more frequent in the ante partum period, while fetal complication happened more in the post partum period. They recommended improvement of maternal health, and neonatal health. This could be achieved by serious cooperation between community (general population), health institutions and their staff.

AYDIN S, et al presented a paper discussing the role of education on the attitudes of Nurses to HIV Patients. A questionnaire composed of 13 questions was given to the nurses before, and one month after they had completed a two-day course on AIDS. The author concluded that education about HIV/AIDS can significantly improve the knowledge and attitudes of the nurses; however, more time and educational programs are needed.

Amayreh W et al studied the role of various factors that could influence the type of feeding among infants. Prospective interviews using 12 items questionnaire with 260 mothers were carried out. The authors concluded that the misconception of mothers regarding breast milk insufficiency was the most common reason for using formula, therefore there is a need for mass educational campaigns at various levels.

A study from Jordan investigated the knowledge of nurses about narcotics, using a questionnaire. Only morphine (95%), heroin (74%) and codeine (73%) were correctly identified as narcotics by the majority of participants. Only 12% knew that that the frequency of psychological dependence due to use of morphine for cancer pain was less than 1%. The authors concluded that nurses had a poor knowledge about the classification of narcotic drugs and about the potential of addiction in patients using opiates for pain relief.

A paper on the coronal fracture of anterior teeth among schoolchildren aged 10-12 years old in the city of Zarka-Jordan showed that fractured anterior teeth were more common among males than females, and that the prevalence of enamel fracture only showed higher percentage than enamel and dentine fracture and that the percentage of treated fractured anterior teeth in females were much higher than in males taking into consideration that females had less prevalence in fracture anterior teeth than males.