Data on comprehensive population-based surveillance of antimicrobial resistance is lacking. In low- and middle-income countries, the challenges are high due to weak laboratory capacity, poor health systems governance, lack of health information systems, and limited resources. Developing countries struggle with political and social dilemma, and bear a high health and economic burden of communicable diseases. Available data are fragmented and lack representativeness which limits their use to advice health policy makers and orientate the efficient allocation of funding and financial resources on programs to mitigate resistance. Low-quality data means soaring rates of antimicrobial resistance and the inability to track and map the spread of resistance, detect early outbreaks, and set national health policy to tackle resistance. Here, we review the barriers and limitations of conducting effective antimicrobial resistance surveillance, and we highlight multiple incremental approaches that may offer opportunities to strengthen population-based surveillance if tailored to the context of each country.
Artificial intelligence models, like ChatGPT, have the potential to revolutionize higher education when implemented properly. This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing university students' attitudes and usage of ChatGPT in Arab countries. The survey instrument "TAME-ChatGPT" was administered to 2240 participants from Iraq, Kuwait, Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan. Of those, 46.8% heard of ChatGPT, and 52.6% used it before the study. The results indicated that a positive attitude and usage of ChatGPT were determined by factors like ease of use, positive attitude towards technology, social influence, perceived usefulness, behavioral/cognitive influences, low perceived risks, and low anxiety. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated the adequacy of the "TAME-ChatGPT" constructs. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the attitude towards ChatGPT usage was significantly influenced by country of residence, age, university type, and recent academic performance. This study validated "TAME-ChatGPT" as a useful tool for assessing ChatGPT adoption among university students. The successful integration of ChatGPT in higher education relies on the perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, positive attitude towards technology, social influence, behavioral/cognitive elements, low anxiety, and minimal perceived risks. Policies for ChatGPT adoption in higher education should be tailored to individual contexts, considering the variations in student attitudes observed in this study.
Introduction: An estimated 80% of the world's population use traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) products as part of their healthcare, with many accessed through pharmacy. This cross-cultural study posed a set of professional practice responsibilities and actions to pharmacists related to T&CM products, with a view toward developing consensus, safeguarding, and promoting the health of the public. Methods: Data were collected from 2,810 pharmacists across nine countries during 2022 via a cross-sectional online survey reported in accordance with the guidelines of STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) and the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys (CHERRIES). Results: Of the 2,810 participants from nine countries, 2,341 completed all sections of the survey. Of these, most agreed (69%) that T&CM product use was common in the community they served, but most did not have adequate training to support consumer needs. Over 75% acknowledged that there were known and unknown safety risks associated with T&CM use. Of 18 professional responsibilities posed, 92% agreed that pharmacists should be able to inform consumers about potential risks, including T&CM side effects and drug-herb interactions. The provision of accurate scientific information on the effectiveness of T&CM products, skills to guide consumers in making informed decisions, and communication with other healthcare professionals to support appropriate and safe T&CM product use were all ranked with high levels of agreement. In order to effectively fulfill these responsibilities, pharmacists agreed that regulatory reforms, development of T&CM education and training, and access to quality products supported by high-quality evidence were needed. Conclusion: General agreement from across nine countries on eighteen professional responsibilities and several stakeholder actions serve as a foundation for the discussion and development of international T&CM guidelines for pharmacists.
The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research.