MATERIALS AND METHODS: Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 400 subjects. The questionnaire comprised three parts; the first part addressed the demographic variables. The second part queried about dental prosthesis, orthognathic or plastic surgery, and/or ongoing or previous orthodontic treatment. The third part included the Arabic version of the-8-item Orofacial Esthetic Scale (OES-Ar) whose responses were scored in the 5-point Likert scale. These scores were compared by different grouping factors (age, gender, marital status, and education) using non-parametric Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Willis tests with 95% confidence interval (α > 0.05).
RESULTS: A total of 268 questionnaires were eligible for analysis, representing 67% response rate. The satisfaction with facial profile appearance was the highest (4.0±1.1) followed by facial appearance (3.9±1.1), while the color of teeth was the least satisfying item (3.1±1.3). No significant differences were found between age groups for the mean summary score as well as for each item independently. No significant difference was found between both sexes except for the last item "overall impression". Married subjects rated one item (alignment of teeth) better than their counterparts. Positive perception of orofacial appearance increased significantly with the increase of education level, the perception of the oral health status, and the perception of the general health status.
CONCLUSION: Good oral health and/or high education level are significant determinants of more positive perception of orofacial esthetic appearance. Patients with these characteristics might be more concerned about their orofacial appearance, and this should be taken into consideration before planning any esthetic restorative dental treatment.
AIMS: This study aimed to survey users and non-users of aesthetic procedures in countries where this information is less readily available, to understand attitudes and perceptions relating to beauty.
PATIENTS/METHODS: Two independent internet-based observational surveys were conducted. Survey 1: individuals from Colombia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Russia and Turkey who were 'users' or 'non-users' of aesthetic medical procedures. Survey 2: individuals from Colombia, Russia, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates who were 'users' of non-surgical aesthetic treatments.
RESULTS: Surveys 1 and 2 were completed by 300 and 160 individuals, respectively, most of whom were female (94.0% and 99%). Overall, respondents rated the eyes and smile as the most pleasing male and female facial features. Most participants (mean 82.6%; range 75%-100%) believed maintaining a healthy lifestyle was important for ageing gracefully, and over one-third (36.0%; 28%-47%) believed men age more gracefully than women. The emphasis respondents placed on the importance of physical attributes vs inner feelings, internal beauty and self-confidence varied between countries. Users were often more positive about aesthetic medical procedure outcomes than non-users. Adequate information, good physician communication (including managing treatment expectations), treatment recommendations based on patient need and good aftercare improved treatment satisfaction.
CONCLUSIONS: The eyes and smile were key features of attractiveness, but maintaining a healthy lifestyle was consistently considered an important factor for ageing gracefully. Ensuring patients are well informed was a major determinant of treatment satisfaction.
METHOD: This study used an analytic descriptive design with a cross-sectional approach with a population of 115 and the sample used was 85 people. Data were collected by distributing questionnaires. Questionnaires were used assess about nurses' knowledge, nurses' attitudes, and nurses' behavior in providing spiritual nursing care.
RESULTS: The results of bivariate analysis found a relationship between knowledge and behavior of nurses in the provision of spiritual nursing care with p value 0.010 (α=0.05). But there is no relationship between attitudes with nurses' behavior in providing spiritual nursing care with p value 1.000 (α=0.05).
CONCLUSION: Nurses' knowledge of nursing care can influence nurses' behavior in providing spiritual nursing care to patients.
METHOD: A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used to understand the experience of nurses caring for patients in the acute setting who had sustained a traumatic spinal injury with associated neurological deficit. Using the phenomenological approach guided by the insight of Gadamer and Max Van Manen, participants with a broad range of experience were recruited and interviewed. The responses were transcribed into a text and subjected to hermeneutic analysis. Burnard's (1991) 14-step process and the hermeneutic approach were used to interpret and understand the phenomenon of interest.
CONCLUSION: The study highlights the experience and challenges of providing care to these individuals. Although patients had significant physical disabilities and were often dependent physically, the nurses' concerns were directed more towards fulfilling their psychological needs. Nurses identified grieving patients and felt their role was to provide realistic hope to motivate them. They felt an internal tension regarding desensitisation towards their patients, but this was often an internal protective mechanism to deal with the significance of the events surrounding these patients. Nurses new to this setting took time to learn the routines and manage the unique challenges effectively. Caring for these patients gave the nurses the opportunity to understand their patients and their families, and appreciate that both groups will fluctuate in their behavior throughout the acute process, as they adjust to grief and loss.
METHODS: A multidimensional survey instrument measuring attitudes to xenotransplantation, including the factors that predict such attitudes, was developed based on earlier studies and validated. It was then completed by 469 respondents who were stratified in accordance with stakeholder groups in Malaysia. A single-step SEM analysis was then conducted to estimate the measurement and create a structural model using IBM SPSS Amos version 20 with a maximum-likelihood function.
RESULTS: The attitudes of Malaysian stakeholders towards xenotransplantation were moderately positive (mean score of 4.20). The most important direct predictor of attitude to xenotransplantation was perceived benefit (β = 0.59, P
Design: Qualitative study using focus group discussions. Participants' responses were audio recorded, transcribed, grouped under various domains and listed out and analysed.
Setting: A private medical college in Perak state, Malaysia.
Participants: Forty-six medical students from years 2 to 5 were included. Eight focus groups were formed with two focus groups from each academic year (six students each in seven groups and four students in one group). Students were informed through their respective student leader of each year and received a participant information sheet and an informed consent form which were completed and returned if they decided to participate in the focus group discussions.
Results: The participants had different levels of understanding of primary care depending on their level of exposure to primary care. Senior students with more exposure had a better understanding about primary care and its services. Attractive factors towards choosing primary care as a career included short working hours with a more balanced family and social life, being able to treat patients as a whole with continuity of care and closer relationship with patients. Unattractive factors included routine, unchallenging and boring practice, poor salary, work overload and administrative work in government clinics, being less recognised by other specialties; and the poor perception by other doctors that those pursuing primary care were not 'brilliant enough' for more 'sophisticated disciplines like surgery or paediatrics'.
Conclusion: This study showed that the medical students' level of exposure to primary care played a crucial role in determining their understanding of primary care practice and their choice of career in primary care. Issues to be addressed include remuneration, workload and the prejudice against primary care as a career pathway. Suggestions included introducing early exposure to fun and challenging primary care postings in the medical curriculum and producing well trained, skilled and enthusiastic role models.