Background: Despite the importance of vaccines in preventing COVID-19, the willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccines is lower among RA patients than in the general population. Objective: To determine the extent of COVID-19 knowledge among RA patients and their attitudes and perceptions of COVID-19 vaccines. Methods: A qualitative study with a phenomenology approach was performed through face-to-face, individual-based, semi-structured interviews in the Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq, rheumatology unit. A convenient sample of RA patients using disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs was included until the point of saturation. A thematic content analysis approach was used to analyze the obtained data. Results: Twenty-five RA patients participated in this study. Regarding knowledge about COVID-19, most participants were able to define COVID-19, realize its contagious nature, and see the need for masks to get protection from this infection, while only a minority knew COVID-19 symptoms. Most participants obtained information about COVID-19 from TV programs and the public. Regarding COVID-19 vaccines, about 1/4 of the participants knew vaccine side effects, and only 12% of them had positive attitudes toward the vaccine. Additionally, 19 participants were unwilling to take the vaccine. The most common reasons behind this reluctance to take the vaccine include fear of the vaccine's short- and long-term side effects and the worsening of RA. Conclusion: RA patients' knowledge about COVID-19 and its vaccines was poor, and their attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccines were negative.
Social determinants of health (SDH) profoundly influence diabetes outcomes; nevertheless, their impact on the Iraqi diabetic population remains under researched. The objectives of this study were To investigate the relationship between particular social determinants of health (SDH) variables namely food and housing insecurity, social support, income, and education and clinical outcomes, including HbA1c levels, medication adherence, and patient satisfaction among Iraqi diabetic patients. A cross-sectional study involving 212 diabetic patients in Iraq was conducted. Participants attending a healthcare facility in Iraq filled out validated questionnaires regarding social determinants of health, medication adherence, and satisfaction. HbA1c rea
... Show MoreThis cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study evaluated the knowledge, attitude and practice towards breast cancer and breast self-examination [BSE] among 387 [302 females and 85 males] educated Iraqis affiliated to 2 Iraqi universities. The participants were categorized into 3 occupations: student [71.3%], teaching staff [10.3%] and administrative staff [18.3%]. About half of the participants had a low knowledge score [< 50%]; only 14.3% were graded as [Good] and above. Almost 75% of the participants believed that the best way to control breast cancer was through early detection and other possible preventive measures. Most participants [90.9%] had heard of BSE, the main source of informatio
... Show MoreA study of taxonomic quality of soil algae was conducted with some environmental variables in three sites of local gardens (Kadhimiya, Adhamiya and Dora) within the governorate of Baghdad for the period from October 2016 to March 2017. The study identified 28 species belonging to 16 species in which the predominance of blue green algae (18 species) Followed by Bacillarophyta algae (7 species) and three types of Chlorophyta. The study showed an increase in species of Oscillatoria. The results showed no significant differences between sites in temperature, pH and relative humidity, while there were clear differences between sites for salinity and nutrient The study showed a difference of irrigation water quality and use of different fertilize
... Show MoreObjectives: To assess the qualifications and performance of newly graduated pharmacists and explore factors that affect their performance in public hospitals. Methods: This qualitative study included face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with hospital practitioner pharmacists. It was conducted between March and May 2023 in Kerbala province, Iraq. The participating pharmacists were selected purposefully because they had three or more years of work experience at governmental hospitals. The audio-recording interviews were transcribed. Thematic analyses were used to generate themes and subthemes from the interviews. Results: Twenty-seven hospital pharmacists participated in this study. The study found that there are several factors t
... Show MoreEthnographic research is perhaps the most common applicable type of qualitative research method in psychology and medicine. In ethnography studies, the researcher immerses himself in the environment of participants to understand the cultures, challenges, motivations, and topics that arise between them by investigating the environment directly. This type of research method can last for a few days to a few years because it involves in-depth monitoring and data collection based on these foundations. For this reason, the findings of the current study stimuli the researchers in psychology and medicine to conduct studies by applying ethnographic research method to investigate the common cultural patterns language, thinking, beliefs, and behavior
... Show MoreJudicial jurisprudence is one of the important legal solutions to address the shortcomings of legislation. Throughout its long history, human societies have known many cases in which the judge finds himself facing a legislative vacuum in addition to civil legal texts that are difficult for the judge to implement due to ambiguity or contradiction, which requires diligence. To rule on resolving disputes before him in order not to deny justice, but the judge in his jurisprudence was not absolute, but rather bound by certain controls represented by observing the wisdom of legislation on the one hand and taking into account the nature of the texts on the other side, and from here this research came to shed light on the jurisprudence and its cont
... Show MoreKE Sharquie, MM Al-Waiz, AA Noaimi, Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal, 2008 - Cited by 1