Medication error reporting (MER) is an effective way used to identify the causes of Medication Errors (MEs) and to prevent repeating them in future. The underreporting of MEs is a challenge generally in all MER systems. The current research aimed to explore nurses’ knowledge on MER by determining their attitudes towards reporting and studying the implicated barriers and facilitators. A total of 23 nurses were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. The saturation point was attained after 21 interviews. All the interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Four major themes and 17 sub-themes were identified. Almost all the interviewees were aware about the existence of the MER system. They showed a positive attitude towards MER. The main barriers for MER were the impacts of time and workload, fear of investigation, impacts on the job, and negative reactions from the person in charge. The nurses were knowledgeable about MER but there was uncertainty towards reporting harmless MEs, thus indicating the need for an educational program to highlight the benefits of near-miss reporting. To improve participation strategies, a blameless reporting culture, reporting anonymously, and a simplified MER process should be considered. arabic 26 English 137
Eman Ali M. Dyab(11-2018)

Introduction: Smoking causes substantial preventable morbidity, mortality and financial burdens. It is the main risk factor for many diseases and a significant cause of death. Smoking prevalence is high internationally and in Malaysia, especially among males. Smoking cessation is essential to reduce tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. Aim: To evaluate knowledge, attitude towards and practice of smoking among pharmacy students in the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a validated structured self-administered questionnaire among a sample of IIUM pharmacy students (n=251) from November 2012 to December 2012. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to summarise data and to examine the relationship between variables. Results: A total of 251 IIUM pharmacy students have participated in the survey. The median age of the participants was 21-23 years; 23.9% of them were males and 76.1% were females. The percentage of current smokers and ex-smokers was 0.4%, 0.8%, respectively. About 43% of the respondents had a good knowledge (score >16), more than half of them had a positive attitude (score >17), and about 38.4% had a good practice (score >11). Conclusion: Smoking prevalence among pharmacy students in IIUM is very low. However, conducting training and educational programs to improve knowledge, attitudes and practice of pharmacy students is highly recommended to assist their contribution to smoking cessation interventions in the future. arabic 15 English 87
Eman Ali .M Dyab(12-2018)

Vaccine hesitancy has surfaced globally within the last few decades, and the fears and misconceptions of people about vaccine safety and effectiveness have been identified as key factors for their under-utilization. The familiarity, attitudes, and religious beliefs of the public and of future healthcare practitioners regarding vaccination are extensive areas needing exploration. The present exploratory cross-sectional study was designed, planned and carried out on students enrolled in health science and non-health science courses in one of the public universities of Malaysia. A research instrument that had been formulated, validated and subjected to reliability testing was used to collect the data, which were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A response rate of80.8% (n = 202) was obtained: the majority were female (n = 161, 79.7%), and had been vaccinated before (n = 190, 97.5%), while a mere 2% did not support vaccination for reasons pertaining to safety issues. The vaccine familiarity score was 10.79±1.4, which significantly differed among the study disciplines (p< 0.001). The mean of the total attitude score was 14.95±1.5, with no significant difference among demographics being noted. The mean of the total religious beliefs score was24.29±2.8and significantly differed based on gender (p= 0.040) and study disciplines(p< 0.001). The current findings showed that the participants were familiar with vaccines and had generally positive attitudes and positive religious beliefs toward vaccination; thus, one can expect that their inclusion in immunization campaigns will generate positive outcomes of the immunization program. Although the current research reported few knowledge gaps, these may be handled with the introduction of a specialized immunization course at an undergraduate level.
Eman Dyab, Ramdan M. Elkalmi, Azyyati Mohd Suhaimi, Ali Qais Blebil, Mohamed Hassan Elnaem, Shazia Jamshed, Márió Gajdács(11-2021)