Knowledge, attitude, and practice of healthcare professionals towards irritable bowel syndrome: a multicenter, cross-sectional study.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a disorder of the gut brain interaction (DGBI) characterized by abdominal pain and altered bowel habits, affecting approximately 10% of adult populations worldwide. Comprehending the knowledge and attitudes of healthcare professionals towards IBS may enhance patient care, leading to more accurate diagnoses and improved treatment, ultimately elevating the quality of life for IBS patients. This multicenter, cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare professionals from 5 hospitals between June and August, 2023, utilizing a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 697 (92.1%) valid questionnaires were enrolled, with 499 (71.59%) females, and 358 (51.36%) being physicians. Their mean knowledge, attitudes, practices scores were 10.9 ± 9.57 (possible range: 0-30), 29.33 ± 3.39 (possible range: 7-35), and 35.67 ± 8.75 (possible range: 11-55), respectively. The structural equation modeling analysis demonstrated direct influence of knowledge on attitude (β = 0.195, P < 0.001) and practice (β = 0.410, P < 0.001). Additionally, attitudes were found to have a direct influence on practice (β = 0.607, P < 0.001). In addition, their KAP score varied with different gender, education, occupation, professional title, department, with families have IBS, years of work experience, and institution type (all P < 0.05). Healthcare professionals had inadequate knowledge, positive attitude and suboptimal practice towards IBS, which might be influenced by their sociodemographic characteristics.

Wang T ，Wu C ，Wang L ，Tang Y ... -  《Scientific Reports》

Erratum: Eyestalk Ablation to Increase Ovarian Maturation in Mud Crabs.

《Jove-Journal of Visualized Experiments》

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare professionals in the management of patients with hypertension and concurrent bronchial asthma: a cross-sectional study in the Yellow River Delta region of China.

To assess the Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) among healthcare professionals in managing patients with coexisting hypertension and bronchial asthma. A cross-sectional survey. The reporting of this study followed the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology checklist. From 30 March to 15 April 2024 at 66 various level hospitals and community health service centres. Physicians and nurses specialising in clinical internal medicine, each with over 2 years of practice and who provided informed consent. The demographic characteristics of the healthcare professionals and their KAP towards the Management of Patients with Hypertension and Concurrent Bronchial Asthma were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The primary outcome was the KAP scores. The secondary outcomes were the factors associated with the KAP scores and how the KAP dimensions interacted among them. The study involved 586 valid questionnaires collected from participants. Participants' median KAP scores were as follows: knowledge - 8 (IQR: 6-9), attitude - 31 (29-34) and practice - 41 (36-46) on scales ranging from 0 to 12, 7 to 35 and 12 to 60, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed having a Bachelor's degree or higher education (OR=0.614; 95% CI (0.421, 0.896); p=0.011), and a knowledge score ≥8 (OR=2.130; 95% CI (1.527, 2.973); p<0.001) significantly predicted adherence to recommended practices. Structural equation modelling revealed significant direct effects between knowledge and attitude (β=0.578, p=0.010) and between knowledge and practice (β=0.221, p=0.010). However, the direct link between attitude and practice (β=0.162, p=0.052) and indirect effect of knowledge on practice via attitude (β=0.094, p=0.052) were not statistically significant. Healthcare professionals exhibited limited knowledge, positive attitudes but suboptimal practices when managing patients with comorbid hypertension and bronchial asthma. It is crucial to develop targeted educational interventions and continuous professional development programmes to improve clinical outcomes in this patient population.

Yu F ，Xu W ，Ma X ，Yang Y ，Gao J ，Yan X ... -  《BMJ Open》

HIV Preexposure Prophylaxis Practice among Urban Female Sex Workers in Northwest Ethiopia: Using Generalized Structural Equation Modeling.

Asmare L ，Goshu A ，Alemu T ，Gebeye E ... -  《-》

Somatization symptomology and its association with stress in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) patients and Somatization Symptom Disorder (SSD) patients experience somatization symptoms relative to their corresponding processes. IBS patients may also have a diagnosis of both IBS and SSD. Somatization symptoms cause significant psychological, emotional and social distress. Conversely, stress in any form is believed to contribute to IBS symptoms. Whether stress mediated somatization symptoms in patients with IBS provide a pathway for these IBS symptoms is not as well understood. This cross-sectional study was performed at Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad between March 1st, 2023, and January 14th, 2024. Purposeful sampling was done to recruit study participants from three different populations as somatization is common in all three populations. As a result, there were three different samples in the study. Participants were eligible to participate if they had a diagnosis of IBS, somatic symptom disorder (SSD), or IBS with somatization (IBS-SSD) and were currently receiving treatment at the gastroenterology outpatient clinic and/or psychiatric outpatient clinic. Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15) and Somatic Stress Response Scale (SSRS) were used to assess somatic symptoms and their association of stress-related somatic symptoms. Data was entered and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Data was self-reported by the participants. The largest sample size 67(100%) was from the IBS patient population. Two other samples were small i.e., there were 21 (100%) participants in SSD sample, and a very few numbers of participants 12 (100%) in the IBS diagnosis with a comorbidity of SSD sample. Majority of the patients were young i.e., 50≤ (77.7%), (71.4%), (74.99%); and male (59.7%), (66.6%), (50.0%) from the IBS, SSD, and IBS-SSD samples. Majority of the participants in the IBS (56.7%) and SSD (61.9%) samples had a high school diploma or the equivalent. In the IBS-SSD sample, the largest percentage (41.7%) of participants had more than a bachelor's degrees. M = 85.67 (+/-23.26) for SSRS scores and M = 17.81(+/-5.28) for PHQ-15 scores in SSD patients. M = 75.21 (+/-19.59) for SSRS scores and M = 14.76 (+/-5.07) for PHQ-15 scores in IBS patients. M = 75.17 (+/-20.55) for SSRS scores and M = 14.92 (+/-6.27) for PHQ-15 scores in IBS-SSD patients. Many participants had somatization symptoms in the severe range (≥ 15) i.e., 34(50.7%), 17(81.0%), 6(50.0%) in IBS, SSD, and IBS-SSD samples respectively. Considering the PHQ scores by age in the IBS sample, highest mean scores were observed for the highest age group (60-69 years) i.e., 16.50 (+/- 5.68) despite fewer number of participants in this age group. PHQ scores also significantly differed by education groups i.e., significant differences were observed between education group 1 and 2 as well as group 2 and 3, p<0.05. On simple linear regression, PHQ-15 scores significantly predicted variations in SSRS scores, p <0.05, R2 = 69.6% for IBS sample, R2 = 68.7% for the SSD sample, and R2 = 66.0% for patients with IBS, SSD and IBS with somatization respectively. Stress related somatic symptoms are positively correlated with somatization complaints in IBS patients. Increased somatization scores were observed in the elderly. Targeted psycho-social interventions could help mitigate the negative effects of somatization in IBS patients.

Akhlaq S ，Kazmi N ，Kazmi SMH ，Atiq M ，Hussain S ，Bajwa A ，Ahad A ，Akhtar MY ，Akhlaq K ，Rizwan M ... -  《-》