Browsing by Author "Alharbi, Nasser S."

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    Faculty Members' Perspective on Virtual Interviews for Medical Residency Matching during the COVID-19 Crisis: A National Survey
    (MDPI, 2021-12-22) Aljamaan, Fadi; Alkhattabi, Fadiah; Al-Eyadhy, Ayman; Alhaboob, Ali; Alharbi, Nasser S.; Alherbish, Adi; Almosned, Badr; Alobaylan, Mohammed; Alabdulkarim, Hayfa; Jamal, Amr; Alhaider, Sami A.; Alsaywid, Basim; Bashiri, Fahad A.; Barry, Mazin; Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar A.; Alhasan, Khalid; Temsah, Mohamad-Hani; Medicine, School of Medicine
    During the COVID-19 pandemic, conducting face-to-face medical residency interviews was challenging due to infection prevention precautions, social distancing, and travel restrictions. Virtual interviews were implemented by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) as an alternative process for residency matching while striving to maintain the same quality standards. This national survey was conducted to assess the satisfaction and perceptions of faculty members' virtual interview performance in the assessment for the medical training residency programs. Among the participating 173 faculty members, 34.1% did not have previous experience with video-conferencing. The Zoom application was the most commonly used platform (65.9%). Most (89.6%) of the faculty perceived virtual interviews as "adequate" platforms on which the candidates could express themselves, while almost half of the faculty (53.8%) agreed that virtual interviews allowed them to accurately reach an impression about the candidates. Overall, 73.4% of faculty felt comfortable ranking the virtually interviewed candidates. We conclude that the acceptance of participating faculty members in the first Saudi medical residency training matching cycle virtual interviewing event was well-perceived. This study provides evidence for future application and research of virtual interviews in residency candidates' assessment, especially after the pandemic crisis resolves.
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    Healthcare Workers’ SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant Uncertainty-Related Stress, Resilience, and Coping Strategies during the First Week of the World Health Organization’s Alert
    (MDPI, 2022-02) Temsah, Mohamad-Hani; Alenezi, Shuliweeh; Alarabi, Mohammed; Aljamaan, Fadi; Alhasan, Khalid; Assiri, Rasha; Bassrawi, Rolan; Alshahrani, Fatimah; Alhaboob, Ali; Alaraj, Ali; Alharbi, Nasser S.; Alrabiaah, Abdulkarim; Halwani, Rabih; Jamal, Amr; Abdulmajeed, Naif; Alfarra, Lina; Almashdali, Wafa; Al-Eyadhy, Ayman; AlZamil, Fahad; Alsubaie, Sarah; Barry, Mazin; Memish, Ziad A.; Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar A.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Background: As the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged and spread globally at an alarming speed, healthcare workers’ (HCWs) uncertainties, worries, resilience, and coping strategies warranted assessment. The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe psychological impact on HCWs, including the development of Post-Traumatic Stress symptoms. Specific subgroups of HCWs, such as front-line and female workers, were more prone to poor mental health outcomes and difficulties facing stress. Methods: The responses to an online questionnaire among HCWs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) were collected from 1 December 2021 to 6 December 2021, aiming to assess their uncertainties, worries, resilience, and coping strategies regarding the Omicron variant. Three validated instruments were used to achieve the study’s goals: the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS), the Standard Stress Scale (SSS), and the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS)—Short Form. Results: The online survey was completed by 1285 HCWs. Females made up the majority of the participants (64%). A total of 1285 HCW’s completed the online survey from all regions in KSA. Resilient coping scored by the BRCS was negatively and significantly correlated with stress as scored by the SSS (r = −0.313, p < 0.010). Moreover, intolerance of uncertainty scored by the IUS positively and significantly correlated with stress (r = 0.326, p < 0.010). Increased stress levels were linked to a considerable drop in resilient coping scores. Furthermore, being a Saudi HCW or a nurse was linked to a significant reduction in resilient coping ratings. Coping by following healthcare authorities’ preventative instructions and using the WHO website as a source of information was linked to a considerable rise in resilient coping. Conclusions: The negative association between resilient coping and stress was clearly shown, as well as how underlying intolerance of uncertainty is linked to higher stress among HCWs quickly following the development of a new infectious threat. The study provides early insights into developing and promoting coping strategies for emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants.
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    Parental perceptions and the 5C psychological antecedents of COVID-19 vaccination during the first month of omicron variant surge: A large-scale cross-sectional survey in Saudi Arabia
    (Frontiers Media, 2022-08-16) Alenezi, Shuliweeh; Alarabi, Mohammed; Al-Eyadhy, Ayman; Aljamaan, Fadi; Elbarazi, Iffat; Saddik, Basema; Alhasan, Khalid; Assiri, Rasha; Bassrawi, Rolan; Alshahrani, Fatimah; Alharbi, Nasser S.; Fayed, Amel; Ahmed, Sheikh Minhaj; Halwani, Rabih; Saad, Khaled; Alsubaie, Sarah; Barry, Mazin; COVID-19 Saudi Research Consortium; Memish, Ziad A.; Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar A.; Temsah, Mohamad-Hani; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Background: With the rapid surge of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, we aimed to assess parents' perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccines and the psychological antecedents of vaccinations during the first month of the Omicron spread. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey in Saudi Arabia was conducted (December 20, 2021-January 7, 2022). Convenience sampling was used to invite participants through several social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Twitter, and email lists. We utilized the validated 5C Scale, which evaluates five psychological factors influencing vaccination intention and behavior: confidence, complacency, constraints, calculation, and collective responsibility. Results: Of the 1,340 respondents, 61.3% received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 35% received an additional booster dose. Fify four percentage were unwilling to vaccinate their children aged 5-11, and 57.2% were unwilling to give the additional booster vaccine to children aged 12-18. Respondents had higher scores on the construct of collective responsibility, followed by calculation, confidence, complacency, and finally constraints. Confidence in vaccines was associated with willingness to vaccinate children and positively correlated with collective responsibility (p < 0.010). Complacency about COVID-19 was associated with unwillingness to vaccinate older children (12-18 years) and with increased constraints and calculation scores (p < 0.010). While increasing constraints scores did not correlate with decreased willingness to vaccinate children (p = 0.140), they did correlate negatively with confidence and collective responsibility (p < 0.010). Conclusions: The findings demonstrate the relationship between the five antecedents of vaccination, the importance of confidence in vaccines, and a sense of collective responsibility in parents' intention to vaccinate their children. Campaigns addressing constraints and collective responsibility could help influence the public's vaccination behavior.
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    SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant: Exploring Healthcare Workers' Awareness and Perception of Vaccine Effectiveness: A National Survey During the First Week of WHO Variant Alert
    (Frontiers Media, 2022-03-25) Temsah, Mohamad-Hani; Aljamaan, Fadi; Alenezi, Shuliweeh; Alhasan, Khalid; Alrabiaah, Abdulkarim; Assiri, Rasha; Bassrawi, Rolan; Alhaboob, Ali; Alshahrani, Fatimah; Alarabi, Mohammed; Alaraj, Ali; Alharbi, Nasser S.; Halwani, Rabih; Jamal, Amr; Al-Eyadhy, Ayman; AbdulMajeed, Naif; Alfarra, Lina; Almashdali, Wafa; Fayed, Amel; Alzamil, Fahad; Barry, Mazin; Memish, Ziad A.; Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar A.; Alsubaie, Sarah; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Background: As the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant spreads in several countries, healthcare workers' (HCWs) perceptions and worries regarding vaccine effectiveness and boosters warrant reassessment. Methods: An online questionnaire among HCWs in Saudi Arabia (KSA) was distributed from Dec 1st-6th 2021 to assess their perceptions, vaccine advocacy to the Omicron variant, and their perception of the effectiveness of infection prevention measures and vaccination to prevent its spread, their Omicron variant related worries in comparison to the other variants, and their agreement with mandatory vaccination in general for adults. Results: Among the 1,285 HCW participants, two-thirds were female, 49.8 % were nurses, 46.4% were physicians, and 50.0% worked in tertiary care hospitals. 66.9% considered vaccination to be the most effective way to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant and future variants. The respondents however perceived social distancing (78.0%), universal masking (77.8%), and avoiding unnecessary travel (71.4%) as slightly superior to vaccination to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants. HCWs aging 55 or older agreed significantly with vaccine ineffectiveness to control Omicron spread, while those who believed in non-pharmacological infection prevention measures agreed significantly with vaccination for that purpose. Male HCWs had a significant agreement with mandatory vaccination of all eligible adult populations. On the other hand, unwilling HCWs to receive the vaccine had strong disagreements with mandatory vaccination. Conclusions: The current study in the first week of Omicron showed that only two-thirds of HCWs felt that vaccination was the best option to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant, indicating the need for further motivation campaigns for vaccination and booster dose. HCWs had a strong belief in infection prevention measures to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants that should be encouraged and augmented.