Background: The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge and attitudes of Saudi Arabian citizens towards telemedicine during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was designed to carry out this study. The electronic survey, prepared using Google Forms, was distributed to 1500 randomly selected citizens of Saudi Arabia. A total of 330 participants completed and returned the questionnaire. Basic statistics were used to describe the data.Results: The majority of the respondents (73.9%) were female. More than half of them (54.8%) were >35 y of age and had graduate or postgraduate degrees (65.5%). A total of 96.7% of the respondents were Saudis. Most of the participants (70.0%) were familiar with the term ‘telemedicine’ and thought that telemedicine (92.1%) could reduce transportation costs. Of the respondents, 58.8% had not seen a telemedicine system before and 67.0% indicated that they had not previously used telemedicine services. A total of 87.3% of the participants agreed or strongly agreed that telemedicine was a useful tool during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, more than half of the participants agreed or strongly agreed that telemedicine facilitates the diagnosis of people (58.8%), increases communication (58.2%), reduces clinic visits (85.9%) and performs tasks quickly (70.3%). Also, 51.5% of the respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that telemedicine affects patient privacy.Conclusions: The outcomes indicated that most of the participants had a positive attitude towards the use of telemedicine as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. They believed that telemedicine saves time, labour and costs and is an effective tool to treat coronavirus patients at a safe distance. However, the government should develop programs to raise awareness in the population about the use of telemedicine for the treatment of various diseases that afflict the Saudi Arabian people. Likewise, a legal framework must be implemented to protect the privacy of patients and healthcare providers.

Objective: Our study aims to map the trends in obesity prevalence over the past four years and to describe the health, behavior, and psychological factors of people living with obesity in Saudi. Method: This is a secondary data analysis using the Sharik Health Indicators Surveillance System (SHISS) from 2020 to 2023. The SHISS dataset comprises cross-sectional telephone interviews carried out quarterly across all administrative regions of Saudi Arabia. Recruitment of participants was restricted to Saudi resident adults only. Results: The study analyzed data from 92,137 participants, with a balanced region and gender distribution. The average age of participants was 36.83 ± 13.68 years. The prevalence of obesity showed minor fluctuations over four years, with the highest at 22.2% in 2020 and lowest at 21.4% in 2023. This study showed that a slight decline in daily smoking rates was observed from 2020 to 2023 across all categories. Participants living with obesity reported a higher consumption of fruits and vegetables compared to their not with obesity counterparts. In addition, participants living with obesity engaged less frequently in physical activities compared to those without obesity. Moreover, people living with obesity have higher incidence rates of depression and anxiety, as well as various of chronic diseases. Conclusions: This study highlights the complex factors affecting obesity prevalence in Saudi Arabia. Despite progress, ongoing health promotion and disease prevention are crucial to address the persistent challenges driven by behavioral and socio-economic factors. Continued surveillance and longitudinal studies are essential to track trends in obesity, smoking, and physical activity, ensuring that health initiatives align with population needs.

Background: Weight regains after bariatric surgery presents a significant challenge to long-term weight management and overall health outcomes. While clinical and surgical factors influencing bariatric outcomes have been extensively reviewed, there remains a notable gap in understanding how behavioral factors—specifically dietary habits, psychological influences, and lifestyle choices—impact long-term weight maintenance. This systematic review addresses this gap, highlighting the unique role of these behavioral factors in sustaining weight loss post-bariatric surgery. Aim: This systematic review aims to explore the behavioral factors—including dietary, psychological, and lifestyle influences—associated with weight regain after bariatric surgery. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted across multiple databases, focusing on peer-reviewed articles published in English. We included observational studies exclusively focused on adults who experienced weight regain after bariatric surgery, with an emphasis on behavioral factors. Searches were conducted in MEDLINE via PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, with the last search completed on 10 July 2024. Studies published within the past 10 years were considered. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tool for cross-sectional studies was used to assess the risk of bias. A total of 16 studies met the inclusion criteria: 12 cross-sectional studies, 3 cohort studies, and 1 in-depth interview study. Results: The review found inconsistencies in the definitions of weight regain across studies. Nonetheless, three primary behavioral factors were identified as potentially contributing to weight regain: dietary non-adherence and eating patterns, psychological determinants, and lifestyle behaviors. Dietary non-adherence included high-calorie food consumption, excessive intake of sweets, carbohydrates, and sweetened beverages, and low protein intake. Psychological factors such as depression, anxiety, emotional eating, and binge eating were prevalent among individuals experiencing weight regain. Lifestyle behaviors, including physical inactivity, smoking, and sedentary habits, also played significant roles. Conclusions: Post-bariatric weight management is multifaceted, necessitating a comprehensive approach that addresses dietary, psychological, and lifestyle factors. Most studies on behavioral factors linked to weight regain were cross-sectional with small sample sizes, limiting the ability to infer causality. Future research should include detailed information on dietary adherence, standardized tools to assess physical activity and sedentary behavior, and validated measures for psychological health. Tailored interventions and continuous support from healthcare professionals are essential for maximizing the effectiveness of bariatric surgery, promoting sustainable weight loss, and enhancing overall health outcomes.

Background: Telehealth plays a key role in supporting health care systems and influencing methods of health care delivery. Government laws and medical operating protocols have been largely modified to provide remote care to reduce social contact and ensure a safer patient environment. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the Ministry of Health (MOH) introduced several forms of telemedicine as alternatives to face-to-face consultations in clinical settings. Objective: This study aimed to assess the awareness and utilization of telehealth services before and during the COVID-19 outbreak in the KSA. Methods: In this longitudinal study, we compared the awareness and utilization of 937-telephone health services (ie, a toll-free telephone service to provide medical and administrative health care services at any time for the population) before and during the COVID-19 outbreak in the KSA. Using a convenience sampling technique, a validated web-based questionnaire was distributed on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp) at 2 timepoints: before (February 2019) and during (May 2020) the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The study sample comprised a total of 1961 participants who completed the questionnaire before (n=1303, 66%) and during (n=658, 33%) the COVID-19 pandemic. Both awareness (before=46% vs during=78%) and utilization (before=42% vs during=48%) of the 937-telephone health services increased significantly during the pandemic (P<.001). No significant association of the awareness or utilization of 937-telephone health services before and during the COVID-19 pandemic was found with respect to the participants’ age, education level, having children, or having any chronic disease. Conclusions: Our findings indicate significant increases in the awareness and utilization of 937-telephone health services during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting an increase in public acceptance of the service and providing evidence of an equitable telemedicine service for the population. Further studies are needed to provide a deeper understanding of the barriers and facilitators to the use of 937-telephone health services for different groups of the population.

The concept of wellness goes beyond the traditional definition of health, representing a holistic and evolving spectrum that combines lifestyle choices with health-related behaviors. A systematic search was performed across Web of Science, Scopus, Medline, and PubMed, covering all published articles till 2024. From an initial pool of 1619 papers 12 met the inclusion criteria. The review identified thirteen wellness frameworks, analyzing their aspects and importance for women’s health. These models span from fundamental frameworks, such as Dunn’s High-Level Wellness, to more modern paradigms, like Kauppi’s Wellness Consensus Model. Numerous deficiencies were discerned during the examination, especially concerning cultural pertinence and empirical substantiation. Many prevailing models are entrenched in Western frameworks, constraining their universal applicability, particularly in non-Western environments. Additionally, considerations that are specific to gender, such as reproductive health, caregiving duties, and the equilibrium between professional and personal spheres, are frequently neglected in these models, thereby impeding their efficacy in addressing the distinct wellness challenges confronted by women. The results underscore the pressing necessity for formulating more inclusive wellness frameworks sensitive to gender and adaptable to diverse cultural contexts. Such models would better meet women’s holistic health requirements by recognizing the varied social, cultural, and economic influences that affect their overall well-being. This study enriches the ongoing dialogue regarding wellness by advocating for a trajectory toward more comprehensive and representative wellness models for women across various global contexts.

Background: Patients experiencing cardiac arrest outside medical facilities are at greater risk of death and might have negative neurological outcomes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation duration affects neurological outcomes of such patients, which suggests that duration of CPR may be vital to patient outcomes. Objectives: The study aims to evaluate the impact of cardiopulmonary resuscitation duration on neurological outcome of patients who have suffered out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Methods: This is a quantitate cross-sectional study where data is collected from emergency cases handled by a secondary hospital in industrial Jubail, Saudi Arabia, between January 2015 and December 2020. There were 257 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases, 236 of which resulted in death. The outcome is the survival of OHCA or death, and the neurological outcome by the cerebral performance category (CPC) score for survivors. A score of 1 or 2 defined as good CPC outcome and 3, 4, and 5 as poor outcome. Results: The mean for the duration of emergency CPR procedures in surviving patients is 26.5 ± 7.20 min, whereas in patients who died after the procedure it is 29.6 ± 9.15 min. Bivariate analysis showed no significant association between duration of CPR and Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) outcome but could be significant if the sample size is large. Age, however, is significantly related to the survivorship of OHCA and to a better CPC outcome. Younger patients are more likely to have better CPC outcome. A good CPC outcome was reported with a limited duration of 8.1 min of CPR, whereas, poor CPC outcomes were associated with prolonged periods of CPR, 13.2 min. Conclusion: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Duration out-of-hospital cardiac arrest does not significantly influence the patient neurological outcome in the current study hospital. Variables such as the patient population's uniqueness, underlying medical conditions, or the specific study conditions may explain this variance between the bivariate analysis and the study conclusion. Therefore, a more comprehensive study is recommended in future.