More knowledge is needed regarding what works to prevent oral health problems and reduce disparities in oral health. Motivational interviewing (MI) has demonstrated utility for improving health behavior, including among those with severe mental illness. This study tests whether MI enhances the efficacy of an oral health education intervention in individuals with severe mental illness. Sixty individuals were randomly assigned to MI plus oral health education or oral health education alone. Plaque scores, oral health knowledge, and self-regulation were assessed at baseline and at 4 and 8 weeks. Repeated-measures ANOVA showed improvement (p < 0.05) in plaque, autonomous regulation, and oral health knowledge across time for both groups; however, individuals receiving MI improved significantly more when compared with those receiving oral health education alone. Results suggest that MI is effective for enhancing short-term oral health behavior change for people with severe mental illness and may be useful for the general population.

Background: Cognitive abilities like language, memory, reasoning, visualization, and perceptual functioning shape human action and are considered critical to the successful interaction with the environment. Alternatively, hearing loss can disrupt a child’s ability to communicate, and negatively impact cognitive development. Cochlear implants (CI) restore auditory input thereby supporting communication and may enhance cognitive performance. This study compares general cognitive development after cochlear implantation (2017–2019) in two groups of Jordanian children implanted earlier (age:4–6 years,N = 22) and later (7–9 years,N = 16) to the development of randomly selected normal hearing peers (N = 48).Design: Visualization, reasoning, memory, and attention were assessed using the Leiter-R scale at baseline (before implantation), 8 months and 16 months post implantation for children with hearing loss. Same times of testing (baseline, 8 months and 16 months) were used for normal hearing peers.Results: Over the 16-month period, the cognitive improvement of 4–6-year-old deaf children was greater than that of their normal hearing peers on the scales of visualization (5.62 vs. 4.40), reasoning (2.53 vs. 2.38) and memory (17.19 vs. 11.67). while the improvement of 7–9-year-old was less major than that of their normal hearing peers on all scales.Conclusions: These results suggest that CI not only enhances communication skills but may improve cognitive functioning in deaf children. However, the extent of this improvement was dependent on age at intervention; current results demonstrated that the children received CI at young ages had better cognitive improvements.

The way that COVID-19 has been handled since its inception in 2019 has had a significant impact on lifestyle-related behaviors, such as physical activities, diet, and sleep patterns. This study measures lifestyle-related behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown using a 22-item questionnaire. The responses were collected from March 2021 to September 2021. A total of four hundred and sixty-seven Jordanian participants were engaged in assessing the changes caused by the pandemic and their effect on BMI. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were tested for 71 participants. Cronbach’s alpha values for the questionnaire exceeded 0.7, demonstrating good reliability and internal consistency. The effect of each question regarding physical activity and dietary habits over the BMI difference was studied using ANOVA. The study shows that more than half of the participants reported snacking more between meals and increased their sitting and screen time, while 74% felt more stressed and anxious. BMI difference among the individuals throughout the lockdown was significantly associated with these variables. In contrast, 62% of the participants showed more awareness about their health by increasing the intake of immunity-boosting foods, and 56% of the participants showed an increase in the consumption of nutrition supplements. Females and married individuals tended to be healthier. Therefore, their BMI showed stability compared to others based on their gender and marital status. Exercise, sleep, and avoiding ‘junk’ food, which contributes to weight gain and COVID-19 vulnerability, are strongly recommended.

Purpose: The present study aimed to assess the prevalence of upper limb pain and disability and to investigate potentially correlated factors among university students in Jordan. Methods: This was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey study that was conducted among university students. The upper limb pain and disability were assessed by the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) outcome questionnaire. The DASH outcome questionnaire was distributed to 2100 students from the population of 2 public and 2 private universities in the north of Jordan. Demographic and personal information were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis. Results: A total of 1929 DASH outcome questionnaires were returned, with a high response rate of 91.86%. The age of the subjects was between 18–28 years (52% male; 48% female). The majority of subjects (85.2%) used at least one smartphone. The majority of them had been using a smartphone for more than 5 years. The prevalence of upper limb pain and disability among university students was 24%. Several factors were found to be significantly connected with upper limb pain and disability among university students, such as smartphone use, computer use, the presence of musculoskeletal problems, not living with their families, using public transport (bus), and daily housekeeping. Conclusion: The results of this study can be used globally to promote the health and well-being of university students, improve their academic performance and future career. Identifying high-risk groups will assist in early identifications and prevention programs for upper limb pain and disability among university students.