Background: e-learning was underutilized in the past especially in developing countries. However, the current crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the entire world to rely on it for education. Objectives: To estimate the university medical staff perceptions, evaluate their experiences, recognize their barriers, challenges of e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, and investigate factors influencing the acceptance and use of e-learning as a tool teaching within higher education. Methods: Data was collected using an electronic questionnaire with a validated Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) for exploring factors that affect the acceptance and use of e-learning as a teaching tool among medical staff members, Zagazig University, Egypt. Results: The majority (88%) of the staff members agreed that the technological skills of giving the online courses increase the educational value of the experience of the college staff. The rate of participant agreement on perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and acceptance of e-learning was (77.1%, 76.5%, and 80.9% respectively). The highest barriers to e-learning were insufficient/ unstable internet connectivity (40%), inadequate computer labs (36%), lack of computers/ laptops (32%), and technical problems (32%). Younger age, teaching experience less than 10 years, and being a male are the most important indicators affecting e-learning acceptance. Conclusion: This study highlights the challenges and factors influencing the acceptance, and use of e-learning as a tool for teaching within higher education. Thus, it will help to develop a strategic plan for the successful implementation of e-learning and view technology as a positive step towards evolution and change.

Background: Nearly 60 million people suffer from Computer vision syndrome (CVS) globally, resulting in reduced work productivity. Objectives:To determine the prevalence of the CVS, describe the working conditions, visualize ergonomic factors, and prevent measures application among university staff members.Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a semi-structured questionnairethat included a validated CVS questionnaire on university medical staff members. Results:CVSprevalence was 81.2%. Dryness, headache, feeling that sight is worsening and difficulty in focusing on near vision were the most experienced symptoms. Asignificantly higher prevalence of CVS was among females (52.3%), having a higher mean work duration (21.65 ± 7.55 years), those who frequently use a smartphone (84.9%), and spend most of the screen time during day and night (87.1%). Visual ergonomics and preventives measures application such as a correct screen level, a regular cleaning of the screen, appropriate illumination, and use of eye drops were significantly associated with negative CVS.Conclusions: These results raised the attention for the essential need for visual assessment of the university staff members for early and proper diagnosis of CVS to minimize its impact on their working performance. Accordingly, it’s recommended to organize university-based awareness programs regarding CVS for the working personnel.

Purpose: The main objectives of the study are firstly to measure the COVID– 19 preventive health behaviors related among health care providers (HCPs), then to identify the determinants of such behavior using the protection motivation theory (PMT). Patients and Methods: An online cross-sectional survey, containing closed-ended questions, was distributed among healthcare professionals including physicians, pharmacists, technicians, and nurses. It consisted of questions assessing socio-demographic and occupational characteristics, in addition to questions from the modified PMT that has been tailored for the COVID-19 pandemic through five sub-constructs: perceived severity and perceived vulnerability, response efficacy, self-efficacy, response costs, and behavioral intention. Results: A total of 385 HCPs have participated in the study with a mean age of 40.08± 8.2 years; the majority was Saudi, married, and having children. There was a significant association between intention to comply with COVID-19 preventive behavior and being females, nurses, having training in Infection prevention and control (IPC) measures, and availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) during work time (p≤ 0.01). Other demographic variables, working experience, the status of being in the workforce during the pandemic COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia did not have a significant effect on the intention of HCPs to comply with COVID-19 preventive behavior. The vast majority 85.7% of HCPs answered “always” regarding the behavioral intention of HCPs to comply with COVID-19 preventive behavior. There was a significant positive correlation between COVID-19 behavioral intention and other constructs of PMT model, including perceived severity (r=0.272) perceived vulnerability (r= 0.248), self-efficacy (r=0.218), response-efficacy (r=0.167), and response-cost (r=0.13). Gender, availability of PPE, and self-efficacy had a significant prediction of COVID-19 behavioral intentions (P < 0.05) with a predicted increase of 0.56, 0.37, and 0.12, respectively, in the mean of the intention score. Self-efficacy was the highest significant predictor of the behavior (p=0.008). Conclusion: Females’ gender, nurses, having training in IPC measures, and availability of PPE during work time have a significant association with intention to comply with COVID-19 preventive behavior. The present study coping appraisal particularly self-efficacy predicted the COVID-19 pandemic protection motivation and preventive behavior more than threat appraisal. Therefore, future training programs must consider the level of self-efficacy of HCPS, and increase their knowledge regarding the effectiveness of recommendation strategies to perform protective measures against the COVID-19.

Since March 2020, a rapid increase has been observed in the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has essentially resulted from increased disease transmission and intensified testing and reporting. The international guidelines for the prevention and treatment of the COVID-19 pandemic have been frequently updated. Such guidelines assist the governmental regulatory bodies in taking optimal measures and safeguarding their citizens against the pandemic. We conducted a short survey with a Saudi cohort to understand the awareness about COVID-19 and estimate the responses for mitigation strategies. An electronic survey was conducted, and the first 388 responses were analysed for publishing an initial report. The questionnaire comprised 27 items and was divided into three sections, namely demographic, awareness, and response to mitigation strategies and participants' self-perceived behaviours regarding COVID-19. The perceptions of the participants were compared with their responses to mitigation measures. In our study, 89.7% understood the meaning of pandemic, while 82.2% correctly identified that the elderly belonged to a high-risk group for the COVID-19 infection. As many as 96.1% agreed that staying at home was one of the mitigation strategies. Nearly 35% preferred self-medication. Higher educational level (OR: 2.09, 95% CI: 1.02–4.29) and longer working hours were found to be significantly associated with a positive response to mitigation measures with p < 0.04 and p < 0.02, respectively. We report better understanding and appropriate response to mitigation measures towards the COVID-19 pandemic among the general population in KSA. Nevertheless, the tendency towards self-medication was reported by one-third of the responders.

Background: Patients with latent tuberculosis infection are mainly asymptomatic, but they still carry a notable risk of developing active TB, particularly when the host becomes immunosuppressed. Hence, appropriate diagnosis and management for LTBI are essential. Tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) are among the most commonly utilized methods for detecting LTBI. Until now, no agreement has been established regarding the most effective diagnostic test, either TST or IGRA, so our study aims to evaluate the diagnostic utility of TST versus IGRA in detecting LTBI. Methods: An extensive literature search was executed in several databases from inception till June 2024. We included all the available studies that compared TST versus IGRA concurrently applied to the same study participants, utilizing one of the following proxy reference standards: previous contact with a tuberculosis patient, tuberculosis history, chest x-ray suggestive of tuberculosis, or a combination of them. The sensitivity (SN) and specificity (SP) were imputed with their 95% confidence interval (CI). A bivariate random-effects model within the OpenMeta-Analyst software was utilized for data analysis. Results: We included 39 studies, and our primary analysis regarding LTBI revealed that TST has an SN of 0.320 (95% CI [0.254–0.393]) and an SP of 0.808 (95% CI [0.752–0.854]). Nevertheless, the IGRA exhibited a higher SN estimated at 0.362 (95% CI [0.295–0.434]) and a lower SP estimated at 0.758 (95% CI [0.700–0.808]). Regarding the adult population, TST consistently showed a lower SN and a higher SP relative to IGRA. However, within the pediatric population, TST showed higher SN and lower SP when compared to IGRA. Furthermore, TST also showed a lower SN and a higher SP within hemodialysis and organ transplant patients than IGRA. Conclusions: Our diagnostic test meta-analysis revealed that TST was associated with a lower SN and a higher SP than IGRA. Clinicians should interpret these findings with caution, considering the substantial heterogeneity observed across the included studies, the reliance on proxy reference standards, the potential influence of BCG vaccination status, and the considerable overlap in confidence intervals between TST and IGRA estimates across most analyses.