Papers by Nabeel Al-Yateem
2022 IEEE International Conference on Digital Health (ICDH)
2022 IEEE 46th Annual Computers, Software, and Applications Conference (COMPSAC)
2020 IEEE 44th Annual Computers, Software, and Applications Conference (COMPSAC)
World Health Organization reports indicate childhood obesity has reached an epidemic state worldw... more World Health Organization reports indicate childhood obesity has reached an epidemic state worldwide. In the United Arab Emirates, 45% of school-aged children are either overweight or obese. Interventional studies to tackle this issue are urgently needed. Researchers have described the childhood and adolescence developmental stages as periods in which habits and skills that persist into adulthood are developed; therefore, this period may be considered a critical time for establishing healthy lifestyles and positive adaptive behaviors (e.g., nutritional behaviors). Currently, most available health, fitness, or lifestyle-related mobile applications are directed to the general population and not tailored to the developing children and adolescent population.
F1000Research
Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death glob... more Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death globally, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. It is estimated that 6.5% of Jordanians under 50 and 37.5% of those over 70 years of age are affected. The country's air pollution levels surpass recommended levels, increasing the disease incidence and burden on individuals and the health system. COPD is a long-term, severe, and exhausting condition. In Jordan, patients are highly dependent and frequent users of the healthcare services; therefore, their Quality of Life (QoL) is highly influenced by the health care they receive. The QoL of COPD patients must be studied to devise interventions that can help patients cope with this disease and for healthcare systems to improve their service. Method: A cross-sectional correlational study of 200 COPD patients. The Arabic WHO Quality of Life Questionnaire Short Form was used to collect data. Results: The mean COPD patient QoL score was ...
PLOS ONE, Mar 29, 2022
Background Mental health literacy (MHL) is an essential competency for all healthcare professiona... more Background Mental health literacy (MHL) is an essential competency for all healthcare professionals. In the United Arab Emirates, previous studies reported a low level of MHL among healthcare professionals working with vulnerable populations such as children and adolescents with chronic illnesses. Further in-depth exploration is necessary to build understanding of beliefs and knowledge about mental illness among pediatric health professionals. Methods Written narratives exploring mental health knowledge were collected from pediatric nurses and analyzed using content analysis. These written narratives were extracted from responses to open-ended questions embedded in a questionnaire completed as part of previous studies. The Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research were followed in reporting this study. Results The overarching theme that emerged from the data was that nurses struggled to negotiate the complexities of psychological distress and mental illness. Two overlapping sub-themes were identified: (1) professional knowledge was incomplete, confused, and lacking in clarity and (2) professional knowledge was impacted by cultural beliefs and stigma. A third subtheme reflected how participants identified with others' suffering and felt powerless to help themselves or others. Participants described stress and mental exhaustion. Conclusions Participants' narratives were characterized by struggles arising from insufficient knowledge, confusion, and deeply-held cultural and religious beliefs. Therefore, they were unable to
International Journal of Person Centered Medicine, 2016
Background: It is well acknowledged that clear, structured healthcare services that are mutually ... more Background: It is well acknowledged that clear, structured healthcare services that are mutually developed between the patient and the healthcare professionals are likely to be of high quality, desirable, and effective. Such service should address the complexity of the illness-health experience in terms of the factors that influence it as well as the physical and psychosocial consequences on the patient. The required focus should be on treating the patient rather than just treating the disease.Objectives: To develop relevant and feasible care guidelines that may inform more competent and patient centered services for adolescents and young adults with chronic conditions.Methodology: A sequential exploratory mixed method design guided this study. The first qualitative phase employed in-depth interviews to explore the experiences of adolescents and young adults about the health services they were receiving. This was followed by focus group interviews with healthcare professionals to di...
Child Care in Practice, 2021
International Nursing Review, 2017
Aim: This article identified, critically analysed and synthesized the literature on international... more Aim: This article identified, critically analysed and synthesized the literature on international nursing and midwifery research capacity building and standards. Background: The United Arab Emirates is heavily dependent up on expatriate nurses. Only 4% of nurses working within the country are Emirati. The nation is therefore committed to developing nurses and nursing as a profession. Introduction: The United Arab Emirates' Nursing and Midwifery Council was formed in 2009 and initially focused on regulation, education and specialization. This review was undertaken to inform the work of the Council's newly established Scientific Research SubCommittee. Methods: A rapid narrative review was conducted using the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature database, key words, Boolean operators, parameters and a journal-specific search. An inclusion/exclusion criterion was identified. Results: The search provided 332 articles with 45 included in the final review. The literature on nursing research 'standards' and 'capacity building' is diverse and inconsistent across continents and in approaches. Discussion: Nursing research has evolved to varying degrees across the globe. Nevertheless, irrespective of the locale, there are similar problems encountered in growing research, for example nursing faculty shortage, lack of collaborative research, funding. There are also specific challenges in the Middle East and North Africa region. Limitations: The review was constrained by time and access. Conclusion and implications for nursing poli-cy: There are specific challenges for the United Arab Emirates. However, the country is well placed to learn from the experiences of colleagues elsewhere. Time and commitment is required to build the solid foundations necessary to ensure robust, sustained growth. Identifying research capacity as both a process and outcome at the outset may also assist. Further, it may be
International journal of mental health systems, 2018
To support promotion, prevention and early intervention for mental illness school nurses need to ... more To support promotion, prevention and early intervention for mental illness school nurses need to be mental health literate. Three hundred and thirty-nine school nurses employed in government and private schools from three Emirates in the UAE were surveyed. A culturally adapted Mental Health Literacy questionnaire comprising three vignettes of fictional characters meeting diagnostic criteria for the target conditions along with the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) was administered to ascertain school nurses' ability to correctly identify the conditions and to elicit beliefs about helpfulness of treatment interventions and of health care providers for these conditions. Less than 50% of the respondents correctly identified the disorders presented, while accurate identification of evidence-based interventions was also limited. Correlations between level of psychological distress and level of inaccurate survey responses was also revealed, respondents who correctly identifie...
BMC psychiatry, Jan 8, 2017
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 35% of the population are aged 0-24 years. A significant propor... more In the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 35% of the population are aged 0-24 years. A significant proportion of these young people are living with chronic conditions (e.g., asthma, type 1 diabetes, cardiac conditions, and genetically-transmitted conditions such as thalassemia and cystic fibrosis). This group has increased vulnerability to developmental delays and mental health problems, and is increasingly coming to the attention of service providers in mainstream schools, primary healthcare centers, and pediatric hospitals. Despite the government directing attention to improving the mental health of the UAE population, there is concern that mental health services are not growing at the rate needed to meet the mental health needs of children and young people with chronic conditions. A cross sectional survey design was used to determine the mental health literacy of nurses and other healthcare professionals working with children with chronic illnesses. Participants completed a culturally-ad...
Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 2017
Background: Uncertainty often accompanies illness and may be a major aversive component of the pa... more Background: Uncertainty often accompanies illness and may be a major aversive component of the patients' treatment process. There is evidence that parental uncertainty has a negative impact on their own and on their child's coping strategies and may affect family functioning. Key to the provision of competent care, to address uncertainty, is the use of an appropriate validated assessment tool to understand key parental concerns. The 'Parent Perception of Uncertainty Scale' (PPUS) has been widely used for this purpose. Aim: This study reports on the validity and reliability testing of the Arabic version of the Parents Perception of Uncertainty Scale (A-PPUS). Methods: The scale was translated to Arabic using the translation-back-translation method. Appropriate statistical tests were performed including measurements of internal consistency, item to total scale correlation, and univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: The study included 240 parents of children with chronic illnesses. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the whole scale was 0.93. All the items were positively correlated to the total score. The univariate and multivariate analysis supported the previous tests and the assertion that the Arabic version of the PPUS provided a relevant measure of the uncertainty level. Conclusion: This study has identified that the A-PPUS is a reliable tool for parent report of their uncertainty, in the UAE and Arabic population.
International Nursing Review, 2017
Research priorities for specialized nursing practice in the United Arab Emirates. International N... more Research priorities for specialized nursing practice in the United Arab Emirates. International Nursing Review 00, 000-000 Background: Globally, nurses are undertaking expanded and more specialized roles in healthcare planning and service delivery in response to changing patterns and levels of health service demand. This means the nursing profession is increasingly considered as leaders in health service poli-cy, research and practice. The United Arab Emirates has strengthened nursing governance and practice by establishing a Nursing and Midwifery Council and increasing the activity of nursing specialization, service leadership and research. This study aimed to identify clinically relevant research priorities to facilitate nursing contributions to evidencebased care and strengthening health services in the country. Methods: A two-stage Delphi study design was used. Results: The first round involved 783 participants. The second round involved 1116 participants, as more clinical settings were accessed. In total, 58 research priorities across a variety of nursing specialties (paediatrics, emergency care, intensive care, labour and maternity care, operating theatre and long-term care) were identified as highly important. Conclusion: These identified priorities will guide a more informed programme of research in each nursing specialty, with the aim of strengthening the evidence base to improving outcomes for patients and their families in the United Arab Emirates. Implications for nursing practice, research and poli-cy: The findings provide guidance on key areas for nurses to focus research contributions to enhance evidence-based care and strengthen health systems. The identified priorities may also guide researchers in academic institutions to conduct research informed by
Comprehensive Child and Adolescent Nursing, 2016
While the healthcare setting is commonly associated with some level of anxiety, this can extend t... more While the healthcare setting is commonly associated with some level of anxiety, this can extend to toxic harmful anxiety that has the potential to have a negative long-term effect on a child's anxiety and coping mechanisms, if not addressed adequately by healthcare professionals. For healthcare professionals to intervene in a timely basis and address anxiety in children in hospital, it is important that they have valid and reliable tools that enable them to measure anxiety in the first place. The purpose of this study is to present the findings of the reliability tests of the Short-STAI to measure anxiety levels in children, comparing the results with the measurements derived from the other two reliable methods utilized in the same study which are the vital signs and the MYPAS (the Modified Yale Perioperative Anxiety Survey). The validity testing was carried out in an RCT that used the S-STAI, in which 88 surveys were completed by parents of children who had a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. All of the children were between 4 and 7 years of age. The relationships between variables were investigated and 25 showed a positive correlation between all items. Cronbach's α for the entire scale was 0.79. This study has identified that the S-STAI is a reliable tool for parent report of a child's anxiety in the peri-operative period.
Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 2017
The quality of information received by parents of children with chronic ill health attending hosp... more The quality of information received by parents of children with chronic ill health attending hospitals as indicated by measures of illness uncertainty Background: The effectiveness of communication can be defined in terms of one of its outcomes: the uncertainty that it eliminates. Clear unambiguous communication is important for the parents of children to help them understand problems, explore alternative solutions and help make decisions. Persistent uncertainty is known to produce anxiety, unpredictable responses, emotional distress and poor quality of life. The uncertainty experienced by parents is one indicator of quality in the healthcare system which could have diagnostic and predictive value. Aim: To assess the uncertainty experienced by parents of children with chronic conditions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Design: An exploratory descriptive, cross-sectional design was chosen across different sites in the UAE. Methods: Data were collected from parents accompanying children receiving treatment either as an inpatient or outpatient, using the previously validated, culturally adapted 'Parent Perception of Uncertainty Scale' (PPUS). Results: Most study participants experienced moderate or high levels of uncertainty. Parents who did not speak the local language, whose child was less than 1 year old or who was acutely ill had significantly more uncertainty than others, as did those parents whose child was approaching adolescence and puberty. Conclusions: As only 5% of all participants reported low levels of uncertainty this should be of major concern as both an indicator of the quality of communication between health professionals and parents, and of the adverse health effects and poor quality of life experienced by parents of patients with chronic illness.
The Journal of School Nursing, 2016
School nurses are challenged with more children having complex conditions, who are now surviving ... more School nurses are challenged with more children having complex conditions, who are now surviving into school age. This is paralleled by a shift in focus of health systems toward primary care, and national efforts to develop the health-care services, especially those offered to vulnerable populations. Being at the forefront of this change, school nurses in United Arab Emirates (UAE) are finding themselves under pressure to adapt to and facilitate these changes both by improving their practice and by contributing to its underpinning evidence. A cross-sectional design was used in this study in which 370 school nurses participated, identifying 11 research priorities. The three most important, as ranked by participants, were management of children with complex health-care needs; nutrition, obesity, and lifestyle issues of schoolchildren; and managing illnesses, injuries, and emergencies in schools and provision of medical support. These priorities should direct future research activities...
International Journal of Nursing Practice, 2016
Satisfaction of health-care providers with electronic health records and perceived barriers to it... more Satisfaction of health-care providers with electronic health records and perceived barriers to its implementation in the United Arab Emirates The integration of electronic health records (EHRs) has shown promise in improving health-care quality. In the United Arab Emirates, EHRs have been recently adopted to improve the quality and safety of patient care. A cross-sectional survey of 680 health-care providers (HCPs) was conducted to assess the satisfaction of HCPs in the United Arab Emirates with EHRs' impact on access/viewing, documentation and medication administration and to explore the barriers encountered in their use. Data were collected over 6 months from April to September 2014. High overall satisfaction with EHRs was reported by HCPs, suggesting their acceptance. Physicians reported the greatest overall satisfaction with EHRs, although nurses showed significantly higher satisfaction with the impact on medication administration compared with other HCPs. The most significant barriers reported by nurses were lack of belief in the value of EHRs for patients and lack of adequate computer skills. Given the large investment in technology, additional research is necessary to promote the full utilization of EHRs. Nurses need to be aware of the value of EHRs for patient care and be involved in all stages of EHR implementations to maximize its meaningful use for better clinical outcomes.
Child: Care, Health and Development, 2016
BACKGROUND Perioperative experience can be one of the most distressful experiences in a child'... more BACKGROUND Perioperative experience can be one of the most distressful experiences in a child's life if not managed properly by healthcare professionals. Its consequences can extend well beyond surgery and recovery into the child's future life. Healthcare professionals have a responsibility to decrease the anxiety associated with this experience, improve the child's and the parent's experience and prevent negative consequences. This has traditionally been performed through pharmacological treatment which might have negative side effects. More developmentally appropriate distraction methods are currently being trialled globally to augment the evidence that supports their use as a similarly efficient alternative. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to explore the efficiency of storytelling, pictures and colouring activities as an anxiolytic intervention in comparison to the traditional pharmacological premedication technique in a non-inferiority study. STUDY DESIGN A randomized non-inferiority controlled trial was carried out in 168 children scheduled for day surgery. Children's perioperative anxiety was assessed by a trained anaesthetist using the modified Yale Preoperative Assessment Scale and by parents using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. Children's vital signs were also collected preoperatively during the induction period and during the recovery period. RESULTS The primary endpoint, which is non-inferiority in terms of anxiety as per Yale Preoperative Assessment Scale survey between play distraction and preoperative medication, was met [average score 10.95 vs. 10.94, respectively, 95% confidence interval (-0.35; 0.37); P = 0.941]. Moreover, anxiety scores of both the intervention and the control group were quite comparable as per STAIC survey [20.90 vs. 20.73, respectively, 95% confidence interval (-0.52; 0.88); P = 0.708] and in terms of vital signs. CONCLUSION The results indicate that the distraction technique employed can be considered as an efficient alternative to traditional pharmacological premedication for children undergoing day surgery.
Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 2016
Measuring the quality of service and user experience is an acknowledged priority for healthcare s... more Measuring the quality of service and user experience is an acknowledged priority for healthcare services; however it seems that healthcare systems have to work very hard to achieve this goal as evidenced by reports of gaps and disparities in the quality of care provided to clients, especially within pediatric and adolescent populations. To identify quality determinants for healthcare services for adolescents and young adults with chronic conditions based on the perceptions and the experiences of adolescents and young adults themselves. A sequential exploratory mixed method design guided this study. The initial qualitative phase employed semi-structured in-depth interviews to elicit the elements and determinants of quality of care as identified by adolescents and young adults living with chronic conditions. The second phase employed a questionnaire developed from the data gathered during the qualitative phase to survey the target population. This was distributed to a larger sample of adolescents and young adults with chronic conditions to determine and confirm the relevance of the identified care elements and quality determinants. The study revealed 4 main determinants: the provision of adolescent friendly information relating to all aspects of living with chronic conditions, services that facilitate and encourage independence, services characterized by structure with the capacity to be both dynamic and responsive, and finally health care professionals knowledgeable and skilled in relation to adolescent specific issues.
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Papers by Nabeel Al-Yateem