Aziz Al-Naamani

Psychosocial Aspects of Epilepsy in Oman: Attitude of Health Personnel

Summary:  Purpose: To assess with a questionnaire the awareness and attitudes of the doctors in Oman toward epilepsy. Attitudes of society toward epilepsy have a wide‐ranging influence, affecting issues as diverse as compliance with treatment and doctor–patient communication. Recent studies in both developing and developed countries suggest that within the medical profession, there is a lack of knowledge and negative attitudes toward people with epilepsy (PWE). There are no equivalent studies for Oman or the Arab world.

The ineffectiveness of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale for diagnosis in an Omani traumatic brain injured population.

Background: The rehabilitation of the traumatic brain injury (TBI) patient is especially challenging in non-western populations as the phenotypic indicators as well as the neurobehavioral assessments for the survivors of brain injury are limited. Objective: The study screened for the prevalence of anxiety and depressive states among patients with TBI and examined the validity of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) to identify TBI patients with comorbid affective dysfunctions, specifically anxiety and depressive disorders, in an Omani population. Methods: Sixty-eight survivors of TBI were screened with the semi-structured, Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and the HADS. A receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve was calculated to discriminate the power of the HADS for every possible threshold score. Results: The semi-structured interview revealed the prevalence rate of 57.4% for depressive disorder and 50% for anxiety disorder. The sensitivity (53.8%) and specificity 75.9%, gave the best compromise using the cut-off score of 4, suggesting HADS is not a useful screening tool for this particular population. Conclusions: Phenotypic indicators as detected by CIDI revealed that prevalence of affective dysfunctionality is common among this TBI population. Although the HADS is the most widely used screening instrument in other clinical populations, it does not appear to be a reliable resource in identifying depression and anxiety in people with traumatic brain injury in Oman.

Deliberate self-poisoning in Oman

OBJECTIVE  To describe the demographics, precipitating factors, substances and methods used for deliberate self‐harm in Oman.

Culture-specific pathogenicity of dhat (semen loss) syndrome in an Arab/Islamic society, Oman

A number of reports from different parts of the world have challenged the assumption that Dhat syndrome is confined to populations in and around the Indian subcontinent. This single case study reports an Omani with features typical of Dhat syndrome. Psychometric measures showed elevated scores on indices of hypochondriasis, psychasthenia, and gender role development as defined in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. He rated adequately in measures assessing cognitive and executive functioning. Implementation of cognitive behavioral therapy, concurrent with a successful marriage proposal, resulted in a gradual resolution of the symptoms. This report concludes with a discussion on whether his Dhat syndrome should be viewed as a culture-reactive or culture-specific syndrome.