Background:

Knowing patients’ expectation for medication after each consultation is of the utmost importance in designing public education programs on the rational use of drugs.

Objective:

To determine whether patients in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, expect drugs after each primary care consultation.

Subjects and Methods:

A sample of 985 Saudi patients aged 15 and above was randomly selected. A cross-sectional survey was carried out at five randomly selected primary care centers, using a self-administered questionnaire distributed to patients before being seen by primary care doctors.

Results:

Most patients (87.8%) always expect drug prescriptions. Eighty nine percent (88.9%) had been prescribed drugs in the previous consultation. Sixty six percent (66%) had received 2-3 drugs during their previous consultation. The majority thought it was too much. Seventy percent (70%) took all their prescribed drugs. Patients with intermediate and high school education had the highest compliance rate (32%). Twenty two percent (22%) thought it was always necessary to use a drug for an illness. The level of education of the majority of patients ranged from illiterate to various levels of pre-university education.

Conclusion:

Most Saudi patients expect drugs. General and specific health education should be given to both patients and doctors.

Objective:

Identify the types and prevalence of intestinal parasites among food handlers, and test the effectiveness of the current pre-employment screening policy.

Methods:

A cross sectional survey was carried out in the catchment areas of seven primary health care centres (PHCCs) to represent various sections of Riyadh city. A total of 700 food handlers working in restaurants were randomly selected from the study area. All study subjects were asked to complete a data collection form and to bring a fresh stool specimen on the specified day to the designated PHCC.

Results:

About 66% of the selected subjects complied in bringing fresh stool specimens. Fifty nine (12.8%) of the specimens were positive for parasites. There was a significant association between the food handler's nationality and the likelihood of a positive specimen result, being highest among the Bangladeshis (20.2%) and Indians (18.5%) and the lowest among the Arabs (3.4%) and the Turks (10%). The commonest intestinal parasites isolated were Giardia lamblia (33.8%), followed by Enterobius vermicularis (27.4%). The current screening policy does not seem effective, as there was an absence of significant association between holding a valid PEHC and the test result, with 81% of the positive results from persons holding valid pre-employment health certificates (PEHCs).

Conclusions:

Though it is obligatory for food handlers to hold a PEHC in Saudi Arabia, the prevalence of intestinal parasites remains high. Possible solutions include health education on hygiene, more frequent stool tests, and assessment of the current annual screening procedure.

Objective:

To find out the normal peak expiratory flow rate for adult Saudi males and to compare our standards with British standards.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was carried out in five primary health care centers representing Riyadh city in the period between 15th November through December 1993. Six hundred and eighty Saudi men who satisfied stringent criteria of normality were included in the study.

Results:

The mean and standard deviation of the subjects’ age and height were 28.4 ± 13 and 167.6 ± 6.4 respectively. Linear regression analysis was performed through step-wise procedure to determine the form of regression of peak expiratory flow on age and height. Regression curves were obtained and it was found that peak expiratory flow rate did not begin to decline until about the age of 25 years; and as height increased the peak expiratory flow rate increased in a linear relationship.

Conclusion:

It was demonstrated that our study group had lower peak expiratory flow rate compared with British people. These findings will serve as a basis for preparing flow rate values for our population.