Background: Following the remarkable spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), worldwide, it quickly became apparent that many public health systems worldwide were not prepared to manage such a pandemic. We aimed to assess the perceptions of primary care physicians (PCPs) in Jordan toward their role during COVID-19. Methods: A cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire was performed. The study participants included PCPs from the Ministry of Health, academic institutions, and the private sector in Jordan. Results: A total of 221 PCPs participated in the study. Most participants reported not having received any training on infection control (59.7%) or COVID-19 (81%). More than half PCPs (53.4%) felt positive about the way patients received and/or complied with their instructions. More than half PCPs (55.7%) educated their patients on protective measures against COVID-19 infection and considered this as part of their role and responsibility. Over 80% of the participants would apply social distancing, hand sanitation, facial masks, and patient education, but only half (51.1%) reported planning to order COVID-19 test kits. Conclusions: PCPs had a positive attitude toward controlling COVID-19 infection and showed a willingness to educate patients on how to protect themselves. However, PCPs should be provided special training on COVID-19.

Background: Rapid advancement of stem cell (SC) therapies provides both opportunities and risks for patients and physicians alike. Physicians have a role in counseling patients about unproven SC therapies, requiring a basic level of knowledge and access to information about SCs. Objective: This study sought to assess SC-related knowledge of and attitudes among physicians in Jordan to elucidate areas of deficiency that can be addressed. Methods: A cross-sectional survey, comprising questions on demographics and SC knowledge and attitudes, was designed as a scoring system to evaluate physicians’ knowledge and attitudes. Participants were recruited from 10 major hospitals in Jordan over 3 months between February and April 2019. The internal consistency of the scoring scales was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient. Gender differences were evaluated with an independent t-test. Results: 382 physicians in Jordan completed the survey (59.9% response rate). They demonstrated a low/moderate level of overall SC knowledge (51.3%), but most lacked confidence in their ability to answer patients’ questions about SC therapies (64.7%). However, the total attitude score was moderate/high positive (66.8%) and most were interested in learning more about SCs (80.8%). Male physicians reported significantly more knowledge than females (p<0.0001). Conclusions: This study reveals Jordanian physicians’ hesitancy to counsel patients about SC therapies, largely due to gaps in knowledge. However, overall attitudes toward SC research and therapies are positive. The results of this study demonstrate a need to cover SC-related information in medical curricula in Jordan, as well as to support initiatives to regulate SC tourism in Jordan.

Objectives: This study aims to determine females’ views, experiences, and attitudes regarding the cesarean section (CS) and to explore the factors that increase the prevalence of CS in Jordan. Method: This is a cross-sectional study using a questionnaire that was distributed electronically through social media websites. Study participants included 1005 females with a history of at least one CS. Awareness, experiences about CS, complications, and reasons for performing CS were investigated. Result: Most of the respondents stated that the source of there knowledge about CS was from the internet (36.2%) followed by family and friends (31.6%). The majority of respondents were satisfied with their CS experience (72.=8%). More than half of the participants (56.9%) reported that CS carries no risk for infants. About 53% of respondents stated that the most common reason leading women to choose to give birth via CS is the fear of labor pain. However, the majority of the respondents disagree with performing CS under maternal request (59.2%). Conclusion: This study indicated that Jordanian females don’t have reliable sources of information about CS. This leads to lower awareness of CS and its complications and, as expected, CS is more likely to be performed by privately insured women.