Introduction The incidence of T1DM in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is particularly high at 36.99 per 100,000. The number of newly diagnosed cases in children (0-14 years) is estimated at 10,700 per year, constituting a major public health problem. Schools are important for secondary prevention, treatment and management of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM). Teachers need to be knowledgeable about diabetic emergences. Aim The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a health education programme on primary school teachers' knowledge and attitudes towards T1DM in children attending schools in Jeddah City, KSA. Methods A repeated measures non-equivalent groups design was adopted, with testing of the teachers at baseline, three month, and six month stages. Data was collected from 2013 to 2014. A structured, self-administered questionnaire was employed in Arabic. A total of 540 teachers were recruited in equal numbers by gender, of which 318 completed all test stages. The intervention consisted of a new and specially designed educational programme comprised of lectures and activities, with additional reading materials. SPSS was used for quantitative analysis of the data, and paired samples t-test and ANOVA were used to test for differences within and between experimental and control groups. Results No significant differences were found at the baseline pre-test stage between the groups in teachers' knowledge of T1DM in children, or their attitudes towards managing T1DM. The mean knowledge scores in the experimental group increased significantly at the post-test stage (three months), and again at the post-test 2 stage (six months). The mean knowledge scores of the control group fluctuated to some extent at the post-test and post-test 2 stages. The mean attitude scores in the experimental group showed significant increases at the post-test and post-test 2 stages, but there was no significant change in the mean attitude scores of the control group. Conclusion The results clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the intervention in improving teachers' knowledge and attitudes about managing T1DM in schools. The inexpensive programme could be integrated into the Saudi national child health programme, and policy and practice recommendations are proposed to the Ministry of Education.

This thesis draws on theoretical and empirical research on men and masculinities, and on social capital to inform understanding of the experiences of chronically ill men. Levels of chronic illness are increasing in the Western Global North, and this phenomenon has been linked with health-related behaviour (Crossley, 2000a). A growing literature has explored the ways that people experience chronic illness and the implications of that for their health and wellbeing (e.g. Williams, 2000; Bray et al, 2014). There is a need however for further research that seeks a gendered understanding of men’s experiences of chronic illness within a context of social relatedness. Connell’s (e.g. 1995) theoretical description of hegemonic masculinities set within the ‘gender order’ has stimulated much research that moves beyond a simplistic understanding of gender that often characterises work in Health Psychology. Similarly social capital has become widely used to conceptualise aspects of social connectedness and it’s links with health and illness (e.g. Hu et al, 2014). A qualitative, narrative approach has been employed here to explore the experiences of chronically ill men. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty five men to investigate the processes linking social capital, masculinities and experiences of chronic illness. A multi-level narrative analysis (e.g. Murray, 2000) was conducted on the resulting interview transcripts, and both case study and cross-case studies are presented in the thesis. The thesis demonstrates the value of a multi-level analysis (Murray, 2000) that incorporates the examination of personal, interpersonal, positional and ideological facets of men’s illness narratives. Key findings concerned the contestation of meanings of illness in men’s social networks, the gendered context to family conflicts related to illness, and the complexities of reciprocal care and support amongst families over time. Issues around employment and the workplace such as stress, and the negotiation of accommodations in masculinist workplace contexts are also explored. These findings point to the complexity and importance of interdependence and masculine identities, and their links with chronic illness experience. The association of social capital with entirely positive or negative outcomes or experiences amongst chronically ill men oversimplifies the diverse and context specific processes involved. A gender-sensitive approach to family systems and broader social connectedness with community and work contexts however can aid in understanding how the experiences of chronically ill men are shaped. The importance of theories and interventions that do not rest on models of unconstrained individual choice is particularly highlighted. Such work may be useful to health practitioners and in contributing to public discourse around chronically ill men.

This thesis explores household healthcare in the later seventeenth century, particularly the extent of household production of medicines based on medicinal receipts. Medicinal receipts were widely collected in the early modem period although the extent to which these recipes were in ongoing use has not been well-established. The aims of this research are to consider the health concerns and activities of lay women and men, to identify resources available for self-help healthcare, and to establish factors affecting selection and use of medicinal receipts. Accounts are analysed alongside family letters and receipt collections, from selected households in South West England, to identify medicinal supplies and medical services provided by apothecaries, physicians, surgeons and other individuals. Households differ in terms of ingredients purchased, preparations preferred, suppliers, therapeutic strategies used, and the extent of use of medical practitioners. Recorded ingredient purchases match few receipts although there is evidence of some favourite preparations being made. Other resources are considered, including gifts of advice and remedies, and plant ingredients from gardens and the wild. I argue that use of these other resources depended on factors such as knowledge, including plant identification skills, and material considerations, including labour availability. Purchased medicines appeared to become increasingly significant in self-help whilst opportunities for gift medicine may have been reduced. I contrast the gentlewoman healer and the patient consumer in their assessment of medicinal receipts, and their use of medicines with children. Both demonstrated strategies for maintaining therapeutic determination and influencing the approach of medical practitioners in relation to their own complaints. This study shows that medicinal receipt collections did not fully reflect the extent of lay healthcare activities and differences between lay household healthcare practitioners. It contributes to our understanding of the gendered shaping of domestic medicine, and the relationship of household healthcare to medical authority and the developing commercial and professional medical market in the eighteenth century.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.