Karbala Journal of Medicine

Background: Lack of physical ac-tivity is an important element for non-communicable diseases and early death. It is vital to increase physical activity levels among healthcare professionals. The aim of the study is to assess physical activi-ty motivators and barriers to physi-cal activity among health providers in Karbala City, Iraq.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study examined physical activity levels and motivations among 800 healthcare professionals in Karbala City, Iraq in 2023. A sim-ple random sample was drawn from selected hospitals and primary care centers in Karbala. The Arabic short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire “IPAQ” was used to measure physical activity levels. Demographic characteristics, percentages and frequencies were computed. Mann-Whitney U and the Kruskal-Wallis H tests were used to examine the association between activity levels and socio-demographics. A P-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Approximately one-third (33.6%) of healthcare professionals were classified as physically inactive. The "Inactive" category had a mean age of 33.79 years, with 36.9% males and 31.0% females falling into this category. There was no signifi-cant difference in activity categories by age, gender, or job title of healthcare workers. Key motivators were intrinsic factors like accom-plishment, experience stimulation, and knowledge. Fear of injury was the highest barrier 85.8%, followed by lack of skill 80.6%, and social influences 73.5%.
Conclusion: High rates of physical inactivity among healthcare profes-sionals highlight the need for targeted workplace strategies, leveraging in-trinsic motivation and addressing barriers around skills, environment, and safety concerns.

Background: Breast cancer is con-sidered an important public health topic owing to its high incidence, oc-currence, and death rate. It is a mul-ti-faceted disease with both envi-ronmental and genetic causal fac-tors. It is the first of the 10 most popular tumors triggering public con-cern in Iraq, compensating for 20% of all cancers and approximately 33 % of the total female cancers. This study aimed to study the demo-graphic characteristics of female individuals identified recently as having breast cancer with the clinical features as tumor characteristics, and stage at time of diagnosis.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was accomplished in the early detection of breast cancer clinic. Seventy women recently diag-nosed as having breast cancer were included in the study. Purposive sampling was done, all women at-tending the clinic and recently identi-fied with breast cancer based on clin-ical examination, imaging findings, and confirmed by histopathological assessment were included. The data was collected for those patients in-cluding; demographical, clinical, and histopathological findings, and were statistically analyzed.
Results: The mean age of females who participated in the study was 52.2±10.5 years. A positive family member's history of carcinoma of the breast was reported in (21.4%) of patients. Most patients presented with a painless palpable mass (74.3%). Stage II breast carcinoma was the predominance stage while invasive ductal carcinoma was the most common histological type (74.3%).
Conclusions: At the time of diagno-sis, a considerable majority of fe-male breast cancer patients have locally progressed disease, with the most common complaint being a painless breast lump.

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a type of lung infection that people can acquire outside of the hospital. One of the most serious complications of bacte-rial pneumonia is sepsis. It is a life-threatening condition caused by the body's response to an infection. The aim of this research is to find poten-tial diagnostic and prognostic mark-ers for community-acquired pneu-monia and sepsis. Specifically, the study examined the diagnostic value of procalcitonin (PCT) and complete blood count (CBC) markers.
Methods: One hundred twenty par-ticipants were selected and divided into 20 patients with sepsis due to CAP, 60 patients with bacterial CAP, and 40 control patients. All partici-pants were between the ages of 23-95 years old. Blood samples were collected from both male and female patients. All samples were diagnosed by doctors specializing in respiratory and chest diseases and internal med-icine. The study was conducted at Imam Al-Sadiq Hospital in Babylon Governorate and Imam Al-Hussein Medical City in Kerbela Governorate from December 2022 to June 2023.
Results: The results showed signifi-cant differences in PCT, white blood cells (WBC), lymphocytes (LYM), monocyte, granulocyte (GRA), haematocrit, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Haemoglo-bin also showed significant differ-ences, except for platelets, which did not show significant differences. The study found that PCT, WBC, GRA, NLR, and PLR were valuable mark-ers for diagnosing patients with CAP and sepsis due to CAP. Other CBC parameters were found to be less useful.
Conclusion: The study highlights the importance of using PCT and CBC markers to diagnose and manage patients with community-acquired pneumonia and sepsis.

Background: A common condition known as nurse burnout is character-ized by decreased vitality of nurses, leading to emotional exhaustion, decreased motivation, and feelings of dissatisfaction. This can lead to decreased effectiveness in their pro-fession. Although reducing fatigue is commonly associated with leader-ship style, it is unclear whether some leadership philosophies are more successful than others. This study designed to explore the link between dimensions of burnout dimension and leadership styles among nurses at Karbala City Teaching Hospitals.
Methods: A correlational descriptive study was conducted convenience sample method of 324 nurses in Karbala City, Iraq. Data collection was performed using a self-administer questionnaire. The first part contained items on participants’ characteristics, the second part was perceived leadership styles in the health sector questionnaire and the third part was the Maslach Burnout Syndrome Inventory questionnaire.
Results: Most participants were rela-tively young, with the majority (75%) between 20 and 35 years old, Females comprised a larger portion of the sample (nearly 70%) than males. Results indicated a particular correlation between leadership style and lower burnout among nurses.
Conclusion: Leadership style has a relationship to high or low burnout depending on the leadership style followed by the nursing officer.
Keywords: leadership styles, burn-out, nurses