Background: The relation between depression and diabetes is bidirectional and both can lead to morbidity and mortality. Despite the success of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in managing psychiatric comorbidities, research on its use in the treatment of comorbid diabetes and depression is limited and with varying results. The aim of the study is to assess the efficacy of CBT on depressed patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted at an urban primary healthcare center in Egypt from February 2019 to March 2020 and included 80 participants. Key inclusion criteria were uncontrolled type 2 diabetes (T2D) (HbA1c >7.5%) and depression symptoms diagnosed by Beck’s Depression Index. Participants were assessed for all battery of instruments. Subsequently, participants were randomized to control and treatment groups. The treatment group received four CBT sessions. Both groups received a thirty-minute structured diabetes education and their usual diabetes treatment. Three months later, all participants were reassessed for depression and diabetes compliance and all labs were performed post intervention. Both the primary (the difference in HbA1c pre-post intervention) and secondary outcomes (the change in depressive symptoms assessed) were analyzed using ANCOVA. Results: Both groups were matching at baseline. Post intervention, the CBT group revealed a significant reduction in depressive symptoms while adjusting for Beck Depression Index (BDI) pre-intervention [F (1, 74) = 7.074, p = 0.010]. Moreover, HBA1c was improved significantly when controlling for pre-intervention BDI scores and BMI [F (1,73) = 4.27, p = 0.042] compared to the control group. Conclusions: The CBT program was both inexpensive and easily accessible. It could fit very well in primary care settings. The results indicated CBT intervention was effective in improving diabetes control and depression. However, a larger-scale study to test its effect on a larger scale population and its long-term impact is recommended.

Male partners must be considered as part of prevention of mother to child transmission(PMTCT) of HIV, because they often make key decisions which affect health of women andtheir children. Study objectives: To measure the percentage and level of male partner involvementin PMTCT. To identify some factors affecting male partners’ involvement. Methods: Itwas hospital based cross sectional study, done at Tumbi referral Hospital, Kibaha regionalhealth centre and Royal private hospital, at Kibaha Town Tanzania.107 HIV positive postnatalmothers, their male partners and their infants were included in the study. Questionnaire wasused for data collection and it has three sections: section I: Male partners, section II: Femalepartners and section III: Infants born from HIV positive mothers. Results: Male partners’ involvementwas, 62%. Their involvement was associated increase utilization of prevention ofmother to child transmission services. Friendly health care workers were the main factor affectingmale partner involvement. Nine percent of infants were HIV positive in Early HIV diagnosistest. Conclusion: It was concluded that male partner’s involvement was associatedwith increased utilization of mother to child transmission services.

BACKGROUND:Tobacco use is a serious public health challenge in North Africa, and health professionals play a vital role in tobacco control. In Egypt, limited data are available on the knowledge and attitudes of health care providers regarding tobacco control policies. Such data are especially relevant due to Egypt's tobacco control laws, adopted in 2007, prohibiting smoking in hospitals and other public places. This study surveyed 49 senior administrative staff, 267 physicians, 254 nurses, and 109 administrative employees working in El-Kasr El-Aini Hospital in Cairo, assessing their knowledge and attitudes regarding Egypt's tobacco control laws and barriers to their effective implementation in health care facilities. We also investigated the hospital's compliance with smoke-free policies.RESULTS:The majority (>90%) of the hospital workers knew that exposure to second-hand smoke is harmful to health. Physicians and nurses had a more favorable attitude towards the smoking ban when compared to administrative employees. Hospital staff identified the following barriers to successfully implementing the smoking ban: lax enforcement of tobacco control laws, the lack of penalties for violators, the lack of cessation programs, and the prevalence of smoking among physicians.CONCLUSIONS:Overall, smoke-free policies were poorly enforced in this large teaching hospital in Cairo, Egypt. Interventions to address the identified barriers to their implementation could include the provision of cessation training and services as well as effective communication programs to educate health care workers at all levels regarding the dangers of second-hand smoke exposure and effective measures for protection.

This study investigated behavioral and sociodemographic factors associated with tobacco use among female university students patronizing water pipe cafes in Cairo, Egypt. We interviewed two groups of female university student smokers (100 and 96 students from a public and a private university, respectively). The interviews took place in nine water pipe cafes near the two universities. A logistic regression model was developed to analyze the relationship between tobacco-related knowledge and beliefs and the choice between smoking water pipe or cigarettes. Among these smokers, 27% smoked cigarettes only, 37.8% smoked water pipe only, and 35.2% smoked both types of tobacco. Most of the water pipe smokers (74.1%) preferred this method because they believe it to be less harmful than smoking cigarettes. More than half of the subjects were encouraged to start smoking by other females (56.6%). Curiosity was a significant factor for initiation (OR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.3-6.2, p<.01). We found no significant differences between water pipe and cigarette smokers regarding current age, age at initiation, quit attempts, knowledge about the hazards of smoking, wanting to be fashionable, or smoking with friends. About one in four (23.7%) attempted to quit, with health cited as a major reason. An urgent need exists for correction of the misperception among this study population that water pipe smoking is safe and less harmful than cigarette smoking.