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Prevention of second-hand smoke exposure among pregnant women and children in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East: a mixed-methods investigation

Research Authors
Zeinab M Hassanein
Research Date
Research Journal
University of Nottingham
Research Publisher
University of Nottingham
Research Year
2023
Research Abstract

Second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure is a major public health concern. Pregnant women and children are a priority population for tobacco control efforts because second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure during pregnancy/childhood poses serious risks to foetal/child health. Due to strong cultural constraints against women smoking in many Middle Eastern countries, the prevalence of tobacco smoking is higher among men than women, which puts non-smoking women and children on risk of exposure to SHS. The Middle Eastern countries are Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. In Egypt, daily SHS exposure among pregnant non-smoking women and children is estimated to be more than 50% at home and more than 70% in public places. The aim of the current thesis is to investigate the experience of SHS exposure among pregnant women and children in Middle Eastern countries with focus on Egypt, barriers and facilitators to reduce it, and to come up with recommendations on how to reduce this exposure. Three studies were conducted to achieve this aim. The first study aimed to identify, appraise, and synthesize the evidence related to experiences and views of parents, children, and professionals on the prevention of second-hand smoke exposure to women and children in Middle Eastern countries by conducting a qualitative systematic review. Six databases and grey literature were searched from inception to January 2021 to identify published and unpublished studies. No language restrictions were applied. The JBI guidelines …