Dr. Maha Al-Sijari, from the Department of Social Service and Society at the College of Social Sciences at Kuwait University, was awarded the Distinguished Researcher Award in the field of Arts and Humanities for the academic year 2019/2020. Her win came from her participation in the research she presented on the topic "The Impact of Diwaniyyah Presence on the Health of Kuwaiti Men."
Diwaniyyah is a traditional gathering place for men in the Arab world. Most Kuwaiti men spend most of their time in diwaniyyah, which is an important part of their social activity. The current study aims to examine the relationship between the diwaniyyah as social community and the attendees' health conditions to determine how the diwaniyyah affects Kuwaiti men's lifestyle. A questionnaire was distributed among 500 men 16 years old and above. It comprised five parts of data: sociodemographic information, frequency of attending diwaniyyah, type of diwaniyyahs, and healthy lifestyle of members attending the diwaniyyah. A t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and linear regression were used to test the study's questions. A significant difference in negative effect of diwaniyyahs on attendees’ physical health was detected according to the participants' ethnic roots, affection for and length of time they spent in the diwaniyyah, time of day or evening that they visited, and dealing with chronic disease (p < 0.05). Also the results reveal significant differences in the positive effect of diwaniyyahs on the attendees’ lifestyle behavior according to their age, occupational status, religious affiliation, government, prayer time, and type of diwaniyyah