Iranian Nurses Perceptions of Cancer Patients Quality of Life

Machine Learning Based Healthcare System for Investigating the Association Between Depression and Quality of Life

New technological innovations are changing the future of healthcare system. Identification of factors that are responsible for causing depression may lead to new experiments and treatments. Because depression as a disease is becoming a leading community health concern worldwide. Using machine learning techniques this article presents a complete methodological framework to process and explore the heterogenous data and to better understand the association between factors related to quality of life and depression. Subsequently, the experimental study is mainly divided into two parts. In the first part, a data consolidation process is presented. The relationship of data is formed and to uniquely identify each relation in data the concept of the Secure Hash Algorithm is adopted. Hashing is used to locate and index the actual items in the data because it is easier to process short hash values instead of longer strings. The second part proposed a model using both unsupervised and supervised machine learning techniques. The consolidation approach helped in providing a base for formulation and validation of the research hypothesis. The Self organizing map provided 08 cluster solution and the classification problems were taken from the clustered data to further validate the performance of the posterior probability multi-class Support Vector Machine. The expectations of the importance sampling resulted in factors responsible for causing depression. The proposed model was adopted to improve the classification performance, and the result showed classification accuracy of 91.16%.

Current State of Palliative Care in Iran and Related Issues: A Narrative Review

BACKGROUND

Palliative research studies seem to be limited and disperse in Iran. The present study was therefore conducted to review and categorize the Palliative Care (PC) studies performed in Iran in terms of the research type, the type/focus of PC, the measured outcomes in interventional palliative studies and their related results, the disease type, and their geographical distribution.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This narrative review was conducted in 2021 in which both Iranian and international databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of science, CINAHL, ProQuest, Magiran, SID, Noormags, ISC were searched. The inclusion criteria were original articles conducted in Iran and results published in Persian or English journals ab initio in which PC was assessed as a variable (dependent or independent) or the main concept.

RESULTS

A total of 1096 articles were identified from which only 44 articles were reviewed. The research studies were mainly focused on cancer and majority conducted in Tehran. Majority of studies were quantitative-interventional leading to a variety of positive changes in dependent variables, including reduce in pain severity, change in life pattern, a good response to therapy, increase life expectancy, improve in dysphagia, improve quality of life, reduce patients' metastasis, and increase in nurses' self-efficacy.

CONCLUSIONS

The PC studies distributed across different fields and cities in Iran resulted to a number of positive outcomes for patients. More focused and robust research studies with different patients need to be conducted in this emerging field in Iran.

The Relationship between Nursing Students' Quality of Life with their Academic Achievement Motivation in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Background:

Quality of Life (QoL) and academic achievement motivation are important aspects of students' living and studying. There is a lack of studies to address the QoL of nursing students and its relationship with their academic achievement motivation in Iran. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate this relationship.

Materials and Methods:

This was a correlational study conducted with baccalaureate nursing students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, from December 2019 to February 2020. Data collection tools consisted of three parts: a demographic questionnaire, the World Health Organization QoL-Brief Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF), and the Hermans Achievement Motivation Questionnaire. Pearson correlation coefficient and standard multiple regression were used to evaluate the correlation between QoL mean domain scores and academic achievement motivation score.

Results:

The QoL mean (SD) domain scores of physical, psychological, social, environmental, and academic achievement motivation score were 14.95 (2.43), 13.42 (2.74), 13.96 (3.39), 13.62 (2.54), and 84.40 (7.73), respectively. Pearson correlations between physical, psychological, social, and environmental QoL mean domain scores with academic achievement motivation score was 0.30, 0.35, 0.12, and 0.22 (p < 0.05), respectively. Using standard multiple regression, psychological mean domain score (ß = 0.31) was the only statistically significant predictor of academic achievement motivation.

Conclusions:

Relationships exist between academic achievement motivation and QoL domains of nursing students, particularly in the psychological domain. This information provides policymakers to plan multi-faceted arrangements to improve nursing students' academic achievement motivation and QoL particularly in most neglected areas as the psychological aspect.

A Critical Review of Instruments Measuring the Quality of Life of Cancer Patients in Iranian Studies and Their Psychometrics Properties

Objective: Over the past three decades, more than 100 instruments have been developed that measure the quality of life. In order to ensure accuracy and authenticity of the measurements, it is essential to utilize the instruments that have proper psychometric properties. Therefore, this critical review study aimed at comparing the instruments that measured the life quality of cancer patients in Iranian studies. Methods: In this study, Persian articles published in Iranian databases (IranMedex, Irandoc Magiran, SID) from 2006 to 2016 were searched, using the following keywords: nursing, cancer, tools, scale, and quality of life. A total number of 159 articles were obtained, of which 33 articles complied with the inclusion criteria of this study and thereby were reviewed. Results: Sixty nine percent of the articles explored the life quality of adult females with breast cancer, and the most-commonly used instrument was a quality-of-Life instrument for use in international clinical trials in oncology belonging to the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. More than half of the studies referred solely to Iranian studies to address psychometric properties. Though, no method was introduced in order to address the validity and reliability of instruments in the articles under consideration. Conclusion: According to the findings, the studies which explored the validity and reliability of instruments concerning the life quality of cancer patients were scarce. Therefore, the researchers should pay further attention to the validity and reliability of instruments for selection of an appropriate instrument in this area of research. Also, the researchers are encouraged to further study the psychometric properties of relevant instruments so that optimal generalizability and authenticity of their findings can be attained.

Impact of a Spiritual Care Program on Spiritual Wellbeing of Oncology Nurses: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background:

Spiritual wellbeing (SWB) of nurses working in oncology wards is directly related to quality of care they provide. An increase in their SWB might lead to decrease in their spiritual distress and increase in their coping strategies. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a spiritual care program on SWB of nurses.

Materials and Methods:

This study is a clinical trial with before and after intervention groups, which was carried out on 65 nurses in Omid Hospital in Isfahan in 2017. Nurses were randomly assigned into control (n = 34) and intervention groups (n = 31). The data were collected through demographic and SWB scales. Spiritual care program consisting of eight sessions of four relationship-based domains, including relationships with God, self, others, and the environment, were carried out in the intervention group. Two care training sessions in oncology departments were conducted for the control group.

Results:

The results indicated that the differences in SWB mean scores between the intervention and control group after treatment were statistically significant (t = 2.58, p = 0.012). Also, SWB mean scores in the intervention group before and after treatment showed a statistically significant difference (t = 2.86, p = 0.008).

Conclusions:

The results showed that the spiritual care program might have a positive impact on the SWB of nurses working in oncology wards. Therefore, it is indispensable to promote and prioritize the SWB of nurses so that patients and their families will receive better health services.

The Effect of a Communicational Program on Psychological Distress in the Elderly Suffering from Cancer

BACKGROUND

Psychological distress is one of the most common psychological symptoms in elderly cancer patients. However, many of these patients do not receive any treatment for distress management. Therefore, we aimed to assess the effect of a communication program on the psychological distress of elderly cancer patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This two-group clinical trial with a before and after design was conducted in Al-Zahra and Seyed-Al-Shohada hospitals affiliated to the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2015. A total of 64 elderly patients were randomly assigned to two groups: experimental and control groups. A 3-week intervention (communicational program) consisting of distributing educational booklets, practices, and phone follow-ups was performed for the intervention group. All sessions were held during the 3-week period with sessions held twice per week both in the form of personal attendance and phone tracking, and the patients were encouraged to do the tasks assigned to them. The control group received routine care, and at the end of the study, the content of the sessions was explained to them. The demographic and clinical data of the participants were recorded, and all participants completed Kessler's Psychological Distress inventory at baseline and at the end of the 3-week intervention.

RESULTS

We found a significant difference in the psychological distress scores between the two groups before and after the intervention (P < 0.001, independent t-test). Moreover, the mean psychological distress scores decreased significantly in the experimental group after the intervention (P < 0.001, paired t-test).

CONCLUSIONS

Our communicational program had a positive effect on psychological distress in elderly patients with cancer. Therefore, this program could be used as an easy, cheap, and practical approach for reducing psychological distress in these patients.