Women's Quality of Life in Iran: A Mixed Method Study

Investigating various interventions to improve the quality of life of children and adolescents suffering from chronic diseases - a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

The transition from childhood to adulthood is an ups-and-down experience determined by increased independence, formation, and development of personal identity. Children with chronic diseases compared to their peers, face more challenges during this period that can exacerbate their symptoms and negatively affect their quality of life. This research aims to review the studies that have investigated the ways to improve the quality of life of children and adolescents with chronic diseases in Iran.

CONTENT

In this study, a search was done in the international databases of PubMed, Scopus, web of Science, Google Scholar, and the internal databases of Magiran and SID with related keywords including children, adolescents, chronic diseases, quality of life, health, nursing interventions were carried out from 2010 to July 2024. Exclusion criteria included summaries of conference articles and foreign articles other than Persian and English.

SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK

In the primary search, 363 articles were found. After removing duplicates and unrelated items, and finally, 36 articles (52.77 % in English, 47.22 % in Persian) were examined in line with the objectives of the present study. The results of the study indicate that non-pharmacological interventions can significantly improve the quality of life of adolescents with chronic diseases. Nursing interventions appear to have a positive and significant effect on the quality of life of children and adolescents with chronic illness.

The Effect of Religious-Spiritual Education and Care on the Quality of Life of Iranian Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

So far, several preliminary studies have been conducted on the effect of religious-spiritual education and care on the quality of life of women in different parts of Iran. Therefore, the current study aims to explore the effect of religious-spiritual education and care on the quality of life of Iranian women through systematic review and meta-analysis. Databases searched for studies related to the research objective include SID, MagIran, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, WoS, and Google Scholar. The search was performed using keywords linked to and validated with MeSH/Emtree with no time limit until April 2022. The I2 index was used to calculate the heterogeneity of the studies and the random effects model was used to combine the data and perform the meta-analysis. Finally, 14 articles with a sample size of 295 intervention group and 288 control group were included in the meta-analysis. The mean score of the quality of life after the intervention showed a significant increase of 1.87 ± 0.29 (95% confidence interval) per unit (P < 0.001). Meta-regression results showed that with the increasing year of study and age, the standardized mean difference decreased and with increasing the number of intervention sessions, this difference increased (P < 0.05). The results of this study show that religious-spiritual education and care significantly increase the quality of life of Iranian women. Therefore, it seems that the use of religious-spiritual education and care can be part of the program to increase the quality of life of women.

Quality of life and its related factors in women with substance use disorders referring to substance abuse treatment centers

BACKGROUND

Substance-Related Disorders are among the most common social problems caused by using legal and illegal substances. Therefore, this study aimed at determining the quality of life (QoL) and its related factors among women with substance use disorders referring to substance abuse treatment centers in Hamadan, west of Iran.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was carried out on 120 Iranian female substance users recruited through the census sampling method in 2018. Data collection tools consisted of demographic characteristics and QoL assessment (SF-36). Data were analyzed using SPSS-16 via one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and chi-square tests.

RESULTS

The mean age of the participants was 33.2 ± 12.1 years and the mean score of their total QoL was 35.35 ± 13.5. The results of multiple linear regression analysis indicated that using methamphetamine (β =  - 6.62) was the predictor of QoL in women. Moreover, there was a significant association between QoL and age (p < 0.001), educational level (p = 0.011), and age at first use (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

According to the results, the participants' QoL was found to be at an unsatisfactory level. So, it is essential to implement educational help-seeking behavior for treatment and effectiveness educational, as well as holding mental health intervention, school-based substance abuse prevention, and harm reduction programs of substance use. This is especially important in adolescents, young, low-educated, early drug use, and methamphetamine user women, as it may increase the QoL.