A Study of the Use of Medicinal Plants by Persons With Type 2 Diabetes in Iran

Medicinal plants are used by many people with Type 2 diabetes in Iran. The aim of this study was to explore why this is so, from their perspective. Sixteen persons with Type 2 diabetes in Yazd City, Iran, were interviewed in April and May 2020 for this study. A thematic analysis of the transcripts of those interviews was done using MAXQDA 10 software. Six themes were identified: beliefs about medicinal plants, psychological factors, accessibility and economic barriers, patients' knowledge and awareness, social pressure, and the role of family culture. The recommendation of the study is that health counselors and specialists should provide needed information and skills for the proper use of medicinal plants, and the pharmaceutical infrastructures need to be expanded to provide enough drugs to facilitate better access to needed medication and reduce reliance on medicinal plants for persons with Type 2 diabetes.

Improving Physical Fitness and Health of Office Workers in Iran

This paper reports on a study on improving the health and fitness of office workers in Iran using a comprehensive model. The research design was a randomized controlled trial involving 294 employees. The intervention was a 6-month program to promote physical activity. The primary outcome measure was their scores on the physical activity (PA) index recorded at 3 and 6 months. A statistically significantly increase in PA was found in the intervention group over the control group. In addition, the mean values of related health and physiological indices of the intervention group demonstrated a statistically significant increase compared to the control group. The conclusions of this study support research findings in multiple countries, that the physical activity and health of office workers can be improved in a short period.

Assessing the Effectiveness of COVID-19 Prevention Campaign in Health Volunteers of Urmia City

Holding educational campaigns with the purpose of conveying message about one particular behavior in the target group, is one of the society-based educational strategies. This study aimed to investigate the efficiency of the Campaign of COVID-19 Prevention on Health Volunteers in Urmia. The present study was a semi-experimental research, in which the sampling was done in a census way with 200 people participated. In this study, which was done as pre- and posttest, the amount of knowledge, attitude and behavior of health volunteers were evaluated by the designed questionnaires. The campaign was held for 2 months, which has benefited from the five methods of pamphlet, banners, films, social networking sites, and educational classes. After the campaign, the knowledge level, attitude and behavior of Health Volunteers increased to 35.1%, 30.09%, and 29.2%, respectively, which was meaningful statistically. Holding the campaign can trigger positive changes in improving the knowledge, attitude, and behavior of health volunteers, leading to the prevention of a plethora of health problems in society.

The challenges of strategic management of the wastage produced due to earthquake in Kermanshah and Varzaghan-Ahar: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Strategic management of the wastage produced due to earthquakes has faced many challenges over the recent decade. Thus, the present study seeks to identify and explain the challenges in earthquake wastage strategic management.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present qualitative study has been steered through a content analysis approach and conducted using semi-structured interviews and a purposive selection of 17 professors, experts, and managers experienced in the field of waste management in Kermanshah and Varzaghan-Ahar earthquakes over 2020-2021. Besides, the interviews were initially categorized using MAXQDA18 software.

RESULTS

Analysis of the experiences and perception regarding the changes in strategic management of wastage produced due to Kermanshah and Varzaghan-Ahar earthquakes revealed 418 codes, 97 subcategories, 33 categories, and 8 main categories including management and leadership, organizational culture, planning, organizational learning, employee management, rules and regulations, resource management, and procedure management.

CONCLUSION

Strategic waste management has not been implemented in a coherent, integrated, and well-planned manner in the cases of the Kermanshah and Varzaghan-Ahar earthquakes. The challenges of strategic waste management turned out to be due to various reasons which will result in many issues in achieving the goals and selecting the suitable method for resource and procedure management should they not be managed well. Hence, policymakers, managers, and executors in the field of crisis management and waste management in disasters -specifically earthquakes- must take the necessary measures to remove these barriers.

Lived Experiences of Recovered COVID-19 Patients after Hospitalization: A Phenomenological Research

BACKGROUND

The deadly novel Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) epidemic has sickened and killed millions of people around the world. Accordingly, Iran has had the second highest incidence rate of COVID-19 deaths in the world. Because this disease affects all individual, familial, and social aspects, there is not enough information about experiences of COVID-19 patients. However, these experiences could be a missing link in explaining their attitudes, beliefs, and concerns for improving care and treatment processes during and after the disease.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Descriptive phenomenological research was conducted in 2020 to explain experiences of 21 COVID-19 patients after post-hospitalization recovery. Semi-structured interviews were used as the data collection tool via purposeful sampling, which were continued until data saturation and analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step method.

RESULTS

The main theme of "value of health" and the seven categories of (1) inefficient self-care, (2) overcoming the catastrophic crisis, (3) the shadow of death, (4) coping behaviors and resilience, (5) the need for support and accountability, (6) sympathy, and (7) new insights as well as 38 main codes were extracted. The patients' general explanation in the early stages of the disease, recovery, and subsequent periods included transition from the crisis to new insights into physical, mental, sexual, familial, and economic dimensions that finally led to the review value and concept of their life.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study can be used to fulfil care and treatment needs of the patients, their families as well as caregivers, psychologists, counselors, health planners, and managers presently and in the future for similar diseases.

Promoting health literacy through the teach back method among Iranian health ambassadors: A randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVES

Describe the effect the teach back method on promoting the health literacy of health ambassadors in Urmia County in 2020.

METHODS

In the present quasi-experiment, 200 persons over 14 years old participated. They were divided into two research groups, a control (n=100) and an intervention (n=100). The sampling method was simple randomization and the data collection instrument was a questionnaire comprised of demographic information and health literacy (HELIA). The educational intervention took 4 sessions each 45 minutes in length following the teach back method. The questionnaire-based data were collected once before the intervention and once again three months after the intervention.

RESULTS

The present findings showed that 54% of the control group and 50% of the intervention group had a good or very good level of health literacy before the intervention(p>0.05). However, after the intervention, 52% of the control and 78% of the intervention group had a good or very good level of health literacy. The present findings revealed that the mean scores of health literacy dimensions (access to information, reading, understanding, appraisal, decision-making) and the overall health literacy score were significantly higher in the intervention group than the control (after the intervention). Wilcoxon's test results showed that the mean difference of the overall health literacy scores and the dimensions before and after the intervention were statistically significant (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

In the light of the present findings, we can conclude that participatory methods and the teach back method can improve health literacy, acquire reliable information and adopt healthy behaviors.

Facilitators and barriers of herbal medicine use in diabetic patients: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

In several countries such as Iran, the use of complementary and alternative medical products like herbal medicine is growing. There is, however, a lack of research on the prospects of herbal medicine patrons regarding facilitators and herbal medicine use barriers. The aim of this study was to explain the facilitators and the barriers of herbal medicine use in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Qualitative one-to-one in-depth interviews were conducted with patients with T2DM from the Yazd Diabetes Research Center, using a semi-structured guide. For the recruitment of T2DM participants who used herbal medicine beside conventional medicine, purposeful sampling was used. Analysis of the data was carried out using the steps proposed by Graneheim and Landman strategies.

RESULTS

Sixteen patients were interviewed. There were 2 subjects (facilitators and barriers herbal medicine use), 8 categories, and 89 initial codes. The facilitators included individual preferences, preparation skills, and family support and the factors obstructing the use of herbal medicine included insufficient skills about preparing, lack of easy access to consumption, insufficient of efficacy of herbal medicine, and negative properties of herbal medicine and taking time in preparing herbal medicine.

CONCLUSION

Although some people use herbal medicine, the interest in use of herbal medicine is limited because of inadequate awareness of the impact and usage them. Therefore, the use of effective strategy in the integration of herbal remedies with conventional medicine can promote well-being of patients.

Determinants of COVID-19 Prevention Behavior in the Elderly in Urmia: Application of Health Belief Model

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 disease effects on all age group and sex, especially the elderly, due to the high mortality rate, it is very impressive and the protective measures can reduce mortality in the elderly. AIM: The present study was conducted to find the determinants of COVID-19 prevention behavior in the elderly in Urmia by emphasizing on the health belief model. METHODS: The present study was a cross-sectional study on 1400 elderly people in Urmia, Iran in 2020 and the sample selection was by simple random sampling by simple random sampling. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire in this study that included demographic characteristics, health belief model questionnaire, and COVID-19 prevention behaviors. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and linear regression tests using SPSS 23 software. RESULTS: The results showed that the COVID-19 prevention behavior score has been increased by increasing age rate and this behavior was higher in older women than men (p = 0.02). Furthermore, linear regression test showed the most predictive constructs as knowledge (B = 0.38), perceived susceptibility (B = 0.29), perceived intensity (B = 0.25), and perceived self-efficacy (B = 0.21, respectively) and these structures were statistically significant (p < 0/05). CONCLUSION: Effective interventions based on the health belief model and emphasizing on promoting knowledge, perceived susceptibility, severity, and perceived self-efficacy can prevent the elderly from developing this disease and its complications.

Determining Skin Cancer Protective Behaviors in the Light of the Protection Motivation Theory among Sailors in Bandar-Bushehr in the South of Iran

Background:

Skin cancer is among the most prevalent cancers in Iran and worldwide. Due to the nature of work, sailors are constantly exposed to the ultraviolet rays of the sun, which in the long run damages their skin and raises the chances of skin cancer. Thus, the present research aimed to predict the skin cancer protective behaviors among sailors in the south of Iran in the light of the protection motivation theory.

Materials and Methods:

The present analytical, cross-sectional research was conducted on 360 sailors in Bandar-Bushehr selected randomly from 4 border healthcare centers. To collect the required data, a reliable and valid questionnaire based on the protection motivation theory was used. The data were analyzed in SPSS21 using descriptive and inferential statistics including Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression analysis.

Results:

Pearson correlation coefficient showed a statistically significant positive correlation between protection motivation, perceived severity, fear, reward on the one hand and a statistically significant negative correlation between protection motivation and rewards and response costs. All constructs of protection motivation explained 43% of the variance of skin cancer protective behaviors. Among the influential predictors, perceived self-efficacy showed to be the strongest (β=0.328).

Conclusion:

Considering the effectiveness of the protection motivation theory in determining skin cancer preventive behaviors among sailors, it can be concluded that this theory can be used as a framework in planning health education and promotion programs to motivate sailors to adopt more skin cancer protective behaviors.

Assessing Pediculosis infection and cofactors among 8-10-year-old Female students in Bushehr province, Iran

Introduction: Lice are widespread at a global scale and afflict all socioeconomic classes. Despite advanced healthcare, head lice are particularly prevalent among elementary school female students. Thus, the present research aims to explore pediculosis infection and its cofactors among 8-10-year-old female students in Jam County, Bushehr province, Iran, in 2019. Methodology: The present descriptive research was analytical in type. The research population comprised female elementary school students in Jam County, selected through multi-stage randomization. The final sample selected consisted of 854 participants. The data collection instruments were a questionnaire and an optic test of all students at school. SPSS 22 was used to statistically analyze the data via Chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression analysis. The significance level was set at <0.05. Findings: The mean age of the participating students was 9.5 years. The prevalence of head lice among this sample was 15.4% and was higher in urban areas than the rural. Statistically significant correlations were found between lice infection and variables including father’s occupation and education, mother’s occupation and education and having a bathroom at home (p<0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of lice in the present research showed to be higher that a body of related literature. Thus, it is essential to make preventive interventions to diagnose, treat and control pediculosis and consider the infection-related cofactors of lice infection in healthcare centers.

Do Subjective Norms Predict the Screening of Cancer Patients' First-Degree Relatives? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Early detection and preventive measures can reduce the risk of cancer among first degree relatives (FDRs) of cancer patients.Several studies investigated the effect of subjective norm in relation to FDRs' tendency to conduct preventive behaviors. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the effect of subjective norms on cancer patients' FDRs as well as their willingness for screening.

METHODS

PubMed and Scopus were studied to investigate the effect of subjective norms on preventive measures such as breast cancer self-examination, colonoscopy, PSA testing, skin examination, and genetic testing. Odds Ratio (OR), correlation was and confidence intervals were extracted for meta-analysis. After reviewing the studies, only 16 studies met the criteria to be included in this systematic review.

RESULTS

The meta- analysis and OR showed that Physician Recommendation (OR=6.98, 95% CI; 2.55-19.09, P<0.001), Health Care Provider (HCP) (OR=2.79, 95% CI; 1.26-6.16; P=0.011), family and friends (OR=1.82, 95% CI; 1.33-2.50, P <0.001) significantly enhanced the likelihood of referring for screening and preventive measures.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the current study indicated that subjective norms can significantly increase willingness to screening.

Determinants of effective nurse-patient communication based on the health action process approach in Yazd hospitals

Background Nurse-patient communication is one of the most important care relationships that affects the treatment process. The health action process approach (HAPA) has been used to explain a number of behaviors. However, this approach has not been used to explain nurse-patient communication. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate effective nurse-patient communication using this approach. Materials and methods In this cross-sectional study, 300 nurses from public hospitals in the center of Iran were enrolled in the study. A researcher-developed questionnaire was used to measure the HAPA constructs. The data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient and one-way analysis of variance with least significant difference (LSD) post hoc tests in SPSS as well as structural equation modeling using AMOUS software. Results In the motivation phase, risk perception, outcome expectancies and task self-efficacy predicted 19% of variance in intention to communicate effectively. In the volitional phase, planning and action self-efficacy predicted 22% of variance in effective communication. The scores of HAPA constructs were different depending on the levels of effective communication. Conclusions The model can serve as a reference framework to promote effective nurse-patient communication.

What is the status quo of high-risk behaviors among male adolescents in the South of Iran?: A cross-sectional study in Bandar Bushehr, Iran

Introduction: Adolescents are the most vulnerable population in society to high-risk behaviors. It is essential to explore male adolescents’ state of health so as to establish this health well. The present research aimed to explore the prevalence of high-risk behaviors among male adolescents in the south of Iran. Methods: The present cross-sectional research employed a random multi-stratified sampling method to select subjects from male students of secondary schools (2nd grade) in Bushehr in 2017. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire comprised of two parts. The first part explored background information and the second monitored adolescents’ high-risk behaviors. Once the reliability and validity of the questionnaire were confirmed, the collected data were analyzed in SPSS20 using ANOVA test and Tukey post-hoc test. Results: The majority of subjects belonged to the 16 year-old age group. The highest frequency of high-risk behaviors in male adolescents involved physical contact and struggle out of school (22.81%), hookah consumption within a month (19.62%), physical contact and struggle at school within a year (18.30%) and smoking cigarettes out of school in a month (11.14%). Conclusion: The prevalence of high-risk behaviors among male adolescents was for physical contact out of school in a year, hookah consumption in a month and physical contact at school in a year. It is suggested to conduct qualitative research to recognize why adolescents show tendency to risky behaviors and to reduce such behaviors.  

Effect of education on knowledge, attitude and behavioral intention in family relative with colorectal cancer patients based on theory of planned behavior

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer is one of most common cancers in women and men and one of the major causes of death due to neoplasia. Colonoscopy is considered as the most accurate diagnostic procedure to detect colorectal cancer at the earlier stages.

OBJECTIVES

The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of an education program using the Theory of Planned Behavior on promoting behavioral intention among first degree relatives of colorectal cancer patients.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

A quasi-experimental study conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational program to promote attitudinal factors associated with early detection of colorectal cancer in 99 first degree relatives of colorectal cancer patients aged more than 20 years in Yazd city, Iran. A researcher made questionnaire forwhich validity and reliability were confirmed by expert point of view and pilot testing was employed for data collection. Questionnaires were filled in before and after educational intervention. The registered data were transferred to SPSS 19 and analyzed by paired T-test, Man-Whitney and Wilcaxon.

RESULTS

Mean scores of knowledge, attitude, perceived behavioral control and intention regarding colorectal cancer increased after education significantly (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior has positive influence on promoting intention behavior. It is therefore recommended to apply educational programs to promote behavioral intention.