Child abuse reporting barriers: Iranian nurses� experiences

Background: Although in many countries child abuse reporting is mandated, Iranian nurses report abused cases voluntary. Some of the cases are reported to the police and others are referred to welfare organizations or other non-governmental organizations. Absence of a uniform reporting system along with a lack of legal support in the specific cultural context of Iran has resulted challenges for the reporters of child abuse. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the Iranian nurses� experiences of reporting child abuse as well as to explore the existing barriers. Patients and Methods: A qualitative study with conventional content analysis was conducted to explore the barriers of reporting child abuse. Individual interviews between 30 and 45 minutes in duration were conducted with a purposive sample of 16 nurses with direct experience of dealing with children who had been abused. Graneheim and Lundman�s method was used for data analysis. Results: The data were classified to five themes including �knowledge deficit�, �previous unpleasant experiences about child abuse reporting�, �ethical challenges�,� legal challenges� and �cultural beliefs�. Conclusions: According to the findings, enhancement of nurses and public knowledge about child abuse, legal issues and jurisprudence along with legislation of clear and simple laws, are mandatory to protect abused children in Iran. © 2015, Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal

Lived Experience of Women Suffering from Vitiligo: A Phenomenological Study

Vitiligo is a chronic skin disease, which through change of appearance and body image, exerts a devastating effect on people, especially women. The objective of this study is to explore lived experience of women with Vitiligo by the hermeneutic phenomenology method. The purposive sample consisted of 16 Iranian women. Data analysis followed Diekelmann, Allen, and Tanner (1989). The results showed four main themes: (1) Perceiving myself in a different light; (2) Vitiligo: Worry about others’ perceptions; (3) Vitiligo, Being influenced by cultural beliefs; and (4) Accepting and fighting the disease; Variations in experiences of living with Vitiligo. The women affected with Vitiligo during their marriage-ready years face various psychosocial problem s such as rejection by associates, isolation, divorce, and forced choice of a single lif

Comparison of the effects of prone and supine positions on abdominal distention in the premature infants receiving nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP)

Background: Premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) are in dire need of respiratory support with a ventilator. However, the high tidal volume of mechanical ventilation may cause lung injury, and researchers have been concerned with the use of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP). NCPAP has concomitant side effects, such as abdominal distention, which might disrupt the proper nutrition of neonates. The present study aimed to compare the effects of supine and prone positions on the abdominal distension of the newborns with NCPAP. Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on 37 neonates during six months with a randomized block crossover design selected for the supine and prone positions on the back and abdomen, respectively. Samples were breastfed infants receiving noninvasive ventilation, who were kept in the mentioned positions for two hours. Data analysis was performed in Application SRS version 19 using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: In the analysis of variance, comparison of the changes in the abdominal circumference at 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes in the supine position (P=0.004) and prone position (P=0.001) with repeated sizes indicated a significant difference in at least one of the mentioned timings. Conclusion: According to the results, prone position while feeding could effectively reduce abdominal distension in the neonates receiving NCPAP. © 2018 Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Challenges of the preceptors working with new nurses: A phenomenological research study

© 2016. Introduction: Preceptors play an important role in the transition of new nurses to the practice setting, however, preceptorship experience has been perceived as stressful by preceptors. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of nurse preceptors working with new nurses. Method: This qualitative study used the hermeneutic phenomenological design to explore the experiences of six nurse preceptors working with new nurses in a tertiary pediatric teaching hospital in Northwest of Iran, who were recruited by purposive sampling. Data were collected using in-depth semi-structured individual interviews between July 2014 and March 2015, and analyzed using the Diekelmann's seven-stage method. Results: Data analysis revealed three themes: 1) preceptorship as a challenging and stressful role; 2) lack of support; and 3) lack of appreciation. Preceptorship as 'a challenging and stressful role' was the constitutive pattern that unified the themes. Conclusion: The preceptorship of new nurses is challenging and stressful. Preceptors endure several roles concurrently, thus, their workload should be balanced appropriately in order not to compromise with one another and evade burnout. The preceptors need to be well supported and their contribution be appropriately recognized. Setting clear objectives and realistic expectations, and having clear policies and guidelines in place should help develop a preceptorship program that is more likely to bring about positive outcomes for both preceptors and new nurses

Investigation of Socio-Economic and Environmental Effects of Taleghan Dam Using Structural Equation Modeling

Today water supply issue in large cities seems to be a big problem. This becomes more important with population growth and urbanization extension. To cope with this problem lots of irrigation and drainage projects have been implemented and operated that subsequently many socio- economic and cultural effects have been brought to the areas . The objective of the present study is to survey the socio - economic and environmental effects of Taleghan dam to compare the two periods before and after the dam construction. The needed data have been gathered by use of a questionnaire and by interviewing 400 samples in the irrigation and drainage network’s region of Taleghan Dam, and encoded questions and outcome data have been analyzed in spss and lisrel software. The results showed an economic development in the region, but some factors like, lack of trust, lack of economic advantages and deficiency of facilities, decrease villagers’ willingness to invest. 63.3% of region’s environmental pollution has been increased mainly by the tourists. Not only is there no increase in Water sources but also they have been decreased. 98% of individuals declared that the people were not questioned in construction projects. About the coefficient of dam’s effect on region’s socio- economic and environmental development, the villagers have declared that the dam construction had no positive effect on region’s development

Attributes of Iranian new nurse preceptors: A phenomenological study

Preceptors should possess attributes which help them in successfully performing the demanding and challenging role in the preceptorship. This research utilises a qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological approach to explore the attributes of new nurse preceptors. Six preceptors of a teaching hospital in Northwest of Iran who were selected by means of purposive sampling. Data were collected during eight months from July 2014 to March 2015 through in-depth semi-structured personal interviews. Interviews were recorded and transcribed and then were analyzed with the interpretive approach using the Diekelmann's seven-stage method in the MAXQDA10 software environment. Findings included two main themes “feeling proud and honored” and “professionalism” with subthemes including empathy, being nonjudgmental, patience, and spirit of self-sacrifice. The spirit of self-sacrifice was a unique attribute revealed in this research. Preceptors possessed several important attributes which are usually stressed in the literature as selection criteria for preceptors. These attributes could be further drawn upon when selecting new preceptors. Preceptors are role models. Existence of the spirit of self-sacrifice among preceptors could contribute to transferring of such spirit to new nurses and future preceptors as well as to preceptors’ patience with challenges of their role. Effective preceptorship needs preceptors who possess specific professional and personal attributes. These attributes could be drawn upon more objectively in the process of selection, preparation and evaluation of preceptors by clinical and educational nursing managers.This article was part of a PhD dissertation approved and financially supported by the Research Deputy of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Grant numbers 5/55/7687, November 24, 2

Water resources sustainable allocation: case study; Alborz province

ABSTRACT Shortage of water resources, particularly in the developing countries, is a global problem and this is due to the rapid growth of population and water pollution resulting from uncontrolled economic development. In some regions, it is difficult to allocate water to all the consumers in a desirable manner and thus logical allocation of water resources is considered a significant issue. This article presents a multi-objective model for efficient allocation of water resources from the perspective of sustainable development. The model used in this study is the one used for allocation of water resources in Alborz province where water shortage will be unavoidable due to rapid growth in demands for water. The results gained from this study indicate that with the increase for water demand, the efficient allocation can be carried out in a way that different users of water resources will suffer the least and thus move towards sustainability

Paradox of Modern Pregnancy: A Phenomenological Study of Women's Lived Experiences from Assisted Pregnancy

The purpose of our study was describing the meaning of pregnancy through Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs). A qualitative design with hermeneutic phenomenology approach was selected to carry out the research. Semistructured in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 women who experienced assisted pregnancy. Three themes emerged from women's experience including finding peace in life, paradoxical feelings, and struggling to realize a dream. We concluded that pregnancy is the beginning of a new and hard struggle for women with fertility problems. The findings of our study resulted in helpful implications for the health care professionals managing assisted pregnancies. Copyright © 2015 Fahimeh Ranjbar et al

The effect of family-centered empowerment program on self-efficacy of adolescents with thalassemia major: A randomized controlled clinical trial

Background: Chronic nature of thalassemia causes changes in different aspects of life in patients, including their self-efficacy. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of family-centered empowerment program on the self-efficacy of adolescents with Thalassemia major. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was performed on adolescents with thalassemia major in 2013 in Bandar Abbas, Iran. The participants were divided into intervention and control groups, respectively. Research instruments included demographic data questionnaire, need assessment selfmade questionnaire, general self-efficacy scale, and sickle cell self-efficacy scale. After collecting the data from the pre-intervention step, family-centered empowerment program was implemented for the intervention group and secondary test was conducted six weeks after the intervention and the results were analyzed by statistical SPSS-21 software, using independent t-test, paired t-test, Chi-square and Fisher�s exact test, and descriptive statistics. A significance level of P<0.05 was considered as significant. Results: The mean and standard deviation of the adolescents� age were 16±1.9 in the intervention group and 15.2±2 in the control group. Independent t-test showed a significant difference between the two groups after the intervention for both self-efficacies (P<0.01 and P=0.02). In the control group, the results of general self-efficacy scores after six weeks� time were reduced compared to the previous one while disease-related self-efficacy scores in the same group after six weeks� time increased and paired t-test indicated a significant difference in the mean scores for both self-efficacies in both groups. Conclusion: Implementation of family-centered empowerment program for patients with thalassemia major is practically feasible and it can increase self-efficacy in these patients. It is suggested that the program should be used in comprehensive care protocols of children and adolescents. © 2018, Shriaz University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Comparison of the effects of prone and supine positions on abdominal distention in the premature infants receiving nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP)

Background: Premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) are in dire need of respiratory support with a ventilator. However, the high tidal volume of mechanical ventilation may cause lung injury, and researchers have been concerned with the use of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP). NCPAP has concomitant side effects, such as abdominal distention, which might disrupt the proper nutrition of neonates. The present study aimed to compare the effects of supine and prone positions on the abdominal distension of the newborns with NCPAP. Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on 37 neonates during six months with a randomized block crossover design selected for the supine and prone positions on the back and abdomen, respectively. Samples were breastfed infants receiving noninvasive ventilation, who were kept in the mentioned positions for two hours. Data analysis was performed in Application SRS version 19 using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: In the analysis of variance, comparison of the changes in the abdominal circumference at 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes in the supine position (P=0.004) and prone position (P=0.001) with repeated sizes indicated a significant difference in at least one of the mentioned timings. Conclusion: According to the results, prone position while feeding could effectively reduce abdominal distension in the neonates receiving NCPAP. © 2018 Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved