Secular Trend of Birth Height and Weight in a Population of Iranian Neonates during 1991 and 2011

Background: The secular trend in growth is a well-documented and recurrent phenomenon in many developed and developing countries. In this study, we examined the secular trends in birth length and weight among Iranian neonates.Methods: This cross-sectional population-based survey was conducted between 1991 and 2011. Using a two-stage stratified cluster sampling, the birth weights and heights of neonates born in Shahroud, Iran were studied using health records from different households. The mean birth weights and heights for neonates were calculated every year. Secular trends were analyzed using linear regression models and joinpoint regression.Results: A random sample of 11,165 neonates was evaluated, and the mean birth weight of neonates during the investigation period was calculated. The mean birth weight changed from 3232.1±444.1 g in 1991 to 3204.1±436.9 g in 2011, and the mean birth height changed from 49.5±2.2 cm to 49.3±1.9 cm. The mean birth weights and heights between 1991 and 2011 were not significantly different; however, the birth weight increased by 6.75 g annually between 2000 and 2011 (P < 0.021), and the mean birth height increased by 0.03 cm annually between 2003–2011 and 1991–2003 (P = 0.009).Conclusions: The mean birth height and weight of neonates in Shahroud did not change significantly from 1991 to 2011; however, we found a significant improvement after 2000

Secular Trend of Birth Height and Weight in a Population of Iranian Neonates during 1991 and 2011

Background: The secular trend in growth is a well-documented and recurrent phenomenon in many developed and developing countries. In this study, we examined the secular trends in birth length and weight among Iranian neonates.Methods: This cross-sectional population-based survey was conducted between 1991 and 2011. Using a two-stage stratified cluster sampling, the birth weights and heights of neonates born in Shahroud, Iran were studied using health records from different households. The mean birth weights and heights for neonates were calculated every year. Secular trends were analyzed using linear regression models and joinpoint regression.Results: A random sample of 11,165 neonates was evaluated, and the mean birth weight of neonates during the investigation period was calculated. The mean birth weight changed from 3232.1±444.1 g in 1991 to 3204.1±436.9 g in 2011, and the mean birth height changed from 49.5±2.2 cm to 49.3±1.9 cm. The mean birth weights and heights between 1991 and 2011 were not significantly different; however, the birth weight increased by 6.75 g annually between 2000 and 2011 (P < 0.021), and the mean birth height increased by 0.03 cm annually between 2003–2011 and 1991–2003 (P = 0.009).Conclusions: The mean birth height and weight of neonates in Shahroud did not change significantly from 1991 to 2011; however, we found a significant improvement after 2000

Quality of Services in Substance Abuse Treatment Centers in Shahroud, Iran

Background: Standard cares in Substance Abuse Treatment Centers (SATC) have an important role in treatment success achievement. Patients’ views will provide valuable information to improve the performance of these centers. The purpose of current study was to determine patients’ comments on quality of addiction treatment at SATCs.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2013. The study population consisted of addicted patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in SATCs of Shahroud. Using stratified sampling method, a total of 250 individuals were randomly selected from the SATCs. The SERVQUAL service quality model was used to measure service quality in five dimensions of tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Using paired samples t-test the gap between patients’ expectations of a service offering and the patients’ perceptions of the service received was analyzed by 5-dimensional structure of service qualityResults: Overall, the score of patients’ expectations of service quality (4.45±0.67) was higher than that of their perceptions (4.24±0.0.76). For the dimensions of tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, the mean difference between patients’ perceptions and expectations of the quality of addiction treatment services was -0.34, -0.17, -0.19, -0.14, and -0.24 respectively. All differences were statistically significant.Conclusions: Although the mean score of patients’ perceptions was good, the patients were not satisfied with the quality of addiction treatment services in the SATCs at Shahroud. The results showed that there is a gap between the current state and the desired state in terms of service quality in SATCs and this gap can be reduced by proper planning, management and training

Quality of Services in Substance Abuse Treatment Centers in Shahroud, Iran

Background: Standard cares in Substance Abuse Treatment Centers (SATC) have an important role in treatment success achievement. Patients’ views will provide valuable information to improve the performance of these centers. The purpose of current study was to determine patients’ comments on quality of addiction treatment at SATCs.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2013. The study population consisted of addicted patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in SATCs of Shahroud. Using stratified sampling method, a total of 250 individuals were randomly selected from the SATCs. The SERVQUAL service quality model was used to measure service quality in five dimensions of tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Using paired samples t-test the gap between patients’ expectations of a service offering and the patients’ perceptions of the service received was analyzed by 5-dimensional structure of service qualityResults: Overall, the score of patients’ expectations of service quality (4.45±0.67) was higher than that of their perceptions (4.24±0.0.76). For the dimensions of tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, the mean difference between patients’ perceptions and expectations of the quality of addiction treatment services was -0.34, -0.17, -0.19, -0.14, and -0.24 respectively. All differences were statistically significant.Conclusions: Although the mean score of patients’ perceptions was good, the patients were not satisfied with the quality of addiction treatment services in the SATCs at Shahroud. The results showed that there is a gap between the current state and the desired state in terms of service quality in SATCs and this gap can be reduced by proper planning, management and training

Social Support among the Elderly Living in Shahroud, Iran

Background: Social support is one of the key aspects of social health among the elderly, significantly affecting other aspects of health. This study attempted to explore the extent to which the elderly benefit from social support and the contributing factors among the elderly living in Shahroud, northeastern Iran.Methods: During 2015-2016,a total of 496 elderly residents of Shahroud were selected through randomcluster sampling method. Data were collected by a questionnaire for capturing demographic variables (age, sex, marital status, educational level, number of children and grandchildren, economic status, health status, diseases) and Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS). The data were analyzed through independent t-test, simple and multiple linear regressions, and ANOVA.Results:Of the 496 elderly participants in the study, 273 (55.3%) were female with a mean age of 67.9±7.84 years old. The mean score of social support achieved by the elderly was 9.0, ranging from 8.19-9.81 at the confidence interval of 95%. There was no significant relationship between age and social support (p=0.9). However, there was a significant relationship between social support and marital status. The difference in the average score of social support in married elderly was significantly less than that of single, widow(er), and divorced elderly (p<0.001).Conclusion: The elderly in Shahroud were poorly covered by social support. In order to improve this situation, it is crucial to devise appropriate plans on family to population scale.

Social Support among the Elderly Living in Shahroud, Iran

Background: Social support is one of the key aspects of social health among the elderly, significantly affecting other aspects of health. This study attempted to explore the extent to which the elderly benefit from social support and the contributing factors among the elderly living in Shahroud, northeastern Iran.Methods: During 2015-2016,a total of 496 elderly residents of Shahroud were selected through randomcluster sampling method. Data were collected by a questionnaire for capturing demographic variables (age, sex, marital status, educational level, number of children and grandchildren, economic status, health status, diseases) and Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS). The data were analyzed through independent t-test, simple and multiple linear regressions, and ANOVA.Results:Of the 496 elderly participants in the study, 273 (55.3%) were female with a mean age of 67.9±7.84 years old. The mean score of social support achieved by the elderly was 9.0, ranging from 8.19-9.81 at the confidence interval of 95%. There was no significant relationship between age and social support (p=0.9). However, there was a significant relationship between social support and marital status. The difference in the average score of social support in married elderly was significantly less than that of single, widow(er), and divorced elderly (p<0.001).Conclusion: The elderly in Shahroud were poorly covered by social support. In order to improve this situation, it is crucial to devise appropriate plans on family to population scale.

Integration of Research, Public Health, and Hospital Interventions as a Successful Model for Controlling COVID-19 Pandemic: A Perspective

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a serious health problem in most countries in the last few months, with every country adopting different preventive and therapeutic measures based on their specific circumstances. The epidemic began in Iran on February 19, 2020, and gradually spread across the country. The epidemic extent varies, and different preventive and therapeutic measures are taken in Iran. Shahroud and Miami Counties, covered by the Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, have experienced the highest incidence of COVID-19 in Iran. However, the epidemic is well controlled by integrating the activities of the health, treatment, and research sectors and using information technology and a proprietary software application. This model can be thus studied as a successful experience. Keywords: COVID-19, Control, Successful model, Ira

Serial Interval Distribution of COVID-19 among Iranian Reported Confirmed Cases

Type of manuscript: short report Introduction:  Serial interval refers to the average time between of the onset of the symptoms of two successive cases. Serial interval distribution can be used for the calculation of the basic reproduction number (R0), transmission rate, and study of an epidemic trend. This study aims to investigate the mean, standard deviation, and distribution of serial interval among the confirmed cases of COVID-19 using a Gamma distribution.      Methods: To determine the serial interval, 60 confirmed infected cases of COVID-19 (based on PCR test results) in February 20th-May 20th, 2020 were selected as the cases. For these cases, 37 transmissions occurred. The data of the dates of the occurrence of primary and secondary symptoms were collected by referring to the COVID-19 surveillance system and interviewing the patients Results: The findings showed that the median and mean of the serial interval were 3.0 and 4.5± 3.5 days. The findings showed that the median of the serial interval was 3.0 days (with the inter-quartile range of 2.0-6.0). The mean serial interval was 4.5± 3.5 days (95% confidence interval: 3.1-5.5). Conclusions: Our report showed a shorter period for a serial interval less than the previous reported interval in China. It seems that regarding the shorter serial interval reported in this study, the basic reproduction numbers reported by the first papers published in Iran have been overestimated regarding the serial interval of 7.5 days. Key words: COVID-19, Serial interval, Gamma distributio

Serial Interval Distribution of COVID-19 among Iranian Reported Confirmed Cases

Type of manuscript: short report Introduction:  Serial interval refers to the average time between of the onset of the symptoms of two successive cases. Serial interval distribution can be used for the calculation of the basic reproduction number (R0), transmission rate, and study of an epidemic trend. This study aims to investigate the mean, standard deviation, and distribution of serial interval among the confirmed cases of COVID-19 using a Gamma distribution.      Methods: To determine the serial interval, 60 confirmed infected cases of COVID-19 (based on PCR test results) in February 20th-May 20th, 2020 were selected as the cases. For these cases, 37 transmissions occurred. The data of the dates of the occurrence of primary and secondary symptoms were collected by referring to the COVID-19 surveillance system and interviewing the patients Results: The findings showed that the median and mean of the serial interval were 3.0 and 4.5± 3.5 days. The findings showed that the median of the serial interval was 3.0 days (with the inter-quartile range of 2.0-6.0). The mean serial interval was 4.5± 3.5 days (95% confidence interval: 3.1-5.5). Conclusions: Our report showed a shorter period for a serial interval less than the previous reported interval in China. It seems that regarding the shorter serial interval reported in this study, the basic reproduction numbers reported by the first papers published in Iran have been overestimated regarding the serial interval of 7.5 days. Key words: COVID-19, Serial interval, Gamma distributio

Integration of Research, Public Health, and Hospital Interventions as a Successful Model for Controlling COVID-19 Pandemic: A Perspective

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a serious health problem in most countries in the last few months, with every country adopting different preventive and therapeutic measures based on their specific circumstances. The epidemic began in Iran on February 19, 2020, and gradually spread across the country. The epidemic extent varies, and different preventive and therapeutic measures are taken in Iran. Shahroud and Miami Counties, covered by the Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, have experienced the highest incidence of COVID-19 in Iran. However, the epidemic is well controlled by integrating the activities of the health, treatment, and research sectors and using information technology and a proprietary software application. This model can be thus studied as a successful experience. Keywords: COVID-19, Control, Successful model, Ira