Effect of booklet and combined method on parents' awareness of children with β-thalassemia major disorder

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of booklet and combining methods (lecture, video, etc.) on parents' awareness of children with beta-thalassemia major disorder. METHODS: Two groups of parents (n=30 each) of children with thalassemia were selected randomly. Among educational programmes, in one group booklet and in the other group combined method were used. A questionnaire was designed to gather information about the disease from parents of the two groups. The data were analysed using student's t-test and Pearson's correlation, significance was considered at p < 0.05. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the mean age, gender, level of education, job, number of affected children, and age of the child. However, in both methods of education (lecture and combined), knowledge of parents about the disease significantly increased (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The education whether through booklet or combined method has a significant positive effect on increasing knowledge of the investigated groups. It is recommended that increased knowledge levels of parents can decrease the burden of beta-thalassemia

Nursing instructor and students' perspectives on clinical education apprenticeship problems

Different problems might lead to reduction in the efficiency of nursing students' apprenticeship education and solving those problems. Aim: This study was conducted to determine nursing internship problems from the perspective of trainers and students. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 20 trainers and 43 senior students of nursing were selected using census method. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data. Total internal consistency (α) of the questionnaire was 0.88 and has proper convergent validity. SPSS was used to analyse data with applying descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: More than 50% considered their course relatively weak or weak in helping intern nurses to acquire comprehensive view of the nursing profession that takes a social perspective into account, skills required for the processes of nursing and instructing patients. Problems such as insufficient access to welfare and educational facilities, lack of co-operation among clinical team and scattering of internship sessions during a course were mentioned by nurses and their trainers. They believed that changes must take place in the way internship courses are carried out. Conclusion: Although the internship courses seem to achieve their aim of improving students' skills and independence in providing different nursing services to students and their trainers generally have a positive attitude towards such courses, there are still problems in effective exercise of the training

An Exploration of the Viewpoints of Parents and Nurses on Care Provision in Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Background: Infants are regarded as a vulnerable group in need of nursing care, particularly during NICU admission. Parents of these infants often experience emotional, psychological and physical upheavals. Therefore, nurses can be of great help to the parents and facilitate a healthy transition from this period. Improper communication with parents, who seek information on their infant's condition, intensifies their stress, fear and misunderstanding. In fact, inadequate communication with healthcare providers and lack of family support are major issues for the parents of NICU-admitted infants. Methods: In this qualitative study, via content analysis, we objectively selected and collected data from parents, physicians and nurses, residing in Isfahan, Iran in 2012. Data saturation was reached after conducting 25 in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Results: Based on the findings, five major categories were extracted: 1) care provision in NICUs; 2) diagnostic difficulties; 3) NICU admission process; 4) challenges of hospitalization; and 5) maintenance of infant viability. Conclusion: Nurses' proper response to parents' questions about the infant's condition reduced stress among parents. Based on the findings, training is essential to healthy family dynamics and infant's well-being, particularly for younger parents who support their infants at home. Also, regular updates on infant's condition could help reduce parents' stress and discomfort

Hashimoto Encephalopathy with an Unusual Presentation of Status Epilepticus Seizures: A Case Report

A 33 yr old man, previously diagnosed with hypothyroidism, presented with decreased level of consciousness and generalized tonic-clonic (GTC) seizure to Namazi hospital, Shiraz, Iran, during April 2015. The patient later referred with another episode of seizure like attack for which he received phenytoin, carbamazepine and levothyroxine and was discharged. During his last admission, the patient was admitted with chief complaints of decreased consciousness and four GTC attacks. On admission, the patients had aphasia, ataxia, loss of verbal communication, eye contact and complete loss of obedience. Thyroid function tests showed low levels of T3 and T4 with high levels of thyroid stimulating hormone. Other blood tests were all either normal or slightly abnormal. Lumbar puncture and CSF analysis had a high titer of Anti-TPO antibodies. With high suspicion of Hashimoto encephalopathy, pulsed methyl prednisolone (10 mg) was administered, however the patient showed little improvement. Therefore, plasmaphresis was started, to which the patient showed dramatic response

Osteological development of the vertebral column, paired, dorsal and anal fins in Rutilus caspicus, Pravdin (1927) (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)

Study of the osteological development in fishes is important in fisheries, biology and aquaculture. It can be used as an early bio-indicator of non-optimal rearing conditions. The Caspian roach, Rutilus caspicus is a native cyprinid fish of the Caspian Sea basin that its artificial propagation is fulfilled in hatcheries to recruit its natural stocks. Hence, this study was conducted to provide early development of its vertebral column, paired and median fins from hatching up to 90-dph as basic biological information. For osteological examinations, the specimens were cleared and stained and a detailed description of the ontogeny of the post-cranial skeleton provided. The results showed that no osteological structure was present at hatching. The first observed skeletal structure was the vertebral column followed by the pectoral fins, caudal fins and almost simultaneously dorsal, anal and pelvic fins

Effects of massage therapy and aromatherapy on fatigue in patients with knee osteoarthritis

Introduction: Knee osteoarthritis is the most common articular cartilage disease. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of massage therapy and aromatherapy (Lavender essential oil) on fatigue in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: In this clinical trial, 93 patients referred to the Imam Ali Clinic in Shahrekord, Iran, were included. The patients were randomly assigned to 3 equal groups of massage therapy, aromatherapy (Lavender essential oil), and control by blocked randomization. Data were collected using demographic characteristics questionnaire and the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI). Fatigue scores in the three groups were determined before intervention and in the 5th and 10th sessions after intervention. Results: No significant differences in demographic characteristics were observed between the groups. There was a significant reduction in fatigue score in the aromatherapy group when compared to the control group (P<0.001). However, no statistically significant difference was observed in fatigue scores at different intervals between the control and massage therapy groups. Conclusion: Since knee osteoarthritis has no definite treatment, aromatherapy can lead to improving fatigue in patients with the diseas

Study of Association of Substance Use Disorders with Family Members' Psychological Disorders

Introduction: Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) represents a serious problem in Iranian community that may lead to psychological disorders in families. Aim: This study was conducted to investigate the association of SUDs with family members' psychological disorders. Materials and Methods: The sample size of the study consisted of 724 people referred to a counseling and psychology clinic in Shahrekord, southwest Iran. For data gathering, random method was adopted. After the relationship was established with the patients during the counseling and their confidence was gained, development of SUDs and related effect on the referred patient's family members were investigated by a predeveloped checklist. The statistical tests used to analyse the data were chi-square, Fisher's-exact test, and odds ratio. Results: The most frequent disorder noted was depression (40.5%) followed by generalized anxiety disorder (21%), minor interpersonal and children's behavioural problems (15%), and hysteria (8%). Depression, hysteria, and minor interpersonal and children's behavioural problems in the women and men were reported 48% vs. 20%, 9% vs. 5%, and 10% vs. 27%, respectively. A significant association was seen between SUDs in the patients' spouses and children as well as in their families, and gender, marital status, and occupation, but not place of residence and education. Conclusion: An association was seen between the psychiatric disorders in the people referring the studied center and SUDs in their families. Addiction in family plays an important role in developing or recurring psychiatric disorders in other family member

Construction of a Questionnaire to Assess Parental Stress in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Background: Once an infant is hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), the entire family dynamics is disrupted due to stressors such as interruption in maternal-infant bonding, abandonment of other siblings and financial burdens. Combination of multiple stressors often ends in divorce or other devastating results. In this study, a novel survey questionnaire has been developed to assess the level of parental stress in NICU and identify the warning signs, in order to provide assistance to young couples in need of help. Methods: Qualitative content analysis was performed to survey 13couplesrecruited from various teaching hospitals in Isfahan, Iran. Results: The initial part of the questionnaire was designed to assess parents' stress level with an expected content validity index of 0.78 or above and to measure face validity of the questionnaire, all the items received a mean impact score of 1.5 or above, and the Cronbach's alpha reliability of the 12-item questionnaire equaled to 0.904. Based on the factor analysis, the items with a correlation coefficient of less than 0.4 were excluded (one item was omitted). Conclusion: Most survey questionnaires found in the existing literature have investigated the types of stressors experienced by parents with an infant in NICU. In this study, researchers offer a novel 11-item questionnaire designed to assess the level of stress among parents with a hospitalized infant in NICU

Hepatitis-related stigma in chronic patients: A qualitative study

Background: Hepatitis is one of health problems throughout the world. It has numerous consequences on patients' life. Stigma, depression, social marginalization and financial problems are some of the challenges in these patients. Aim: The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine hepatitis-related stigma and discrimination in patients living with chronic hepatitis in Iranian society. Methods: This present study was designed as a qualitative method, and this article shows up the results of a qualitative research study undertaken with patients living with hepatitis in Iran. The study uses a content analysis method. A purposive sample of 18 patients was chosen. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview and field note that the researchers will take during participants' observation. Data analysis process was performed on the texts which were generated from verbatim transcripts of the participants interviews. Results: Participants were between 18 and 61 years old. The main theme, Stigma, emerged from three themes during the process data analysis in this study. These themes were including fear to lose of family and social support, fear to present in public and fear of transmission. Conclusions: This research indicates that stigma presents major challenges not only for patients living with chronic hepatitis but also for nurses, other healthcare practitioners, family and social networks, institutions and society. The researcher suggests that interventions to reduce or eliminate stigma should require individual, structural, cultural thought, society and systemic changes. © 2015 Elsevier Inc

The effect of recommended recitals on the severity of perceived pain in hospitalized patients undergoing surgery: a randomized clinical trial

زمینه و هدف: جراحی یک تجربه استرس زا است که با درجاتی از درد همراه است. دعا و ذکر، قبل از عمل جراحی در جهت کاهش درد تأثیر بسزایی دارد. این مطالعه با هدف بررسی تأثیر اذکار مستحبی بر سطح درد درک شده بیماران بعد از عمل جراحی انجام شده است. روش بررسی: در این مطالعه کارآزمایی بالینی، 108 نفر از بیماران کاندید عمل جراحی مراجعه کننده به بیمارستان آیت اله کاشانی شهرکرد انتخاب و به صورت تصادفی در دو گروه آزمون (54 نفر) و شاهد (54 نفر) قرار گرفتند. شاخص های فیزیولوژیکی در هر دو گروه قبل از مداخله کنترل شد. در گروه آزمون در خصوص تکرار اذکار مستحبی مشخص شده، آموزش لازم داده شد. با استفاده از ابزار دیداری درد (Visual Analogue Scale= VAS) در ساعت 3،12 و 24 بعد از عمل، شدت درد درک شده در دو گروه ارزیابی شد. یافته ها: تمامی بیماران مطالعه را به پایان رساندند. آزمون کای دو نشان داد که در بین دو گروه از نظر نوع عمل جراحی، جنس و سطح تحصیلات تفاوت آماری معنی داری وجود ندارد (05/0P). نتیجه گیری: ذکر و دعا منجر به افزایش آستانه درد، ارتقاء سطح سازگاری، کاهش درد در بیماران شده است؛ همچنین هیچگونه عارضه ای در این خصوص مشاهده نگردید. لذا توصیه می شود که قبل از عمل جراحی برای بیماران امکانات لازم برای انجام ذکر خدا و فریضه عبادی فراهم گردد