Citation Analysis of Iranian English-language Medical Journals in Wikipedia

Objectives: The purpose of this research was to investigate citations to the Iranian English-language medical journals in Wikipedia. Methodology: This descriptive survey was conducted based on citation analysis and scientometric techniques. The study population includes 289 English-language journals approved by the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education. The full title, acronym and abbreviated title of each journal were searched on Wikipedia and Google (site search), and data analysis was conducted using the Excel software. Results: Wikipedia articles were cited to 114 journals approved by the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education. These journals received 1091 citations. Among which, the journal of "Archives of Iranian Medicine" has received the most citations from Wikipedia articles. Journals in the field of medical profession received the most citations among journals approved by the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education. Furthermore, 412 Wikipedia articles were in English. Among Wikipedia articles, articles in the plant category have cited more to journals approved by the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education. Conclusion: Iranian medical journals, by improving their popularization policies and strategies can be recognized internationally in terms of article citation and science popularization of science. For this reason, science policymakers should pay more attention to the relationship between universities and scientific journals with the public especially Wikipedia, to generalize and popularize the science and scientific information

Coronavirus in Iran: la gestione della crisi al tempo delle sanzioni statunitensi: Il mondo e la lotta alla pandemia da COVID-19

Coronavirus hit hard the Islamic Republic of Iran. From the pandemic outbreak in February 2020, until May, Iran has registered the highest mortality rate in the Middle East. According to data released by the Iranian Health Ministry, the number of cases have reached 100.000; the deaths 6.340. Alarming numbers, which several experts consider to be low estimates. While public attention focused on the Iranian government’s inefficiency to contain the rapid diffusion of the virus, very little has been said about the impact of American sanctions on the Iranian health system.Coronavirus hit hard the Islamic Republic of Iran. From the pandemic outbreak in February 2020, until May, Iran has registered the highest mortality rate in the Middle East. According to data released by the Iranian Health Ministry, the number of cases have reached 100.000; the deaths 6.340. Alarming numbers, which several experts consider to be low estimates. While public attention focused on the Iranian government’s inefficiency to contain the rapid diffusion of the virus, very little has been said about the impact of American sanctions on the Iranian health system

Citations to Iranian English-Language Journals Approved by the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education in Patents Registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Database

Introduction: Assessment of the citations to scientific researches and journals by invention patents is a way to analyze the relationship between science and technology. The purpose of this research was to investigate citations to English-language journals approved by Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education in patents registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database. Methods: This descriptive survey was conducted based on citation analysis and scientometrics techniques. The study population included 268 English-language journals approved by the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education. The title of each journal was used to search at the USPTO database. Results: 207 patents cited to 49 English-language journals approved by Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical. Note that 65% of patents in this group were in the class ‏A (i.e., human necessities). Most patents citing Iranian medical journals belonged to the United States, and were assigned by Stanford University. Conclusion: Iranian journals, using the necessary processes and strategies according to their policies, can have a better internationally position in terms of article status and being technology-centered. Therefore, due to the increasing publication rate of articles in the country, their quality should be considered (focused on) more than quantity

Iranian joint registry (iranian national hip and knee arthroplasty registry)

Periodic evaluation and monitoring the health and economic outcome of joint replacement surgery is a common and popular process under the territory of joint registries in many countries. In this article we introduce the methodology used for the foundation of the National Iranian Joint Registry (IJR) with a joint collaboration of the Social Security Organization (SSO) and academic research departments considering the requirements of the Iran's Ministry of Health and Education. ©BY THE ARCHIVES OF BONE AND JOINT SURGERY

Cancer registry in Iran: A brief overview

Cancer registry is an important tool for any successful cancer control program. The first formal cancer related data from Iran were published in 1956. In 1969, observations documenting a high incidence of esophageal cancer in the Caspian Littoral, urged researchers to set up the first population-based cancer registry in this region. This cancer registry was established jointly by University of Tehran and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). In 1976, another cancer registry started its activities in Fars Province. In 1984, the Parliament passed a bill mandating the report of all tissues "diagnosed or suspected as cancer tissue" to the Ministry of Health. While only 18% of all estimated cancer cases were reported in first reports, this rate increased to 81% in 2005 In 1998, Tehran Population-Based Cancer Registry started to collect data from cases of cancer referred to the treatment and diagnostic facilities throughout the Tehran metropolis. Digestive Disease Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, established four new population-based cancer registries in Northern Iran and another in Kerman Province in the south. These five provinces have a total population of about 9.5 million, and constitute about 16% of the total population of Iran. While the pathology-based cancer registration is in place, we hope that the addition of the population-based cancer registries, and establishment of new registries in poorly-covered areas, will improve cancer reporting in the country

Health inequalities and development plans in Iran: An analysis of the past three decades (1984–2010)

Introduction: Reducing inequalities in health care is one of the main challenges in all countries. In Iran as in other oil-exporting upper middle income countries, we expected to witness fewer inequalities especially in the health sector with the increase in governmental revenues. Methods: This study presents an inequalities assessment of health care expenditures in Iran. We used data from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) in Iran from 1984–2010. The analysis included 308,735 urban and 342,532 rural households. Results: The results suggest heightened inequality in health care expenditures in Iran over the past three decades, including an increase in the gap between urban and rural areas. Furthermore, inflation has affected the poor more than the rich. The Kakwani progressivity index in all years is positive, averaging 0.436 in rural and 0.470 in urban areas during the time period of analysis. Compared to inequality in income distribution over the last 30 years, health expenditures continuously show more inequality and progressivity over the same period of time. Conclusions: According to the result of our study, during this period Iran introduced four National Development Plans (NDPs); however, the NDPs failed to provide sustainable strategies for reducing inequalities in health care expenditures. Policies that protect vulnerable groups should be prioritized

A suggested prototype for assessing bone health

Background- Osteoporosis is becoming a health concern worldwide. Considering the fact that prevention plays an important role in reducing the burden of this silent disease and in view of the limited resources available, many countries have adopted certain programs to fight osteoporosis through shifting their attention towards at-risk individuals. The Iranian Multicenter Osteoporosis Study (IMOS) is one of these programs. The program aims to assess bone health and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in different parts of Iran with various altitudes, latitudes and lifestyle habits in a way that the results could be generalized to the country. Method- The present article presents the protocol used in the third phase of the study. It was designed based on the experiences gathered in the previous phases to overcome the shortcomings particularly subject loss. The questionnaire applied in this study was developed based on a thorough literature review of the risk factors and secondary causes of osteoporosis and was approved by an expert panel. It should be added that while the majority of the existing studies aim to study a certain aspect of osteoporosis, the present protocol provides the information needed for policy makers and researchers to study different osteoporosis-related issues. Conclusion- The authors believe the protocol, to be implemented with small modifications, can help policymakers in different parts of the world, particularly developing countries, gather accurate information on different aspects of bone health at the national level. © 2015, Academy of Medical Sciences of I.R. Iran. All rights reserved

Differential mortality in Iran

Background: Among the available data provided by health information systems, data on mortality are commonly used not only as health indicators but also as socioeconomic development indices. Recognizing that in Iran accurate data on causes of death were not available, the Deputy of Health in the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOH&ME) established a new comprehensive system for death registration which started in one province (Bushehr) as a pilot in 1997, and was subsequently expanded to include all other provinces, except Tehran province. These data can be used to investigate the nature and extent of differences in mortality in Iran. The objective of this paper is to estimate provincial differences in the level of mortality using this death registration system. Methods: Data from the death registration system for 2004 for each province were evaluated for data completeness, and life tables were created for provinces after correction for under-enumeration of death registration. For those provinces where it was not possible to adjust the data on adult deaths by using the Brass Growth Balance method, adult mortality was predicted based on adult literacy using information from provinces with reliable data. Results: Child mortality (risk of a newborn dying before age 5, or q) in 2004 varied between 47 per 1000 live births for both sexes in Sistan and Baluchistan province, and 25 per 1000 live births in Tehran and Gilan provinces. For adults, provincial differences in mortality were much greater for males than females. Adult mortality (risk of dying between ages 15 and 60, or 45q15) for females varied between 0.133 in Kerman province and 0.117 in Tehran province; for males the range was from 0.218 in Kerman to 0.149 in Tehran province. Life expectancy for females was highest in Tehran province (73.8 years) and lowest in Sistan and Baluchistan (70.9 years). For males, life expectancy ranged from 65.7 years in Sistan and Baluchistan province to 70.9 years in Tehran. Conclusion: Substantial differences in survival exist among the provinces of Iran. While the completeness of the death registration system operated by the Iranian MOH&ME appears to be acceptable in the majority of provinces, further efforts are needed to improve the quality of data on mortality in Iran, and to expand death registration to Tehran province

Hepatitis B vaccination coverage among Iranian children aged 15-26 months in 2006

This study in 2006 estimated the hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination coverage in the Islamic Republic of Iran at the national and district levels in urban, rural and remote populations of 41 university health service areas. Of 21 905 children recruited to the study, vaccination coverage based on vaccination card records was 100% in 14, 15 and 10 of the 41 university areas for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd doses of HBV respectively. National levels of HBV1, HBV2 and HBV3 coverage were 98.9%, 98.8% and 98.4% respectively. The lowest HBV vaccination coverage rate was 90.7% (in a remote district). HBV vaccination coverage was at an acceptable level in Iranian children