Analysis of Psychosocial Consequences of Covid-19 Disease and Vaccination in the Elderly: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: The elderly are one of the sensitive groups at risk of developing Covid-19 disease. We aimed to investigate the psychosocial consequences of Covid-19 disease and vaccination in the elderly. Methods: The phenomenological method was used in the current study. The study population included all the elderly receiving the Covid-19 vaccine in Sari city, Iran. 13 individuals were selected through purposeful sampling method who were interviewed afterwards. The Colaizzi Phenomenological method was used to analyze the data. Results: Data analysis led to the identification of 5 main themes, 11 sub-themes, and 56 primary open themes. The first major theme was "psychological status." Psychological status included a set of reactions that included the following sub-themes: 1-Positive psychological status, 2-Negative psychological status. The second main theme was "recreational and communication status". Recreational and communication status was a set of behaviors that included the following sub-themes: 1-Health-based personal entertainment and communication, 2-Destructive entertainment and communication. The third main theme was physical and health status with these central themes: 1-Psychological and behavioral consequences of receiving the vaccine, 2-Physical complications of receiving the vaccine, and 3-Change in physical examinations. The economic status as the fourth main theme included: 1-High cost of Covid-19, 2-Career problems. Finally, the last major theme was lifestyle with the following central codes: 1-Pre-corona family plans and, 2-Post-corona family plans. Conclusions: The results showed that it is important to pay attention to the experience of the elderly in the coronavirus crisis and that the devastating consequences of Covid-19 can be avoided

Quality of Life and Job Satisfaction of Dispensing Pharmacists Practicing in Tehran Private-sector Pharmacies

Abstract As there is no evidence of previous studies on evaluating the level of job satisfaction and the major causes of dissatisfaction among the pharmacists in Iran, this study was designed. This study is a cross-sectional descriptive analysis of pharmacists practicing in Tehran private-sector pharmacies. We selected a stratified random sampling using number of prescriptions as a variable for stratification. The questionnaire was divided into three sections containing the demographic characteristics, general health perception and job satisfaction. Of all the participants, 62% were the owners of pharmacies and 38% were pharmacists in charge (non-owner). Seventy-eight percent of respondents reported satisfaction about their psychological and physical state. Just 11% of pharmacists were financially satisfied and 49% felt relaxed at the workplace. There was no correlation between the satisfaction and owning the pharmacy or sex of respondents. Spearman›s correlation showed that the income satisfaction correlated negatively with age (p ≤ 0.001) and years of experience (p < 0.05). Moreover, the average working hours was significantly higher among men compared to women (p < 0.01) and among owners relative to non-owners (p < 0.05). Overall, general health perception and quality of life among the respondents were at satisfactory level. However, work-related satisfaction was not high enough and most interviewed pharmacists were financially dissatisfied

Prevalence of and Factors Influencing Suicide Ideation, Attempt, and Completion in Heroin Users: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Suicide is considered a fundamental problem in discussions on public and global health. Thus, the current study aimed to review the prevalence of and reasons for successful suicide attempts in heroin users. Methods: This study was conducted by systematically searching the electronic databases of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and PsycINFO from 1960/1/1 to 2021/11/1 based on the PRISMA checklist and using MeSH keywords with no temporal or linguistic limitations. The primary and secondary impacts of suicide were identified, and all studies following an observational design (cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies) were included in the research. Data analysis was performed using Stata version 13. Finally, 17 studies were included in the work process for systematic review and meta-analysis.Findings: The results showed the most frequent reasons for suicide among the studied individuals were gender (being female), youngness, heroin overdose, multi-drug abuse, history of repeated suicide attempts, history of psychiatric disorder (especially depression), joblessness, homelessness, distorted family relationships, etc. Moreover, the results of synthesizing the studies revealed the prevalence of suicide attempts equaled the effect size (95% CI=0.3 [0.23-0.37]) among these individuals, and the prevalence of successful suicides approached the effect size (95% CI=0.03 [0.01-0.05]).Conclusion: The results of the present study showed the high prevalence of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts among the heroin-abusing population. Furthermore, according to the findings, the prevalence of unsuccessful suicide attempts was ten times more than that of successful ones in the target population

The Role of Sexual Behaviors in the Relapse Process in Iranian Methamphetamine Users: A Qualitative Study

Background: The awareness of sexual experiences could be an effective factor in preventing high-risk sexual behavior pertaining to relapse during the recovery period of substances. This research explored the role of sexual behaviors among Iranian methamphetamine (MA) users in relapse process.Methods: The study was conducted with a qualitative approach using content analysis method. 28 participants were selected through purposeful and theoretical sampling. Data were collected based on face-to-face, in-depth, semi-structured interviews based on open-ended questions. Interviews continued until the data saturation had occurred. All interviews were examined in four stages of codes, sub-categories, categories and themes according to the content analysis of explanations and descriptions of sexual behaviors.Findings: Two main themes were emerged from the analysis of interviews, including extreme pleasure seeking (including the main categories of sexual tunnel vision and sexual totalitarianism) and comprehended threat (including the main categories of internal conflict and external disorganization) as well as 10 subcategories.Conclusion: The results indicated that sexual behaviors played an important role in relapse process among Iranian MA users and needed to be considered and managed properly in the planning of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation

Effectiveness of learning strategies (cognitive and metacognitive) in the academic identity development among the students of Tehran University of applied sciences

The present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of teaching cognitive and metacognitive strategies in academic identity among the students of Tehran University of Applied Sciences. This is an applied research in terms of purpose and a quasi-experimental study in terms of method, with pre/post-test, follow-up phase, and control group. The statistical population included all students of the University of Applied Sciences in the academic year of 2020-2021. Due to the need for training treatment protocol, the samples (30 participants) were selected through a convenience sampling method. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 20 students were randomly assigned to the experimental groups (10 in the cognitive learning strategies group and 10 in the metacognitive learning strategies group) and 10 students were assigned into to the control group. Data was collected using Waz and Isaacson Educational Identity Questionnaire (2008). Cognitive and metacognitive strategies were trained to the experimental groups for 8 sessions. Data were analyzed using two-way repeated measures ANOVA (between-subject and within-subject mixed design). The results confirmed the effectiveness of teaching cognitive strategies in academic identity development

Role of Internal and External Religious Beliefs in Mental Health and Rate of Depression in Elderly People

Objectives: The present research is aimed at surveying the role of (internal and external) religious orientation in the mental health and the extent of depression in elderly people residing in welfare centers and the society. Methods: The study has been conducted through post-event and correlation method by using stochastic and cluster sampling in 230 cases of elderly people at senior citizens` homes, affiliated with the Welfare Organization, and public places (mosques and parks) which are gathering centers for the elderly people of society, both male and female. The cases were initially screened in terms of recognition complications. Then 28-question tests on general health and depression of Beck and Alport`s test on religious approach were completed and the results were analyzed by using Pierson and Manvitni`s dependent statistical tests. Results: Results showed that there is a significant correlation between the religious orientation and depression of the elderly people. That is, the more the scores of external religious orientation rise, the more the scores of disorder in mental health and depression increase. There is also a meaningful difference between mental health, depression and religious orientation of the elderly people who are residence and non-residence of the society. That is, the elderly people who live in the centers enjoy a more external religious orientation and disorder of mental health and more depression as compared to the group of the elderly people residing in the society. Discussion: The external religious belief has a correlation with disorder in the mental health and depression as well as internal religious belief. Moreover, mental disorders and depression among the resident elderly people are higher than non residents, while resident elderly people have a more external religious approach

Cognitive and metacognitive strategies, and academic buoyancy : Effects and analysis

The present study was devised and implemented to examine the comparison of the effectiveness of teaching cognitive learning strategies and metacognitive learning strategies on the Academic Buoyancy of students in Tehran in the academic year 2020-2021. The present study was a quasi-experiment with a pre-test/post-test design using therein control and intervention groups and follow-up examinations. Research subjects were selected using random sampling. As such, one of the universities was first randomly selected, from which three classrooms were randomly selected. From the selected classrooms, 30 students were randomly selected based on the pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria and hence assigned to Groups of Intervention 1, Intervention 2, and Control. First, the pre-test measurements were performed for all three groups, ‌ then one intervention group received instructions on cognitive learning strategies, and the other intervention group was taught metacognitive learning strategies. After the completion of interventions, post-test measurements were taken from all three groups. The inventory used in the research was the academic buoyancy scale of Martin and Marsh (2008). Split-plot ANOVA design was used to analyze the data.&nbsp

Study of Factors of Marriage Motivation among Single people with Andwithout Visual Impairment

Objectives: Talking about needs, it means to consider the reasons of human behavior. Because such behavior starts with one or several needs which will cause to develop different societies according to the degree of civilization, and also social-cultural factors treat differently with blinds, so these different circumstances can create different needs and motivation for them. Methods: On this basis, in order to measure marriage motivation, a, questionnaire made by researcher using Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which contains 45 questions. The participants consisted of 76 blind (In Isfahan, by using stratified sampling method) and 76 normal. The two groups in respect to age, sex, education level employment and income level were matched. Results: Statistical analysis of results showed that a significant difference exists in respect and self-sufficient factors of marriage motivation between two groups (P<0.05). Discussion: With respect to the results, it seems that blind people contrary to relatively deprivation that they face, willing to act upon their own internal values. Therefore any problem in their marriage motivation can be due to their interactions with others

Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies, and Academic Buoyancy: Effects and Analysis

Background and Aim: The present research was designed and implemented to compare the effectiveness of teaching cognitive learning strategies and metacognitive learning strategies on the academic buoyancy of Tehran students in the academic year 2020-21. Methods: The current research was conducted as a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test along with a control and follow-up group. The research population included students who were studying in Tehran in 2021; A random sampling method was used to select the sample. They were replaced in the test 1 and test 2 groups and the control group. First, the pre-test was performed for all three groups, then one training group was taught cognitive learning strategies and the other experimental group was taught metacognitive learning strategies; However, there was no intervention in the control group, and at the end, a post-test was taken from all three groups. The questionnaire used in the research was the Academic Buoyancy Questionnaire by Martin and Marsh (2008). To analyze the data, the method of mixed variance analysis was used.  Results: The interaction of stages with the experimental group was effective in three stages of measurement in academic monitoring (F=8.78, P=0.001). Conclusion: The results showed that according to the average scores of the pre-test and post-test and comparing them with the control group, the academic buoyancy of the students has increased; Also, a follow-up test was taken after one month, in which the post-test changes remained stable and stable