Health related quality of life in family caregivers of patients suffering from mental disorders

Introduction: In the light of the advances in treatment measures and early discharge of patients with mental disorders from psychiatric hospitals, families play important role in caring for such patients. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the Quality of Life (QoL) of the family caregivers of patients with mental disorders. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in teaching health care centers affiliated with medical universities in Tehran, Iran. Sampling was conducted by convenience random technique. Participants were 238 family caregivers of mental disorder patients and the Short-Form Health Survey Questionnaire was used to gather data. The data were analyzed by Spearman’s correlation, t-test and ANOVA in SPSS 18.0. Results: The women’s mean QoL was lower than the men’s. Regarding family relationship with the patients, the lowest QoL was observed among the mothers. There was a significant relationship between the caregivers QoL and economic status, the caregivers gender, family relationship with the patients and the patients’ gender (p<0.05). Conclusion: The caregivers of mental disorder patients have lower QoL compared with general population. Appropriately developed plans should be implemented to improve QoL among the family caregivers of these patients

Impact of team-based learning on nursing students\' knowledge of cardiovascular system examination

Background & Objective: The use of team-based learning (TBL) as one of the active learning strategies in the education of nursing students is expanding. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of employing the TBL method on improving the knowledge of the cardiovascular system in nursing students. Materials & Methods: This semi-experimental study was conducted on nursing students of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Hormozgan, Iran, in 2017. The students were divided into intervention (TBL method) and comparison (traditional lecture method) groups. The intervention group was taught by the TBL method, while the control group received teaching by the lecture method during three 2-hour sessions. Pre-test and post-test were administered to all students. The data were analyzed using SPSS23 software and the significance level was considered ≤ 0.05. Results: The results showed a significant difference among the students in the intervention group, whose mean score of knowledge increased from 12.45±5.22 before the test to 32.26±4.25 after the test (P<0.001). Moreover, the comparison of the post-test mean scores in the intervention (32.26±4.25) and control (17.33±4.05) indicated a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.03). Conclusion: The adoption of novel educational methods, such as TBL, in the education of nursing students can improve their knowledge

Future Challenges of Nursing in Health System of Iran

&lt;jats:p&gt;&lt;jats:bold&gt;Purpose:&lt;/jats:bold&gt; Nursing development is considered as one of the most important ways to achieve the universal health coverage and sustainable development goals in different countries. Nursing in Iran has the potential to provide services at all levels of universal health coverage. Therefore, planning for nursing in Iran needs to recognize the future challenges. This study aims to explore the future challenges of nursing in the health system of Iran from the perspective of nursing experts.&lt;/jats:p&gt;&lt;jats:p&gt;&lt;jats:bold&gt;Methods:&lt;/jats:bold&gt; In this qualitative study, 11 semi-structured interviews were conducted with nursing experts by purposive sampling in 2017–2018. Interviews were recorded and transcribed and framework analysis method was used to analysis the data.&lt;/jats:p&gt;&lt;jats:p&gt;&lt;jats:bold&gt;Results:&lt;/jats:bold&gt; The results showed that a favorable future requires planning in three areas of nursing “governance challenges” including centralized nursing stewardship, policy-making and legislation, monitoring and evaluation, and cooperation and communication with other institutions, “inadequacy of professional development with social demands” including community-based nursing, nursing upgrades with disease patterns, expanding home care, expanding care centers, and use of technology, “human resource challenges “including nursing education tailored to the needs of the community, empowering nursing managers, recruiting and retaining nurses, and specialized nursing.&lt;/jats:p&gt;&lt;jats:p&gt;&lt;jats:bold&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/jats:bold&gt; A favorable future requires a coherent nursing government, professional development of nursing based on social demands, and enhancing human resources in line with the emerging needs of the future.&lt;/jats:p&gt

Prevalence of nonmedical use of prescription-type opioids, methylphenidate, and sedative-hypnotics among university students in the south of Iran: a regression analysis

Background and aim: Nonmedical use of prescription drugs needs particular attention. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of prescription-type opioids, methylphenidate and sedative-hypnotics use, and related factors in university students. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 524 students of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences were selected by multi-stage sampling in 2016. A self-report questionnaire had been used examining substance use, religious beliefs and parental support. The questions about substance use were prepared based on the World Health Organization Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (WHO ASSIST). Religious beliefs were measured by Kendler’s general religiosity questionnaire. Parental support was measured by the Persian version of Aneshensel and Sucoff’s scale. All of the analysis was performed using Chi-square test, Fisher exact test, independent-samples t-test and binary logistic regression in SPSS 16 software. The level of significance was 0.05. Results: The last year prevalence of prescription-type opioids, methylphenidate and sedative-hypnotics use was 16.1%, 3.3%, and 10.3%, respectively. The final model of logistic regression indicated hookah use (OR=2.5), methylphenidate use (OR=4.5), sedative-hypnotics use (OR=2.7), and were associated with students’ prescription-type opioids use. The protective factor was familial support (OR=0.97) for prescription-type opioids use. Moreover, sedative-hypnotics use (OR=5.7) and illicit drug use (OR=27.6) were associated with methylphenidate use among students. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the prevalence of nonmedical use of prescription drugs is considerably high among students and is in need of interventions to reduce the prevalence of these drugs in universities

Effects of Ramadan fasting on spirometric values and clinical symptoms in asthmatic patients

Introduction: Ramadan is the 9th  Islamic lunar month during which Muslims avoid eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset.  The effect of Ramadan intermittent fasting on asthma control is controversial.  The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Ramadan fasting on the spirometric variables and clinical symptoms on well-controlled asthmatic patients during Ramadan. Material and Methods: a cohort study was conducted in Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi, Iran. Twenty-nine (19 females and 10 males) well-controlled asthmatic patients aged 47 (12) years completed the study.  The average duration of fasting was 26.5 days. Assessment of spirometric variables (daily peak expiratory flow, peak expiratory flow variability, peak expiratory flow home monitoring ) as well as asthma clinical symptoms including dyspnea, cough, wheezing, and chest tightness were carried out. Results: No significant changes in clinical symptoms were reported in asthmatic patients at the end of Ramadan fasting.  Among spirometric variables, only peak expiratory flow improved after Ramadan (