Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice toward Prevention of COVID-19 Among Nursing and Midwifery Students: A cross-sectional Study in Gorgan, Northern Iran

Background: Healthcare providers are high-risk groups for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection. Nursing students are an essential part of high-risk healthcare providers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of nursing and midwifery students at Golestan University of Medical Sciences (GOUMS) toward the prevention of COVID-19. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 174 nursing and midwifery students of GOUMS (northeast of IRAN) in 2020. Data were gathered using an online questionnaire comprising three parts – Knowledge (8 questions), Attitude (10 questions), and Practice (8 questions) toward the prevention of COVID-19. The range of scores in each subscale (knowledge, attitude, and preventive practices) were 8–24, 10–50, and 8–24, respectively. Data were analyzed using the SPSS v.16 software. The Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used for the analysis. Results: Overall, in this study, nursing and midwifery students had a good knowledge (mean score: 23.19 ± 2.56), a positive attitude (mean score: 45.48 ± 4.21), and appropriate practice (mean score: 23.30 ± 3.51) regarding COVID-19 prevention. Also, the results revealed a positive correlation between knowledge and attitude (r = 0.1, P = 0.18) and attitude and practice (r = 0.2, P = 0.01) among the students. Conclusion: The findings demonstrated a good preventive knowledge, attitude, and practice toward COVID-19 among nursing and midwifery students

Knowledge translation in health care: a concept analysis

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License which allows users to read, copy, distribute and make derivative works for non-commercial purposes from the material, as long as the author of the original work is cited properly.Background :Although knowledge translation is one of the most widely used concepts in health and medical literature, there is a sense of ambiguity and confusion over its definition. The aim of this paper is to clarify the characteristics of KT. This will assist the theoretical development of it and shape its implementation into the health care system Methods : Walker and Avant’s framework was used to analyze the concept and the related literature published between 2000 and 2010 was reviewed. A total of 112 papers were analyzed. Results : Review of the literature showed that "KT is a process" and "implementing refined knowledge into a participatory context through a set of challenging activities" are the characteristics of KT. Moreover, to occur successfully, KT needs some necessary antecedents like an integrated source of knowledge, a receptive context, and preparedness. The main consequence of successful process is a change in four fields of healthcare, i.e. quality of patient care, professional practice, health system, and community. In addition, this study revealed some empirical referents which are helpful to evaluate the process. Conclusion : By aiming to portray a clear picture of KT, we highlighted its attributes, antecedents, consequences and empirical referents. Identifying the characteristics of this concept may resolve the existing ambiguities in its definition and boundaries thereby facilitate distinction from similar concepts. In addition, these findings can be used as a knowledge infrastructure for developing the KT-related models, theories, or tools

Comparison of Prevalence and Risk Factors of Acute Coronary Syndrome in Patients with Different Ethnicity: A Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Although the main risk factors of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have been previously identified, there is not yet strong and consistent evidence about the ethnical differences of these risk factors. The aim of this study was to identify and compare the distribution of risk factors of ACS among two ethnic groups in northern Iran.METHODS: This cross-sectional study was done on a total of 250 patients (100 Fars and 150 Turkmen ethnics) with ACS admitted in coronary care units (CCU) of medical centers in Gonbad-e Kavus, a city in the Northeast of Iran. The demographic characteristics, clinical parameters and anthropometric indices of patients in two ethnic groups were recorded. In addition, Beacke’s questionnaire and Cohen's scale were used to evaluate and compare the patients’ level of physical activity and perceived stress, respectively.RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 60.9±11.9 years and they were mostly males (54.8%) and married (84.8%). Findings showed that the prevalence of myocardial infarction in Fars patients was significantly higher than Turkmens (24% versus 15.3%; P=0.04). In addition, there was a significant difference in terms of the history of using opium (P=0.07) and opium sap (P=0.03)‚ socioeconomic status (P=0.009)‚ the place of residence (P=0.001) and type of health insurance services (P=0.001) between two groups. However, the clinical parameters and anthropometric indices and the level of physical activity and perceived stress were not significantly different between two groups (P>0.05).CONCLUSION: This study showed a significant difference in the prevalence and risk factor of ACS in patients with different ethnicity in northern Iran. This finding points to the importance of paying attention to the ethnicity-based difference in ACS prevalence and risk factors, especially in patients who are at high to intermediate risk for ACS, such as Turkmens

Experience of health care providers in taking care of anxious patients under surgery with spinal anesthesia: A qualitative content analysis study

Background: Anxiety is a common experience in patients undergoing surgery. It is one of the major challenges for preoperative health care providers. The aim of this study was to explore the experience of health care providers in taking care of anxious patients under surgery with spinal anesthesia. Methods: This qualitative content analysis study was conducted at a referral hospital in Gonbad-e-Kavous city, northeastern Iran, between 2020 and 2021. Data were collected through semi-structured individual interviews. The primary focus of this research was to explore the perspective of health care professionals when providing care to nervous patients who are being considered for surgery with spinal anesthesia. The study included 16 health care providers who had experience in caring for anxious patients undergoing surgery with spinal anesthesia. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. Interviews were implemented in MAXQDA 10 software and then analyzed by the conventional content analysis method. Results: Five main categories and 19 subcategories were extracted from data analysis. The categories included “emergence of anxiety,” “basis of anxiety formation,” “patient advocacy,” “abilities of health care providers,” and “anxiety management factors.” Conclusion: Health care providers consider patient anxiety as a problem that can be affected by various factors. Different methods are used to manage patients' anxiety, but it is necessary to apply appropriate context-based interventions

Prevalence of alarm fatigue and its relevant factors in critical care nurses: A cross-sectional study

Background: Fatigue and indifference among critical care nurses due to intermittent and sometimes false alarms are common problems associated with working with alarming equipment. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of alarm fatigue and its relevant factors among critical care nurses in Golestan province, Iran. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study examined critical care nurses in Golestan province in 2019. A total of 308 critical care nurses (working in ICUs and CCUs) from 11 hospitals were included in the study using the census method based on the inclusion criteria. Data were collected through a 13-item questionnaire assessing nurses’ alarm fatigue. The researcher randomly recorded the number and type of alarms per hour during morning, afternoon, and evening shifts. Simple and multiple linear regression tests analyzed the association between alarm fatigue and nurses’ demographic and professional characteristics as underlying factors. Data analysis was conducted at a significance level of 0.05 and a confidence interval of 95% using SPSS16. Results: Most nurses, who were predominantly female (79.2%) and had a clinical work experience of 5 years or less in critical care units (69.5%), reported a mean alarm fatigue score of 24.1±6.52. Additionally, 63.3% of the nurses experienced moderate alarm fatigue. It was found that female nurses (87.5%), those working as compulsory medical service workers (35.9%), those assigned to variable shifts (87.2%), and those required to work mandatory overtime (81.5%) reported higher levels of moderate alarm fatigue compared to others. When multiple linear regression analysis was conducted, controlling for the effects of confounding variables, it was observed that among all independent demographic and occupational variables, only gender (b=-0.18, p=0.01), education level (b =0.14, p=0.02), and type of overtime (b=0.15, p=0.01) had statistically significant effects on the response variable, namely the alarm fatigue score (b=-0.18, p=0.01) Conclusion: Given that most nurses experience moderate alarm fatigue, it is recommended to implement strategies to enhance the quality of care and patient safety, such as providing critical care nurses with appropriate training on the practical and safe management of alarm systems

Assessing the efficacy of 10% oral dextrose in reducing pain in infants during venipuncture: A randomized controlled clinical trial

Background: Available evidence on the efficacy of sweet solutions for reducing pain in infants is insufficient. This study aimed to assess the effects of 10% oral dextrose on the pain of infants during venipuncture. Methods: This randomized controlled clinical trial was done on 60 infants undergoing venipuncture. Eligible infants were randomly assigned into an intervention and control group. Two minutes before venipuncture, 2 ml of 10% oral dextrose solution and 2 ml of water were given to the intervention and control groups, respectively. The infants' pain intensity during the procedure was measured by two independent experts based on the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and CONSOL ability Behavioral Pain Scale. Data were analyzed using independent t-test and ANOVA tests. A P-value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean (±standard deviation) age of infants in the intervention and control groups were 6.37 (2.96) and 9.03 (3.10) months, respectively (P0.05). In addition, the standardized mean difference in pain score between the two groups was -0.2 (95% confidence interval: -0.30 to 0.71). Despite a significant difference (P=0.003) in the pain score between females and males, the effect of intervention after gender effect correction was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Using 2 ml of 10% oral dextrose 2 minutes before venipuncture has a weak and non-significant effect on the pain of infants. Based on the effect size and 95% confidence interval, conducting further trials with a larger study population is recommended

The causes of short stature among children in Gorgan-Iran

Background and Objective: Short stature among children is often due to physiological causes but it can be a sign of important and curable diseases. Thus early detection of problem, before epiphyseal closure, is critical. This study was done to determine the cause of short stature among children in Gorgan-Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross- sectional research study was done on 100 children of 6-14 years of age during 2005 in Gorgan-Iran. Children were selected by census. Demographic character of children, history of serious disease, prematurity, blood and provocative growth hormone tests, physical examination, wrist radiography and standard deviation score (SDS) were recorded for each child. Data were analyzed by t-student and chi-square tests. Results: The finding of this study showd that most children with short stature was girl (66%). mean+-SD of calendar and bone age of female children was 10.4+-2.25 and 8.4+-2.32 year, respectively. The most frequent causes of short stature were constitutional (57%), Growth hormone deficiency (30%) and familial causes (8%). Mean+-SD of calendar and bone age of males children was 10.79+-2.32 and 7.89+-2.19 years. Children with growth hormone deficiency had lower bone age and children with constitutional short stature had higher standard deviation score than others. (P<0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that since growth hormone deficiency was one of the common and important pathologic causes of short stature. Therefore growth hormone determination and theraphy is recommended, after elimination of familial and constitutional factors

Assessment of Dietary Adherence in Hypertensive Patients Referred to Shahid Sayyad Shirazi Teaching Hospital in Gorgan

Background: Hypertension is a risk factor for many diseases. Nutritional methods are considered as major tools in lifestyle modification for lowering blood pressure. The present study was conducted to determine the level of dietary adherence in hypertensive patients. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed in 2015, on hypertensive patients who were referred to Heart Clinic of Sayyad Shirazi Hospital in Gorgan. Overall, 200 patients (62% female) were selected by purposive sampling. The dietary adherence was evaluated in five following groups of salt-, fat-, fruit-, vegetables- -and dairies-intake through daily completion of data collection form within two weeks. This form was designed by the researchers and its validity and reliability were tested in a pilot study. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney, Chi-square, and logistic regression analysis tests. Results: The mean and standard deviation (SD) of age of patients was 48.6&plusmn;7.51 years. Mean and SD of systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients were 152.31&plusmn;9.1 and 93.53&plusmn;2.87 mmHg, respectively. The results showed that 7% of patients had complete dietary adherence, 66.5% had poor adherence, and rest of the subjects had average dietary adherence. The highest level of dietary adherence was observed in the case of diaries intake (43.5%) and the lowest was related to fruit intake (3.5%). Conclusion: Given the importance of dietary adherence in controlling hypertension and lack of dietary adherence in hypertensive patients, it is recommended to conduct further studies to identify factors affecting dietary adherence and implement necessary interventions to improve this issue in patients