Cardiovascular patients� experiences of living with pacemaker: Qualitative study

BACKGROUND: A pacemaker implantation is considered major life event for cardiovascular patients, so they will probably have very interesting experiences of living with this device. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of cardiovascular patients living with the pacemaker. METHODS: In this qualitative study, 27 patients were chosen through purposive sampling to achieve data saturation, and their experiences were examined using semi-structured interviews. The patients� statements were recorded with their consent and analyzed using content analysis method. RESULTS: Participants� experiences included three main themes: �Problems and limitations,� �feeling and dealing with pacemaker�, and �sources of comfort� and 10 sub-themes including: physical problems, financial problems, social problems, the first encounter, the feeling of living with the pacemaker, how to cope with pacemaker, satisfaction with pacemaker, good family support, hospital and hospital staff performance, and role of religious beliefs. CONCLUSION: Planning to solve social problems, identifying and changing feelings of patients using pacemakers, reinforcing the resources of comfort especially family support seem to be necessary steps for improving quality of life and impact of using pacemaker. © 2015 Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved

Breast cancer screening barriers from the womans perspective: A meta-synthesis

Background: The principal aim of health service providers in the field of breast cancer is to detect and treat lesions at an appropriate time. Therefore, identification of barriers to screening can be very helpful. The present study aimed to systematically review the qualitative studies for extracting and reporting the barriers of screening for breast cancer from the womans perspective. Materials and Methods: In this systematic review; Pubmed, Google Scholar, Ovid Scopus, Cochrane Library, Iranmedex, and SID were searched using the keywords: screening barriers, cancer, qualitative studies, breast and their Persian equivalents, and the needed data were extracted and analyzed using an extraction table. To assess the quality of the studies, the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool was used. Results: From 2,134 related articles that were found, 21 articles were eventually included in the study. The most important barriers from the point of view of 1,084 women were lack of knowledge, access barriers (financial, geographical, cultural), fear (of results and pain), performance of service providers, women's beliefs, procrastination of screening, embarrassment, long wait for getting an appointment, language problems, and previous negative experiences. Articles' assessment score was 68.9. Conclusions: Increasing women's knowledge, reducing the costs of screening services, cultural promotion for screening, presenting less painful methods, changing beliefs of health service providers, provision of privacy for giving service, decreasing the waiting time, and providing high quality services in a respectful manner can be effective ways to increase breast cancer screening

Why Research from Lower- and Middle-Income Countries Matters to Evidence-Based Intervention: ACT Research as an Example

Despite the global nature of psychological issues, an overwhelming majority of research originates from a small segment of the world's population living in high-income countries (HICs). This disparity risks distorting our understanding of psychological phenomena by underrepresenting the cultural and contextual diversity of human experience. Research from lower- and middle-income countries (LMIC) is also less frequently cited, both because it is seemingly viewed as a 'special case' and because it is less well known due to language differences and biases in indexing algorithms. Acknowledging and actively addressing this imbalance is crucial for a more inclusive, diverse, and effective science of evidence-based intervention. In this paper we used a machine learning method to identify key topics in LMIC research on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), choosing ACT due to the significant body of work from LMICs. We also examined one indication of study quality (study size), and overall citations. Research in LMICs were often non-indexed, leading to lower citations, but study size could not explain a lack of indexing. Many objectively identified topics in ACT research became invisible when LMIC research was ignored. Specific countries exhibited potentially important differences in the topics. We conclude that strong and affirmative actions are needed by scientific associations and others to ensure that research from LMICs is conducted, known, indexed, and used by CBT researchers and others interested in evidence-based intervention science