Emphasizing access to health and treatment services in order to identify the key factors influencing an age-friendly city

One of the most important goals of urban management is to provide comfort and well-being for all citizens. According to the population trend of the world, a massive segment of the future population will be the elderly. Therefore, it is crucial to pay attention to the needs of this segment of society. In this regard, the concept of an age-friendly city that provides a favorable urban environment for the elderly has entered the world’s scientific literature. Because one of the essential land utilization that the elderly have a lot of connection with is health-therapeutic use, the current research has been carried out to evaluate the current health-treatment situation of Songhor city in terms of its usefulness for the elderly. In the second step, the most important drivers influencing the location of these uses have been identified from the perspective of related experts. This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of research method. The required data has been collected using library-documentary studies, field surveys, and the distribution of questionnaires from related experts. According to the study’s findings, more than 60% of treatment facilities in Songhor city are inaccessible to the elderly. This difficulty varies by therapeutic use; in some cases, it is less difficult than the average, while in others, it is more difficult. In addition, three factors–investment cost (V3), rivalry (V10), and population density (V8)–have been identified as the age-friendly city’s main drivers out of a total of 18 main variables. The study’s findings indicate that the global population is aging, and urban managers and officials should design urban environments following the requirements of the projected population by putting forth medium- and long-term plans

Assessing the environmental competitiveness of cities based on a novel MCDM approach

Many factors affect the competitiveness of cities. One of the most important of these factors is the environmental dimension, which can affect and be influenced by economic and sociocultural aspects of urban competitiveness. The present study assesses the environmental competitiveness of cities with populations of more than 500,000 in Iran. Our research weighting approach consists of integrated ITARA FUCOM methods to obtain nine criteria weights based on actual data evaluation and expert ideas. In addition, experts' statements are presented using gray logic and transformed into crisp numbers. Then, a modified MARCOS method that uses logarithmic normalization is introduced and implemented to assess fourteen target cities. Finally, The results of MARCOS-LN are compared to those of MARCOS itself, as well as three more MCDM methods (EDAS, CODAS, TOPSIS) and their versions, which utilize logarithmic normalization. The research findings showed that the city of Rasht is the most environmentally competitive, while the city of Kerman is the least competitive (rank 14) among the Iranian cities with populations greater than 500,000. The research results indicate that to improve the competitive position of Iranian cities, the internal capacities, relative advantages, and the competitive role each city can have on a transnational scale, their internal capacities should be paid attention to. This requires decentralized national and transnational planning and development competitiveness scenarios for medium and long-term periods

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Nature-Based Tourism, Scenario Planning Approach (Case Study of Nature-Based Tourism in Iran)

The development of nature-based tourism is one of the most critical sectors of tourism, which is influenced by various economic, socio-cultural, and environmental factors. The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced all sectors of tourism, including nature-based tourism. The purpose of this article is to identify the key drivers affecting the development of nature-based tourism and analyze future scenarios of nature-based tourism in Iran based on the uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Micmac and ScenarioWizard software programs were used to analyze the research findings. Many factors affect the development of nature-based tourism in Iran, which fall into two human and natural factors groups. Five factors are the key drivers influencing the development of nature-based tourism in Iran: national, regional and globaly safety (F2); economic stability (F8); private sector participation (F9), human crises such as diseases, wars, etc. (F16); national and international advertising (national and international (F17); and travel costs (F19). According to the future of the COVID-19 pandemic, the research results show that a total of 10 scenarios for the future of nature-based tourism in Iran are conceivable, which are presented in three groups

Urban Competitiveness: Identification and Analysis of Sustainable Key Drivers (A Case Study in Iran)

From the mid-1990s onwards, the concept of competitiveness was introduced to firms at the level of countries, regions, and cities. It was used as an index of the success and superiority of places. The present study used quantitative (survey) and qualitative methods in the framework of the exploratory paradigm to achieve key driving variables affecting the competitiveness of Kermanshah. The present study was applied in terms of its purpose and descriptive–analytical nature and research method. The study’s statistical population consisted of experts related to the Kermanshah competitiveness index, which studied 30 experts using the snowball method. MICMAC software was used to analyze the research data. Findings indicated that out of a total of 54 variables affecting the competitiveness of Kermanshah, 11 variables were in this group, which were the role of Kermanshah city in the power structure (MIN1); geographical and strategic location (MIN4); national, regional, and local plans (MIN5); management (MIN6); clean and healthy air (ENV1); potential sources of soil and water (ENV2); security of space (SEC2); the agricultural sector (ECO7); domestic tourism (ECO16); foreign tourism (ECO17); and sustainable sources of income (ECO19). The final model of Kermanshah’s future competitiveness will be that in the first stage, if the government (administration and government structure), in the form of national, regional, and local programs, pays attention to the competitive advantages of places. Especially, in large cities, and eliminating regional inequalities and in the next stage, local government (officials, managers, and all planners as the executive department) will need to act in order to operationalize the competitiveness of the city. With the correct use of opportunities and potentials (economic, socio-cultural, environmental, and security), in the 20-year horizon, Kermanshah will be a city with national and even transnational competitiveness. Otherwise, in addition to burning opportunities and destroying the capabilities of Kermanshah, other places adjacent to Kermanshah province will gradually be involved in challenges; tensions; and economic, cultural, social, environmental, security, and other crises

Predictors of Clinical Anxiety Aggravation at the End of a Cardiac Rehabilitation Program

Background: Anxiety is one of the most primary and common reactions to a cardiac event can lead to hypertension, tachycardia, and high cardiac output. Objectives: To investigate the predictors of clinical anxiety aggravation at the end of a cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program. Patients and Methods: This retrospective study used a database of a CR ward of a hospital in Iran. The demographic and clinical information of 574 patients participating in the CR program from April 2005 through April 2010 were analyzed. In order to determine the predictors of anxiety, binary logistic regression was performed. Results: After adjustment for gender, age and education, the results showed that 16.7% of the patients completed their CR program with increased levels of clinical anxiety. The following study variables were independently predictive of increased anxiety at the end of the CR program: male gender (OR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.11 to 3.33, P = 0.048), no history of diabetes (OR = 4.24, 95% CI = 172 to 10.44, P = 0.002), family history of cardiac disease (OR = 2.63, 95% CI = 1.03 to 6.74, P = 0.043), and not quitting smoking (OR = 3.29, 95% CI = 1.38 to 7.85, P = 0.007). These variables could explain 9% - 15% of the variance in the dependent variable. Conclusions: It is possible to predict higher anxiety levels at the end of the CR program and implement preventive measures to control anxiety by considering certain demographic and clinical variables. Future studies should assess the predictive power of other variables