Seeking safety therapy for co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder: A case study in Iran

Background: Literature documents the high prevalence of trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (OTSD) in individuals with substance use disorders, which complicate the clinical profile of patients and present challenges for treatment providers. Although several evidence-based integrated therapies are developed for comorbid PTSD/SUD (substance use disorder), there is a considerable gap addressing this co-occurrence and none of such practices are studied yet on such patients. Through A-B-A single subject design. Objectives: The current study aimed to explore the effectiveness of seeking safety (SS), an integrative evidence-based therapy for PTSD/SUD, to reduce PTSD and SUD symptoms in a 32-year-old female with both disorders. Patients and Methods: Measures of PTSD checklist (PTSD ChecklistCivilian; PCL-C), Addiction Severity Index (ASI), Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS-21) were completed by the participant at baseline, intervention, and 2-month follow-up. Results: Results were analyzed through visual analysis and computing 3 effect size indices including standardized mean difference (SMD), mean baseline reduction (MBLR), and percent of non-overlapping data (PND). Conclusions: Clinically significant reductions in PTSD symptoms, psychological distress, and ASI scores, as well as improvement in coping skills were observed at intervention phase and maintained at 2-month follow-up, which indicated that the participant benefited from SS. © 2018, International Journal of High Risk Behaviors and Addiction

Impact of Health Literacy, Self-efficacy, and Outcome Expectations on Adherence to Self-care Behaviors in Iranians with Type 2 Diabetes.

OBJECTIVES: Diabetic patients with higher health literacy (HL) may feel more confident in their ability to perform self-care behaviors and may have strong beliefs that diabetes-related behaviors will lead to specific outcomes. Our study aimed to document the relationships between HL, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and diabetes self-care of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Iran. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study of 187 patients with T2DM. Participants completed the Functional Communicative and Critical Health Literacy scale, the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities, the Diabetes Management Self-Efficacy Scale, Outcome Expectations Questionnaire, and a demographic questionnaire. RESULTS: Participants who received diabetes education (t = 5.79, p<0.001) and were married (F = 3.04, p<0.050) had better diabetes self-care behavior. There was a significant positive correlation between self-care behaviors and communicative HL (r = 0.455, p<0.010), critical HL (r = 0.297, p<0.010), self-efficacy (r = 0.512, p<0.010) and outcome expectations (r = 0.387, p<0.010). Diabetes education and marital status accounted for 16.9% of the variance in diabetes self-care. Self-efficacy, outcome expectations, communicative, and critical HL explained 28.0%, 1.5%, 3.7%, and 1.4% of the variance, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that the potential impact of self-efficacy, outcome expectations, communicative, and critical HL should be considered in the education program for patients with diabetes. We found self-efficacy to be the most important predictor of diabetes self-care. Therefore, the use of self-efficacy theory when designing patient education interventions could enhance diabetes self-care. It is essential that health care providers assess patient's HL levels to tailor health-related information specific to a domain of HL. This would fully inform patients and promote empowerment rather than simple compliance

Job stress among iranian prison employees

Background: Exposure to job stress causes deleterious effects on physical and mental health of employees and productivity of organizations. Objective: To study work-related stressors among employees of prisons of Ilam, western Iran. Methods: In a cross-sectional study conducted from July to October 2013, 177 employees of Ilam prisons and security-corrective measures organization were enrolled in this study. The UK Health and Safety Executive Organization 35-item questionnaire for assessment of occupational stress was used to determine job stress among the studied employees. Results: Job stress was highest among employees of “correction and rehabilitation center” of Ilam province followed by “Dalab vocational training center.” There was no significant relationship between occupational stress and age, work experience, level of education, marital status, sex of employees, and obesity. Conclusion: Employees of prisons, for their nature of job and work environment, are exposed to high level of occupational stress. © 2014, Int J Occup Environ Med. All Rights Reserved

Evaluating assumptions of scales for subjective assessment of thermal environments – Do laypersons perceive them the way, we researchers believe?

International audienc

Evaluating assumptions of scales for subjective assessment of thermal environments – Do laypersons perceive them the way, we researchers believe?

People's subjective response to any thermal environment is commonly investigated by using rating scales describing the degree of thermal sensation, comfort, and acceptability. Subsequent analyses of results collected in this way rely on the assumption that specific distances between verbal anchors placed on the scale exist and that relationships between verbal anchors from different dimensions that are assessed (e.g. thermal sensation and comfort) do not change. Another inherent assumption is that such scales are independent of the context in which they are used (climate zone, season, etc.). Despite their use worldwide, there is indication that contextual differences influence the way the scales are perceived and therefore question the reliability of the scales’ interpretation. To address this issue, a large international collaborative questionnaire study was conducted in 26 countries, using 21 different languages, which led to a dataset of 8225 questionnaires. Results, analysed by means of robust statistical techniques, revealed that only a subset of the responses are in accordance with the mentioned assumptions. Significant differences appeared between groups of participants in their perception of the scales, both in relation to distances of the anchors and relationships between scales. It was also found that respondents’ interpretations of scales changed with contextual factors, such as climate, season, and language. These findings highlight the need to carefully consider context-dependent factors in interpreting and reporting results from thermal comfort studies or post-occupancy evaluations, as well as to revisit the use of rating scales and the analysis methods used in thermal comfort studies to improve their reliability

The Scales Project, a cross-national dataset on the interpretation of thermal perception scales

Thermal discomfort is one of the main triggers for occupants’ interactions with components of the built environment such as adjustments of thermostats and/or opening windows and strongly related to the energy use in buildings. Understanding causes for thermal (dis-)comfort is crucial for design and operation of any type of building. The assessment of human thermal perception through rating scales, for example in post-occupancy studies, has been applied for several decades; however, long-existing assumptions related to these rating scales had been questioned by several researchers. The aim of this study was to gain deeper knowledge on contextual influences on the interpretation of thermal perception scales and their verbal anchors by survey participants. A questionnaire was designed and consequently applied in 21 language versions. These surveys were conducted in 57 cities in 30 countries resulting in a dataset containing responses from 8225 participants. The database offers potential for further analysis in the areas of building design and operation, psycho-physical relationships between human perception and the built environment, and linguistic analyses

The Scales Project, a cross-national dataset on the interpretation of thermal perception scales

Thermal discomfort is one of the main triggers for occupants' interactions with components of the built environment such as adjustments of thermostats and/or opening windows and strongly related to the energy use in buildings. Understanding causes for thermal (dis-)comfort is crucial for design and operation of any type of building. The assessment of human thermal perception through rating scales, for example in post-occupancy studies, has been applied for several decades; however, long-existing assumptions related to these rating scales had been questioned by several researchers. The aim of this study was to gain deeper knowledge on contextual influences on the interpretation of thermal perception scales and their verbal anchors by survey participants. A questionnaire was designed and consequently applied in 21 language versions. These surveys were conducted in 57 cities in 30 countries resulting in a dataset containing responses from 8225 participants. The database offers potential for further analysis in the areas of building design and operation, psycho-physical relationships between human perception and the built environment, and linguistic analyses

Ultraviolet Radiation Emissions and Illuminance in Different Brands of Compact Fluorescent Lamps

Introduction. Replacing incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which are three to six times more efficient, is one of the easiest methods to achieve energy efficiency. The present study aimed to evaluate relationships between UV emissions radiated and illuminance CFLs. Material and Methods. This pilot study was conducted on 16 single envelope CFLs. The illuminance and UV irradiance of various types of CFLs are measured on a three-meter long optical bench, using a calibrated lux meter and UV meter, and measurement was done in 10, 25, 50, 100, 150, and 200 cm, in three angles, including 0 degrees, 45 degrees, and 90 degrees, at the ages of 0, 100, and 2000 hours. Result. UVC irradiance was not observed at the distance of 10 cm in all of lamps. The lowest value of UVB irradiance was recorded in Pars Khazar lamp, while the highest value was recorded in Etehad lamps. UVR values measured at different times showed negligible differences; the highest asset value was detected in zero times. One way ANOVA indicated that relationships between UVA irradiance and illuminance were significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion. UVB irradiance in most of the lamp in 10 and 25 cm was more than occupational exposure and UVA except for the fact that Pars Khazar 60 watts and Nama Noor 60 watts were less than occupational exposure

Impacts of using electronic devices on road crossing behaviors among medical college student

College-age individuals walked frequently. One factor that might contribute to increase unsafe crossing behaviors among this group is distraction while use of mobile phone and personal music devices. The main of this study was examining the effect of mobile phone use and personal music devices on crossing behaviors among Iranian medical college students. Two hundred seventy eight college students registered to participation in a cross-sectional study. Participants selected randomly from eight faculties of Isfahan University of medical science, Isfahan, Iran. Data was calculated by self- report questionnaire that measured crossing behaviors. Data were analyzed by statistical software SPSS version 21 by conducting independent sample t- test and chi-square test. Mean age of study participants was 23.16 ± 3.66 years. One hundred thirty one (71.9) undergraduate students and 78 (28.1) were graduate students. Use of mobile phone and personal music devices in males was more than females. Males reported performing unsafe crossing behaviors while using of mobile phone, writing text message and listening to music on personal music devices more than females (p<0.05). Multivariate general linear model analysis showed a significant correlation between use of mobile phone (value= 0.099, df=7, P= 0.001), personal music devices (value= 0.54, df=7, P= 0.036) and writing text message (value= 0.53, df=7, P= 0.038) with unsafe crossing. In Conclusion, Use of mobile phone, music devices and writing text message appears to impair crossing behaviors related to road safety. Design and implementing interventions that highlight the dangers of using electronic devices while crossing is suggested

Effects of companionship in training sessions on primiparous women's knowledge, attitude and performance toward breastfeeding

Background The present study aimed to explore effects of companionship in training sessions on primiparous women's knowledge, attitude and performance toward breastfeeding. Materials and Methods: In this case- control interventional study, 105 primiparous women in the 30th to 34th weeks of pregnancy were selected and assigned to three groups, namely the intervention group without a companion (n=35), the intervention group with a companion (n=35), and the comparison group (n=35). Data gathering tools was a questionnaire and breastfeeding observational checklist. The control group received routine training in the hospital, but the other groups were trained by the researcher in four 90-minute sessions. Data were collected before and after the education, immediately after childbirth, and four and eight weeks after childbirth and analyzed using SPSS(version 20.0) software and appropriate statistical tests. Results: No significant difference was observed in terms of demographic variables such as: maternal and paternal educational level and occupation status between control and intervention groups (P > 0.05). There was a significant difference between the mean scores of knowledge and attitude toward breastfeeding in the two intervention groups before and after the educational intervention, right after child birth, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after child birth (P < 0.001). There was also a significant difference between the three groups in the mean score of performance of breastfeeding right after, 4, and 8 weeks after childbirth (P < 0.001). Conclusion: According to results of this study, education during pregnancy and support from the accompanying person, before and after childbirth expand knowledge of breastfeeding, reinforce attitude toward it, and boost its performance