Low Back Pain and Related Factors Among Iranian Office Workers

Low Back Pain (LBP) is likely the most common medical disorder among work population. In this survey, prevalence of LBP and pain severity and the association of them with occupational and non-occupational risk factors were specified among office workers in Baqiyatallah University Of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran in 2006 In this way the point prevalence of LBP and pain severity among office workers, role of some personal and occupational factors, and self-reported pain severity were assessed. The instruments used included direct interview, a body discomfort assessment tool that consisted of a 10-centimeter color Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and a questionnaire. Face to face, interview was done for measuring of weight and height of subjects. Of 1580 volunteers, 1436 persons were participated. About 80% (79.8%) of respondents were male. Mean age of responders was 35.08 years. More than 60% had at least one episode of LBP during their working life and 45.0% of pain sufferers' first attack was during their employment. Lifetime prevalence of LBP was 92.1% and this result for last 12 months was 37.3%. Increased age up to 40 years, increased weight, sitting work style more than 4 hours, computer use more than 5 hours a day also past history of LBP had a positive association with increased like hood of occurrence of LBP. LBP had a high prevalence in office workers. This study might help to estimate low back problems in office workers and emphasize healthy lifestyle, ergonomic measurement and control, good posture and holding educational programs

A study of the problems between basic insurance organizations and teaching hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences as viewed by the staff of income hospitals and representative of the insurer’s organization in 2013

Introduction: In Iran health insurance is a significant tool in healthcare costs, financing health care and equal access to health services for people. Problems between hospitals and insurance organizations impose extra cost to the patient, leading to financial losses they will infringe upon the rights of patients. This study aimed to determine the issues between hospitals and basic insurance organizations and proposed practical solutions to solve problems in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Method:This research was a qualitative study (content analysis), which was conducted in 2013. The research population consisted of teaching hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences; Purposeful sampling was used and continued until data saturation. The representative of the insurers and staff of income hospitals were asked questions using a semi-structured interview. In this study, we used NVIVO for data analysis. Results: The results of this study showed that the most common problems between basic insurance organizations and teaching hospitals include the lack of prompt payment of hospital bills and imposing deduction on the hospitals. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it seems that cooperation between hospitals and insurance organizations could be improved by timely payment of hospital bills and codifying appropriate rules and regulations by basic insurance organizations and, on the other hand, with timely completion of bills and training of hospital staff by the hospital authorities

Executive and financial manager’s awareness of economic issues in private and public hospitals in Shiraz

Introduction: Managers, as the members of decision making team in hospitals, are required to understand economic issues In order to increase their knowledge, make better decisions making, and bring about economic growth in hospitals. Thus by measuring the managers’ level of economic knowledge and understanding their weaknesses at this field, we can take an important step in line with this transcendental target. Method: This was an analytical– descriptive study conducted in 2013. In this study, the views of 30 hospital executives and financial managers about various aspects of hospital economy including payment methods, techniques of economic evaluation, hospital income, and cost and subtractions were studied using questionnaires and interviews. SPSS 18 was used to analyze the collected data. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: None of the studied managers had a good level of knowledge and most managers (80.7%) had an undesirable level of knowledge, and few of them had a moderate level of knowledge. The administrators’ average knowledge of the ways to reduce the cost and increase the income of private hospitals was more than that of hospital administrators; as to the economic evaluation techniques and methods of payment, hospital administrators had more knowledge than managers of private hospitals. Conclusion: The managers’ low level of economic knowledge can be enhanced by more selective appointment of individuals for these sensitive positions and also increased by their participation in workshops and training courses

Physical Violence against Nurses in Hospital

Health care workers are among the groups with high frequently of exposure to workplace violence and the real dimensions of this problem have not yet been clearly defined. The aim of this study was to review the exposure of nurses to physical violence. In this cross sectional descriptive study, a total 450 nurses completed a standard questionnaire. The survey elicited demographic information and various aspect of personal experience of violence. Data collection lasted for about six months (September 2006 to March 2007) in three academic hospitals of Baqiyatallah University of Medical Science in Iran. Ninety six nurses (21.3%) reported at least one exposure to physical violence during one year ago. Exposure was more among nurses with more than 10 years of work experience. Most of the invasions were done by patients&apos; fellows. In internal wards violence exposure had been occurred more than other ones. Sections of employment and types of employment had statistical differences among exposure or non-exposure groups (P=0.03). Due to some doubt of nurses in expressing violence experiences and recalling bias, explanation of relative low prevalence of violence exposure should be done cautiously. It is necessary that some comprehensive and screening researches be implemented and preventive program as well as proper management plus reporting system be designed