Investigating the Effectiveness of Blended Learning as a New Strategy for Teaching Anatomy to Medical Students: A Systematic Review

Background: The combined use of electronic and traditional education is called blended learning. Anatomy is a major in medical education. Using this method creates flexible learning environments and more interaction in learning.Objectives: The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of blended learning on teaching anatomy to medical students.Methods: This comprehensive literature review was conducted on December 3, 2022. Our research was conducted by adhering to the PRISMA guidelines. Online databases PubMed, Eric, and Web of Science were systematically searched for relevant articles using predefined keywords. Using EndNote, all relevant literature published within the past five years was retrieved and further analyzed.Results: Our comprehensive search strategy resulted in the retrieval of 351 articles. After screening the articles and selecting the articles based on the inclusion criteria, 22 articles were eligible and included in the study. Most of the studies were conducted in India (n = 5), China (n = 2), United Kingdom (n = 2), and Portugal (n = 2). The majority of studies were conducted in 2022 (n = 7). The most important finding of all reviewed articles was the effectiveness of blended learning, which is mentioned as an effective method for teaching anatomy.Conclusion: Blended learning can improve performance and increase satisfaction and motivation in students. Identifying suitable learning resources with medical students’ abilities improves learners’ knowledge. Applying new learning methods can be very effective as some conditions, such as the COVID-19 crisis, limit access to corpses and physical presence

Information Technology(IT): A New Revolution In Urban Health Development

Background and Aim: Urban health is one of the challenges of the 21st century. Rapid growth and expanding urbanization have implications for health. In this regard, information technology can remove a large number of modern cities' problems. Therefore, the present article aims to study modern information technologies in the development of urban health. Materials and Methods: This is a review article based on library research and Internet searches on valid websites such as Science Direct, Magiran, Springer and advanced searches in Google. Some 164 domestic and foreign texts were studied on such topics as the application of ICT tools including cell phones and wireless tools, GIS, and RFID in the field of urban health in 2011. Finally, 30 sources were used. Conclusion: Information and communication technologies play an important role in improving people's health and enhancing the quality of their lives. Effective utilization of information and communication technologies requires the identification of opportunities and constraints, and the formulation of appropriate planning principles with regard to social and economic factors together with preparing the technological, communication and telecommunications, legal and administrative infrastructur

Investigating the performance of machine learning algorithms in predicting the survival of COVID‐19 patients: A cross section study of Iran

Abstract Background and Aims Like early diagnosis, predicting the survival of patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‐19) is of great importance. Survival prediction models help doctors be more cautious to treat the patients who are at high risk of dying because of medical conditions. This study aims to predict the survival of hospitalized patients with COVID‐19 by comparing the accuracy of machine learning (ML) models. Methods It is a cross‐sectional study which was performed in 2022 in Fasa city in Iran country. The research data set was extracted from the period February 18, 2020 to February 10, 2021, and contains 2442 hospitalized patients' records with 84 features. A comparison was made between the efficiency of five ML algorithms to predict survival, includes Naive Bayes (NB), K‐nearest neighbors (KNN), random forest (RF), decision tree (DT), and multilayer perceptron (MLP). Modeling steps were done with Python language in the Anaconda Navigator 3 environment. Results Our findings show that NB algorithm had better performance than others with accuracy, precision, recall, F‐score, and area under receiver operating characteristic curve of 97%, 96%, 96%, 96%, and 97%, respectively. Based on the analysis of factors affecting survival, heart disease, pulmonary diseases and blood related disease were the most important disease related to death. Conclusion The development of software systems based on NB will be effective to predict the survival of COVID‐19 patient

ART Registries–Characteristics and experiences: A comparative study

Background: The incident of infertility is continuously increasing. As a result, the demand for medical care such as assisted reproductive technology (ART) technology is equally increasing. In order to manage the growing data and information collected on ART, there is a need for a registry system can provide accurate statistics about activities and outcomes and ensure the quality control. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine and compare In vitro fertilization (IVF) and ART registries. Methods: This is a descriptive-comparative study in which data from the national ART registries of 14 selected countries in 2018 were collected. In this study, databases such as PubMed, Web of Sciences, and Scopus, as well as Google Scholar websites were searched. Results: Important aspects of the registry were studied. One of the most important goals of these systems is to collect information about ART, as well as to monitor and report the results and implications, and also implement new care plans. Conclusion: A national registry helps to better understand the scope and the effect of assisted reproduction on the health of infertile couples. By this registry system, different countries can compare the data with other countries, allowing the improvement of techniques and the best possible care for patients

Lipid profile dysregulation in opium users based on Fasa PERSIAN cohort study results

Abstract One of the main health problems in many societies is the increased opium abuse, which was found to be correlated with many problems like cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation of opium use with blood lipoproteins as the risk factor of CVD. This was a cross-sectional study conducted on participants of the first phase of the PERSIAN Cohort study who were aged between 35 and 70 years old. Demographic characteristics; history of smoking, alcohol, and opium consumption; medical history; and medications were asked and the related checklists were filled out. The levels of physical activity and fat intake were also registered. As well, lipoprotein profiles were investigated by blood sampling. The linear and logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between opium and lipid profile and the statistical significant level was considered as < 0.05. Among 9300 participants with a mean age of 48.06 ± 9.44 years old, 49.6% of them were men. About 24.1% of the participants used opium. In the linear regression models, unlike TG (β = 2.2, p = 0.36), total cholesterol (β = − 2.5, p = 0.02), LDL (β = − 2.0, p = 0.04), and HDL (β = − 1.0, p = 0.04) were significantly lower in people who used opium compared to the others. In the logistic regression models, abnormal level of LDL (OR = 0.78, p = 0.003) and total cholesterol (OR = 0.82, p = 0.008) were less in people who used opium compared to the others. This study showed that there is a correlation between opium usage and lower levels of total cholesterol and LDL; however, the lower level of HDL in normal range was seen in opium users. Considering the current evidences, most of them showed the increased risks of ischemic heart disease, heart attack, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, and cancer in opium users. Therefore, Healthcare providers and patients should be noticed about the deleterious effects of opium consumption on various vascular events. In addition, it is necessary for managers and policy makers of the health care system to take the necessary measures to raise the level of awareness and health literacy of the general public about the high-risk side effects of opium use and to take necessary and effective strategies to prevent and reduce its use