Stress Management among Parents of Neonates Hospitalized in NICU: A Qualitative Study.

Introduction: Infant hospitalization is stressful event for parent in NICU. Parents think that they have lost control because of unfamiliar environment. Therefore, stress management is very important in this period. The family as the main factor of strength and protection for infant is required as the bases of standard care in NICU. Therefore the aim of this study was to investigate stress management in Iranian NICU Parents. Methods: Using qualitative content analysis approach helped to collect and analysis data for open coding, classification, and theme abstraction. Twenty one parents with hospitalized neonates, physicians and nurses in the city of Isfahan were purposely recruited and selected for in-depth interviews. Results: The analyzed content revealed unique stress management approaches among the parents. The main themes were: 1) spirituality, 2) seeking information, 3) Seeking hope, 4) maintaining calm, 5) attachment to infant, and 6) communicating with the medical team Conclusion: Findings of this study highlights the importance of medical team's attention to stressed parents who are trying to make adjustment or adapt to the hospitalization of their infant. A revised management approach to address the emotional needs of parents of neonates in Iran seems essential for improving communication with physicians and nurses

Construction of a Questionnaire to Assess Parental Stress in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Background: Once an infant is hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), the entire family dynamics is disrupted due to stressors such as interruption in maternal-infant bonding, abandonment of other siblings and financial burdens. Combination of multiple stressors often ends in divorce or other devastating results. In this study, a novel survey questionnaire has been developed to assess the level of parental stress in NICU and identify the warning signs, in order to provide assistance to young couples in need of help. Methods: Qualitative content analysis was performed to survey 13couplesrecruited from various teaching hospitals in Isfahan, Iran. Results: The initial part of the questionnaire was designed to assess parents' stress level with an expected content validity index of 0.78 or above and to measure face validity of the questionnaire, all the items received a mean impact score of 1.5 or above, and the Cronbach's alpha reliability of the 12-item questionnaire equaled to 0.904. Based on the factor analysis, the items with a correlation coefficient of less than 0.4 were excluded (one item was omitted). Conclusion: Most survey questionnaires found in the existing literature have investigated the types of stressors experienced by parents with an infant in NICU. In this study, researchers offer a novel 11-item questionnaire designed to assess the level of stress among parents with a hospitalized infant in NICU

Comparative study of plasma biochemical parameters in mature male and female goldfish, Carassius auratus

Blood biochemical parameters are important factors that can show the changes in health offering critical feedback on physiological condition of fish. In the present study, we examined a comparative study on the blood biochemical parameters in mature male and female goldfish, Carassius auratus. Plasma samples of 72 male and female goldfish that have been kept at 24°C for 30 days were analyzed and their biochemical parameters levels were determined. There were significant differences in all measured parameters between genders so that, maximum concentrations of the glucose (73.45±0.68 mg/dl) and calcium (8.32±0.05 mg/dl) were found in female fish, while the highest levels of the total protein (3.14±0.01 g/dl), cholesterol (281.65±3.19 mg/dl) and triglyceride (428.31±1.17 mg/dl) were measured in males. Based on the results, the plasma biochemical parameters changes vary considerably between male and female goldfish

Neglecting the Parent in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: The Communicational Factors that Increases the Iranian Parents’ Stress

Many parents confront the NICU environment as medical staffs are busy with the physical aspects of care by ignoring other important needs and omitting physicians’ view. Aim: Identify essential factors in communication process that tend to increase stress among the NICU parents. The Study Design: Eighteen NICU parents from different hospitals in the city of Isfahan were selected for in-depth interviews. Qualitative content analysis included open coding, categorization and abstraction of data. Results: Data analysis identified stress provoking factors for NICU parents in four categories as confusion in nurse-parent, nurse-physician communication, negligence in physician-parent communication, inappropriate nurse-physician communication, and the medical diagnosis communication process. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that NICU parent presence was very low. It is necessary for the hospital management and NICU staff to develop communication skills training sessions for less stressful parent experiences in NICU. Moreover, the Ministry of Health should authorize policy development and guidelines to improve relationship between medical staff, physicians, nurses and NICU families aimed at better neonatal outcomes

Relationship of lifestyle with academic achievement in nursing students

A healthy lifestyle is one of the main factor in maintaining the health of people in society. With regard to the role of youth and students in public health, they must complete and follow a training program on lifestyle related factors. One of the main aim of the training centres is to improve the academic achievement of students. Aim: This study was designed to determine the correlation of lifestyle with academic achievement in nursing students. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study, wherein all nursing students of School of Borujen Nursing were selected by census sampling. Data gathering tool was Walker’s lifestyle questionnaire which was modified for the purpose of the study. To evaluate the educational status of students, final grade point average was considered as an indicator of academic achievement. To analyze the data, SPSS version 16.0, and descriptive and analytical tests were used. Results: The results indicated that most subjects (61.01%) displayed moderate levels of lifestyle. Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed the significant positive relationship between lifestyle and academic achievement (p=0.03 and r=0.628). Conclusion: To improve the academic achievement of students, in addition to the cognitive abilities-perception, their lifestyle should also be considered. Therefore, it is suggested to incorporate lifestyle education in the curriculum of nursing students so as to improve their lifestyle

Assessment the relation between lifestyle with mental health and educational achievement in nursing students

Objective: This study was aimed to assess the correlation between lifestyle with mental health and educational achievement of nursing students. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive-correlational study that all students in nursing college in 2015 were selected by the census sampling method. Data gathering tool were standard Walker's lifestyle questionnaire and General Health Questionnaire-28 and data were analyzed by SPSS/21. Results: The results reported that most subjects (61.01%) displayed moderate levels of lifestyle. In considering domains mental health 37.28%, were depression and 34.74% anxiety. Based on the Pearson correlation coefficient test, there was a diverse correlation between lifestyle (p=0.004, r=-0.34) and educational achievement (p=0.001, r=-0.24) with mental health but there was a direct linear correlation between lifestyle and educational achievement. Conclusion: Regarding the role of lifestyle and mental health and to ensure the efficiency and dynamism of the people in the education and prevention of academic failure recommended that be scheduled by improve methods of lifestyle to promote educational status and activate counseling centers and guidance on psychological issues the mental health. Keywords Author Keywords:lifestyle; mental health; educational achievement; students KeyWords Plus:QUALITY-OF-LIFE; ACADEMIC-PERFORMANCE; CANCE

Effects of Astaxanthin supplementation on selected metabolic parameters, anthropometric indices, Sirtuin1 and TNF-α levels in patients with coronary artery disease: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

BackgroundAtherosclerosis can develop as a result of an increase in oxidative stress and concurrently rising levels of inflammation. Astaxanthin (AX), a red fat-soluble pigment classified as a xanthophyll, may be able to prevent the vascular damage induced by free radicals and the activation of inflammatory signaling pathways. The objective of the current study is to assess the effects of AX supplementation on cardiometabolic risk factors in individuals with coronary artery disease (CAD).MethodsThis randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted among 50 CAD patients. Participants were randomly allocated into two groups to intake either AX supplements (12 mg/day) or placebo for 8 weeks. Lipid profile, glycemic parameters, anthropometric indices, body composition, Siruin1 and TNF-α levels were measured at baseline and after 8 weeks.ResultsBody composition, glycemic indices, serum levels of TNF-α, Sirtuin1 did not differ substantially between the AX and placebo groups (p > 0.05). The data of AX group showed significant reduction in total cholesterol (−14.95 ± 33.57 mg/dl, p < 0.05) and LDL-C (−14.64 ± 28.27 mg/dl, p < 0.05). However, TG and HDL-C levels could not be affected through AX supplementation.ConclusionOur results suggest that AX supplementation play a beneficial role in reducing some components of lipid profile levels. However, further clinical investigations in CAD patients are required to obtain more conclusive findings.Clinical trial registrationwww.Irct.ir., identifier IRCT20201227049857N1

Comparison of the Effect of Oestrogen Plus Foeniculum vulgare Seed and Oestrogen alone on Increase in Endometrial Thickness in Infertile Women

Introduction: Foeniculum vulgare seed is used to treat infertility because of phytoestrogenic properties. Aim: The present study was conducted to compare the effects of F. vulgare plus oestrogen and oestrogen alone on Endometrial Thickness (ET) in infertile women. Materials and Methods: In this study, 92 people with infertility were enrolled by convenience sampling and randomly divided into case (45 women) and control (47 women) groups. Both groups were administered with oestradiol valerate 2 mg tablet three times a day since the third day of the menstrual cycle. Treatment group was also administered with F. vulgare tea on a daily basis. Then, ultrasound was conducted once every three days to determine ED. Other data such as serum beta-hCG level and increase in oestrogen dose were recorded in a checklist. The data were analysed by independent t-test and Chi-square in SPSS version 17.0. Results: There were no significant differences in mean age, BMI, number of years of infertility, number of children, cause of infertility, positive beta-hCG, failure to achieve adequate endometrial thickness, and increase in oestradiol dose between the treatment and control groups (p>0.05). The mean number of days to achieve ET of at least 8 mm was 13.1 +/- 3.2 in the treatment group and 14.2 +/- 3.5 in the control group with no significant difference (p>0.05). Conclusion: F. vulgare seed tea was not significantly effective in increasing the ET as compared to oestradiol valerate 6 mg alone

Association of Interleukin 10 And Transforming Growth Factor β Gene Polymorphisms with Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria

Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) are two anti-inflammatory cytokines that are implicated in the pathogenesis of urticaria. The goal of this study was to examine the possible association of polymorphisms of TGF-β and IL-10 genes with susceptibility to chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU). This study was conducted on 90 patients with CIU. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was done to determine the genotype at 5 polymorphic sites; TGF-β (codon10C/T and codon25G/C) and IL-10 (-1082G/A, -819C/T, and -592C/A). The C allele at codon 25 of TGF-β was more prevalent in CIU patients compared to controls (OR = 9.5, 95% CI = 5.4-16.8, P<0.001). Genotypes of CT and CG at 10 and 25 codons of TGF-β gene, respectively, and AG, CT, and CA for loci of -1082, -819, and -592 of IL-10 gene were significantly higher in CIU patients (P<0.001). In haplotype analysis, frequency of TGF-β haplotypes differed between patients with CIU and controls; CC haplotype was overrepresented, while CG and TG haplotypes were underrepresented (P<0.001). These results suggest that TGF-β and IL-10 genetic variability could contribute to susceptibility to CIU. Additionally, patients with CIU seem to have genotypes leading to high production of TGF-β and IL-10.</p