Effectiveness of Religious-Spiritual Group Therapy on Spiritual Health and Quality of Life in Methadone-treated Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Spirituality is one of the most important factors that can contribute to the recovery of substanceuse disorder (SUD). The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of the religious-spiritual grouptherapy on the spiritual health and the quality of life in methadone-treated patients.Methods: This study was carried out in Qom City, Iran, in 2018. 72 methadone-treated patients wererandomly selected and assigned in two groups: the experimental group (which received religious-spiritualtherapy) and control group (which received no treatment). At the beginning of the study (pre-test), eightweeks after the start of the study (post-test), and three months after the start of the study (follow-up test), allparticipants completed the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF)questionnaire and the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS). Participants in the experimental group received 8sessions (90 minutes for each session) of spiritual and religious training, while the control group received noreligious-spiritual intervention; it just was trained with general information on addiction. Data were analyzedusing SPSS software and descriptive and inferential statistics methods.Findings: The results of repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that there was nosignificant difference between the intervention and control groups in the pretest, but religious-spiritualtraining significantly increased spiritual health and the patients' quality of life (P < 0.001).Conclusion: Religious-spiritual education can improve the quality of life and spiritual well-being inmethadone-treated patients. The findings suggest that religious -spiritual education can be considered as aninexpensive, accessible, useful, and effective treatment for SUD treatmen

Association between Spiritual Health and the Quality Of Life in Opioid-Dependent Men in Qom, Iran

Background and Objectives: In recent decades, attention paid to quality of life as an important factor to evaluate the therapeutic outcomes and the effectiveness of treatments for illnesses, has increased. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between spiritual health and quality of life in opioid-dependent men in Qom. Methods: The study population of this descriptive-correlational study consisted of 107 opioid-dependent men referring to addiction treatment centers in Qom who were selected by random sampling. Participants completed a 48-item spiritual well-being questionnaire, developed by Amiri et al., and short form 36-item health survey (SF-36). Data analysis was conducted by the SPSS version 21 using Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: General spiritual health and behavioral aspect were significantly directly correlated with overall quality of life and its subscales, except for physical function, limitation in playing the role due to physical health problems, and pain. There was also a significant relationship between general spiritual health and overall quality of life. Conclusion: Behavioral aspect, among the aspects of general health, and general spiritual health are more important for the quality of life in opioid-dependent people. Spiritual health, especially spiritual behavior, is an effective supportive mechanism for opioid-dependent people that can be effective to improve their quality of life. &nbsp

Mapping Iranian Patents from 1976 to 2011 Based on International Patent Classification(IPC)

Background and Aim: Patents are used as indicators to assess the growth of science and technology in a given country or area. They are examined to determine the research potentials of research centers, universities, and inventors. This study aims to map the past and current trends in patenting activities with a view to understanding better and tracking the changing nature of science and technology in Iran. Materials and Methods: The patenting activity in Iran was investigated based on USPTO, WIPO, and Esp@cenet for the period 1976-2011. The researchers analyzed the affiliation of inventors, and collected patents having at least one Iranian inventor. The collected data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Results: results showed that between 1976 and 2011, 212 patents were registered by Iranian inventors in the above-mentioned three databases. The average number of Iranian patents registered per year increased significantly from 25 in 1976-1980 to 119 in 2006-2011. It should be noted that the highest number of registered patents (27%) were in" chemistry, metallurgy" area of International Patent Classification, followed by "human necessities"(18%), and "performing operations; transporting"(15%). Conclusion: Overall, the proportion of Iranian inventors&apos; patents registered in databases is small. However, the figure shows a growth for the years under study. Iran&apos;s patents registered in databases have considerable subject concentration. Scientific areas are growing together, and there is more potential of research work and innovation in areas of "chemistry, metallurgy", "Electricity" and "human needs"