Comparing Mental Health of School-Age Children with and without Epilepsy

Dear Editor-in-Chief The article entitled “Comparing Mental Health of School-Age Children with and without Epilepsy” published in summer 2016 (1) was very interesting and focused on a valuable subject, which indicates the researchers’ scrutiny. We would, therefore, like to express our gratitude to the authors for selecting this subject and to the Iranian Journal of Child Neurology as wel

The effects of education based on Leventhal's self-regulation model on self‐care and quality of life among patients with heart failure: A clinical trial

Background: Patients with heart failure experience poor self-care and diminished quality of life (QOL). Enhancing the well-being of these patients necessitates the implementation of innovative educational methods.Objectives: To determine the effects of education based on Leventhal's self-regulation model on self-care and QOL in patients with heart failure.Methods: This clinical trial was conducted with 100 patients hospitalized with heart failure at Farshchian Hospital in Hamadan, Iran. Subjects were selected using consecutive sampling and assigned to either an intervention group or a control group, using the randomized block permutation method. Prior to and two months after the intervention, patients completed the self-care questionnaire for heart failure patients and the Minnesota Quality of Life questionnaire. The control group received routine ward education, whereas the intervention group participated in an educational program based on the Leventhal model. Data were analyzed using the chi-square, Fisher's exact, paired t, and independent t tests.Results: The two groups were homogeneous in their characteristics. The independent t-test showed no significant difference in mean baseline self-care and QOL scores between the intervention and control groups (P > 0.05). However, after the intervention, there was a significant difference (P < 0.05), with the intervention group showing an increase in self-care and QOL compared to the control group.Conclusion: Education based on Leventhal's self-regulation model resulted in improvement in self-care and QOL in patients with heart failure. It is recommended that this model be used in the education of patients with heart failure

Relationship between Pregnancy-induced Hypertension with Neonatal and Maternal Complications

Background Prevalence of hypertension has a relatively high prevalence especially in developing countries. In order to prevent and control the disease, it is important to know the extent of the complications. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between pregnancy-induced hypertension with neonatal and maternal complications.   Materials and Methods This prospective, descriptive study was conducted on 230 overweight women, with hypertension (n=115) and normal blood pressure (n=115) during pregnancy, referring to Hamedan hospitals. Researcher-made questionnaire including demographic characteristics and maternal and neonatal complications were used to collect required data. Data analysis was performed using Chi-square, t-test and ANOVA based on the difference between the data at a level of error less than 5%. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic characteristics, smoking history, and mean weight, number of pregnancies, number of births, history of abortion and the reception of care during pregnancy (P > 0.05). Significant relationship was observed between pregnancy and maternal outcomes, such as cesarean section, infection, bleeding, hydramnios, diabetes, proteinuria, edema, headache and hospitalization time, as well as neonatal outcomes such as low birth weight, preterm delivery, Apgar, and longer hospitalization (

Randomized Controlled Trial of a Peer Based Intervention on Cardiac Self-efficacy in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: a 3-year Follow-up Results

Background: Self-efficacy is one's belief in ability to succeed in specific situations and considerable factor to maintaining healthy behaviors. It has an important role in person-centred care and significantly improves after effects of heart attacks. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a peer based intervention on cardiac self-efficacy of the patients after bypass surgery.Methods: In this clinical trial study, 60 patients undergoing bypass surgery were chosen and assigned equally into the control and intervention groups. The patients were assigned into two groups by block randomization. While routine education was presented to the patients in the control group, intervention group were taught using the peer education in two sessions. Cardiac self-efficacy of all the selected patients was assessed orderly in 36-month (3 years) follow-up after surgery. Inclusion criteria used to choose the suitable patients were as the following: no record of CABG surgery, understanding and talking Persian language, willingness to participate in the research, age between 40 and 70 years, no dementia, confusion, mental and psychological problems which might hinder their participation. In addition, exclusion criteria in this study were patient’s death, serious physical problems after CABG surgery, emergency and unexpected surgeries, or cancellation the CABG surgery due to patient’s situation. Data was collected using cardiac self-efficacy scale and analyzed using chi-square, independent t-test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. Results: The patients in both groups were homogenous in terms of demographic data. The mean score of cardiac self-efficacy in the intervention group was significantly different from control group in 3- year follow-up after surgery (P&lt;0.038).Conclusions: Based on this study, accomplishment of peer based intervention can be a beneficial educative-supportive approach in cardiac surgery fields.

Randomized Controlled Trial of a Peer Based Intervention on Cardiac Self-efficacy in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: a 3-year Follow-up Results

Background: Self-efficacy is one's belief in ability to succeed in specific situations and considerable factor to maintaining healthy behaviors. It has an important role in person-centred care and significantly improves after effects of heart attacks. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a peer based intervention on cardiac self-efficacy of the patients after bypass surgery.Methods: In this clinical trial study, 60 patients undergoing bypass surgery were chosen and assigned equally into the control and intervention groups. The patients were assigned into two groups by block randomization. While routine education was presented to the patients in the control group, intervention group were taught using the peer education in two sessions. Cardiac self-efficacy of all the selected patients was assessed orderly in 36-month (3 years) follow-up after surgery. Inclusion criteria used to choose the suitable patients were as the following: no record of CABG surgery, understanding and talking Persian language, willingness to participate in the research, age between 40 and 70 years, no dementia, confusion, mental and psychological problems which might hinder their participation. In addition, exclusion criteria in this study were patient’s death, serious physical problems after CABG surgery, emergency and unexpected surgeries, or cancellation the CABG surgery due to patient’s situation. Data was collected using cardiac self-efficacy scale and analyzed using chi-square, independent t-test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. Results: The patients in both groups were homogenous in terms of demographic data. The mean score of cardiac self-efficacy in the intervention group was significantly different from control group in 3- year follow-up after surgery (P&lt;0.038).Conclusions: Based on this study, accomplishment of peer based intervention can be a beneficial educative-supportive approach in cardiac surgery fields.

Cyclical mastalgia: Prevalence and associated determinants in Hamadan City, Iran

Objective: To assess prevalence of cyclical mastalgia and its main determinants in women who attended in health centers of Hamadan City, Iran. Methods: This case–control study was conducted on 400 women (case: cyclical mastalgia, n = 240; control: without cyclical mastalgia, n = 160) who attended family planning clinic for routine follow-up in health centers. The cluster sampling was used. Information was collected by interviewing and using a standardized validated questionnaire. Severity of mastalgia was assessed through using visual analog scaling. Data processing and statistical analysis were performed by using SPSS 19.0. Results: The results revealed that majority of women (60.0%) experienced cyclical mastalgia. Out of these, 22.5% and 37.5% were mild and moderate-to-severe mastalgia, respectively. No association was revealed in experience of depression and anxiety in mastalgia group. In a multivariable logistic regression model, the increasing age, age of marriage, history of abortion and history of premenstrual syndrome were main determinants of mastalgia, while use of oral contraceptive and regular exercise was associated with lower incidence of mastalgia. Conclusions: Most of women with breast discomfort suffered cyclical mastalgia which severity can be determined by advanced age, age of marriage, history of abortion and history of premenstrual syndrome, but inversely by oral contraceptive use and exercise activity

Clinical effectiveness of vitamin E and vitamin B6 for improving pain severity in cyclic mastalgia

Background: Recent attempts have been focused on employing chemical and natural supplemental agents for treatment of cyclic mastalgia. Among various agents, the potential effects of vitamins remain questionable. In the present study, we examined the efficacy of two types of these vitamin supplements (vitamin E and vitamin B6) in improving pain severity in cyclic mastalgia. Materials and Methods: In a randomized double-blinded clinical trial, 80 patients suffering from cyclic mastalgia were randomly assigned to receive 200 IU of vitamin E daily or 40 mg/day of vitamin B6 for 2 months. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Severity of breast pain was detected by the Cardiff breast pain score during one menstrual cycle before and two menstrual cycles after the intervention. Data were analyzed using t-test, Chi-squared test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and regression with SPSS version 19 and P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: There was no significant difference in the mean of severity of cyclic mastalgia during one menstrual cycle before the intervention between the vitamin E and B6 groups (9.1 ± 2.1 and 8.4 ± 3.1, respectively), but the difference was significant during the first cycle (5.1 ± 1.6 and 5.2 ± 2.5, respectively) and the second menstrual cycle (2.3 ± 1.0 and 2.6 ± 2.0, respectively) in the two groups after the intervention. The trend of changes in pain severity score showed significant downward trend of pain severity score within the study period in both the treatment groups (P < 0.001), while these trends were similar in both groups when examined by the repeated-measure ANOVA test. By multivariable linear regression analysis adjusted for baseline variables, we found that both the treatment regimens resulted in similar reduction in breast pain severity (P = 0.067). Conclusions: Both regimens containing vitamin E and vitamin B6 are similar in reducing breast pain severity in cyclic mastalgia

Effect of education based on the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation on blood pressure and self-management of hypertensive patients: A clinical trial study

Objective: This study aimed to determine the impact of training based on the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation (CSM) on blood pressure and self-management of patients with hypertension. Methods: This randomized controlled trial study was conducted. Seventy-two hypertensive patients were referred to the Farshchian Hospital clinic in Hamadan from April 2021 to March 2022. Samples were selected and randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 36) and control group (n = 36). The intervention group participated in a training program based on the CSM in five sessions of 30–45 min for one month. Phone follow-up was also done once every three days. The control group only received routine clinic education. The clinic’s nurse measured the patients’ blood pressure, and the participants completed the self-management questionnaire before and three months after the start of the study. Results: A total of 68 participants completed the study. Results showed that before the intervention, there was no statistically significant difference in the mean scores of self-management and its dimensions, systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressure between intervention and control groups (P > 0.05). However, after the intervention, the mean of systolic blood pressure (116.21 ± 14.52 vs. 128.62 ± 16.88) mmHg, mean arterial pressure (88.03 ± 8.47 vs. 98.11 ± 11.69) mmHg and the scores of self-management and its dimensions among patients in the intervention group were decreased comparison with control group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Education based on the CSM improved self-management and blood pressure reduction in hypertensive patients, so nurses should use it as an effective educational model