Education’s effect on the empowerment of volunteers about couples communication skills in East Tehran’s Health Center

Background and Aims: Communication and relationship skills in people’s lives, especially in the context of marriage are important as the other aspects of the marriage are over. Previous studies have shown that couples improve communication skills, increase intimacy in their marriage and will reduce conflicts. The main objective of this program is to use an active education system to upgrade the knowledge and strengthenskills of health Volunteers. This study aimed to determine the effect of education on couples’ communication skills ability in East Tehran Health Center volunteers.Materials and Methods: This research is a quasi-experimental study in which 112 people from the health care facility in East Tehran Center were selected randomly and studied as a sample in two different test and control groups. At the first meeting the questionnaires were distributed and completed between both groups. The results were analyzed based on experimental programs using methods including role playing,and group discussion for 4-weeks training. A month after the questionnaires were completed and returned byboth groups the results were analyzed using descriptive and experimental methods including Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney tests at a significance level (p <0.05).Results: Statistical analysis showed a significant difference in the mean scores of empowerment before and after in group. Also significant differences were found in empowerment scores in the area of cognitive distortions, listening, anger management and problem solving(p<0.001) and the problem solving skillsshowed the greatest increase. Conclusion: Holding communication skills trainings would have potential impacts on health and is desirable, therefore, it is recommended to perform educational programs to empower volunteers’ ability.Key words: Education, Empowerment, Health volunteers, Couples’ communication skill

The explanation of effective factors on the healthy lifestyle of the nursing students' view: A qualitative study

Nurses have a key role in improving the client's health and their lifestyle is effective in representing services to the patients and client. This study aims to investigate the nursing students' perception about the effective factors on their healthy lifestyle. This study was done qualitatively with the content analysis approach and through 20 semi-structured and deep interviews with undergraduate nursing students of Tehran city. The participants were selected through purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and reviewed. Also, codes were extracted. Based on centrality, codes were put in a sub-category and then by reviewing sub-categories again, they were put in categories and finally, a theme was determined. During the process of content analysis, theme on the effective factors on nursing students' healthy life style was revealed. The theme included 9 categories: ``the perception of effective factors on health promotion'', ``having enough time'', ``inner factors'', ``work-related factors or activity'', ``environmental factors'', ``knowledge and awareness'', ``individual factors'', ``social factors'', and ``perceived priorities''. The participants believed that various and widespread factors affected their health promotion level. The extension of these factors demands the complete attention to different health dimensions and how to improve it by person, family, and community. Hosseini M, Ashktorab T, Taghdisi MH, Esmaeili Vardanjani SA. The explanation of effective factors on the healthy lifestyle of the nursing students' view: A qualitative study. Life Sci J 2012;9(4):5558-5567] (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 82

Impacts of Urban Traffic and Transport on Social Determinants of Health from the Perspective of Residents and Key Informants in Sanandaj, Iran: A Qualitative Study

Background and Objective: Traffic and transport, as a political and social phenomenon, play an important role in the quality and socioeconomic structure of a society. This phenomenon constitutes one of the foundations of modern urban life and social needs of populations. Regarding this, the present study was performed to investigate the impacts of urban traffic and transport on the social determinants of health (SDH) based on the viewpoints of urban residents and key informants in Sanandaj, Iran. Materials and Methods: This qualitative study was conducted on 22 urban residents and 8 key informants selected through purposive sampling technique. The data were analyzed through conventional content analysis approach. Data collection was conducted using four focus group discussions (FGDs) (including 22 residents) and eight in-depth interviews. MAXQDA10 was applied for the purpose of data management. Results: The SDHs that were negatively affected by Sanandaj urban traffic and transport included socio-cultural (e.g., recreation and free times, daily work trends, safety of within-city commuting, tobacco use, and education) and environmental factors (e.g., vegetation, antiquities, noise pollution, urban aesthetic status, and environment, and soil, food, and water status). Conclusion: Urban traffic/transport stakeholders, health policy makers, and health professionals in Iran should pay much more attention to the impacts of urban traffic/transport plans on health and its determinants. It seems necessary to comprehensively assess urban traffic/transport on health status and its determinants in Iran

Knowledge and Practices of Safe Use of Pesticides among a Group of Farmers in Northern Iran

Background: The unsafe use of chemical pesticides, along with the lack of appropriate preventive protocols and equipment may damage the health of users. Objective: To determine the knowledge and practice of the safe use of chemical pesticides by farm workers in northern Iran. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 farmers in Mazandaran province, in 2017. The data collection instrument was a two-part questionnaire: The first part was concentrated on demographic and agricultural characteristics of the participants; the second part dealt with the farmers' knowledge and practice of the safe use of pesticides. Results: The mean knowledge and practice scores (out of 100) of the participating farmers in the safe use of pesticides were 84.8 (SD 13.5) and 50.8 (13.2), respectively. There was a significant positive correlation (r=0.466, p<0.001) between their knowledge and practice. Wearing protective clothes, while applying pesticides, was among safe practices. Although more than 60% of farmers had a sufficient level of knowledge of the safe use of pesticides, they did not implement their knowledge in practice. There was a significant (p<0.001) association between the education level and knowledge of the safe use of pesticides. Conclusion: There was a significant correlation between knowledge and practices of the safe use of pesticides among farmers in northern Iran. There was a clear know-do gap—although the majority of the participants possessed a sufficient level of knowledge of the safe use of pesticides, they did not implement it in practice

Psychometric Properties of the Iranian Brief Version of the Transtheoretical Model Instrument in Terms of Hookah Tobacco Smoking Cessation

Background: Transtheoretical model (TTM) has been recognized as a common theoretical model in researches in terms of addictive behaviors. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Persian brief version of the TTM for hookah tobacco smoking cessation in a sample of Iranian rural adults who were in the preparation stage for hookah cessation.Methods: This was a validation study on Iranian rural adult hookah smokers by the TTM instrument. First, to translate the questionnaire items from English to Persian, backward-forward procedure was used. Face and content validity of the instrument items were assessed. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to determine the construct validity of the instrument. For this aim, 300 participants completed the instrument. Cronbach's alpha coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were calculated to examine the internal consistency and reliability of the subscales of the instrument.Findings: The content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) of the items were ≥ 0.80 and ≥ 0.60, respectively. Based on CFA, the data fitted the TTM model. root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), the goodness of fit index (GFI), adjusted GFI, and comparative fit index (CFI) were 0.037, 0.960, 0.910, and 0.950, respectively. At this stage, 6 items were deleted. The ICC and Cronbach's alpha of the subscales ranged between 0.60-0.74 and 0.71-0.86, respectively. The final instrument with 29 items was confirmed.Conclusion: The findings suggest that translating Persian brief version of the TTM instrument was a reliable and valid tool to identify the determinants of hookah smoking cessation among Iranian rural adults

The Exploration of Protective factors on prevention working children’s substance abuse

BackgroundChild labor is one of the challenges among most big cities in the world. In recent years, substance abuse among working, and street children has become a common phenomenon. Thus, in the present study, the protective factors affecting the prevention of substance abuse among Iranian working children were identified by using the social-ecological approach.Materials and MethodsThe participants included Seventeen 8-15-year-old children who were the members of Imam Ali and Ilia non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Semi-structured in-depth interview interviews were used for data collection. Purposive sampling began in December 2015 and continued till data saturation in June 2016. Data were analyzed based on qualitative content-oriented analysis.ResultsDifferent protective factors were identified and classified at five levels of the social-ecological model. Four classes (belief, knowledge, attitude, skill) at the personal level, two classes (family and relatives) at the interpersonal level, two classes (governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations) at the organizational level, the class of living environment at the community level , and two classes (supportive policies and restrictive policies) at the public policies level were considered.ConclusionThe protective factors affecting the prevention of substance abuse are related to personal, household, social, organizational, and public policy factors. Thus, personal and social empowerment, social participation and capacity building seem necessary to strengthen the protective factors which play a significant role in the prevention of substance abuse among Iranian working children

Development and psychometric properties of social exclusion questionnaire for Iranian divorced women

Background: Divorce, especially in women, could be assessed from socio-cultural perspective as well as psychological viewpoint. This assessment requires cultural adopted as well as valid and reliable questionnaire. This study aimed to develop and assess the psychometric properties of a questionnaire in order to address social consequences in Iranian divorced women.Methods: This was an exploratory mixed method study conducted during 2012 to 2014. According to the grounded theory approach in the first phase, social exclusion was extracted as a core of understanding process in participants. Based on, 47 preliminary generated items reliability and validity were assessed. In the second phase, the divorced women were recruited from a safe community center in Tehran through convenience sampling.Results: Exploratory factor analysis conducted on the questionnaires of 150 divorced women with mean age 41.76&plusmn;8.49 yr, in that, indicated five dimensions, discriminative marital status, economic dependence on marital status, exclusionary marital status, and traumatic marital status health risks and, frightening marital status that jointly accounted for the 64% of the variance observed. An expert panel approved the face and content validity of the developed tool. The Cronbach&rsquo;s alpha coefficient and the Intra-class Correlation Coefficient were found to be 0.70 and 0.85, respectively.Conclusion: The present study provided a valid and reliable measure as Social Exclusion Questionnaire in Iranian divorced women (SEQ-IDW) to address social post-divorce consequences, which might help to improve women&rsquo;s social health

Burden of Occupational Accidents in Tehran during 2008-2011

Abstract Background and purpose:Work-related accidents are causing distress and economic losses. This study was conducted to estimate the burden of occupational accidents by the use of disability-adjusted life year (DALY) calculation in Iranian Social Security Organization (ISSO), Tehran province, between 2008 and 2011 time frame. Materials and Methods:This descriptive analytical study was conducted based on the provided data by the Social Security Organization. Subjects consisted of all workers who had a work-related accident during 2008-2011 and were registered in the ISSO database. In order to maintain the comparability of the methodology for the calculation of years lost due to premature mortality and years lived with disability and DALYs, the global burden data of diseases were collected. Results:The rate of DALY was 399.552 years 63% and 37% of which were due to premature mortality and disability, respectively. About 29% of life which accounted for the highest frequency was lost between the ages 25 and 34. In terms of gender, 99% frequency DALY was related to male workers. The most common type of accident was injury and fracture with 119.609 years lost. The most affected organs were hands and legs with 112.46 and 102.48 years lost, respectively. Fall recognized as the season with the highest DALY burden (108.85 years). Conclusion:Since majority of the incidents observed were preventable, accidental preventing programs, by the use of physical protection, training and oversees of workshops and are known to be effective in injuries reduction

مقايسه سلامت معنوي و ويژگي‌هاي جمعيت شناختي در دو گروه بيماران مبتلا به ديابت نوع2 با كيفيت زندگي بالا و پايين

زمينه و هدف: سلامت معنوي يكي از مفاهيم بنيادين در مراقبت از بیماران مبتلا به بيماري‌هاي مزمن است كه با ايجاد معنا و هدف در زندگي به عنوان رويكردي مهم در ارتقاء سلامت عمومي و كيفيت زندگي در نظر گرفته مي‌شود. سلامت معنوي شامل دو زير مقياس است شامل سلامت وجودي (بعد افقي) كه به حس داشتن هدف و معنا در زندگي مربوط مي‌شود و سلامت مذهبي (بعد عمودي) كه به رضايت ناشي از ارتباط با خداوند مربوط مي‌شود. پژوهش حاضر با هدف مقايسه سلامت معنوي و ويژگي‌هاي جمعيت شناختي در دو گروه بيماران مبتلا به ديابت نوع2 با كيفيت زندگي بالا و پايين انجام شده است.مواد و روش كار: اين مطالعه توصيفي تحليلي روي 330 بيمار 74-40 ساله مبتلا به ديابت مراجعه كننده به درمانگاه ديابت بندرعباس در سال 1391 انجام شد. نمونه‌هاي پژوهش با بررسي پرونده بيماران و تعيين بيماران واجد معيارهاي ورود به مطالعه، 330 نفر تعيين گرديد. داده‌ها از طريق پرسشنامه‌هاي سلامت معنوي و كيفيت زندگي، جمع آوري و تجزيه و تحليل آن‌ها با استفاده روش‌هاي آمار توصيفي، آزمون تي مستقل، كاي دو و تحليل واريانس و توسط نرم افزار SPSS انجام گرديد.يافته ها: طبق نتايج، دو گروه بيماران با كيفيت زندگي بالا و پايين از نظر سلامت معنوي تفاوت معنادار آماري داشتند (0001/0P &lt;) و بر اساس يافته‌هاي توصيفي، بيماران با كيفيت زندگي بالا از سلامت معنوي بالاتري نيز برخوردار بودند. تفاوت ميانگين درآمد ماهيانه بين دو گروه بيماران با كيفيت زندگي پايين و بالا از نظر آماري معنادار بود (05/0P &lt;). آزمون‌هاي آماري در سطح اطمينان 95 درصد نشان داد جنس، وضعيت تأهل و سطح تحصيلات نمونه‌هاي پژوهش با كيفيت زندگي رابطه معنادار آماري دارد (05/0P &lt;).نتيجه گيري: طبق نتايج اين مطالعه دو گروه بيماران با كيفيت زندگي بالا و پايين از نظر سلامت معنوي متفاوت مي‌باشند. به نظر مي‌رسد توجه به بعد معنوي سلامت به منظور دستيابي به يك رويكرد جامع در امر مراقبت در اين دسته از بيماران مفيد بوده در ارائه خدمات و مراقبت‌هاي جامع در راستاي بهبود كيفيت زندگي اين بيماران كمك كننده و مفيد باشد. در كشوري مانند ايران با زمینه های غنی مذهبي، توجه به اين نكته كليدي مي‌تواند در طراحي برنامه‌هاي مراقبتي- درماني براي اين دسته از بيماران مؤثر و مفيد واقع گردد