Smoking stages, prevalence of drug abuse and role of associated psychological and social factors: A study on male high school students in Ilam city

Background & Aims: There are limited information about prevalence of smoking, drug abuse and its associated factors amongst Iranian students. The present study aimed to determine prevalence of smoking and drug abuse amongst male high school students in Ilam and the role of associated psychological and social factors. Method: Overall, 1000 male high school students were recruited using a multi-stage sampling method. A self-administered questionnaire was used for data gathering. Chi-square test and logistic regression model were used for univariate, multivariate and interactions analyses. Results: Mean age of students was 16.2 years. The prevalence of experimenter and regular smokers were 11.4 (95 CI: 9.3 -13.4) and 1.3 (95 CI: 0.5-2.0) respectively. Prevalence rates of alcohol, opium, Tramadol, Hashish, Ecstasy and methamphetamine abuses were 11.1 (9.1-13.0), 2.8 (1.7-3.8), 7.6 (5.9-9.2), 3.3 (2.1-4.4), 2.7 (1.6-3.7), and 2.1 (1.1-3.0) respectively. The logistic regression model showed a significant relationship between having a smoker friend (AOR: 1.99), self-injury (AOR: 2.35), peer pressure (AOR: 2.37) and Tramadol abuse (AOR: 3.00) and different stages of smoking. None of the considered interactions had significant effect. Conclusions: Although, prevalence of smoking in Ilam high school students was less than the corresponding reports from other provinces in Iran, drugs abuse followed the same pattern as the other provinces. In addition, psychosocial variables had an important role in adolescents smoking

Threat appraisal for skin cancer among rural farmers in Ilam, Iran

Background: Skin cancers are among the most prevalent malignancies in Iran. According to statistics, it is the most common cancer in the population of Ilam, west of Iran. The present study aimed to assess threat appraisal of skin cancer among rural farmers of Ilam in 2013-2014. Method: In this cross-sectional study, we used multistage random sampling. We collected the data through distribution of a researcher-developed questionnaire among 248 farmers from the rural areas of Ilam in June 2013. The items of the questionnaire were based on the protection motivation theory, and covered components included perceived vulnerability, perceived severity, and rewards. Result: We found a generally lower perceived vulnerability and severity and higher rewards among the farmers; 14.5 and 30.6 of the farmers displayed higher perceived vulnerability and severity, respectively. Only 15.7 of the farmers were low in extrinsic and intrinsic rewards for unprotected behaviours. We found 149 people (60.1) had unacceptable levels of threat appraisal; 2 people (0.8 ) had borderline levels; and 97 people (39.1) had acceptable levels. Also, there was a significant relationship between perceived vulnerability, severity, income, and education level of the participants (P<0.001), but an insignificant relationship was found between family size, threat appraisal (P<0.747), family size and perceived threat (P<0.247). Conclusion: The overall findings of the present study indicated unacceptable levels of psychological perception about skin cancer in farmers, which highlights the importance of designing, implementation, and evaluation of educational interventions related to the issue. © 2013 Iranian Society of Dermatology

Coping with skin cancer in farmers of rural areas of Chalderan County

زمینه و هدف:سرطان پوست در زمره شایع ترین سرطان ها در ایران و جهان می باشد و بر میزان بروز آن روز به روز افزوده می شود. لذا مطالعه حاضر با هدف بررسی وضعیت ارزیابی کنار آمدن نسبت به سرطان پوست در کشاورزان شهرستان چالدران در سال 1394 انجام شده است. مواد و روشها: مطالعه حاضر به صورت توصیفی تحلیلی در 238 نفر از کشاورزان مناطق روستایی که به روش نمونه گیری تصادفی چندمرحله ای انتخاب شده بودند، اجرا گردیده است. برای گردآوری اطلاعات از پرسشنامه روایی و پایایی شده در مطالعه تزوال و همکاران(21) استفاده گردیده است. برای تجزیه و تحلیل اطلاعات از نرم افزار spss نسخه 21 و آزمون های آماری توصیفی و تحلیلی استفاده گردید. سطح معنی داری کمتر از 05/0 درنظر گرفته شده بود. یافته ها: میانگین سنی شرکت کنندگان 40/35 بود. بین ارزیابی تهدید با سطح تحصیلات (001/0p=) و وضعیت درآمد (025/0p=) ارتباط معنی داری مشاهده گردید. 2/12 درصد افراد خودکارآمدی درک شده بالایی نسبت به رفتارهای محافظت کننده سرطان پوست داشتند و همچنین در 4/45 درصد افراد کارآمدی پاسخ پائین بود. اکثریت کشاورزان(8/61 درصد) هزینه های پاسخ متوسطی نسبت به رفتارهای محافظت کننده سرطان پوست داشتند. ارزیابی وضعیت کنار آمدن کشاورزان نشان داد 182 نفر (5/76) غیر قابل قبول، 8 نفر (4/3) مرزی و 48 نفر (1/20) قابل قبول می باشد. نتیجه گیری: نتایج مطالعه نشان دهنده پایین بودن وضعیت ارزیابی کنارآمدن کشاورزان نسبت به رفتارهای محافظت کننده سرطان پوست می باشد لذا طراحی و اجرای مداخلات مناسب جهت آگاه سازی کشاورزان در زمینه مورد نظر ضروری به نظر می رسد. &nbsp;Background and Aims:&nbsp;Skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the world and in Iran as well. The incidence of this disease continues to climb. The present study was therefore aimed to investigate the copping with skin cancer among farmers in Chaldoran County in 2015. Materials and Methods: Totally, 238 farmers from the rural areas of Chaldoran County participated in this analytical-descriptive study. They were selected through a multi-stage random sampling process. A reliable and valid questionnaire used by Tazval et.al was exploited for data collection. The gathered data were analyzed by theuse of descriptive and analytic statistics in SPSS software (v. 21). A statistically significance level of p≤ 0.05 was considered. Ethical issues such as confidentiality of studied community were all considered.Results: A statistically significant relationship was observed between the education level of participants (p=0. 001) and their income status (p=0. 025). About 12.2% of respondents showed high perceived self-efficacy towards skin cancer protective behaviors. It was further found that response self-efficacy was low among 45.5% of community. Themost of the farmers (61.8%) had moderate response cost towards skin cancer protective behaviors. The assessment of farmers copping status with skin cancer revealed that 182 (76.5%), 8 (3.4%) and 48 (20.1%) respondents have an unacceptable, borderline, and acceptable copping appraisal, respectively.Conclusion:&nbsp;The results of this study indicate that the farmers’ coping appraisal status towards skin cancer was low. Thus, it is necessary to design and implement appropriate interventions in this field. Background and Aims: Skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the world and in Iran as well. The incidence of this disease continues to climb. The present study was therefore aimed to investigate the copping with skin cancer among farmers in Chaldoran County in 2015

Social and Psychological Predictors of Initial Cigarette Smoking Experience: A Survey in Male College Students

Knowledge about social and psychological risk factors for initial cigarette smoking experience (ICSE) is sparse. The present study aimed to estimate the prevalence of ICSE and to examine the psychological and social factors related to ICSE. In a cross-sectional survey, 1,511 male college students were recruited using multistage sampling techniques from four universities located within the city of Ilam, Iran. Self-administered multiple-choice questionnaires were distributed to students from March to June 2013. Risk factors for ICSE were evaluated using logistic regression models. Participants were 22.3 +/- 2.4 years of age. ICSE prevalence was 30.6. In multivariable adjusted analysis, risk taking behavior (odds ratio OR = 1.61; 95% confidence interval CI = 1.11-2.33), perceived peer smoking prevalence (OR = 2.48; 95% CI = 1.03-5.97), positive thoughts about smoking (OR = 1.06; 95% CI = 1.02-1.10), high self-efficacy (OR = 0.95, 95% CI 0.93, 0.98), presence in smokers' gathering (OR = 4.45; 95% CI = 2.88-6.81), comity of smokers (OR = 2.56; 95% CI = 1.66, 3.92), very hard access to cigarettes (OR = 2.20; 95% CI = 1.16-4.16), close friends' medium reaction toward smoking (OR = 1.38; 95% CI = 1.02-1.88), and sporting activity (OR = 0.74; 95% CI = 0.56-0.98) were significantly associated with ICSE. This study identified that a combination of psychological and social variables account for up to 78% of the probability of ICSE. The most important protective factor against ICSE was physical activity, whereas the most important risk factor for ICSE was frequent gathering in the presence of smokers