Lived Experience of Women Suffering from Vitiligo: A Phenomenological Study

Vitiligo is a chronic skin disease, which through change of appearance and body image, exerts a devastating effect on people, especially women. The objective of this study is to explore lived experience of women with Vitiligo by the hermeneutic phenomenology method. The purposive sample consisted of 16 Iranian women. Data analysis followed Diekelmann, Allen, and Tanner (1989). The results showed four main themes: (1) Perceiving myself in a different light; (2) Vitiligo: Worry about others’ perceptions; (3) Vitiligo, Being influenced by cultural beliefs; and (4) Accepting and fighting the disease; Variations in experiences of living with Vitiligo. The women affected with Vitiligo during their marriage-ready years face various psychosocial problem s such as rejection by associates, isolation, divorce, and forced choice of a single lif

Assessing Awareness Level about Warning Signs of Cancer and its Determinants in an Iranian General Population

The present study was aimed at investigating the awareness level about warning signs of cancer and its determinants in an Iranian general population. This cross-sectional interview-based survey investigated 2,500 people aged 18 years and over, as a representative sample of Tehran population. Latent class regression was applied for analyzing data. A small (18.8%) proportion of the respondents had high level of knowledge, and 54.5% had moderate awareness, and 26.7% had low level of awareness. Most effective predictors for awareness were educational attainment, sex, and marital status. The findings suggest that the overall level of knowledge about warning signs of cancer among the public is low, particularly about some specific signs. Accordingly, educational and intervention programmes, with special attention placed on particular at-risk populations, to increase awareness about the disease leading to its early diagnosis are needed

Translation and Psychometric Evaluation of Clinical Performance Assessment Scale among Nursing Students

Background & Objective: Effective bedside care is the main objective of nursing education. Correct clinical evaluation of students has been one of the toughest tasks for clinical nursing lecturers. The objective of this study was the translation and psychometric evaluation of the clinical performance assessment scale among nursing students in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with the objective of validating the Iranian version of the nursing students’ performance scale within the clinical setting. The scale was translated from English into Persian by the backward and forward method. Its face and content validities were determined. 2 items was added in the content and face validity process. In order to determine the construct validity, exploratory factor analysis by convenience sampling method was carried out on 275 senior nursing students within clinical educational settings for 5 months. Evaluation was conducted according to this scale. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to measure internal consistency. Results: The mean and standard deviation of students’ scores was 63.98 ± 13.35. Factor analysis indicated the extraction of three factors: the nursing process (10 items, eigenvalue 8.99), professional behaviors (16 items, eigenvalue 7.97), and technical skills (2 items, eigenvalue 2.03). The reliability of the scale obtained by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.92. Conclusion: The results of psychometric evaluation of the clinical performance assessment scale vindicated the reliability and validity of this scale and the potential for using this instrument in the nursing education field in Iran. However, the inclusion of the technical skills factor would need further balancing and expansion. Keywords Clinical practice Nursing student Education Evaluatio

The effect of the emotional intelligence education programme on quality of life in haemodialysis patients

Author's accepted version (post-print).Available from 18/10/2018.acceptedVersio

The Comparison of Two Types of Relaxation Techniques on Postoperative State Anxiety in Candidates for The Mastectomy Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Background: Anxiety among patients after surgery can affect their physiological and psychological well-being. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the effects of Benson’s relaxation and rhythmic breathing techniques on postoperative anxiety in candidates for the mastectomy surgery. Methods: This randomized controlled clinical trial study was conducted with ninety patients in 2013. The patients were hospitalized for the mastectomy surgery in three surgical wards in a teaching hospital, Tehran, Iran. They were randomly assigned into three groups: Benson’s relaxation including the cognitive relaxation technique type, rhythmic breathing including the somatic relaxation technique type and control groups. According to the Davidson and Schwartz multi-process theory, the Benson’s relaxation and the rhythmic breathing techniques have cognitive and somatic effects, respectively. One day before the surgery, the patients in the intervention groups were trained regarding relaxation and breathing techniques and were asked to perform the techniques under the supervision of the researcher in the night before the surgery. The cognitive somatic anxiety questionnaire was used to measure anxiety before the intervention and half an hour after recovery of consciousness after the surgery. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis via the SPSS v.21 software. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of demographic characteristics. The application of both techniques reduced the level of patients’ anxiety after the surgery. The patients in the Benson’s relaxation technique group reported only the relief of somatic anxiety. However, the breathing technique patients reported a reduction in both cognitive and somatic anxiety. Conclusion: The Benson’s relaxation and rhythmic breathing techniques can reduce postoperative anxiety in patients after the mastectomy surgery

The effect of nigella

Introduction: Phlebitis, that disrupts chemotherapy, is the inflammation of the vein and the most common complication of intravenous injection of chemotherapy drugs. Aim: the aim was determine the effect of topical application of N. sativa oil on the prevention of phlebitis caused by chemotherapy. Methods: This single-blind clinical trial was conducted on 60 cancer patients. In the intervention group, five drops of N. sativa oil was applied on the distal area of the catheter, two times per day and every 12 hours from the first day of chemotherapy to the third day; no intervention was conducted for the subjects in the control group. Results: Results showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups at 60 and 72 hours in regard with incidence of phlebitis. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups at 12 and 72 hours in terms of severity (degree) of phlebitis. Conclusion: topical application of N. sativa oil is effective in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced phlebitis

The Effect of Lecture and E-learning Methods on Learning Mother and Child Health Course in Nursing Students

Introduction: Traditional teaching methods used in medical education are not able to respond to the rapid changes and growth of information as well as continuous change in educational needs of societies. This study was performed to compare the effect of two teaching approaches, lecture and e-learning on learning outcomes of mother and child health course in nursing students of Tehran Medical University. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was performed on all third semester nursing students who had passed mother and child health course in 2006 (N=32).It was a one group two-shot study. During the first four weeks, the students received traditional education and during the second four weeks they studied the rest of the subject matter using an on-line learning method. At the end of the course, the students' opinion toward the educational methods was asked using a questionnaire. An exam that covered the content of the 4-week block was also administered. Analysis of data was done by SPSS software using mean, standard deviation, and t-test. Results: The learning outcomes in both groups were similar. Based on the students' opinion about two teaching methods, e-learning was more effective on "their capability to use the method" and "independence in using the method", and lecture was better than e-learning in "the effect on learning" and "motivation". Conclustion: E-learning can be used for teaching some nursing courses. It is recommended to use e-learning method with considering appropriate interactive and more attractive virtual environments to motivate students