Workplace violence against health care workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Health Care Workers (HCWs) have been at the frontline against the disease and have direct contact with patients and their companions, so they are exposed to all sorts of Workplace Violence (WPV). The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of WPV against HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: This study was conducted according to the PRISMA guideline, and its protocol was registered at the PROSPERO under the code of CRD42021285558. Articles were obtained from data resources such as Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and Embase. A literature search was conducted from the beginning of 2020 to the end of December 2021. Meta-analysis was conducted using the Random effects model, and the I2 index was used to check the heterogeneity. Results: In this study, 1,054 articles were initially obtained during the primary search, of which 13 were finally entered in the meta-analysis. According to the results of the meta-analysis, the prevalence of physical and verbal WPV were 10.75 (95 CI: 8.20–13.30, I2 = 97.8, P = 0 < 001) and 45.87 (95 CI: 36.8–54.93, I2 = 99.6, P = 0 < 001), respectively. The overall prevalence of WPV was obtained, 45.80 (95 CI: 34.65–56.94, I2 = 99.8, P = 0 < 001) were reported. Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that the prevalence of WPV against HCWs was relatively high during the COVID-19 pandemic; nevertheless, it was lower compared to the area prior to the pandemic. Therefore, HCWs need essential training to reduce stress and increase resilience. Also, considering organizational interventions (including policies to ensure that HCWs report WPV to their supervisors, increasing staffing per patient, and installing systems for HCWs to call for immediate assistance) can increase the resilience HCWs. © 202

The Challenges of Vision Zero Implementation in Iran: A Qualitative Study

Background: Road traffic crashes' (RTCs) multidimensional nature has piqued the interest of officials all around the world for many years. Vision Zero is one of the most innovative approaches to road safety. Vision Zero is a government initiative aimed at reducing RTC-related deaths and serious injuries. To effectively apply this approach in Iran, it is required to first identify the obstacles to execution. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the obstacles to Vision Zero implementation in Iran.Methods: The qualitative content analysis method was used in this investigation. The participants were chosen using purposive, snowball, and maximum variety sampling methods. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews. Graneheim and Lundman's method was used to analyze data using the content analysis method.Results: There were 16 interviews with 14 participants in this study. The data were organized into four main categories and 13 sub-categories to determine the obstacles to implementing Vision Zero. Managerial and administrative obstacles, as well as supportive, cultural, and social, and transportation design and development challenges, were the main categories.Conclusion: In Iran, implementing Vision Zero necessitates the establishment of a lead agency that considers administrative and managerial, supportive and logistic, socio-cultural, transportation design and development, and infrastructure components. In addition, Vision Zero implementation and road safety improvement would require political commitment and support from the government and society. Vision Zero implementation and road safety management must take into account the ethics and value of human life

A model for Vision Zero implementation in Iran: a grounded theory study

BACKGROUND: Road Traffic injuries (RTIs) are major global health issues, but they have been neglected. RTIs are multi-faceted in nature and, like many injuries, are costly but preventable. Iran has one of the highest rates of deaths due to traffic accidents among middle-income countries. Hence, there is a need for effective and preventive approaches in road safety management. One of the new approaches to road safety is the Vision Zero. The aim of this study was to design a Vision Zero implementation model in Iran. METHODS: This present study was conducted using the qualitative grounded theory approach. Purposive, snowball and maximum variety sampling were used to select participants. In-depth interviews were used to collect data. Grounded theory method was used to analyze the data using Corbin and Strauss method. RESULTS: In this study, 19 interviews were conducted with 17 participants. Based on data analysis, a total of 4 main categories and 13 subcategories were obtained. According to the participants, the lead agency was recognized as the core category. Other concepts were categorized as causal conditions, intervening conditions, contextual conditions, action/interaction strategies, and consequences. CONCLUSIONS: Establishing a lead agency with inter-organizational coordination through political support and legislation and changing the approach of road safety can be effective in implementing a Vision Zero. Also, improving the safety attitude of the stakeholders and changing their approach through training and advocacy from various organizations related to road safety is effective in creating a lead agency and implementing a vision zero. In addition, in order to implementation of the model, it is very important to pay attention to the economic, political and ethical underlying factors towards human beings

Barriers and requirements in the off-line emergency medical protocols implementation in Iranian Pre-hospital system: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND: To avoid making decisions based on the unproven opinions of emergency medical technicians (EMTs), many emergency medical service (EMS) systems rely on emergency medical protocols. As protocol-based on-scene decision-making is influenced by many challenges, identifying these challenges can result in providing appropriate conditions for EMTs' decision-making. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the barriers and requirements in the off-line emergency medical protocols implementation m in the prehospital emergency medical system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To conduct this study, qualitative content analysis using 10 field observations, 22 interviews, and 2 rounds of focus group discussions was applied. The duration of interviews lasted from October 2019 to January 2020. The Graneheim and Lundman approach was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Seven categories (15 subcategories) including education and awareness (professional training and education and community-based education); attitudes (professional attitude and community attitude); interactions and coordination (interpersonal interactions, organizational interferences, and community's interactions); rules and instructions (instructions and supportive rules); control system (monitoring and evaluation and motivational system); accessibility (recourses and communication); and organization (structure and process) were obtained as the obstacles and challenges in the offline emergency medical protocol implementation in the prehospital system. CONCLUSIONS: There are many challenges in implementing offline emergency medical protocols in the prehospital emergency system. To achieve the effectiveness and efficiency of offline prehospital emergency protocols, it is necessary to facilitate these challenges and improve the EMTs' knowledge, attitude, and performance through cooperative and skill-based education. The findings of this study can be useful for EMS systems from national to local levels

Time Management Behaviors and Emotional Intelligence in Head Nurses in Emergency and Intensive Care Units

Background: Time management is of particular importance in nursing. One of the most effective variables associated with time management is emotional intelligence (EI). This study assessed the relationship between time management and EI and the level of EI and time management skills in head nurses in emergency and intensive care units. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on all head nurses in the emergency and intensive care units of nine educational hospitals at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in Iran in 2015 using Bradberry-Greaves’ EI and Macan’s Time Management Questionnaires. Results: Participants’ total time management score was (104.15 ± 6.98); total EI score was (128 ± 15.80). There was no significant relationship between overall EI and time management skills. There was a significant relationship between age and the emotional self-awareness dimension of EI (p =.027) and the mechanics dimension of time management (p =.037), and between work experience and overall time management skills (p =.049) and the mechanics dimension of time management (p =.038). Conclusions: Specific EI and time management skills may help head nurses to cope with the challenges they face, which may improve the quality of nursing care. Nursing leaders should consider the importance of time management and EI in increasing motivation and satisfaction of nursing staff and improving quality of care. © Copyright 2022 Creative Health Care Management

Energy Harvesters for Wearable Electronics and Biomedical Devices

Energy harvesters (EHs) are widely used to transform ambient energy sources into electrical energy, and have tremendous potential to power wearables electronics and biomedical devices by eliminating, or at least increasing, the battery life. Nevertheless, the use of EHs for a specific application depends on various aspects including the form of energy source, the structural configuration of the device, and the properties of materials. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the classification of EHs, notably thermoelectric generators (TEGs), triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), and piezoelectric generators (PEGs) that allows a wide variety of devices to be operated. The EHs are discussed in terms of their operating principles, optimization factors, state-of-the-art materials, and device structure, that directly influence their operational efficiency. Besides, the breakthrough performance of each of the EHs listed above is highlighted. From the review and analysis, the maximum output power density of 9.2 mW cm-2, 50 mW cm-2, and 64.9 µW cm-2, respectively, are obtained from the TEG, TENG, and PEG, respectively. Furthermore, recent applications relevant to a specific EH and their output performance, are also enlightened. Eventually, the essential outcomes and future direction from this review are discussed and encapsulated