The relationship between psychological empowerment and job burnout: a model with a mediating role of self-efficacy in nurses

Background: The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between psychological empowerment and job burnout with a mediating role of self-efficacy in nurses of private hospitals in Shiraz. Methods: The present study was applied in terms of aim. The statistical population included nurses of private hospitals in Shiraz. According to the statistics of the Deputy of Shiraz University, their number was 750 people. Using Cochran's formula, the sample size was determined at 256 people. To collect data, Maslach job burnout questionnaire, Spreitzer psychological empowerment questionnaire and Sherer & Adams self-efficacy questionnaire and structural equation method were used to analyze the data. Results: The absolute value of the path coefficient to explain the relationship between psychological empowerment and job burnout was -0.545 and t-statistic is higher than 1.96. There was a negative relationship between psychological empowerment and job burnout. Also, psychological empowerment with a mediating role of self-efficacy has a negative path coefficient was -0.704 and t-statistic is higher than 1.96. Self-efficacy increased the effect of psychological empowerment on job burnout. Conclusion: Since perfectionist people and those extremely involved at work suffer from job burnout emotionally and self-efficacy relationship in line with psychological empowerment and inverse relationship with job burnout, it is necessary to take special measures for psychological empowerment to prevent job burnout by managers to increase the efficiency of nurses

Copper-nickel oxide nanofilm modified electrode for non-enzymatic determination of glucose

CuxO-NiO nanocomposite film for the non-enzymatic determination of glucose was prepared by the novel modifying method. At first, anodized Cu electrode was kept in a mixture solution of CuSO4, NiSO4 and H2SO4 for 15 minutes. Then, a cathodization process with a step potential of -6 V in a mixture solution of CuSO4 and NiSO4 was initiated, generating formation of porous Cu-Ni film on the bare Cu electrode by electrodeposition assisted by the release of hydrogen bubbles acting as soft templates. Optimized conditions were determined by the experimental design software for electrodeposition process. Afterward, Cu-Ni modified electrode was scanned by cyclic voltammetry (CV) method in NaOH solution to convert Cu and Ni nanoparticles to the nano-scaled CuxO-NiO film. The electrocatalytic behavior of the novel CuxO-NiO film toward glucose oxidation was studied by CV and chronoamperometry (CHA) techniques. The calibration curve of glucose was found linear in a wide range of 0.04–5.76 mM, with a low limit of detection (LOD) of 7.3 μM (S/N = 3) and high sensitivity (1.38 mA mM-1 cm-2). The sensor showed high selectivity against some usual interfering species and high stability (loss of only 6.3 % of its performance over one month). The prepared CuxO-NiO nanofilm based sensor was successfully applied for monitoring glucose in human blood serum and urine samples

Satisfaction of patients presenting to health insurance offices: using data mining method

Background: The quality of healthcare services can be determined by patient satisfaction as it affects the performance, sustainability, and durability of health services. The aim of this study was to analyze the satisfaction of patients presenting to health insurance offices by using the data mining method. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on those who referred to the offices of the Health Insurance Organization (e.g., Kerman, Sistan and Baluchestan, Hormozgan and Yazd provinces) who were selected by non-random cluster sampling. A researcher-made questionnaire consisting of 79 items was used for data collection. Face and content validity of 0.86% was obtained using the views of five academic experts. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.966. Data were analyzed by SPSS-18 software. Results: The studied variables regarding quality service indicators included speeding up the administration of affairs, non-discrimination between clients, empathy with clients, keeping clients' secrets, politeness and kindness, paying attention to the needs and wishes of clients. Access to information, raising awareness, payment of compensation, attention to the rights of the disabled, rule of law and clarification of matters and criticisms were in a favorable condition, and service quality is the only unfavorable indicator in health insurance offices. Conclusion: Governments are required to respect people's rights regardless of skin color, race, religion, gender, and in the present study, the satisfaction of clients with the performance of insurance service offices was evident

Investigating the Relationship between Psychological Empowerment and Job Burnout with a Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence in Nurses of Private Hospitals in Shiraz

Introduction: Employee burnout is one of the most important issues in today’s organizations because worn-out or depleted employees cannot effectively achieve organizational goals. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between psychological empowerment and job burnout with a mediating role of emotional intelligence in nurses of private hospitals in Shiraz.Methods: The present study used a cross-sectional analytical method on 256 nurses from private hospitals in Shiraz; according to the statistics of the Vice-Chancellor of Shiraz University, the total number of working nurses was around 750. To collect data, Maslach’s job burnout, Spreitzer’s psychological empowerment, and Bar-On’s emotional intelligence questionnaires were used, and the structural equation method was used to analyze the data.Results: The absolute value of the path coefficient explaining the relationship between psychological empowerment and job burnout was greater than 0.3 (0.545), and the t-statistic was higher than 1.96. Therefore, a negative relationship exists between psychological empowerment and job burnout, so with increased psychological empowerment, job burnout decreases. Also, Emotional intelligence increases the effect of psychological empowerment on job burnout. Thus, job burnout decreases with increased psychological empowerment and emotional intelligence.Conclusion: According to the results of this study, there are mutual effects between psychological empowerment, emotional intelligence, and job burnout, so it is expected that managers can promote psychological empowerment and reduce job burnout by strengthening emotional intelligence and improving the efficiency of nurses

Frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption and oral health-related quality of life among the elderly in Amirkola (Babol, Iran)

Introduction: Considering that nutrition plays a prominent role in the health of the elderly, oral health and the associated quality of life are very important for a healthy diet. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among the elderly in Amirkola. Materials & Methods: This study was part of the second phase of the Amirkola elderly cohort study conducted on 750 older people who underwent a special oral and dental examination in 2016-2020 using the Oral Health Questionnaire. The frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption was assessed with the Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (SQFFQ), OHRQoL was assessed with the General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI), and information on age, sex, history of systemic diseases, and the number of teeth was extracted from the full data set completed by specialists for each patient. Data were analyzed with SPSS 20 using the chi-square statistical test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient. A value of p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: Non-smokers and people with a higher level of education had a better OHRQoL (P=0.022 and P=0.036, respectively). There was no significant relationship between the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption and OHRQoL, but a significant relationship was found between the frequency of fresh herb consumption and OHRQoL (p=0.005). In men, there was a significant relationship between the number of teeth and frequency of vegetable consumption as well as between OHRQoL and frequency of fresh herb consumption in men (P=0.048, r=0.096).In women, a significant relationship was observed between the frequency of total vegetable consumption and OHRQoL (p=0.021, r=0.129). Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, it was found that the amount of fruit and vegetable consumption has no effect on improving the OHRQoL among the elderly of Amirkola city

Global investments in pandemic preparedness and COVID-19: development assistance and domestic spending on health between 1990 and 2026

Background The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted gaps in health surveillance systems, disease prevention, and treatment globally. Among the many factors that might have led to these gaps is the issue of the financing of national health systems, especially in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), as well as a robust global system for pandemic preparedness. We aimed to provide a comparative assessment of global health spending at the onset of the pandemic; characterise the amount of development assistance for pandemic preparedness and response disbursed in the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic; and examine expectations for future health spending and put into context the expected need for investment in pandemic preparedness. Methods In this analysis of global health spending between 1990 and 2021, and prediction from 2021 to 2026, we estimated four sources of health spending: development assistance for health (DAH), government spending, out-of-pocket spending, and prepaid private spending across 204 countries and territories. We used the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s Creditor Reporting System (CRS) and the WHO Global Health Expenditure Database (GHED) to estimate spending. We estimated development assistance for general health, COVID-19 response, and pandemic preparedness and response using a keyword search. Health spending estimates were combined with estimates of resources needed for pandemic prevention and preparedness to analyse future health spending patterns, relative to need. Findings In 2019, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, US$9·2 trillion (95$7·3 trillion (95% UI 7·2–7·4) in 2019; 293·7 times the $24·8 billion (95$43·1 billion in development assistance was provided to maintain or improve health. The pandemic led to an unprecedented increase in development assistance targeted towards health; in 2020 and 2021, $1·8 billion in DAH contributions was provided towards pandemic preparedness in LMICs, and$37·8 billion was provided for the health-related COVID-19 response. Although the support for pandemic preparedness is 12·2% of the recommended target by the High-Level Independent Panel (HLIP), the support provided for the health-related COVID-19 response is 252·2% of the recommended target. Additionally, projected spending estimates suggest that between 2022 and 2026, governments in 17 (95% UI 11–21) of the 137 LMICs will observe an increase in national government health spending equivalent to an addition of 1% of GDP, as recommended by the HLIP. Interpretation There was an unprecedented scale-up in DAH in 2020 and 2021. We have a unique opportunity at this time to sustain funding for crucial global health functions, including pandemic preparedness. However, historical patterns of underfunding of pandemic preparedness suggest that deliberate effort must be made to ensure funding is maintained

Resilient energy management incorporating energy storage system and network reconfiguration: A framework of cyber‐physical system

Abstract Due to increasing the intricacies of cyber‐physical systems (CPSs) and the severity of natural phenomena, upgrading network planning is vital to reduce the vulnerability of these systems. This study develops a novel preventive‐corrective resilient energy management strategy (PC‐REMS) for a CPS in two stages, exploiting the network reconfiguration (NR) and energy storage systems (ESSs) capacity. The first stage of the proposed PC‐REMS follows preventive actions based on contingency faults. In contrast, the second stage applies corrective measures for improving the CPS resilience to cope with natural physical disasters. Vulnerability assessment data is sent to the physical power system daily through the communication network. The first stage of preparing the CPS for predictable faults focuses on pre‐scheduled ESSs and preventive NR to minimise the expected energy curtailment cost. The second stage involves the network recovery in real‐time through corrective NR to minimise energy curtailment cost after the faults. Three resistance, recovery, and resilience indices are introduced for evaluating the effectiveness of the model. The proposed model is examined by performing multiple simulations on the 33 and 118‐bus radial test systems. The simulation results show the efficiency of the proposed PC‐REMS model in dealing with predictable disasters to improve the CPS resilience

Natural recovery assessment of some physical properties of forest soil compacted by ground base skidding

Skidding machinery traffic can have a long-term detrimental impact on soil physical properties such as bulk density and strenght. Therefore, the trial was conducted to investigate the recovery status of soil physical properties, compacted during twenty-year period at Asalem Forest, north of Iran. For this purpose, three parcels of the first and the second districts of Nave Asalam Forest, were chosen. The treatments consisted of three periods after skidding (1, 10 and 20 years), two slope classes (>20% an