The relationship between the student stressor factors and academic burnout among the students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in year 2016

BACKGROUND: Burnout is a state of mental and emotional fatigue; and is a result of chronic stress syndrome, high pressure, time constraints, and lack of necessary resources to perform the assigned duties and tasks. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between student stressor factors and academic burnout among the students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in year 2016.METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, the study population was the students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. Among them, 500 persons were selected using stratified sampling method with proportional allocation. The research tools were student stressor factors and academic burnout questionnaires. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software.RESULTS: There was a positive and statistically significant relationship between academic burnout with three domains of stressors for students including academic stressors (r = 0.32, P < 0.01), learning environment stressors (r = 0.34, P < 0.01), and graduation stressors (r = 0.36, P < 0.01), as well as the overall stressors (r = 0.42, P < 0.01).CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicated the important role of stressors in academic burnout; so, it is expected that educators have always reflect the practices reduce stress, and create a suitable environment for education

Students' mental health status and its related factors in Sanandaj City Universities, Iran, 2016

BACKGROUND: Mental health is considered as one of the most important factors in the promotion and development of people. This is very important, especially in students. This study aimed to determine the students' mental health status in Sanandaj City universities, Iran, during the year 2016.METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, the samples were 1100 students in Kurdistan University, Islamic Azad University of Sanandaj, and Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. The samples were selected using stratified random sampling method with proportional allocation. The data were collected using General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) including 28 questions to assess mental health status.RESULTS: The average score of mental health among the students was 32.10 ± 12.00. The highest and the lowest frequency of mental disorders were related to aspects of social functioning (11.24 ± 3.62) and depression (5.53 ± 5.24), respectively. The students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences had better mental health than the other students in all aspects of mental health. There was a significant relationship between mental health with gender (P = 0.06), and marital status (P = 0.01).CONCLUSION: The findings of the study showed that parents, educational environment, economic situation of families, and students’ current home have important role in their mental health.

Fauna and the distribution of Phlebotominae sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Sanandaj County, Kurdistan Province, west of Iran, 2017

BACKGROUND: Phlebotominae sand flies, belonging to Psychodidae family, are very important because some species of them are biological vector of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis in Iran. An investigation was carried out in Sanandaj County, west of Iran, to evaluate the fauna, sex ratio, and species combination.METHODS: The samples collected using sticky traps from indoors and outdoors of 5 villages in year 2017. The traps were fixed before sunset, and collected at sunrise in the morning of the next day. The collected sand flies preserved in 70% ethanol and mounted, using Puri’s medium, and identified using the keys of Iranian sand flies.RESULTS: Totally, 907 sand flies comprising Phlebotomus genus (58%) and Sergentomyia genus (42%) were captured. The collected sand flies consisted of: Phlebotomus papatasi, Phlebotomus perfilliwei, Phlebotomus major, Phlebotomus kandellakii, Phlebotomus sergenti, Sergentomyia sintoni, Sergentomyia dentata, Sergentomyia antennata, and Sergentomyia theodori. Phlebotomus papatasi, Sergentomyia dentata and Sergentomyia sintoni were predominant species, respectively.CONCLUSION: The high abundance of sand flies especially Phlebotomus papatasi can lead to incidence and prevalence of leishmaniasis disease in this region. So, the complementary studies especially, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) studies are suggested to evaluate the infection rate of Leishmania parasite in sand flies and rodents

Study of women's flourishing rate and some related factors, Sanandaj, Iran, 2016

BACKGROUND: Flourishing is a component of positive psychology. This refers to a type of life with permanent optimism in human functions, and implicitly refers to goodness, growth, and flexibility. The present study was carried out to evaluate women's flourishing rate and some related factors in Sanandaj, Iran, in 2016.METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study on women aged between 18 to 64 years in Sanandaj City, Iran, that 400 of them were selected randomly. The data collection tool was flourishing questionnaire including 8 items. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software and chi-square, t, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests.RESULTS: The highest average score (6.05 ± 1.19) referred to "I am deeply about the happiness of the others" and the lowest average score (4.57 ± 1.89) referred to "I enjoy my daily activities". There was a statistically significant difference between flourishing rate of subjects and their level of education (P = 0.04) as well as maternal education (P = 0.001).CONCLUSION: Considering the relation between the education and the flourishing rate, training classes in the field of mental health and flourishing for women is suggested

The relationship between handedness and academic achievement in high school students of Sanandaj City, Iran

BACKGROUND: Academic achievement is considered as one of the main results of the educational system and focusing on factors affecting it is of great importance. The present study was performed with the aim to determine the relationship between handedness and academic achievement in high school students in Sanandaj City, Iran, in 2016.METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study the population of which included the high school students of Sanandaj and 2630 pupils were selected from among them. The study tool was the Annette's questionnaire. To measure the academic achievement, the average score of the first semester of the 2016-2017 school year of the students was used. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS software and descriptive and statistical tests such as the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests.RESULTS: Among the samples, 7.7%, 87.4%, 4.9% were left handed, right handed, and of no handedness, respectively. The average score of handedness in the school children was 16.75 ± 11.99 out of 24. There was no relationship between academic achievement and handedness (P = 0.105).CONCLUSION: The results suggested that other factors than handedness affect the success and academic achievement of the students

Spiritual intelligence and its related factors in the students of Sanandaj Universities, Iran, 201

BACKGROUND: Spiritual intelligence is the capacity of human to ask final questions about the meaning of life and the unified relationship between us and the universe. The present study was done to determine spiritual intelligence and its related factors among the students of the universities of Sanandaj, Iran, in 2015. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional research. The study population included students of Kurdistan University, Islamic Azad University of Sanandaj, and Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. 902 students were selected using cluster sampling method. A two-part questionnaire including demographic characteristics and 29 questions about spiritual intelligence was used. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. RESULTS: The mean total score of spiritual intelligence was 116.43 ± 15.65. 453 (50.6%) subjects had high spiritual intelligence. There was a positive correlation between age and spiritual intelligence of the students (r = 0.02, P = 0.61). Moreover, there was a significant statistical difference between spiritual intelligence and university (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results showed that the spiritual intelligence of the most students was satisfactory and good. Considering the high spiritual intelligence score of the studied students, it is expected that most of them have a good performance, especially in the field of education

The relationship between the student stressor factors and academic burnout among the students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in year 2016

BACKGROUND: Burnout is a state of mental and emotional fatigue; and is a result of chronic stress syndrome, high pressure, time constraints, and lack of necessary resources to perform the assigned duties and tasks. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between student stressor factors and academic burnout among the students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in year 2016. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, the study population was the students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. Among them, 500 persons were selected using stratified sampling method with proportional allocation. The research tools were student stressor factors and academic burnout questionnaires. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software. RESULTS: There was a positive and statistically significant relationship between academic burnout with three domains of stressors for students including academic stressors (r = 0.32, P < 0.01), learning environment stressors (r = 0.34, P < 0.01), and graduation stressors (r = 0.36, P < 0.01), as well as the overall stressors (r = 0.42, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicated the important role of stressors in academic burnout; so, it is expected that educators have always reflect the practices reduce stress, and create a suitable environment for education

Study of obesity-preventive food behaviors in women of Sanandaj County, Iran

BACKGROUND: Obesity is one of the major health problems and eating disorders around the world that has adverse consequences such as behavior change, increasing urbanization, reducing physical inactivity, and inappropriate lifestyle. The present study aimed to determine preventive behavioral obesity in women of Sanandaj County, Iran, in 2015-2016.METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study. The population included the women aged 18 to 64 years old in Sanandaj, Iran, of them 500 persons were selected by multistage cluster sampling. The method of the study was interviewing with the participants. The data were collected using a questionnaire including 13 questions regarding obesity-preventive eating behaviors. Scoring questionnaire was based on 1 and 0. Questions that were consistent with obesity-related nutritional behavior got a positive score (1) and questions that were against with obesity-related nutritional behavior did not receive any score (0). The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software.RESULTS: The average score of obesity-preventive eating behaviors was 58.68 ± 17.38. Less than 39% of the subjects had good obesity-preventative food behaviors and more than 53% had moderate obesity-preventative food behaviors. There were statistically significant differences between obesity-preventative food behaviors and economic status (P = 0.040), age group (P = 0.001), and marital status (P = 0.006).CONCLUSION: The findings of the study indicated that the most of the subjects did not have a good and healthy diet; therefore, it is necessary to hold training classes in order to change their behaviors in this regard

Procalcitonin and white blood cell count (WBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) alterations in children with systemic inflammatory response syndrome before and after treatment

Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) due to infection is an important cause of morbidity and  mortality in children. The present prospective observational study aimed to determine the correlation  between  procalcitonin (PCT) and white blood cell count (WBC), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and  C-reactive protein (CRP) in toddlers before and after treatment. Moreover, 50 patients aged 1 to 36 months who were hospitalized at the Pediatrics Ward in Besat Hospital, Sanansaj city, Kurdistan province Western  Iran through a census sampling method were recruited. The complete blood count (CBC) was measured via  cell counter; ESR by the Westergren method, CRP via semi quantitative method and PCT via semi quantitative  immune-chromatography method. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to estimate correlation between  WBC, ESR, CRP and PCT before and after treatment of SIRS. The results obtained show correlation coefficients between PCT and CRP as well as between PCT and ESR in the first day of trial before treatment were  determined as ‘good’ and ‘moderate’, respectively. However, there was no significant correlation between PCT and WBC. No significant correlation was found between PCT and WBC count, ESR and CRP at the third day of  treatment. It was concluded that procalcitonin and CRP is the most favorable values for confirming SIRS  diagnosis in the onset of treatment. PCT can be considered as the marker of choice for following up purposes.Key words: Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), procalcitonin, toddlers, treatment

Fauna and the distribution of Phlebotominae sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Sanandaj County, Kurdistan Province, west of Iran, 2017

BACKGROUND: Phlebotominae sand flies, belonging to Psychodidae family, are very important because some species of them are biological vector of cutaneous and visceral leishmaniasis in Iran. An investigation was carried out in Sanandaj County, west of Iran, to evaluate the fauna, sex ratio, and species combination. METHODS: The samples collected using sticky traps from indoors and outdoors of 5 villages in year 2017. The traps were fixed before sunset, and collected at sunrise in the morning of the next day. The collected sand flies preserved in 70% ethanol and mounted, using Puri’s medium, and identified using the keys of Iranian sand flies. RESULTS: Totally, 907 sand flies comprising Phlebotomus genus (58%) and Sergentomyia genus (42%) were captured. The collected sand flies consisted of: Phlebotomus papatasi, Phlebotomus perfilliwei, Phlebotomus major, Phlebotomus kandellakii, Phlebotomus sergenti, Sergentomyia sintoni, Sergentomyia dentata, Sergentomyia antennata, and Sergentomyia theodori. Phlebotomus papatasi, Sergentomyia dentata and Sergentomyia sintoni were predominant species, respectively. CONCLUSION: The high abundance of sand flies especially Phlebotomus papatasi can lead to incidence and prevalence of leishmaniasis disease in this region. So, the complementary studies especially, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) studies are suggested to evaluate the infection rate of Leishmania parasite in sand flies and rodents