The effect of reflexotherapy and massage therapy on vital signs and stress before coronary angiography: An open-label clinical trial

Abstract BACKGROUND: Complementary medicine interventions are now successfully used to reduce stress as well as to stabilize hemodynamic indices within different procedures. The present study aimed to examine the effect of massage therapy and reflexotherapy on reducing stress in patients before coronary angiography. METHODS: In this open-label clinical trial, 75 consecutive patients who were candidate for coronary angiography were randomly assigned to receive reflexotherapy (n = 25), or massage therapy (n = 25), or routine care (n = 25) before angiography. The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used to determine the stress level of patients before and after interventions and vital signs were also measured. RESULTS: Improvement in diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate was shown in the reflexotherapy group, and similar effects were observed following other interventions including massage therapy and routine resting program. In subjects who received reflexotherapy the level of stress decreased slightly compared with the other two groups. However, following interventions the level of stress in reflexotherapy group was shown to be lower than other study groups. CONCLUSION: Reflexotherapy before coronary angiography can help to stabilize vital sign as well as reduce the level of stress. The effect of massage therapy was limited to reducing stress

Designing an organizational memory model for reporting the medical errors

Background: The increasing growth in the volume of the data in the organizations and the resultant challenges due to medical errors during the last two decades have made the necessity of reporting and managing medical errors more apparent. Organizational memory (OM) has been known as one of the tools appropriate for implementing knowledge management. The goal of the present study is to design an organizational memory model for medical departments of the teaching and medical centers of Charmahal va Bakhtiyari province in Iran. Materials and Methods: This study is descriptive - applied in nature and its population consisted of the personnel of teachingmedical centers in Charmahal va Bakhtiyari province. Identifying the processes was performed through observation and the required data for identifying and reporting the medical errors was collected through conducting one structured interview with 65 personnel from the medical departments of 5 centers under research. OMs were derived through library research and online search. Based on the results of need-analysis and reviewing of the models, the proposed model was prepared and then was judged and evaluated by the medical professionals through Delphi test technique. Results: The personnel who took part in the study believed if they have access to the data and information required for reporting the medical errors, they will have a better performance (85). they regarded the use of organizational memory as a necessity (98) and enumerated the occurrence of errors, slowness of the work, irregularity, discontent and wonderlessness of the customers as some challenges resulting from human error and system fault (86). Discussions: Organizational memory system which relates organizational knowledge to job functions related to reporting the errors not to recognize the wrongdoer but to prevent error repetition, is one of the requirements of the medical centers which can promote the efficiency and organizational learning

Comparison of the papers published in journal of shahrekord university of medical sciences with those published in other medical journals of Iran in view of methodology

Background and aim: Scientific and research journals are considered as one of the most important tools for scientific and research information and science advancement in any discipline. Publishing articles in these journals is known to be an important indicator for knowledge generation. Comparing and assessing medical journals which present research outcomes, quantitatively and qualitatively, is particularly important to improve and promote them. The present study was conducted to compare the papers published in scientific and research Journal of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences (JSKUMS) with those published in other medical journals of Iran in view of methodology. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined and compared the observance of scientific writing of "Materials and Method" and "Results" of 113 articles published in JSKUMS with that of 269 articles published in other medical journals of Iran within 2010-2012 through random sampling using a validated questionnaire. The data were analyzed by SPSS software using Chi square, ANOVA, and t test. Results: The percentage of original, cross-sectional, clinical trial, and experimental studies published in JSKUMS in 2011-2012 was respectively 93, 48, 20, and 17. The mean number of authors of the articles was 4.9 ± 3 and the most common errors in JSKUMS and other medical journals of Iran were failure to mention method of sampling (29 and 42 respectively), sample size (7 and 9 respectively), the software used (39 and 10 respectively), methods of randomization and blinding (72 and 27 respectively), letter of consent and ethics committee's approval (11 and 4 respectively), failure to provide confidence intervals for descriptive indicators (9 and 14 respectively) and required analytical indicators (7 and 16 respectively), and failure to observe the instructions of drawing tables (30 and 17 respectively) and graphs (35 and 25 respectively). The number of case-control studies and cohorts was significantly higher in other medical journals of Iran compared to JSKUMS. Conclusion: Identifying the common errors in the examined journals provided the context for improving and promoting them quantitatively and qualitatively. Therefore, it seems helpful to inform the authors and consider the most common errors, to empower the reviewers and address the quality and quantity of workshops on research methodology and scientific writing, and to provide opportunities for publishing guidelines for research and writing research papers

A comparative study on the benefits and challenges of the application of mobile technology in health

Background: The application of mobile technology in the health domain i.e mobile health (mhealth) commonly refers to the use of mobile telecommunication and multi-media technologies for providing health services and public health systems. Some scholars consider mobile health as a subsystem of health technology which, due to the existing conditions, has become more significant compared to other interventions in this field. The present study intends to investigate the global approach on mobile health technology on the one hand, and its benefits and challenges on the other. Materials and Methods: As a comparative-descriptive study conducted in 2011, the present study has tried to explore mhealth technology strategies in public health domain, different types of mhealth interventions and benefits of using mhealth as well as its challenges and obstacles. The data were collected through informational sources such as articles, books, magazines and valid websites. Then, the status of the countries were compared and analyzed as far as the development of this technology is concened. Results:Based on the findings of the study, one of the criteria affecting the development of mhealth is the high penetration of mobile phone. By October, 2011, the estimated number of mobile users has been over 5 billion showing a penetration coefficient of 76. The review of the research on the obstacles and challenges experienced in moving towards the development of this technology by World Health Organization revealed that prioritization and increasing knowledge level are the most significant obstacles in the way to develop this technology. Discussions: Mhealth technology has been provided in most countries with the aim of promoting public health and accelerating the supply of health services. Having a penetration coefficient of over 90 in Iran, it can be predicted that this country can take effective steps towards development of this technology

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was <1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified

Global variations in diabetes mellitus based on fasting glucose and haemogloblin A1c

Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) are both used to diagnose diabetes, but may identify different people as having diabetes. We used data from 117 population-based studies and quantified, in different world regions, the prevalence of diagnosed diabetes, and whether those who were previously undiagnosed and detected as having diabetes in survey screening had elevated FPG, HbA1c, or both. We developed prediction equations for estimating the probability that a person without previously diagnosed diabetes, and at a specific level of FPG, had elevated HbA1c, and vice versa. The age-standardised proportion of diabetes that was previously undiagnosed, and detected in survey screening, ranged from 30% in the high-income western region to 66% in south Asia. Among those with screen-detected diabetes with either test, the agestandardised proportion who had elevated levels of both FPG and HbA1c was 29-39% across regions; the remainder had discordant elevation of FPG or HbA1c. In most low- and middle-income regions, isolated elevated HbA1c more common than isolated elevated FPG. In these regions, the use of FPG alone may delay diabetes diagnosis and underestimate diabetes prevalence. Our prediction equations help allocate finite resources for measuring HbA1c to reduce the global gap in diabetes diagnosis and surveillance.peer-reviewe

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

AbstractOptimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was &lt;1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified.</jats:p

Prevalence of refractive Errors Characteristics in Patients with Primary Hypertension in Shahrekord

Background & aim: Refractive errors are the most common reasons for patients' referring to ophthalmology clinics. As systemic hypertension causes significant complications for eyesight, this study was conducted to determine the association between refractive errors (with an emphasis on hyperopia) and systemic hypertension. Methods: This descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted on 217 patients over 35 years old referring to the Ophthalmology Clinic of Ayatollah Kashani Hospital of Shahrekord, Iran, for essential hypertension. Refractive errors were determined by an ophthalmologist and essential systemic hypertension was measured and recorded using standard laboratory procedures. Systolic pressure of > 140 mmHg and diastolic pressure of > 90 mmHg were considered as increase in blood pressure and refraction equal to ±0.5 as refractory error. The obtained data were analyzed by means of the SPSS software (version 17) using chi-square and t test. Results: The mean age of patients was 56.51±10.3 years. 28.1% of the patients were male and the rest female. 36.4% of the patients had myopia, 36.9% hyperopia, and 26.7% emmetropia. In case group patients, no significant difference was observed among myopic, hyperopic, and emmetropic patients (p≥0.02). Conclusion: The risk of developing systemic hypertension in hyperopic patients was higher compared to myopic and emmetropic. In addition, the association between the amount of hyperopia and mean blood pressure was not significant in hyperopic patients (p≤0.05)

KAP of primary school teachers about health education techniques

Background and aim: Teachers have an important role, in health education, in transferring health knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) to students. Therefore, it is necessary for them to have adequate knowledge of, high attitude toward, and appropriate practice in health education techniques. The aim of this study was to measure KAP of primary school teachers about health education techniques and its relationship with age, gender, nativity, education, work experiences, income, courses they had already taken, and place of education. Design: 114 female and 104 male teachers were investigated. They were asked to fill out a pre-tested and structured questionnaire. Chi-square and multivariate regression analysis were used for data analysis. Findings: 7.1 of teachers had high, 45.2 had medium, and 27.7 had low KAP about health education techniques. Chi- square test showed no relationship between KAP of teachers and gender, nativity, work experiences, and income. However, there was a significant relationship between KAP of teachers and level of education, place of education, and courses they had already taken. Multivariate regression analysis showed that courses they had already taken were the most effective factor on teachers' KAP about health education techniques. High proportions of primary school teachers had low KAP in health education techniques. Regarding the results of this study we recommend development of a specific (pre-service and in-service) training course for teachers to improve their KAP about techniques for health education in primary schools