Design and validating the nurse-patient communication skills questionnaire

Introduction: Evaluation of nurse-patient communication skills have been strongly emphasized in order to ensure the possibility of effective communication as well as assessment of the effect of communication skills training programs. Reaching this goal requires the use of standard instruments which is based on the native culture of the target group. Due to the absence of native instruments in this field, the aim of this study was to design and assess the validity and reliability of interpersonal communication skills, among nurses at Shiraz Educational Hospitals. Method: A mixed method (Qualitative, Quantitative) was used in two phases. The first phase was designing a descriptive questionnaire for nurse-patient communication skills (consisting of “brain storming” and “Delphi quantitative Research Method”). The next phase was defining the validity and reliability of the questionnaire based on confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha. The target population for the first phase was 15 faculty members of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences and for the second phase, 130 members of nursing staff of both educational and private hospitals of Shiraz. The data were analyzed using SPSS 14 and LISREL software after fulfilling the questionnaires. Results: The findings of the study demonstrated the reliability of the nurse-patient communication skills questionnaires (α=0.810). Except for question No. 17, the others had a significant relationship with the agent based on their validity and T-value. Conclusion: Like other clinical skills, communication requires the theoretical knowledge, evaluation and practice. The findings of this study are the most important indicators from the nurses’ view point which can be assessed in terms of communication skills. These options, as demonstrated, had an acceptable reliability and validity

Evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of community-based education from the viewpoint of students

Introduction: Responsive medicine is an appropriate training method which trains the graduates who can act effectively in initial and secondary aspects of health issues in the society. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study which was done using quantitative method. The target population of this study was all the students of the Nutrition and Health School of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The sample was randomly selected in this study and 75 students were selected based on the methodologist’s comments and similar studies and randomnumber table from a list obtained from the school’s department of education. This questionnaire was a researcher-made one which consisted of 23 questions in 2 sections with 21 closedended questions and 2 open-ended questions; 70 questionnaires were completed correctly. The closed-ended questions had 4 aspects (completely agree to completely disagree) answered in 5-point Likert scale type. Its face validity was confirmed by 4 faculty members. The construct validity of the questionnaire was analyzed by factor analysis test and its reliability was assessed by a pilot on 20 students with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.85. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistical tests (mean, standard deviation, …) and the Pearson coefficient (p<0.001). Results: The results of this study showed that the maximum mean score was 3.58±0.65 which was related to the context of these courses and the minimum mean was 2.66±1.14 which was related to the logbook implementation. The 2 open-ended questions indicated that the most important strengths were the use of logbooks as a guide and determining the minimum training; of the weaknesses was the mismatch between the theoretical education and the practical activities. Also, developing the minimum training that an expert should know and using the common topics related to theoretical education were the most important points mentioned by the respondents. Conclusion: The educational planning of the authorities for keeping the balance of the theoretical training with the practical activities and giving opportunities to the trainee or intern to face diseases and the common problems of the community seems to be necessar

The Relationship between Dietary Intake, Obesity and Shift Working on Employees of Pasargad Petrochemical Company in Asaluyeh, Iran

Shift work in services and industry is increasing in developing countries, especially industrialized ones, due to the need for a flexible workforce and to achieve maximum efficiency. Shift working can cause problems for people's health and bodily functions. This study aims to determine the relationship between dietary intake, obesity, and shift working among employees of Pasargad Petrochemical Company. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 119 employees within the age range of 25-60 years and an average body mass index (BMI) of 25.67. Their food intakes were extracted using Food Frequency Questionnaires. Data analysis was performed through STATA data analysis software. Results: 119 male participants with a mean age of 33.62 ±7.12 year were included in the study, of whom 64.7% were non-shift workers and 35.3% were shift workers. The daily calorie intake of the participants was 2864.54 ± 1184.43 kcal. Although non-shift workers consumed a higher but insignificant amount of energy, no statistical differences were found in dietary intake between shift workers and non-shift workers (P<0.05). Furthermore, multiple linear regressions regarding shift work did not have a significant effect on BMI and waist circumference. Conclusion: Although no statistically significant relationship was found between food intake and shift work, it is suggested that future studies be conducted with a larger sample size because of the importance of shift wor