The Importance and Extent of Providing Compassionate Nursing Care from The Viewpoint of Patients Hospitalized in Educational Hospitals in Kermanshah - Iran 2017

AIM: This study is an attempt to determine the importance and extent of providing compassionate nursing care from the hospitalised patients’ viewpoint in educational hospitals in Kermanshah-Iran 2017 METHODS: The study was carried out as a descriptive, analytical work in the hospitals affiliated to Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences on 300 patients in 2017. The patients were selected through convenient sampling, and Burnell Compassionate Care Scale was filled by the participants. The collected data was analysed in SPSS (v.20) using descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: The results showed that the mean and standard deviation score of importance and extent of compassionate care were 3.27 ± 0.526 and 2.80 ± 0.647 respectively. There was a significant difference between these two scores (p < 0.001). About all the factors in compassionate nursing care, there was a significant difference between the importance and extent of compassionate nursing care. The mean score of the importance of compassionate nursing care from female patients’ viewpoint was higher than that of men (p = 0.032). The observers with college educations perceived the extent of compassionate nursing care less than the other groups of participants (p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant difference between the importance and extent of compassionate nursing care from the patients’ point of view. This highlights negligence by the nurses of this critical aspect of care. It is recommended, therefore, to add compassionate nursing care to nursing programs and commission more research works on other groups of health care personnel

Professional Competencies of Medical Education Administrators from Faculty Viewpoint: A Qualitative Study

Background: Educational administration is aimed to facilitate and protect the education and learning. Appropriate response to the threats and opportunities of the present era necessitates the educational administrators to be competent enough in this regard. Objective: This qualitative study was conducted to find out the opinions of faculties about the needed competencies of medical education administrators in 2009-2010. Methods: In-depth interviews with 10 faculty members and three focus group discussions with 6 faculties in each session held. Findings: Proposed ideas were sorted into 20 categories and 110 competencies as knowledge and information management, leadership, budgeting and fiscal management, innovation and entrepreneurship, human resource management, quality management, educational planning, international relations, students services, educational administration in health fields, social and public relations, virtual education, knowledge about laws and regulations, change and crises management, cultural affairs, physical resources, personal traits, educational administration in clinical settings, medical ethics, and political issues. Conclusion: University administration necessitates competencies to ensure proper conduct of the scientific and executive affairs. Therefore, adoption and evaluation of educational administrators must be in accordance to those competencies. Keywords: Educational Administration, Medical Education, University, Faculty Membe

The Relationship Between Self-Efficacy and Quality of Life Among Elderly People

Objectives Self-Efficacy is an important variable in the field of elderly, to which little attention has been paid. Quality of Life (QoL) is also one of the most important factors of human development. This study aimed to determine and investigate the relationship between self-efficacy and QoL among elders residing in Tehran nursing homes in 2015. Methods & Materials In this cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study, the statistical population comprised the residents of nursing homes, especially catering to the elderly, in Tehran. The sample size was 210 individuals, who were selected based on the research criteria. For the elderly people residing in elderly care centers, quota random sampling was performed, and random sampling in each nursing home was made proportionate to the number of elderly residents therein.  General self-efficacy scale (GSE-10), elderly quality of life questionnaire (LIPAD), and demographic questionnaire were utilized to collect data. The tools were investigated in terms of reliability. The elderly residents’ average (SD) age was 78.66 (11.78) years. After sampling and gathering the questionnaires, the collected data were entered into SPSS Version18, and analyzed with descriptive indexes and analytic tests, including frequency, mean, standard deviation, Chi-square test, Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, ANOVA, and independent t test. Results The findings showed that the mean (SD) score of self-efficacy among the elder residents of Tehran nursing homes was 17.68 (4.00), and the mean (SD) score of  QoL was 27.88 (9.80). There is no significant correlation between self-efficacy and demographic characteristics such as age, sex, or marital status, but there was a significant correlation between the education level (P=0.042) and self-efficacy. There also happened to be a significant correlation between QoL, and age (P=0.047) and education level (P=0.038). Again, there was no significant correlation between QoL, and sex and marital status. In this particular research, the confidence level was considered as 95%. Conclusion According to the results of the study, self-efficacy of residential elderlies and their quality of life was low. Increase in self-efficacy among the elderly residents of the nursing homes led to a rise in their QoL

Relationship between Brain Lesion Location and Aphasia Type in Persian Speaking Patients with Stroke

Objective: It has been many years that brain lesion analysis of different aphasia Syndromes has led the foundation to investigate the language representation and organization in the brain. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between brain lesion location and Broca's aphasia and Wernecke's aphasia in Persian speakers with stroke. Materials & Methods: In a single system design study, from 120 patients with stroke attending Emam Khomeyni and Loghman hospitals, Rofeyde, Karaj neurology, and Tabassom speech clinics and according to the Farsi Aphasia Test (FAT), syntactic comprehension subscale of Bilingual Aphasia Test (BAT), Farsi Aphasia Naming Test, and Apraxia Assessment inventory, only 9 patients with Broca’s aphasia and 2 with Wernicke’s aphasia were qualified to participate in this study. Patients’ brain lesion sites were determined by MRI. Patients with Broca’s aphasia were 5 male and 4 female Wernecke’s aphasia patients were 2 male. Results: External capsule-insula, rolandic operculum, inferior frontal gyrus, (precentral gyrus and postcentarl gyrus), and the anterior part of temporal gyrus were damaged in Broca’s aphasia patients (64±12.51 years old) and the lesions of external capsule-insula, posterior part of temporal gyrus, anterior part of temporal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule were observed in Wernicke’s aphasia patients (66±8.48 years old). Conclusion: In no patient with Broca’s aphasia or Wernicke’s aphasia brain lesion confined only to Broca’s area or Wernicke’s area respectively. However, due to the limited number of participants in the present study, the extrapolation of the findings to other subjects with Broca’s or Wernicke’s aphasia would certainly be difficult

The Effect of Picture Exchange Communication System and Speech Therapy on Communication Development of 4-8 Years Old Autistic Children

Objective: This study compares the effect of speech therapy and picture exchange communication system (PECS) on communication development of 4-8 year old autistic children. Materials & Methods: This is an experimental and comparison study. In this study 10 subjects including PECS and speech therapy groups were selected using the available sampling method on the base of including and excluding criteria. Both groups were matched according to age and developmental indices of Niusha scale. Dependent variables were listening, receptive language, expressive language, cognition, speech and social communication. Intervention was applied for both groups similarly divided in 40 minute sessions 3 times a weak for 3 months. Our parameters were evaluated by Niusha development scale before and after interventions. The results were analyzed clinically and statistically by sum-ranks willkokson and rank- signed willkokson. Results: Post test comparison between the two groups revealed that the members of PECS group had a more progress in listening, receptive language, cognition and social communication skills rather than speech therapy group. But these differences were not significant statistically and T(sum ranks) was between critical values. Conclusion: considering the results, it could be concluded that PECS is a effective strategy to train non-verbal autistic children. Moreover it could be used as a supplement teaching method beside other therapeutic method such as speech therapy

Comparing Faculty and Students Perceptions on Clinical Competency Achievement in Rehabilitation Programs

Objectives: Clinical competencies are learning outcomes the student should display by the end of the program and competency based instruction measures what participants have learned as opposed to what instructors think they have thought. Objective of this study was to compare student and faculty perceptions of the importance and achievement of clinical competencies in rehabilitation programs. Methods: The survey instrument was a dual-response 5-point Likert-type questionnaire consisting of 29 competencies based on content and skill areas in the management of patient with chronic illnesses. The instrument was administered to all faculty members and final year undergraduate students of three rehabilitation programs including Speech therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy at the University of Rehabilitation and Social Welfare in Iran. Results: 45 students and 19 faculty members participated in the study. Overall, most of the students (81%) rated themselves as moderately competent (mean between 2 to 4). Perceived self-efficacy of male students was significantly higher than female students. (P=0.014) Differences between perceived importance and perceived achievement were statistically significant in each subject group. (P=0.000). Discussion: Faculty members and students shared very similar perceptions on the importance & achievement of competencies. Difference between importance and achievement of competencies may suggest a failure in consideration of required competencies or successful implementation of them in the current curriculum

Semantic Differences of Definitional skills between Persian Speaking Children with Specific Language Impairment and Normal Language Developing Children

Objective: Linguistic and metalinguistic knowledge are the effective factors for definitional skills. This study investigated definitional skills both content and form in children with specific language impairment. Materials and Method: The participants were 32 Children in two groups of 16 SLI and 16 normal children, matched with age, sex and educational level. The SLI group was referred from Learning Difficulties Centers and Zarei Rehabilitation Center in Tehran, as well as the control group who was selected by randomized sampling from normal primary schools. The stimuli were 14 high frequency nouns from seven different categories. The reliability was calculated by interjudge agreement and the validity was assessed by content. Data was analyzed using independent T-test. Results: There were significant differences between mean scores of content and form of the definitional skills in two groups. The mean and SD scores of the content of word definition were M= 45.87, SD=12.22 in control group and M=33.18, SD= 17.60 for SLI one, out of possible 70 points (P= 0.025). The mean and SD scores of the form of word definition were M= 48.87, SD= 9.49 in control group and M= 38.18, SD= 12.85 for SLI one, out of 70 points (P= 0.012). Conclusion: Based on the results, it was concluded that, language problems of the SLI children may not let them semantic represention in order to form and present a complete process of word definition. Although this skill in children with SLI is inadequate, all the definitions given by SLI children were consistent with the categories of content and form of word definition used in this study. Therefore, an exact planning and intervention by speech and language pathologist can be effective for this skill. Linguistic intervention especially in semantic and grammatical aspects not only improves the definition of familiar words but also it might be useful for the definition of new words, consequently lead to educational and communication achievement of children with SLI