Preventive Care in Nursing and Midwifery Journal
Year:2017 | Volume:6 | Issue:4|Papers Count:8

Background: Illness perception can affect health-related behaviors and disease outcomes.Objectives: To determine the effect of an educational intervention of improving illness perception on some modifiable risk factors of coronary artery disease.Methods: In this clinical trial, 100 patients undergoing coronary angiography that met the inclusion criteria were divided randomly into two intervention and control groups. In the intervention group, three educational sessions were conducted individually, while usual care was conducted for the control group. Measurements on fasting blood glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride, blood pressure, body mass index, and smoking status were gathered at baseline, immediately and six months after the intervention in both groups. Data were analyzed using the SPSS.Results: The mean of systolic blood pressure (p<0.005), fasting triglycerides (p<0.005), and fasting blood glucose (p<0.005) were significantly different before and after the intervention between the two groups.Conclusion: Improvement illness perception through educational intervention can affect risk factors of coronary artery disease.

Background: Low birth weight is one of the key indicators to assess the health of infants, and appropriate birth weight is one of the most important goals of any health system which also reflects the quality of prenatal care.Objectives: The present research aimed to study some of the factors associated with low birth weight using quantile regression analysis.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 621 infants born weighing less than 2500 grams in the period 2012-2013. The data were collected from the medical records of infants in health care centers of Zanjan Province which were selected based on multi-stage cluster sampling. The obtained data were statistically analyzed using quantile and multiple regression analysis in SAS-9.2.Results: In this study, 320 infants (51.5%) were female, and the mean age of mothers and the mean weight of infants were 27.1±5.8 years and 2236±299 grams, respectively. The results showed that low birth weight is significantly related to age, educational attainment, and the number of children. In addition, there was a significant relationship between infant weight and maternal age only in the tenth percentile (P=0.007), while such a relationship was not found in the higher percentiles (50 and 90) (P=0.0, 953.585).Conclusion: Some of the demographics of mothers such as educational attainment and gestational age were influential in the low birth weight of infants. Maternal age and birth weight were not statistically significant in all areas.

Background: Osteoporosis is the most common metabolic bone disease in postmenopausal women. It seems necessary to determine the factors affecting the adoption of preventive behaviors of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women using the patterns that identify the factors influencing behavior.Objectives: To investigate preventive behaviors of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women in Fasa, Fars Province based on the Health Belief Model.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 380 postmenopausal women aged over 50 under the coverage of Fasa health centers. Out of the 6 health centers in Fasa, 2 of them were selected based on cluster sampling method. Then, 190 postmenopausal women were selected from each health centers based on simple random sampling by the household number recorded in the health records. The required data were collected using questionnaire including demographic information, awareness inventory, the Health Belief Model scale, and diet and walking performance questionnaire. The data were statistically analyzed in SPSS 22.Results: The construct of perceived susceptibility for diet and walking performance was predictive. In this study, walking performance had a significant relationship with perceived susceptibility (P=0.001, r=0.76), motivation (P=0.001, r=0.65), perceived benefits (P=0.001, r=0.88), and self-efficacy (P=0.001, r=0.69). In addition, diet performance presented a significant relationship with perceived benefits (P=0.001, r=0.68) and self-efficacy (P=0.001, r=0.28).Conclusion: The study results showed that the higher the perceived susceptibility of individuals, the better the preventive behavior of osteoporosis they adopt. The Health Belief Model can be used as an appropriate framework for the design and implementation of educational programs in order to adopt the preventive behaviors of osteoporosis by postmenopausal women.

Background: Underlying diseases and aggressive procedures, such as different types of surgery and care, for patients with critical conditions in intensive care units (ICU) may be associated with physiological disorders.Objectives: This study intended to determine the effect of therapeutic touch on physiological variables of patients undergoing mechanical ventilation in ICU.Methods: This randomized clinical trial with a control group was conducted on 60 mechanically ventilated patients hospitalized in internal and adult intensive care units of educational hospitals of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences from 22 November 2014 to 22 June 2015. Patients were randomly divided into the intervention and placebo groups. Therapeutic touch was administered in four sessions. Physiological variables, such as Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP), Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP), and Heart Rate (HR) were recorded in both groups before and after each therapeutic touch session. Data was analyzed using SPSS 21.Results: The results from comparison of physiological variables in the intervention group before each session showed a significant reduction only in heart rate (p<0.001). Moreover, results from comparison of physiological variables in the intervention group after therapeutic sessions showed significant differences in SBP (p=0.025), MBP (p=0.033), and HR (p=0.002).Conclusion: It seems that therapeutic touch can result in a greater stability of some physiological variables of mechanically ventilated patients, if it is administered frequently for long term.

Background: Pain control during and after surgeries can reduce subsequent complications, improve the recovery period of the patient after the surgery and immediately after discharge from the hospital, and shorten the length of stay in the hospital.Objectives: The present research aimed to study the relationship between the depth of anesthesia and severity of pain after general anesthesia.Methods: This prospective study carried out on 57 patients undergoing hernia surgery during the summer of 2014. The subjects were selected based on convenience sampling method. The same technique of anesthesia was used for all patients. The depth of anesthesia was monitored using bispectral index (BIS) and recorded at five-minute intervals. In addition, the severity of pain in the recovery and during the first 6 hours after the surgery was measured by a numerical scale. The obtained data were statistically analyzed using ANOVA and correlation coefficient in SPSS-18 at a significant level of P<0.05.Results: According to the results, the mean age of subjects was 45.54±13.46. In terms of gender, 36 subjects were male and 21 of them were female. The normal depth of anesthesia (40-60) was experienced by 59.6% of patients. The results also showed that there is a significant correlation between depth of anesthesia and severity of pain in the recovery (P=0.001, r=0.694) and during the first 6 hours after the surgery (P=0.001, r=0.734).Conclusion: The present study showed that monitoring depth of anesthesia during surgery, in addition to helping nurses to monitor patients more accurately, can prevent some of the complications of anesthesia such as severe pain.

Background: Empathy is an important factor in the relationship between the therapist and the patient and leaves positive impacts on the health outcomes.Objectives: To investigate the level of empathy for patients among students of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences.Methods: The present cross-sectional study was carried out in Zanjan University of Medical Sciences. A sample of 420 students was selected based on stratified sampling method. Jefferson Scale of Empathy was used to measure the level of empathy. Scores in the range of 20-60, 61-100, and 101-140 were regarded as the low, moderate, and high level of empathy, respectively. Data analysis was performed using independent t-test and one-way ANOVA in SPSS-16.Results: The total score of empathy of students was 103.5±16. The lowest and highest scores in empathy were obtained in dimensions of “standing in the patient’s shoes” and “compassionate care”, respectively. The mean score of empathy for male students (102.15±5.23) was lower than that of females (103.16±2.39). Scores of empathy subscales, except “perspective taking”, were higher in female students than male ones. In addition, there was a significant difference between male and female students in terms of the mean score of “perspective taking”, “compassionate care”, and “standing in the patient’s shoes”.Conclusion: The study findings indicated that the level of empathy for patients among the studied students is moderate and higher. However, given the positive impacts of empathy on treatment outcomes, it is recommended that students’ level of empathy be further improved through appropriate interventions.

Background: Some patients with GDM (Gestational Diabetes Mellitus) still experience impaired glucose tolerance after childbirth and will be affected by diabetes mellitus type 2.Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between hs-CRP serum levels with insulin resistance six weeks after childbirth in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus type 2.Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 110 patients with GDM were evaluated in terms of the insulin resistance index (HOMA), hs-CRP serum, and the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) six weeks after childbirth. Their anthropometric indices were measured in the early pregnancy. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient and linear regression analysis were used to analyze data in SPSS 16.Results: The mean of hs-CRP was 8.72 mg/ml among the patients in this study. It is higher than the normal range. Moreover, 24.5% of the patients were suffering from impaired glucose tolerance, and hs-CRP levels were higher than the normal range in 92.6% of these patients. Furthermore, 41.8% of patients showed insulin resistance, and hs-CRP levels were high among 73.9% of them. After age adjustment, the increase in hs-CRP serum level was significantly correlated with insulin resistance (HOMA) and the one-hour and two-hour OGTTs (p=0.007 and p<0.001, respectively).Conclusion: It appears that age adjustment can help us figure out the relationship between the increase in hs- CRP serum and insulin resistance in pregnant mothers with diabetes six weeks after childbirth.

Background: Social confidence is considered an important element in entrepreneurship.Objectives: Given the importance of employment and entrepreneurship of veterans, the present research aimed to determine the status of social confidence in veteran entrepreneurs of Zanjan Province.Methods: In this survey. the statistical sample included all veteran entrepreneurs of Zanjan Province with an entrepreneurship file in Zanjan Employment Department from November 2013 to January 2014. The required data were collected using a two part questionnaire including demographic charactristics and social confidence scale of Saffarnia. Social confidence scale of Saffarnia consists of 5 dimensions of trust-based behavior, cooperative tendencies, openness, honesty, and trust. Both questionnaires were filled out by the respondents in a self-reporting manner. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS-19.Results: The mean age of respondents was 38.7±8.5. The results showed that 95%, 65%, and 85% of respondents were male, had a high school diploma, and aged over 60, respectively. All respondents were living in urban areas, employed, and married. The mean score of total social confidence was 86.05±5.81 with a range of 74-99. Among the dimensions of social confidence, cooperative tendencies and honesty ranked first and last, respectively.Conclusion: Although the findings of the present study showed that the level of social confidence in veteran entrepreneurs of Zanjan Province is above the average, it seems that the development of entrepreneurial activities among this group of society needs more attention of officials to the provision of necessary conditions to promote social confidence.