JOURNAL OF HOLISTIC NURSING AND MIDWIFERY
Year:2018 | Volume:28 | Issue:3|Papers Count:8

Introduction: Menopause is accompanied by many physical and psychological symptoms that can affect the Quality of Life (QoL) of women. Nowadays, behavioral approaches, such as exercise programs, and herbal therapies are recommended to control menopause complications. Objective: This study aimed to compare the effects of exercise and licorice on the QoL of postmenopausal women. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted in Arak City, Iran, in 2014. Sixty postmenopausal women were selected as study participants using the convenience sampling method and were divided into two equal groups (exercise and licorice) using a random number table. The licorice group received three tablets of licorice daily at three times, i.e., in the morning, noon, and night before meals, for 4 weeks; the exercise group adopted a regular walking program comprising 30-45 min of walking three times a week for 1 month. The QoL of the participants before and 1 month after the intervention was evaluated using the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed using the independent t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, one-way analysis of variance, and Mann-Whitney U test.Results: The two groups were matched in term of demographic characteristics. The Mann- Whitney U test revealed no significant difference in the QoL between the two groups before and after the intervention. However, the mean and standard deviation of the QoL in both groups was higher after the intervention than the values before the intervention.Conclusion: Licorice and aerobic exercise are effective in controlling menopause complications and improving the QoL. Therefore, these interventions should be adopted to improve the QoL of postmenopausal women.

Introduction: Health literacy is defined as the ability to read, understand, and utilization of the basic health information to lead a better and healthy life. Low health literacy has a direct relationship with lower health and increased hospitalization. Objective: This study is aimed to investigate the health literacy level in mothers of children under the age of 5 years suffering from malnutrition in families and been supported by the health centers in Bojnourd City, Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional and analytical study, using cluster sampling method, was performed on 448 mothers with malnourished children under 5 years of age. Malnutrition in children depends on three indicators of weight-for-age, weight-for-height and height-for-age to determine their underweight, wasting and stunting status. To measure the level of health literacy in mothers, the test for functional health literacy in adults was employed. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis statistical test.Results: Based on the study results, the prevalence of underweight, stunting, and wasting of children were 83.9%, 7.1% and 8.9%, respectively. The average health literacy score of mothers was 66.98% out of which 32.1% had an inadequate level of health literacy. Comparison of the mean of health literacy scores by Kruskal-Wallis test showed that mothers with occupation and education had different levels of health literacy while mothers who were employees with a university degree had significantly higher levels of health literacy (P=0.001).Conclusion: Increasing the health literacy in mothers may be an effective way to prevent malnutrition among children. Most of the mothers in this study had an adequate level of health literacy, and the percentage of mothers with inadequate and marginal health literacy was also in considerable number. Given the importance of the health literacy, it seems necessary to have more concern and attention in this regard.

Introduction: Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery is one of the main treatment methods for coronary artery disease. The change in hemodynamic indices after CABG surgery is a common but serious complication. Objective: This study aimed to determine the effect of aromatherapy using lavender essential oil on the hemodynamic indices of patients after undergoing CABG surgery. Materials and Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial included 98 patients who were assigned into an experimental or a placebo group 3 days after undergoing CABG surgery. The experimental group inhaled five drops of lavender essential oil, whereas the placebo group inhaled five drops of distilled water for 30 min. Before and after the intervention, hemodynamic indices (systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, pulse rate, and respiratory rate) of patients were measured and recorded. The intervention in both groups was performed every 24 h for three consecutive days. The data were analyzed using the chi-square test, independent t-test, Mann–Whitney U test, repeated measures ANOVA, and regression analysis.Results: The results revealed significant differences between the two groups in terms of the mean systolic blood pressure after the second day of intervention and the mean diastolic blood pressure after the first day of intervention (P=0.046 and 0.029, respectively), with the blood pressure significantly lower in the treatment group than in the placebo group.Conclusion: Among the hemodynamic indices tested, only the blood pressure of the patients was reduced by aromatherapy with lavender essential oil after CABG surgery; therefore, it can be used as a simple, complementary, and low-cost therapeutic intervention after CABG surgery to stabilize a patient’s blood pressure.

introduction: One of the major barriers to pain management is the lack of adequate scale for the assessment and diagnosis of pain in patients with no verbal response under mechanical ventilation in intensive care units. One of the few pain assessment scales in these patients is the Non-Verbal Pain Scale (NVPS). Objective: This study aimed to determine psychometric properties of Non-Verbal Pain Scale (NVPS) in patients under mechanical ventilation in intensive care units. Materials and Methods: In this methodological study, 60 patients under mechanical ventilation and admission to trauma, internal, neurological and surgical intensive care units were considered. The pain was assessed using NVPS by two nurses at six different times (before, during and after painful and non-painful procedures). Also, 8-12 hours after the initial test, a retest was performed in 37 out of 60 patients (randomly selected).Results: The Cronbach's α coefficient for the whole scale was obtained as 0.80 while the correlation between the two raters at different times was 0.89-0.96, and the correlation between test and retest was 0.55-0.86. There was a significant difference in the pain score during painful and non-painful procedures (P=0.001) and a higher pain score in those who confirmed the presence of pain (P<0.001), indicating good discriminant and criterion validity of NVPS.Conclusion: NVPS has good psychometric properties and can be used as a valid and reliable scale for assessing pain in patients under mechanical ventilation.

Introduction: The advances in the field of burn treatment resulted in increased survival of burn patients, which led to increased attention to the issues associated with the quality of life. The assessment of the quality of life and the associated factors might help in identifying the needs of affected patients and designing suitable therapeutic and supportive programs. Objective: The present study aimed to determine the quality of life and the associated factors in patients suffering from burns hospitalized at the subspecialty burn and plastic surgery center in Rasht city. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional analytical study consisted of 60 burns patients collected through systematic random sampling. The instrument used included Burn-Specific Health Scale-Brief (BSHS-B) along with a questionnaire for recording the demographic information as well as the complications and problems after the burn (itching, hypertrophic scar, colloid, hypopigmentation, and hyperpigmentation). The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics (frequency estimation, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential statistical tests (Friedman and linear regression tests).Results: The mean post-burn quality-of-life total score was 76.9±20.74; the patients presented substantial problems regarding heat sensitivity of the burnt site (61.75%), and the extent of burns was a predictive factor of the quality of life [P=0.0001, 95% Confidence Interval (CI)=- 1.65 to -0.6, B=-1.133].Conclusion: Despite the advances achieved in treating patients with burns, the subsequent problems and complications are yet challenging. Also, the low-degree burns can be considered as a factor affecting the quality of life of these patients.

Introduction: The bio psychosocial phenomenon of substance abuse in adolescents is one of the most critical issues in today’s society. One of the most important concerns regarding social and health policies is the increasing prevalence of addictive behavior, especially smoking in this age group. Objective: To assess the relationship between aggression and addiction tendency among students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences (GUMS) in Iran. Materials and Methods: In this analytical cross-sectional study, 280 students of GUMS were randomly selected. Data collection tool had three parts: demographic characteristics survey, Ahvaz Aggression Questionnaire (AAQ), and addiction tendency inventory in Persian. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and the Pearson correlation coefficient test.Results: The mean±SD age of the students was 21.75±2.90 years [range 18-38 years]. About 14.3% of the students had addiction tendency, and 32.5% had high aggression levels. There was a significant statistical relationship between addiction tendency and aggression with age, sex, marital status, educational level, housing location, employment, education and occupation of parents, monthly income, and socializing with friends (P=0.0001, r=0.52).Conclusion: The results of this study indicated an association between aggression and addiction tendency in students. The counseling centers of universities can provide student training on how to control aggression in different situations, and thereby prevent them from abusing drugs.

Introduction: Cancer is one of the most important health problems of present times. Evidence suggests that stress and lack of proper coping styles can play a role in the onset and progression of cancer. Objective: This paper aims to compare the coping styles of cancer patients referring to a medical educational and healthy individuals in Rasht City. Materials and Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted with 77 cancer patients and 77 healthy individuals in selected hospitals of the Guilan University of Medical Sciences during 2014-2015 with the convenience sampling method. Data was collected through questionnaires consisting of individual and clinical variables, and The Folkman and Lazarus coping strategies. Data were statistically analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, and frequency) and inferential statistics (the Chi-square, the Independent t test, Mann-Whitney, and regression analysis).Results: The subscales of seeking social support (P=0.047), accepting responsibility (P=0.004), rational problem solving (P=0.003), avoidance (P=0.012), and income level (P=0.023) were the factors associated with the coping style of cancer patients. In addition, cancer patients used the avoidance strategy more than others to deal with their problems (OR=4.3, P=0.019).Conclusion: Nurses can benefit from such studies to design educational, prevention and screening programs. We recommend that educational programs be developed and the patients be trained in using problem-focused styles in dealing with stress and life-threatening situations.

Introduction: Treatment and complaints related to leukemia not only affects the lifestyle of children but also affects other members of the family and even the community. Objective: Determining the effect of the family-centered empowerment model on the lifestyle of children suffering from leukemia. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial was conducted at Amirkabir Hospital of the city of Arak. All the qualified patients in the oncology ward were selected through the census method, and randomized into two groups - test and control. In the test group, the family-centered empowerment model with the four dimensions - perceived threat (severity and sensitivity), self-efficacy, educational participation, and evaluation was applied while in the control group, normal care, was implemented. The research tools were questionnaires of demographic information, lifestyle, and the four dimensions of empowerment. The questionnaire to evaluate the children’s lifestyle included five dimensions of nutrition, sleep, physical activity, physical health, and stress. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics, paired t-test and independent t-test in the significance level (P<0.05) were used.Results: Both the groups of test and control, were the same in terms of demographic information (P>0.05). Prior to intervention, there was no significant difference between the meanmean lifestyle level in the two groups (P=0.119). However, after the intervention, there was a significant difference between the two groups in the meanmean lifestyle level (P≤0.001).Conclusion: Implementing the family-centered empowerment model for patients suffering from leukemia is feasible from a practical point of view and is accompanied by improvement or modification of their lifestyle.