Nursing And Midwifery Journal
Year:2010 | Volume:8 | Issue:1|Papers Count:9

Background & Aims: Asthma is an inflammatory disease in respiratory system with ill effects on psychological, social and economic status. This study was conducted to assess of effects of asthma disease on the performance of patients.Materials & Methods: This descriptive study included 400 asthma patients in educational hospitals of Karaj using simple random sampling method during 2008-2009. Data collection tool was a questionnaire consisting of two sections that assessed demographic characteristics and functional status (social, economic and psychological status). The data were analysed by SPSS statistical software.Results: The findings showed that the majority of samples were women, married and non-smokers.There was a significant relationship between: age (p=0.00), marital status (p=0.001) psychological status, educational level and social status (p=0.00), economic status (p=0.0026) and psychological status (p=0.00), duration of disease and social status (p=0.049), history of addiction and psychological status (p=0.049), asthma severity and social function (p=0.049). But there was no significant correlation between asthma severity and economic, emotional status, sex and hospitalization.Conclusion: It is recommended to evaluate asthma patients function periodically as part of the care.

Background & Aims: Striae gravidarum is widely known to occur in pregnancy and aesthetically they can be a cause of great concern for many women. This study was conduted to determin the effects of olive oil on the occurrence of striae gravidarum in the second trimester of pregnancy.Materials & Methods: This randomized clinical trial with a control group of 70 women reffering to health and treatment centers of Tehran. The experimental group included consumers of olive oil.Questionnaires were completed through interviews and observation of a researcher. Data analysis was done by descriptive statistics and Chi-Square test.Results: Striae had emerged among 40% of the experimental group, and 56% of those in the control group. There was not a significant relation between the experimental and the control group.Conclusion: More studies must be done on the effects of the other herbal oils on possible prevention of striae.

Background & Aims: Evaluation of service quality is an integral part of any organization. Most hospital are faced with high demands, frequent referrings and a crowd of patients. HIV-infected patients need to go to hospitals more often. This study was conducted to determine the cause of their repeated reference to hospitals.Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was based on interviews and informational questionnaires on 71 patients admitted to educational hospitals of Tehran, during 2008-9. HIV infection was confirmed with positive ELISA and Western blot test. The data were analysed by SPSS software.Results: Among 71 patients, 8.5% were women and 91.5% were men. The mean age of samples was 35+8.1 years old.74.6% were addict and 38% had prison history. Frequent reference factors involved pervious infection (36.6%), new infection (33.8%), no treatment (29.6%). Patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and deep vein thrombosis had the least number of going to hospitals. There was a significant relationship between frequent referring to a hospital and CD4 count and addiction.Conclusion: Regarding the high prevalence of pervious infection recurrence and new infection in HIV infected patients, medical staff must be more careful treating them. It is essential to present strategies to reduece infection recurrence in the pateints.

Background & Aims: Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence, is a disabling addictive disorder. A combination of supportive therapy and counseling approach are helpful in harm-reduction approach. This study was conducted to find the reasons of alcohol dependence among members of Alcoholic Anonymous in Karaj city during 2007-2008.Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study included 227 cases of Alcoholic Anonymous community of Karaj that were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a questionnaire and and were analyzed by descriptive statidtical methods.Results: The results demonstrated that individual causes with the mean of 41.91 and standard deviation of 9.1 have high effect; lack of peer and family support has moderate effect with mean of 27.1 and standard deviation of 8.4; and mental and psychological factors with mean of 36.8 and standard deviation of 9.2 has high effect; and socioeconomical factors with the mean of 24.1 and standard deviation of 5.4 has high effect in misuse of alcohol. Also there were significant correlations between: individual factors and age (P=0.006); personal factors and job (P=0.04); family support and mother's education (P=0.006); family support and self- education (P=0.001); family support and job (P=0.002); and mental factors and socioeconomic status (P=0.047).Conclusion: Targeting adolescents and young adults is regarded as an important step to reduce the harm of alcohol abuse. Discovering the reasons of misusing alcohol and restricting the leading causes is recommended as additional ways of reducing the harm of alcohol dependence and abuse.

Background & Aims: Placental abruption is a serious complication of pregnancy but its etiology is usually undetermined. Advanced maternal age and multiparity have been associated with an increased risk for placental abruption. Placental abruption may lead to preterm premature rupture of the membranes. The aim of this study was to investigate the leading reasons of placental abruption in pregnant women.Materials & Methods: This retrospective study included 7301 pregnant women and their medical records in Valiasr hospital of Zanjan. The necessary data were collected using a questionnaire. Birth records of 78 cases with placental abruption and 390 randomly selected controls were reviewed retrospectively. Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson's Chi square method. The data were analyzed by SPSS software.Results: Placental abruption was more dominant among mothers over 35 years old (P<0.001). 52.7% of mothers had previous cesarean delivery (p<0.0001) and 29% with a history of abortion in previous pregnancies that is significantly high compared with the control group (p<0.001). 12% of mothers had the history of placental abruption multiparity (p<0.001) and 16% of infants were preterm (P<0.001).Conclusions: The risk factors for placental abruption found in this study were increased maternal age, multiparity, previous cesarean delivery and history of previous placental abruption. Recognition of these factors is helpful in reducing the occurrence of placental abortion and its risk factors for both the mother and fetus in the future.

Background & Aims: Congenital hypothyroidism is one of the most common preventable causes in mental retardedness. The average incidence of the disease is estimated at 1 per 1000 births in Iran.This study is aimed to determin the prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism and its relation with some risk factors in Khoy health service centers.Materials & Methods: This prospective descriptive survey involved newborns with positive screening result of hypothyroidism. After estimating the prevalence of the disease, the risk factors were analyzed. There were 16 newborns with positive result. The tool used for collecting data was a questionnaires which included questions about personal specification and risk factors. SPSS software was used to analyze the data.Results: A high level of TSH (%57) was related to female fetus and %42.8 of TSH level was related to male fetus. Most of the newborns (%50) whose parent had consanguineous marriage showed high level of TSH. %50 of mothers used to have chicken during pregnancy and %7 had fish which shows the effect of diet with high level of TSH in newborns.Conclusion: Regarding the high prevalence of the disease in Iran and its irrecoverable effects on the brain, its early screening, diagnosis, and treatment is essential. Public training is necessary to increase the knowledge of people about methods of preventing the disease.

Background & Aims: hospital, in the modern sense of the word, is an institution for health care providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment, and often, but not always providing for longer-term patient stays. Hospital like other organizations must be evaluated continuously. This is of vital importance due to the critical role of hospitals. This study aimed to determine the relationship between evaluation scores and performance indices.Materials & Methods This analytic cross-sectional study was performed in all of educational hospitals of Kashan University of Medical Sciences. The data were collected by observing Hospital registries, statistical sheets and evaluation tables. Spearman correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between research variables, and the data were analysed by Spss software.Results: The findings revealed: empty beds r=0.363, the average stay with r=0.338, occupacy rate with r=0.097. Thus, there is no significant relationship between evaluation scores and performance indices.Conclusion: This study showed that hospitals are classified with regard to their structural form. It is necessary to revise the evaluation system of hospitals and mostly consider performance based factors.

Background & Aims: Families are easily the most important and basic unit of society. To equip families with tools to build strong marriages, will impact the communities. The happiest couples look on the bright side of the relationship (optimism). The present study aimed to determine the relationship between optimism, focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses with marital satisfaction in female hospital staff.Materials & Methods: This correlational study included all of the married women employees of Fateme Zahra Hospital in Najafabad in 2008. The sample of this study consisted of 88 women that were selected by simple random sampling. Data collecting tool was a questioner. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used to analyse the data.Results: The findings showed that optimism and type of mutual relation have significant correlations with marital satisfaction. Pearson correlation coefficient for optimism, safe and unsafe relation styles and marital satisfaction were 0.32, 0.36 and -0.47 respectively that was significant (r=0.581) Conclusion: Since the relation between optimism and marital satisfavtion is observed again, it is recommended to pay more attention to mental health of employees in order to work more effectivly in hospitals.