Modern Care Journal
Year:2013 | Volume:10 | Issue:4|Papers Count:7

Today, journals are trying to improve their rankings both at local and international scales. Achievement of the journal relies heavily on our ability to publish articles in scientific journals with the highest quality. In this regard, high quality manuscript review plays an important role in supporting editors-in-chief and executives to choose the most relevant papers and also helping authors to improve their manuscript quality to the highest possible level. Peer review process is considered an integral part of scholarly communication helping to ensure validity, increase accuracy, and enhance content prior to publication. A good peer review includes an assessment of many dimensions of manuscript, but the most important dimensions include the overall quality, scientific quality, novelty, and relevance to the journal. We discuss these topics in this letter to emphasize on the importance of a good review.

Background and Aim: Heart failure is a chronic disease that affects the physical and psychological aspects of life. Psychological adaptation of patients needs follow-up and training. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an educational program based on Roy adaptation model on the psychological adaptation in patients with heart failure.Materials and Methods: This clinical randomized trial was performed on 60 patients with heart failure admitted in Vali-e-Asr Hospital and Heart Research Center in Birjand in 2013. The patients were selected through the convenience sampling and randomly allocated to an intervention group and a control group (30 individuals in each group). The data was collected using Roy assessment form and Mental Health Inventory (MHI-38) whose reliability are confirmed in previous studies. The content validity of the Mental Health Inventory was first confirmed. Later, in order to check for its reliability, it was given to 20 individuals for which Chronbach's alpha was 0.91. The intervention group received an educational program based on maladaptive behavior and stimuli which was followed by a follow-up period of one month. The control group received the regular service. The data were analyzed in SPSS (version 15) using independent t test, paired t test, Mann Whitney, Wilcoxon, Fisher Exact Test, and Chi square.Results: Mean scores for maladaptive behaviors and the number of maladaptive behaviors showed no significant differences before the intervention, while the difference was significant after the intervention in the two groups (p<0.001). In the intervention group, the dimensions that had significant decrease included physiological (p<0.001), self-concept (p<0.001), interdependence (p<0.004), and role function (p<0.001). The psychological adaptation scores mean significantly increased in the intervention group (p<0.001). However, there was no significant difference in the control group in the different dimensions (p>0.05).Conclusion: Using an educational program based on Roy adaptation model can be effective on the psychological adaptation and reduction of maladaptive behaviors in patients with heart failure. In this regard, nurses can play a more effective role in improving the psychological adaptation of patients using the educational program.

Background and Aim: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common bacterial infections in all age ranges, and indwelling catheter in the bladder is a predisposing factor for them. Any action to reduce or prevent the occurrence of bacteriuria is very important; taking care of the catheter is among such actions which is no doubt of nurses’ duties. This study aims to examine the effect of washing meatus urinary region with Chlorhexidine and Betadine solutions on the appearance of bacteriuria in patients hospitalized in Neuro-Internal Ward with fixed urinary catheter suffering from brain stroke (CVA).Materials and Methods: This study was a clinical one. Seventy-five patients with CVA were admitted in the Neuro-Internal Ward after 24 hours of catheterization. In order to synchronize, random blocking method was used. The samples were divided into three groups of 25 persons. The Meatus region of the two case groups were washed by chlorhexidine and Betadine and that of the control group by normal saline for as long as 5 minutes a day and at most 10 days. Culture tests and urine analysis were performed on days 1-5 and 10.Demographic information questionnaire and NIHSS scale were used to study the characteristics of patients. Its validity was confirmed, and its reliability was found to be 0.9. For data analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics such as chi-square and ANOVA were used by SPSS (version 16).Results: The comparison of the three indicators of infection (number of positive cultures, the rate of bacteriuria, and Pyuria) in the chlorhexidine, Betadine, and normal saline groups showed no significant difference between the groups on the fifth day. Yet, their comparison on the fifth through the tenth day indicated significant difference between chlorhexidine and normal saline in indicators of positive cultures numbers (chlorhexidine with 16% and normal saline with 56% (p=0.02) although it was not significant for the other two indicators. The comparison of Betadine and normal saline also showed the significant difference of these three indicators only in terms of positive cultures numbers (28% for the Betadine group and 56% for the normal saline group (p=0.02). It was not significant for the two other indicators. The comparison of Chlorhexidine and Betadine revealed no statistically significant difference between the three indicators of infection.Conclusion: Chlorhexidine and Poidon Iodine can better than Normal Salin reduce the level of urinary infections in meatus of patients who are hospitalized in Neuro-ward and expected to have catheter for more than five days.

Background and Aim: Diabetes is a chronic disease that can affect the physical, psychosocial, and social adaptation of patients. This study aimed to assess the psychosocial adaptation of patients with type 2 diabetes who referred to the Diabetes Research Center of Birjand.Materials and Methods: In this descriptive‒analytical study, 120 diabetic patients who referred to the Diabetes Research Center of Birjand in the spring of 2013 were selected through convenience sampling. Data collection tools included Demographic Information Form and Psychosocial Adaptation to Illness Survey (PAIS), whose content validity was confirmed by 10 members of the faculty; its reliability for 20 patients was calculated as 0.94 using the Cronbach's alpha. The obtained data was analyzed in SPSS (version 15) using independent t-test and ANOVA at the significant level of P<0.05.Results: The overall mean score for psychosocial adaptation in the study was 1.28±0.43 which was at a moderate level. As education level increased in participants, the overall mean score for psychosocial adaptation and the components of family environment, social environment, and psychological disorders also increased in a significant way. However, mean scores of psychosocial adaptation in vocational environment, sexual relationship, and social environment decreased along with increase in the duration of diabetes.Conclusion: The results of this study showed that psychosocial adaptation of type 2 diabetic patients was moderate and that demographic factors were effective on psychosocial adaptation of these patients. Therefore, it seems necessary to plan for educational and caring interventions by health centers to enhance psychosocial adaptation, and hence, more effective medical treatment.

Background and Aim: Patients who are hospitalized for heart surgery have some degree of anxiety which may cause adverse physical and psychological effects. Familiarizing patients with heart surgery can increase their participation in self-care programs and may probably be a method for controlling anxiety. This study aimed to determine the effects of orientation about cardiac surgery on anxiety in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 100 candidates for coronary artery bypass surgery hospitalized in the heart ward of Afshar Hospital in Yazd were selected and randomly assigned to two groups of 50 subjects. Data were collected both before and after surgery and after education in the case group by standard Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory whose validity and reliably were confirmed in previous studies. Data were analyzed in SPSS (version 16) using paired t test and independent t test.Results: Preoperative anxiety score mean was 47.90±6.49 in the case group and 47.04±8.25 in the control group. The mean anxiety score in the case group reduced to 37.54±6.20 after the education which was significant (P=0.0001).Conclusion: Based on the findings, familiarization of patients with heart surgery reduces their anxiety of coronary artery bypass graft surgery. It is, therefore, necessary that nurse managers develop and implement clear policy for reducing anxiety especially as regarding high-risk patients.

Background and Aim: Staff of any organization are the main index for the superiority of the organization.Organizational commitment is an important predictor of organizational behavior whose analysis can help leaders and supervisors to identify the potential problems. This study was conducted to investigate the relationships between nurses' burnout and organizational commitment at Valiasr Hospital of Birjand in 2011.Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-correlational study, 146 nurses were selected through the convenience sampling. Data were collected by Maslach's Job Burnout as well as Meyer and Allen’s Organizational Commitment Questionnaires whose reliability and validity were confirmed in previous studies. Data were analyzed in SPSS (version 15) using independent t test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation and linear regression at the significant level of 0.05.Results: Burnout and organizational commitment mean scores were 72.87±20.02 and 95.01±14.25 respectively.There was a negative significant correlation between nurses' burnout and dimensions of organizational commitment (p<0.05) including affective (p<0.001) and normative (p<0.01) dimensions. Also, there was a significant correlation between organizational commitment and sex; however, there was no significant correlation with other demographic variables.Conclusion: According to the results of this study, which indicates a significant correlation between burnout and organizational commitment, it seems that organizational factors are more influential than personal ones on organizational commitment. Managers can reduce burnout and enhance commitment by controlling factors influential on job burnout.