Modern Care Journal
Year:2013 | Volume:10 | Issue:2|Papers Count:13

Background and Aim: In studies of health sciences, a main challenge is measuring outcome variables such as health status and the quality of life. Hence, this paper aims to develop and study the fitness of the measurement model of Elderly Health-Related Quality of Life Scale.Materials and Methods: This explorative study was conducted on the basis of data from the study for developing a measurement instrument for health-related quality of life of the elderly visiting Jahandidegan Institute in Tehran. The structural equation modeling with maximum likelihood method is used in LISREL statistical software for extracting the measurement model. Then, the model was evaluated based on the model fitness indexes.Results: The results showed that there is a linear model for explaining relations among 6 factors of Elderly Health-Related Quality of Life Scale. The relations were significant among factors and between factors and items of Elderly Health-Related Quality of Life Scale. Model fitness indexes of the model were confirmed based on fitness indexes of measurement models.Conclusion: Therefore, Elderly Health-Related Quality of Life Scale is a valid instrument for measuring health-related quality of life of elderly people based on a well-fitted measurement model.

Background and Aim: Diabetes is a common and costly disease. Given the high prevalence of the disease and the importance of long-term follow-up of patients, there should be an inexpensive method available to clients. Thus, this study aimed at determining the effect of telenursing on glycosylated hemoglobin and anthropometric indexes in diabetic patients.Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial study, 64 patients with type 2 diabetes were included, and they were divided randomly into two groups (33 in the case group, and 31 in the control group). The data were collected through laboratory tests and demographic information forms. All patients were trained before the study. However, the case group had phone call follow-ups for 12 weeks. Before and 12 weeks after the start of the study, glycosylated hemoglobin and anthropometric indices were evaluated. The data were analyzed with paired t-test, independent t-test and Chi-Square test using SPSS (version 17).Results: Results showed that in the case group, statistical differences between glycosylated hemoglobin and body mass index means before and after interventions were significant (P<0.05), but insignificant in the control group (P>0.05). There was no significant difference between the ratio of waist to hip in case and control groups before and after the intervention (P=0.7 and P=0.4 respectively).Conclusion: According to research findings, it seems that telenursing, as a follow-up, can improve glycemic.

Background and Aim: Today, medical imaging methods play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders. These methods can have several harmful effects on patients and health workers; their awareness of imaging rules and principles is a major way to reduce these harmful effects. The present study was done to evaluate nursing staff and nursing students' knowledge about imaging methods.Methods and Materials: This Cross-Sectional study was conducted on 195 nursing staff and 65 final-term nursing students of Birjand University of Medical Sciences. Data collection tool included a questionnaire consisting of a demographic information section and a knowledge evaluation section. Validity and reliability were ensured before the study through content validity and test-retest methods respectively. Data were analyzed by independent t-test, ANOVA, and post-hoc Tukey test in SPSS (version 15) at the significant level of p<0.05.Results: %25 of the participants were nursing students, and %75 were nursing staff. Of the nursing staff, %42.6 had more than 10 years of work experience. The knowledge of only %36.5 of the sample was evaluated as good regarding imaging principles, %43.8 about imaging preparation, and %14.8 about contrast-induced and its side effects. Mean of knowledge scores in the nursing staff was meaningfully more than that of the nursing students in these three dimensions of imaging methods (P<0.001). No significant difference was seen between the genders in terms of knowledge score means in the three dimensions.Conclusion: In general, as the results indicate, the level of knowledge of participants regarding imaging methods can be evaluated as low.

Background and Aim: Chronic kidney failure is a progressive and irreversible disorder that impedes the ability of the kidney to dispose waste. Hemodialysis, diet, and fluid restriction are necessary to provide long-term health for patients and ensure their survival. This study aimed to determine the role of face-to-face education on body weight and some serum parameters in hemodialysis patients of Shahid Mohamadi Hospital in Bandar Abbas, 2011. Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial study, samples were selected through convenience sampling. Fifty-two patients were selected randomly for the intervention group, and 52 for the control group. The two groups were matched in terms of gender, weight, marital and employment status, education, duration of treatment with hemodialysis, and drugs taken. Following dialysis, the patients in the intervention group received three 20-minute-long training sessions. Serum indices such as hematocrit, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, sodium, potassium, and phosphorus levels as well as weight gain between two sessions of dialysis were measured before and after training; the obtained data were analyzed using SPSS (version 13), descriptive statistics, paired t-test, independent t-test, Wilcoxon, ANOVA, chi-square, Pearson correlation and fisher exact test.Results: Results showed that the average weight gain, hematocrit, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, sodium, potassium and phosphorus levels in the periods before and after the training program had significant differences in the intervention group. Also, the differences between changes in these indicators before and after the training between the two groups were significant (P<0.001). The serum calcium levels were not of significant difference in both groups before and after the program (P>0.05).Conclusion: This study found the favorable effects of education on reducing indicators such as serum sodium, potassium, phosphorus, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine, increasing hematocrit, and maintaining fluid restriction. This can protect hemodialysis patients against the complications of kidney disease. It is recommended that more serious training be done by nurses for this group of patients.

Background and Aim: Depression is common among type II diabetic patients that reduces the desire, motivation, and ability to perform self-care behaviors, including the care of the feet. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between depressions and self-care performance in patients with type II diabetes.Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study, 200 patients with type 2 diabetes visiting Saqqez diabetes unit in the fall of 2012 were evaluated. Harvard depression screening (HANDS) and foot-care questionnaires were used to collect data. Content validity was used to assess the validity of both questionnaires. In addition, the reliabilities of the depression and foot-care questionnaires were found 0.78 and 0.72 respectively by calculating Cronbach's Alpha coefficient. The data were analyzed by SPSS (version 16) using descriptive statistical tests, Chi-Square, and independent t-test. P≤0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: From among the diabetic patients, 60 (30%) were depressed, and 90 (45%) had good foot care. Daily washing of the feet (p<0.0001), examining the feet (p<0.001), examining shoe insides (p=0.04), monitoring blood glucose (p=0.04), and wearing shoes in the bathroom (p=0.03) were significantly more in non-depressed diabetic patients than in the depressed ones.Conclusion: Depressed diabetic patients have a poor foot-care performance. Therefore, it is necessary to give them foot-care education to improve their self-care behaviors.

Background and Aim: Children are the most valuable resources in society; the more such resources are educated and maintained, the richer and more blessed the society will be in the future. In this line, child to child education has proved as a successful model. This study aimed to assess the effect of child to child education on health awareness of primary school students of Tonekabon in 2011.Materials and Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study using a case-control design with a pretest and post-test. From among the 261 students in the population, 154 students meeting the inclusion criteria were selected through cluster sampling. Of this, half were considered for the case group and half for control group. Twelve of the qualified students from the fifth grade were also selected purposefully for educating the third grade students. Data was collected with a questionnaire in two steps – pretest and posttest. The results were analyzed statistically by Chi-square, independent t-test, and paired t-test at 99% confidence level.Results: Results show that there is a significant difference between the case and control groups in terms of health awareness before and after the intervention (p<0.001).Conclusion: Child to child education has a positive effect on the promotion of health awareness of children. Not only this type of education can increase children's learning but it can also help approach health educational goals.

Background and Aim: It is important to understand the factors that influence academic achievement. Self-esteem plays an important role in mental health, and when low, it has preventive effects on academic performance. The purpose here is to determine the relationship between self-esteem and depression, and academic achievement of high school students in Birjand.Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was conducted with a two-stage cluster sampling of 596 high school students in Birjand. They completed Beck depression inventory and Rosenberg self-esteem questionnaire with the reliability coefficients of 0.37 and 0.87 respectively. Total average score (of both semesters) of above 15 was considered as good achievement. The data were analyzed by SPSS; Chi-square, Mann-Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis statistical tests; and Spearman correlation coefficient at a=0.05.Results: The sample included 596 students with the average age of 16.1±1.1, of whom 284 were girls (%47.7) and 312 (%52.3) were boys. Depression scores mean of students was 16.7±8.1 and that of their self-esteem 7.4±1.2. Among the students, %61.2 had scores of 15 and above. Depression and self-esteem had significant differences in terms of academic achievement, but they were not significantly different in terms of age and their parents' job and education.Conclusion: High self-esteem has a protective role against depression and leads to improved academic performance.

Background and Aim: Depression is one of the most common mental disorders, which is twice as common in women. Since hormonal imbalance is one of the main causes in women, the current study aimed at investigating effects of two herbal remedies, Primrose oil and Vitex Agnus Castus, on depressed women.Materials and Methods: The clinical trial study was done on 150 women. They were assigned to two groups of 75. In the first group vitex agnus castus and in the second group capsules of Evening primrose oil were given for 3 months. Before the study and one, two, and three months later, depression levels were assessed by Beck depression inventory (BDI). The data were collected and analyzed by independent t test and repeated measures, using SPSS software.Results: The mean ages of the two groups were 27.9 and 28.8 years, with no statistically significant difference. There was a significant difference in depression levels before intervention and during the first, second and third post-treatment assessments. The lower rates of depression were observed in both groups and there was no statistical difference between them.Conclusion: Results showed that both herbs reduced depression in the same extent. However, because of its lower price, Vitex would be more advantageous to use for women with depression. Due to limited similar studies, more research in this area is recommended.