JOURNAL OF HOLISTIC NURSING AND MIDWIFERY
Year:2020 | Volume:30 | Issue:2|Papers Count:8

Introduction: Most maternal and neonatal deaths occur during the postnatal period. Therefore, the quality of care provided by healthcare professionals at this critical time is crucial in reducing complications, morbidity, and mortality rates. Objective: The present study aimed to determine the perceptions of Palestinian women living in the Gaza Strip considering the quality of care they received in the early postpartum period. Materials and Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted using a selfadministered questionnaire developed by the researchers. A total of 200 pregnant women were selected by convenience sampling method from 4 governmental hospitals in the Gaza Strip, Palestine providing postnatal care. Descriptive statistics, including frequency, mean, and standard deviations, were used to describe the variables. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Independent Samples t-test was used to compare the collected mean scores. Results: The study participants rated the postnatal services they received as high-quality care. High mean scores were achieved for all study domains. The “ quality of postnatal care provided by midwives” received the highest Mean± SD score of 4. 16± 0. 60, followed by the domain “ quality of postnatal baby care” with a Mean± SD score of 3. 89± 0. 85. The other two domains of “ quality of provided health education” and “ quality of provided communication and psychological support” received the lowest mean scores of 3. 81 with standard deviations of 0. 90 and 0. 80, respectively. Patient-perceived postnatal care quality was not affected by many variables, such as age, parity, and gravidity. It was only affected by the subjects’ level of education (P=0. 001) and the place of delivery (P=0. 017). Conclusion: The obtained results posed a challenge for healthcare policymakers and professionals working in maternity departments. A new policy and leadership directions are required in this critical and vulnerable clinical area. To improve the quality of postnatal care, health policymakers must collaborate with midwifery staff. It is important to identify and eliminate any barriers that impede the provision of better care. This will be reflected by reducing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality rates and reducing the number of hospitalization days.

Introduction: Adolescence is one of the most important periods of human development. Nutrition plays an important role in health and prevention of disease during this period. Food advertising influences food purchase and food consumption among children and adolescents. Most of these advertisements are about the foods high in fat, salt and sugar. High exposure to these kinds of advertisements increases the tendency towards consuming junk foods in adolescents. Objective: This study aimed to determine the junk food consumption by the exposure to junk food advertisements among high school students. Materials and Methods: this analytical study with cross-sectional design, 341 students from public high schools in Rasht, north ofIran were selected by cluster random sampling method. Data were collected by a valid and reliable researcher-made questionnaire. The questionnaire was a self-report designed by the researcher which had two parts adapted from similar studies. The first part records demographic characteristics of students, and the second part assess the source and frequency of exposure to fast food/junk food advertisement and the frequency of fast food/junk food Consumption Data Analysis was performed using Kruskal-Wallis test at a significance level of 0. 05. Results: Most of the subjects (52. 2%) were female and in the 11th grade (37. 2%). In terms of the frequency of exposure to junk food advertisement, 37. 2%, 33. 4% and 15. 3% of subjects reported “ from time to time” , “ quite often” and “ very often” , respectively. Regarding the source of exposure tojunk food advertisement, 51. 9% were exposed to more than one advertising source. The Kruskal-Wallis test results showed a significant difference in junk food consumption frequency based on the frequency of exposure to food advertisement (P=0. 0001). Conclusion: High exposure to junk food advertisement can be associated with high consumption of junk foods and subsequently having chronic diseases in adulthood. Therefore, it is necessary to control the food advertising and provide a legal framework for supervising it.

Introduction: Adherence to the treatment regimen is among the key principles in chronic diseases, like thalassemia. The difficult treatment of these patients and the significant biopsychosocial changes that occur during adolescence may lead to numerous psychosocial changes. Such issuesmay affect their adherence to the treatment regimen. Objective: The current study aimedto determine the relationship between psychosocial status and adherence to the treatment regimen in adolescents with thalassemia referring to hospitals in Rasht City, Iran. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted on 66 adolescents with thalassemia. The study samples included patients aged 11-21 years, referring to two hospitals in Rasht City, Iran, in 2017. They were selected using the census methods. Data collection tools included a demographic form and Pediatric Symptom Checklist-Youth Report (PSC-Y). The compliance rate was measured by evaluating their adherence to follow-up visits, average results of the last three ferritin tests, and iron chelator use. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-squared test, Fisher’ s exact test, and regression analysis. Results: Fifty percent of patients reported psychosocial problems and most of them had good adherence to follow-up visits (74. 2%); however, their adherence to ferritin tests (47%) and iron chelator use (45. 5%) was poor. Regression analysis results suggested that the effect of psychosocial status on adherence to follow-up visits (P<0. 05, OR=0. 8, 95% CI; 0. 628-1), ferritin test (P<0. 05, OR=0. 213, 95% CI; 0. 044-1), and iron chelator use (P<0. 001, OR=0. 852, 95% CI; 0. 772-0. 94) was significant. Conclusion: Adolescents with thalassemia fail to adhere to treatment regimen fully; therefore, appropriate interventions are required to improve their psychosocial status.

Introduction: Urinary incontinence is a common disorder that often affects the elderly. The prevalence of depression in people with urinary incontinence varies from 20-40%. Objective: This study aimed to investigate and compare the prevalence of depression in postmenopausal women with and without urinary incontinence. Materials and Methods: This comparative study with cross-sectional design was, conducted on 284 postmenopausal women in two groups of with and without urinary incontinence (controls). After recording their demographic characteristics, they all completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Chi-square, Mann-Whitney U test and logistic regression were used to assess depression score and severity of depression. Results: The mean age of participants was 57. 62± 9. 62. The mean score of depression in women with urinary incontinence was higher than in the control group (8. 85± 7. 35 vs. 6. 11± 5. 03), and this difference was significant (P=0. 001). According to the Chi-square test, the probability of depression in women with urinary incontinence was two-fold higher than that of controls (21. 3% vs. 9. 86%). Using logistic regression and controlling the effects of sociodemographic variables, the odds of depression in women with urinary incontinence were 2. 5 times higher than the control group (P=0. 01). Conclusion: Depression and urinary incontinence in postmenopausal women are seemed to be related to each other. It is recommended that depression be screened in postmenopausal women with urinary incontinence.

Introduction: Self-management positively contributes to the Quality of Life of many patients with chronic diseases. Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between self-management and the quality of life and visual performance among patients with glaucoma. Materials and Methods: The current cross-sectional and comparative study was conducted at the glaucoma clinic of the Eye Hospital in Tabriz City, Iran. Through simple random sampling method, the quality of life, visual function, and self-management of 120 patients were compared using the Glaucoma Quality of Life (GQOL-15), National Eye Institute-Visual Functioning (NEI-VFQ), and Patient Activating Measure (PAM) questionnaires. The study participants’ demographic data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Student Samples t-test and Pearson’ s correlational coefficient were conducted to compare mean scores and determine the study variables’ relations. Results: The total Mean± SD scores for the quality of life, self-management, and visual performance of the studied patients were 33. 88± 12. 73, 65. 06± 12. 69, and 81. 36± 14. 01, respectively. There was a significant relationship between self-management and the quality of life and visual performance of the patients (P=0. 001). Conclusion: There was a significant linear relationship between self-management and the quality of life and visual performance of the studied patients; thus, considering selfmanagement strategies in patient education plans for nursing curriculums and hospitals’ education programs are suggested.

Introduction: Death anxiety can negatively affect recovery among older patients. Objective: study aimed to assess death anxiety and its predictors among older adults during and after hospitalization. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2017 on 241 hospitalized patients aged ≥ 60 years. The study subjects were consecutively recruited from a hospital in Kashan City, Iran. The required data were collected in the first and the third hospitalization days (T1 and T2) and the seventh day after hospital discharge (T3) using the Mini-Mental State Examination, a Death Anxiety Contributing Factors questionnaire, the Templer Death Anxiety Scale, the Life Satisfaction Index-Z Scale, and the Spiritual Well-Being Scale. For the statistical evaluation, repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), the stepwise multiple linear regression, and the rank regression analyses were used. Results: The Mean± SD score of death anxiety at T1– T3 was 6. 74± 3. 81, 7. 38± 3. 64, and 6. 18± 3. 60, respectively. Death anxiety at T2 was significantly greater than T1 and T3 (P=0. 0001). Approximately 17. 7% of the total variance of death anxiety at T1 was explained by the number of hospitalizations, satisfaction with hospital staff’ s performance, and spiritual well-being. The significant predictors of death anxiety at T2 were marital status, satisfaction with hospital staff’ s performance, children’ s gender, satisfaction with bed arrangement, age, and the number of hospitalizations, which explained 32. 1% of the total variance. Moreover, 15. 4% of the variance at T3 was explained by satisfaction with bed arrangement and receiving education at hospital discharge. Conclusion: Older adults suffer from moderate death anxiety during and after their hospitalization due to various factors. Managing death anxiety contributing factors is necessary to alleviate it among older adults.

Introduction: Early initiation of sex increases the risks of unprotected sex, multiple partners, and sexually transmitted infections. The effective factors of premarital sexual intercourse have not been widely studied. Objective: This study aimed at identifying environmental factors influencing premarital sexual intercourse from the Iranian youths’ perspective. Materials and Methods: Using a qualitative content analysis method, we carried out on students of the Payame Noor University of Shiraz, Iran. A total of 30 single male and female students were selected using a purposive sampling method. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The obtained data were analyzed via thematic analysis. Participation in the study was voluntary with informed consent. Results: Seven teen subjects were male, and 13 were female. Analysis of the transcripts yielded 5 main categories: Culture, Cocio-economic status, Family, Media, and Friends, and Peers. The sub-categories were acculturation, cultural norms, economic problems, heavy dowry, availability of unhealthy options, family support, family values and norms, control and supervision, parent-child relationship, satellite, Internet, friends, and peer pressure, and lack of resistance to peer and friends’ influence. Conclusion: The educational programs and interventions should emphasize the role of cultural factors and family support and monitoring by families to help correct sexual orientation and healthy behaviors among adolescents. Furthermore, training programs should consider the negative impacts of western media and the effects of peer pressure on the formation and correction of premarital sexual behavior.

Introduction: Nurses, as a large part of the healthcare team, are among the first to manage post-accident injuries. Thus, their readiness to cope with disasters is essential. Objective: This study aimed at assessing the disaster readiness of nurses in hospitals affiliated to Guilan University of Medical Sciences (GUMS) in Rasht City, Iran. Materials and Methods: This across-sectional study was conducted on 177 nurses in hospitals affiliated to GUMS who were selected using a systematic stratified random sampling technique. The data collection tool was Readiness Estimate and Deploy ability Index (READI), i. e., back-translated to Persian, and its acceptable validly and reliability was reported. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequency, mean, and standard deviation. Results: The total Mean± SD score of nurses’ disaster readiness was 42± 0. 60. Regarding the dimensions of READI, their Mean± SD scores of disaster readiness in the area of clinical competency, operational competency, survival skills, stress coping, leadership and administrative support, mental attitude, and group integration and identificationwere3. 44± 0. 65, 4. 13± 0. 87, 3. 62± 0. 87, 3. 27± 0. 91, 4± 0. 88, 2. 66± 0. 85, and 3. 82± 0. 85, respectively. The majority of them were moderately ready in all dimensions of disaster readiness, except for the area of operational competency where they were at favorable status. Conclusion: The nurses’ disaster readiness was at a moderate level. Nurses with their technical skills and practical knowledge could provide the highest level of disaster care appropriate to adverse conditions to improve the affected people’ s health. Therefore, improving the nurses’ preparedness level in this field can lead to saving the injured people and reduce the mortality rate.