Health and Development Journal
Year:2012 | Volume:1 | Issue:2|Papers Count:8

Background: The increasing use of ecstasy among the young generation in our society has led to many adverse effects. This research was performed to assess the level of knowledge about ecstasy in high school students and some of its determining factors such as age, parents’ level of education, students’ educational condition, and the source of information.Methods: In this analytical cross-sectional study, 707 girls studying in high schools and pre-university centers in district 6 of Tehran were enrolled into the study by cluster random sampling. A questionnaire containing questions about students’ age, high school grade, parents’ level of education, failing in at least one course in the previous semester, the mean grade of the previous semester, source of information, and signs, symptoms and complications of using ecstasy was completed by the students. Chi square test was used to analyze the data.Results: In this study 161 (22.2%) of the students achieved 75% or more of the knowledge score and the majority, which were 374 students (52.9%), did not answer at least half of the questions correctly.High school grade, parents’ level of education, failing in at least one course and source of information were significantly correlated to the level of knowledge.Conclusion: It is suggested that due to the low knowledge of high school students, more information regarding signs, symptoms, and complications of using ecstasy should be given to students through media, family, and schools.

Background: Stomach cancer is the fourth most prevalent cancer in the world. Although many studies have been carried out on the incidence of this type of cancer in the world, information about changes in its incidence rate in Iran during the recent years is not sufficient. The aim of this study is to assess the incidence and trend of this cancer in the west of Iran, during the recent years.Methods: In this study the data of the Iranian National Cancer Registry from 2000 to 2005 was used.The standardized incidence rates were calculated with the direct method and according to the standard population provided by the World Health Organization (WHO). Poisson regression was applied for the evaluation of the trend of cancer incidence during the years under study.Results: during the studied years, 1758 cases of stomach cancer were identified in this region and the cases increased from 224 in the year 2000 to 444 in 2005. The male to female ratio was 2.7. The age standardized incidence rate from 6.1 cases per 100000 in the year 2000 reached 10.8 cases in 2005 (slope=0.16, p=0.06). A significantly increasing trend was seen in Kermanshah, Ilam and Kurdistan provinces, but this increase was not significant in Hamadan.Conclusion: The trend of stomach cancer is increasing in the west of Iran. Although, some of this increase can be due to improvement in cancer registrations, there is a possibility that increase in stomach cancer incidence is due to increase in its risk factors.

Background: Breast cancer is the most common preventable cancer among women. One of the ways of prevention and early detection of breast cancer is breast self-examination (BSE). Thus, we decided to conduct a study about the knowledge and attitude toward BSE among the students of Alzahra University, Iran.Methods: This was a cross-sectional analytical study in which 135 female students aging 18-26 years were enrolled using stratified random sampling. Data was collected by valid and reliable questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were used to analyze the data.Results: While most students (45.9%) had an average level of knowledge about BSE, married students were significantly more knowledgeable (P=0.007). The majority of students (68.1%), especially older, married students and those with a positive family history of breast cancer, had more positive attitude about BSE. The most popular way of gaining information among students was mass media.Students who gained information from university books had significantly more knowledge than others (P<0.001). Subjects who obtained information from mass media had more positive attitude than others (P=0.04). In addition, students with more knowledge had significantly more positive attitude (P<0.001).Conclusion: The knowledge and attitude about BSE is less than satisfactory even among university students. The values would probably be even less among the general female population in Iran. Proper and more intense educational programs about BSE should be scheduled even in higher education institutions.

Background: Nowadays, musculoskeletal diseases are among the most prevalent occupational diseases. They are also considered as one of the main reasons for absence from work and probably reduced productivity. Improper conditions at workplace can result in musculoskeletal disorders. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders in workers of a dairy factory.Methods: In this analytical cross-sectional study, 50 workers of a dairy factory in Nishabur, Iran, were evaluated. The standardized Nordic questionnaire was used to assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders. The data was analyzed in SPSS18.Results: The mean age of the workers was 29.5 years. Their mean duration of employment was 4.3 years. Overall, 76% of the participants had experienced musculoskeletal disorders at one of their extremities. The highest prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders in the past 12 months was detected in knees (28%), waist (26%), and feet (24%). Age and years of employment had the strongest correlation with the incidence of musculoskeletal disorders.Conclusion: Working conditions of factory workers should be improved through controlling hazardous ergonomic factors. Risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders can also be reduced by education and using equipments such as forklifts and conveyors.

Background: Hepatitis B infection is a major worldwide health issue. Based on existing studies the rate of positive HBsAg cases is varied in different regions of Iran, and does not have the same distribution. It varies from 1.7% in the Fars province to 5% in the Sistan-Baluchestan province. Hence, this study was carried out to investigate the positive HBsAg cases reported to the Health Deputy of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in 2008.Methods: In this study existing data were used. We used a standard form to extract data, which included variables such as age, sex, and marital status, place of residence, occupation, vaccination history, clinical symptoms, and history of risk factors. The data was analyzed by SPSS16 software.Results: From the 577 reported cases, 57.9% were male, 75.4% were urban residents and the rest lived in villages, 79.9% were married. The average age was 37.9±15.6. Most of the women (68.8%) were housewives and most of the men (59.8%) were self-employed, and 99.1% had no history of vaccination.Conclusion: The prevalence of positive HBsAg cases in Mazandaran according to age, sex, marital status, place of residence, occupation and history of vaccination was consistent with most studies, particularly with the two comprehensive reviews.

Background: One of the most common invasive procedures in children especially children with thalassemia, which have to receive blood transfusions continuously to stay alive, is establishing an intravenous line. Recognizing and evaluating pain is one of the main responsibilities of nurses and the medical staff. The present study was conducted in order to assess the behavioral pain symptoms induced in 3-6 year old children with thalassemia during venipuncture for blood transfusion.Methods: The present research was a descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study on 120 children between 3 to 6 years of age, who were referred to Kerman Thalassemia Center and matched the inclusion criteria. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and a scale for pediatric behavioral pain symptoms. Data were analyzed using descriptive (percent, mean and standard deviation) and analytical statistics (Spearman correlation, Mann-Whitney U).Results: In this study 50.8% of subjects were female and 49.2% were male. The mean age of the children was 4.1±1.1, 18.3% reported that they had mild pain, 32.5% indicated moderate pain and 49.2% had severe pain. The mean behavioral pain symptoms score of the children was 6.8±2.4. Girls and younger children reported a significantly higher rate of pain.Conclusion: Considering the key role of nurses in health services, we hope that the results of this study will help them consider reducing pain of thalassemia children during venipuncture and this will decrease undesirable mental, emotional and physical complications of these children, who undergo painful procedures.

Background: Use of wetlands is one of the methods of natural municipal and industrial wastewater treatment. In addition to reducing the cost of treatment, this method has high efficiency in removing pollutants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of straw plants in Sub Surface Flow Constructed Wetland for removing Indicator Pathogens from Municipal Wastewater in Yazd, Iran.Methods: This is an applied-experimental study in which 100 samples were taken from four sub surface wetlands, which were covered by three straw plants including Bafgh, Yazdbaft and Ali Abad, and a control wetland. The samples were taken during the two seasons of winter and spring and were then transferred to the laboratory by ice. The experiments of total coliform, E. coli and fecal streptococcus were performed, according to the standard methods, on input and output samples of wetlands.Results: The results of the current study showed that the average total removal of the four wetlands for total coliform, E. coli and fecal streptococcus were 80.43%, 74.11%, and 69.08%, respectively.Moreover, the removal efficiency in the Aliabad wetland for total coliform and E. coli were 98.22% and 99.27%, respectively; this was the highest removal rate among the wetlands.Conclusion: One of the main problems of the wastewater treatment method used in Yazd, which is stabilization ponds, is the low microbial removal. Thus, this problem can be solved by using sub surface wetlands with the Aliabad Straw species after the stabilization ponds.

Background: Although pregnancy is a natural and physiological phenomenon, during pregnancy women are exposed to physical and psychological changes, which can affect the health of the mother and fetus. This study aimed to evaluate mental health and its related factors in women during pregnancy.Methods: This cross-sectional study has studied 250 pregnant women, who were referred to Kuhdasht health centers in Lorestan province in 2010. Multi-stage cluster sampling method was performed. Data was collected by the GHQ-28 questionnaire and analyzed using the chi-square test and by SPSS16 software.Results: The results revealed that 31.6% of the women with a mean age of 26.4±6.1 were suspected to have mental health disorders. Based on the results, the prevalence of mental disorders was 34.4%, 23.1% and 40.2% in the first, second, and third trimesters of pregnancy, respectively. There was a significant correlation between mental health disorders and some personal and socioeconomic factors.Conclusion: The results of this study showed a high percentage of mental health disorders among pregnant women and showed the necessity of paying attention to mental health in this group. Therefore, it is necessary to plan for appropriate care in order to prevent the occurrence of mental disorders among this vulnerable group.