SADRA MEDICAL SCIENCES JOURNAL
Year:2016 | Volume:4 | Issue:4|Papers Count:6

Background and Objectives: Job stress is one of the most problematic diseases affecting nurses in hospital environments. Early maladaptive schemas play a role in job stress. Besides, when schemes are activated, levels of excitement are published, leading directly or indirectly to various forms of psychological distress, such as depression, anxiety, and stress. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effectiveness of schema-based cognitive therapy in reducing job stress among nurses.Methods: This semi-experimental controlled study with pretest-posttest design was performed on nurses in Qom in 2015. Totally, 32 nurses were selected by simple random sampling and were divided into an intervention (n=16) and a control group (n=16). The intervention group received weekly sessions of cognitive schema techniques for nine weeks. The data were collected using occupational stress questionnaire developed by Davis, Robbins, and MacKay (1991). Then, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software, version 20 and were analyzed using MANCOVA.Results: The results showed a significant difference between the two groups regarding job stress symptoms and resources after the schema-based cognitive group therapy. Accordingly, symptoms and resources of job stress significantly reduced in the intervention group compared to the control group (p=0.0001).Conclusion: This study showed that schema-based cognitive group therapy was effective in improving the symptoms and resources of job stress. Thus, this therapeutic method is recommended to be used in nurses with job stress.

Background and Objectives: Mentally retarded children are more sedentary compared to healthy ones because of special mental conditions. This physical inactivity leads to motor and body weaknesses. This study aimed to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of rebound exercises on static and dynamic balance in educable mentally retarded children.Methods: This semi-experimental study was conducted on 30 male students aging 7-11 years and studying at special schools of Lordegan who were selected through convenience sampling. The children’s mean age was 8.4±1.27 years and their mean IQ was 62.10±5.88. The subjects were randomly assigned to a control (n=15) and an intervention (n=15) group according to their IQ scores. The standardized sport tests for mentally retarded people of American College of Sport Medicine (ACSM) and Brockport Physical Fitness Test (BPFT) were used to assess health-related physical fitness factors. During the 8-week intervention, the intervention group performed rebound exercises in three 45-minute sessions per week. At the end of this period, post-test was performed for both groups. The data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA.Results: The findings showed that rebound therapy exercises had a significant effect on cardio-respiratory endurance (P=0.006), muscular endurance (p>0.0001), and foot explosive strength (p=0.048) in mentally retarded children. However, they had no significant effects on general flexibility (P=0.051) and body composition (p=0.198).Conclusion: The findings indicated that rebound exercise therapy could be used in rehabilitation of mentally retarded children.

Background and Objectives: Resiliency is an important concept in understanding adaptation process and learning coping strategies in diabetic patients. It is imperative to examine the resiliency trait at appropriate time while providing occupational therapy interventions for diabetics. Therefore, this study aimed to descriptively examine this trait and its role in adaptation process of diabetics.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on diabetic patients selected from those who had referred to Shiraz Diabetes Association in January 2014 using convenience sampling. The data were collected by Connor Davidson Resilience Scale. Then, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to compare three diabetic groups with low, moderate, and high resiliency traits regarding adaptive features, including achievement motivation, tenacity, self-confidence, and adaptability.Results: This study was performed on 70 qualified diabetic patients, including 24 males and 46 females, with the mean age of 51±10.7 years. The mean score of resiliency was 61.5±17.7 in the study population. The results showed a significant difference among the three study groups concerning achievement motivation (F=69.9, P>0.001), self-confidence (F=81.3, P>0.001), tenacity (F=46.9, P>0.001), and adaptability (F=75.6, P>0.001).Conclusion: The results showed that the individuals with low, moderate, and high levels of resilience had different adaptive features. Thus, level of resiliency in diabetics could determine how they adapt themselves to consequences of diabetes.

Background and Objectives: Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) is a major health problem and the most common neurological disease affecting 5.5 million individuals around the world annually. The present study aimed to assess the effective factors in CVA and determine the performance of data mining algorithm in predicting the disease.Methods: This retrospective, cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study used Crisp as one of the most powerful data mining techniques. The data were analyzed using SPSS Modeler 14.2 and neural network algorithm.Results: According to the findings, the overall accuracy of the neural network model was 89.7%, which reflects the strength of this model in predicting the risk of CVA. Indeed, this model predicted the risk factors of diabetes as the most important factor in the risk of CVA. Age, trauma, and atherosclerosis were also determined as other risk factors.Conclusion: According to this study, diabetic patients were more prone to CVA. Additionally, the risk of this disease increased with age. Therefore, effective measures are recommended to be taken for diagnosis and treatment of diabetes surveillance by establishing clinics and performing periodic screening.

Background and Objectives: Given the significance of adolescence in formation of identity, this study aimed to investigate the impact of self-knowledge, extent of commitment, and object relations on identity formation in adolescents. These variables are the most important dimensions of identity formation among adolescents.Methods: This causal-comparative study was conducted on 36 students aged 18 to 22 years selected through convenience sampling. After matching, the students were divided into three groups based on their identities. The data were collected using Bell’s Object Relations and Reality Testing Inventory, Ghorbani’s Integrative Self-Knowledge Scale, and Berzonsky’s Identity Style Inventory. Then, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software and were analyzed using MANOVA, one-way ANOVA, and Sheffe’s post-hoc test.Results: The results revealed significant differences among the study groups in terms of integrative self-knowledge, commitment, social incompetence, and insecure attachment. Accordingly, the participants with informational style showed the highest degree of integrative self-knowledge and commitment, while those with diffuse/avoidant style were more socially incompetent, alienated, and insecurely attached compared to the other two styles. However, no significant differences were found among the three groups with regard to egocentrism.Conclusion: The results indicated that the individuals with various identity styles were different regarding commitment, social incompetence, and insecure attachment. In fact, these factors play a critical role in identity formation. Therefore, they can be used by experts and authorities to prepare educational or treatment packages to create successful identities in Iranian adolescents.

Continuing education refers to activities used to maintain, develop, or improve health care workers’ knowledge, skills, professional performance, and relationships for providing services to patients, society, or their profession. This study aimed to evaluate the current status of continuing nursing education in Iran and the world. The relevant articles were extracted from Blackwell, Science Direct, CINAHL PubMed, Proquest, Google Scholar, and Google databases using the following keywords: “continuing education”, “continuing professional development”, and “lifelong learning”. This paper was focused on history of continuing education as well as goals of continuing nursing education programs in Iran and some other countries. The results revealed that holding continuing nursing education courses improved nurses’ orientation about professional issues and new professional contents.