Journal of Health And Care
Year:2016 | Volume:18 | Issue:2|Papers Count:7

Background & objectives: Primary dysmenorrhea is one of the most common menstrual disorders in young girls. Given the impact of physical activity and diet on prevention and control of Primary dysmenorrhea and consequently on the quality of life, this study aimed to investigate the association of diet and physical activity with the severity of primary menstrual pain in girls.Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 2014. Using convenience sampling method, 124 university students with moderate to severe PD participated in the study. A demographic information form and the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and pain visual analogue scale (VAS) were used for data gathering. Univariate and multivariate linear regression tests were used for statistical analyses.Results: Univariate (b= -0.2, p=0.02) and multivariate (b=-0.2, p=0.04) linear regression test showed significant association between fat intake and severity of pain. After adjusting for confounding variables, one unit increase in fat intake was correlated with 0.2 unit decrease in VAS score. In other words, fat intake had negative correlation with severity of menstrual pain.Conclusion: This study found inverse correlation between fat intake and severity of menstrual pain. However, quantitative dietary assessment with larger sample in different population age groups and social classes for more accurate results is needed.

Background & Aim: Self-efficacy improvement of patients receiving hemodialysis is valuable for their self-care and achieving to the expected outcomes. Thus, this study was conducted by the aim of determining the predictive factors of self-efficacy in patients receiving hemodialysis in educational-therapeutic center of Razi in Rasht.Methods: This analytical-cross sectional study was performed on 73 patients under treatment with hemodialysis referring to Razi educational-therapeutic center in Rasht city, 2014. The sample was selected randomly from eligible patients who had inclusion criteria of the study. The data were collected by a tool in two parts consisting personal information (including charlson index and self-care) and Chronic Renal Patient’s Self-efficacy Questionnaires. The data were analyzed by descriptive (frequency, mean and SD) and analytic (Independent t-test, ANOVA and linear regression) statistics tests in SPSS, version-22. Significant level in this study was less than 0.05.Results: The findings showed that the mean and SD of total self-efficacy of sample was 5.9±1.4 that had significant direct relationship with living in rental homes (p=0.049) and no-comorbidities (p=0.043). Linear regression analysis revealed that comorbidities was only variable that can be as a predictive factor for lower score in self-efficacy (b=-0.18 and p=0.022).Conclusion: Poor self-efficacy in patients receiving hemodialysis with comorbidity highlights the special need of these patients to nursing attention on self-efficacy promotion thorough holistic assessment and also specific educational plans.

Background & objectives: In the field of health care, the quality has a special place and understanding the perceptions and expectations of the care recipients of the provided services is very important and the first step to improve the quality of care. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the quality of mother-child care from perspectives of mothers in the primary health centers of Qom.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, using multi-stage sampling method, 409 mothers referring to health care centers of Qom evaluated the quality of primary health care including family planning, immunization, growth monitoring of children. Demographic information as well as the standard SERVQUAL questionnaire with 22 questions (Quality assessment questionnaire with 5 dimensions of tangibles, assurance, reliability, responsiveness, and empathy) was used for collecting data. Data were analyzed by SPSS 21 with descriptive statistics and ANOVA, T-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient tests at the significant level of less than 0.05.Results: In all aspects, the quality gap was negative. The highest gap mean was observed in the tangible dimension (-1.59) then empathy (-1.53), accountability (-1.47) reliability (-1.28) and the lowest gap average was assurance (-1.10). In this study the gap between the services quality provided for working women and housewives indicate a significant difference (p<0.001). The education level had a significant relationship with provided services quality gap (p=0.024). Also age has a significant direct correlation with negative gap of quality in all dimensions (p<0.005).Conclusion: The services quality and its dimensions’ analysis showed that there is a negative gap in service quality and its five dimensions between women's expectations and perceptions of the service recipient. In all cases, their expectations level was beyond perception.

Background & objectives: Nutritional deficiencies can lead to physical and mental problems in children. Notably, healthy nutrition is important in effective learning. According to estimates from prior studies, because of the poor nutrition of children and as well as insufficient knowledge of their mothers; this study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of mothers about healthy nutrition of their children in fifth and sixth year elementary school.Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study in which two-stage cluster sampling, 243 samples were selected for the study. A valid and reliable research tool questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analyzed by SPSS software and independent t test, Pearson correlation coefficient, ANOVA at significant level of p<0.05.Results: 90.1% (228 person) were housewives and 9.9% (n=24) were employed. Results showed no significant difference in mean score of attitude based on the level of education (p=0.005). There was no significant correlation between knowledge and attitude (r=0.069 and p=0.284), as well as awareness with performance (r=0.004 and p=0.946). But the test showed that there is a direct and significant correlation between attitude and practice (r=0.259 and p<0.001).Conclusion: According to the findings of the study, knowledge and attitude of mothers of students about healthy nutrition is intermediate and satisfactory. However, given the decisive role of mothers in nutrition of students and because of their lack of knowledge can lead to various disorders in children, proper education of mothers is recommended.

Background & objectives: Hypertension is one of the most common public health problems that its prevalence is high among women, especially in menopausal women. Nutritional awareness has a special place in management of chronic diseases such as hypertension. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the relationship of nutritional awareness with hypertension with anthropometric indices in menopausal women.Methods: This cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted on the population consisted of menopausal women with hypertension in the city of Qom in 2014. Of the population, 211 subjects have been selected through multi-stage sampling. The data were collected using demographic information questionnaire; anthropometric indices check list and nutritional awareness questionnaire through an organized interview after confirmation of the validity and reliability. Data were analyzed by independent T-test, Pearson correlation coefficient and ANOVA in SPSS-16. P-values less than 0.05 were reported as statistically significant.Results: The mean and standard deviation of age in menopausal women was 60.6±8.9 years. Most of the subjects in terms of education and job were illiterate (71.1%) and housekeeper (99.1%). The mean duration of hypertension was 6.2±5.5 years. The mean and standard deviation of nutritional awareness in menopausal women was 11.11±2.06. Pearson correlation coefficient showed a significant inverse correlation between nutritional awareness and systolic blood pressure (r=-0.03, p<0.05) and ‘waist to hip ratio’ (r=-0.215, p<0.05).Conclusion: According to the results of this study, implementation of proper training programs in order to improve nutritional awareness is essential for menopausal women and thereby to reduce the incidence of hypertension in this group of society.

Background & objectives: Esophageal cancer is the sixth common cancer in Iran. Ardabil province is located on the esophagus cancer belt worldwide. Moreover, this province is considered as a region with high incidence of esophageal cancer in Iran. This study examined the role of personality factors and religious beliefs in resiliency of disease among patients with esophageal cancer in the city of Ardabil.Methods: This study was a descriptive and correlational research. The study population included all patients with esophageal cancer that were referred to Imam Khomeini hospital, Aras Clinic and Shafa Parto Chemotherapy Clinic during the first six months of 2015. Of the patients, 80 patients with esophageal cancer were selected to the study by convenience sampling. To collect the data, Connor-Davidson Resilience questionnaire, personality dimensions of McCrae and Costa questionnaire, religious beliefs spirituality of Hall and Edwards’s questionnaire were used. In the end, data analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regressions in SPSS (ver.21).Results: There was a significant relationship between religious beliefs and personality dimensions and resiliency in patients with esophageal cancer. In addition, there were negative relationship between resilience and religious beliefs in the most components such as knowledge, enlarge, harvest management and overall score spirituality and positive relationship with the frustration and instability. Between resiliency with neuroticism, extroversion negative correlation with the agreement, there was a significant positive relationship between conscientiousness. Almost 73% of the variance of resiliency is explained by spirituality and 69% of the variance of the variables of neuroticism, extraversion, flexibility, agreeableness and conscientiousness are explained by the predictor variables.Conclusion: As the result, we can claim that with increasing religious beliefs, resiliency of cancer patients goes up. With decreasing of neuroticism and extraversion, religious beliefs go up. In contrast, with improvement agreement and dutifully, religious beliefs also go up.Therefore, religious beliefs and five aspects of personality can predict resiliency of disease in patients with esophageal cancer. These results provide important implications for health professionals in the field of pathology and treatment.

Background & objectives: The presence of patient’s family in critical care units in Iran is banned and the patient is alone in these wards. One reason for this is thought to increase patient’s anxiety is a result of his/her family's presence in bedside. This study aimed to determine the impact of family visits on the level of anxiety in patients with angina pectoris hospitalized in cardiac intensive care unit, Iran.Methods: This study was an after and before quasi-experimental research with a control group. The study population included all patients with angina pectoris admitted to the CCU of martyr Rajai Hospital in Gachsaran and had no history of psychiatric disorders or psychotropic drugs abuse. A total of 60 patients were selected by convenience sampling method from the study population. Scheduled visits twice a day, each time 1 hour used in 30 patients eligible for the study and their anxiety before and at the end of the intervention was measured by the Spielberger Questionnaire. In the control group, routine prohibited visits were followed and the level of patients’ anxiety was measured 12 and 72 hours after admission. Finally, the level of anxiety in two intervention and control groups was compared using independent and paired t-test.Results: The results showed that 3 days after hospitalization anxiety was reduced in both groups but this reduction is statistically significant in the intervention group (p=0.004).Conclusion: Scheduled visit method is a good way to reduce anxiety in patients with Angina pectoris hospitalized in cardiac intensive care unit, so it may be replaced for banned visiting in intensive care units.