Journal of Education and Community Health
Year:2015 | Volume:2 | Issue:1|Papers Count:7

Background and Objectives: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer and the most lethal malignancy among women in the world. Diagnosis, treatment, and treatment complications incur physical, mental and social complications, and consequently reduce the quality of life in these patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of exercise counseling on functional scales in women with breast cancer.Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 60 women with breast cancer selected in cancer treatment centers in Hamadan city. Participants were random-ly allocated to exercise counseling group (n=30) and control group (n=30). The intervention included two weeks of exercise counseling in the gym and eight weeks of training at home. The data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, QLQ-C30 and QLQ BR-23. Data were analyzed in SPSS.20, using c2 Fisher’s exact test, t-test, ANCOVA at a confidence level of P<0.05.Results: The results showed that the total score of the functional scale before the intervention was 27.19 ± 81.61 and reached 25.9 ± 91.86 after the intervention, with a statistically significant difference (P<0.05). Most changes occurred in physical functioning, emotional functioning, and body image scales. No significant difference was observed between the two groups in the following scales: cognitive function, social function, sexual function, sexual pleasure and future prospects (P>0.05).Conclusion: The functional scales of exercise counseling had a positive effect on the quality of life of women with breast cancer, and led to a significant improvement in patients. This method can be used as a part of the routine therapeutic measures for these patients.

Background and Objectives: Tobacco use among medical students is important for the health of the general population since medical groups are important role models in terms of health related behaviors. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate tobacco use and its predictors among medical students of Ahavaz University based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB).Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted in 2014 among 170 medical students (56 males, 114 females), at Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 18 software program. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) and to determine the effect of demographic factors and theory of planned behavior (TPB) constructs on students’ smoking behaviors.Results: From all subjects, 36% of boys and 3.5% of girls were current smokers. Using multiple logistic regression models, being male, having friends who smoke, smoking parents and smoking brother were strongly associated with tobacco use. Furthermore, all component of TPB, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and intention were found to predict student’s smoking.Conclusion: The present study propose that subjective norms and selection of friends need to be considered as the most important factors explaining smoking behavior among medical students besides the TPB constructs.

Background and Objectives: Spiritual health coordinates different aspects of life with one another, and reinforces compatibility and psychological function. Quality of life can be affected by psychological-spiritual factors and working environment. This study was conducted to determine the role of social support and spiritual health in nurses’ quality of life.Materials and Methods: This descriptive-correlative study was conducted among 200 working nurses in two teaching hospitals that were randomly selected in the city of Hamadan. All nurses in the two hospitals were recruited. The data collection tools were World Health Organization Quality of life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BRIEF) and Palotzin and Elison Spiritual and Social Support Questionnaires. Data were analyzed by multiple regression test in SPSS-18 software.Results: The mean of age of nurses in this study was 33.86±6.63. Regression analysis showed that informative support and instrumental support had a significant role in predicting the quality of life and only religious health component had a meaningful effect on nurses' quality of life.Conclusion: According to our findings, it is necessary to provide educational interventions and training packages to improve nurses´ spiritual health and quality of life.

Background and Objectives: Older adults’ quality of life and factors affecting it such as social support are a major concern because they are among vulnerable groups and should receive different supports to ensure their quality of life. This study aimed to determine the relationship between social support and quality of life in the older adults living in the 8th district of Tehran.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 240 older adults living in the 8th district of Tehran. Participants were selected via cluster sampling method. We used LEIPAD quality of life questionnaire to measure the quality of life and Norbeck Social Sup-port Questionnaire to evaluate social support. Data were analyzed in SPSS-20 using Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman’s correlation.Results: The mean score of quality life was 68.9 of 93 in men and 97.6 of 93 in women and this difference was not statistically significant (P=0.404). Education level had a significant effect on both quality of life and social support (P<0.05). Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between social support and some dimensions of the quality of life, e.g. physical, social and cognitive function (P<0.05).Conclusions: Different dimensions of social support were higher in men than in women. Although the relationship between dimensions of social support on the overall quality of life score was not statistically significant, the significant relationship between dimensions of social support and dimensions of quality of life show that social support can impact quality of life.

Background and Objectives: Self-treatment in diabetes can change blood sugar levels and cause life-threatening complications in patients. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the application of BASNEF Model in analyzing self-treatment Behavior among patients with type2 diabetes.Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was conducted on patients with type II diabetes presenting to Kermanshah Diabetes Center in 2014. The patients were randomly selected and recruited. A questionnaire was used to collect demographic data and measure constructs of BASNEF model. Data were analyzed in SPSS-16 using Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis Chi-square and logistic regression tests.Results: Of the participants, 50.5% possessed self-treatment behaviors. According to the results, BASNEF model explained 24 percent of the variance in frequency of self-treatment behaviors. Attitudes, subjective norms, and enabling factors were the most significant predictors (P<0.05).Conclusions: In this study, the prevalence of self-treatment was high among type 2 diabetic patients. Applying BASNEF model appears to be an efficient tool for predicting self-treatment behaviors among diabetic patients.

Background and Objectives: Raising awareness of pregnant women on danger signs of pregnancy and the postpartum period is essential for decreasing maternal mortality. Selecting proper training methods can help this process. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of education with multimedia software and face-to-face education on pregnant women’s knowledge about danger signs.Materials and Methods: This experimental study was performed on 120 primigravida women who came to health centers in Karaj city. They were selected via convenience sampling, and then randomly allocated to two groups. The first group received face-to-face education and the second group was educated through a multimedia CD. Their knowledge was assessed 10 weeks after the education. Eventually, statistical data were analyzed and compared.Results: There was no statistically significant difference, in terms of the mean score of knowledge between the two groups 10 weeks after the training. However, mean score of knowledge increased significantly in each group after the intervention (P<0.001).Conclusion: This study showed that both multimedia software and face-to-face educational strategies had positive effects on improving knowledge of pregnant women, so it appears education with multimedia software could be recommended instead of face-to-face education.

Background and Objectives: The present systematic review investigated and analyzed interventions in the field of parental skills in cooking healthy food in order to identify the most effective training methods to create a lasting and positive effect on the implications of health promotion of children and adolescents.Materials and Methods: Electronic search of databases was performed using the key words in English and Persian from Scopus, Proquest, Science Direct, Pub Med, Springer, Biomed Central, Google Scholar, Iran Medex and SID. The inclusion criteria were all educational interventions that included cooking healthy food with the aim to increase knowledge and skills of parents, or to assess the impact of interventions on children and adolescents, and that were published between January 2005 and September 2014.Results: Cooking skills educational interventions for parents were divided into two types 1: based on health education models and theories, and 2: without using health education models and theories. Among the seven articles reviewed, four studies were classified in the first group and three in the second group. The studies were compared based on changes in body mass index as well as the persistence of behavior change in the subsequent follow-ups.Conclusions: Use of multi-component education and follow-up that apply theories and models of health education are effective to reach the expected results. Clinical trials with several long-term strategies are required to create a favorable change in body mass index of children and teens.