Journal of Education and Community Health
Year:2016 | Volume:3 | Issue:3|Papers Count:7

Background and Objectives: Breast cancer is the most common form of malignant diseases in women. Early diagnosis is effective on its successful treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate breast self-examination and its effective factors based on the theory of planned behavior among women in Kerman, Iran.Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study, 300 women referred to the health centers in Kerman, Iran, were selected by the cluster and convenience sampling. Data were collected using questionnaires included demographic variables and questions about knowledge and constructs of the theory of planned behavior. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation, Spearman, Chi-square, independent t-test, Mann-Whitney and logistic regression with the SPSS 21 software.Results: The mean age of the participants was 30.26±8.18 years. Results showed that 12.7% of the women performed breast self-examination regularly every month. The most common reason for not doing breast self-examination was not knowing how to perform it. Knowledge was the most important predictor in breast self-examination (OR=0.896, P<0.001). There was a significant difference in the average scores of knowledge, attitude, perceived behavioral control and behavioral intention between groups that did and did not perform breast self-examination (P<0.05).Conclusions: Education interventions based on the theory of planned behavior can be implemented for increasing women's knowledge and empowering them in timely diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

Background and Objectives: Marital relationship has been regarded as one of the deepest types of communication. This study was performed to determine the effect of communication skills training on increasing marital satisfaction among couples by applying the social support theory on females referred to health centers in Bahar. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was performed on 100 females, referred to Bahar health centers in Hamadan province, during year 2016. For the sampling purposes, 100 females were randomly selected from health centers of Bahar city. The participants were randomly divided to 2 experimental and control groups (each group included 50 females). Data collection tools consisted of 3 questionnaires, including Enrich marital satisfaction questionnaires, social support questionnaire, and Burton communication skills questionnaire, which were completed through self-reporting by couples. An educational program in 3 sessions and 2 consulting classes were performed only for the intervention group and post-test questionnaires were completed after one month. Data were analyzed by SPSS-16 software using independent t test, paired t test, Fisher Exact test and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA).Results: Results showed that the mean scores of communication skills, marital satisfaction, and social support after the intervention were significantly increased in the experimental group compared to the control group (P<0.05).Conclusions: Communication skills training had a significant impact on improving marital satisfaction. One of the most important causes of this influence was social support by families. Therefore, it can be used as an effective intervention approach in this field.

Background and Objectives: Nutrition is important during childhood for growth and to help prevent infections and other diseases and educational interventions will be effective. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of educational intervention on promoting healthy eating behaviors among primary school students of Kermanshah City, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this semi-experimental study, 135 primary school students were randomly allocated into intervention and control groups. Data were collected using a valid and reliable questionnaire before and after the intervention in the areas of knowledge, attitude, practice and demographic variables. Data were analyzed using Chisquare, and paired t test with the SPSS 13 software.Results: Results showed that after the educational intervention the mean scores of knowledge, attitudes and practice were increased significantly in the experimental group (P<0.001), but not in the control group (P<0.05).Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the educational intervention was effective in creating positive changes in knowledge, attitude and especially behaviors of the students about healthy eating. According to the appropriate education in schools and low-cost and effective nutritional education, the need to extend this type of training programs seems necessary.

Background and Objectives: Modern technologies have a prominent role in adolescent's daily life. These technologies include specific cultural and moral patterns, which could be highly effective on adolescents. This research aimed at comparing the amount of time spent on computer games and aggressive behavior in male middle school students of Tehran.Materials and Methods: This study had a descriptive design. The study population included all male students of middle school of Tehran, and the sample included 120 male students, of which 60 were dependent on computer games with aggressive behavior and 60 were non-dependent on computer games with normal behavior; the sample was randomly selected from Tehran regions (south, north, west, and east regions) with random multi-stage sampling. Data were gathered using questionnaires, including Aggressive Questionnaire (AGQ) and a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of 10 multiple questions that measure the use or non-use of computer games. Data were analyzed using SPSS-19 statistical software. For data analysis, Pearson correlation and t test were used.Results: The results showed that there was a meaningful relationship between computer gaming and aggressive behavior and also between duration of using computer games and aggressive behaviors (P<0.05).Conclusions: According to the results, it seems that children could be kept safe from the adverse effects of computer games by controlling the duration and the type of the games that they play

Background and Objectives: Health literacy represents the cognitive and social skills, which are used to determine the motivation and ability of individuals to acquire access and understand the methods to use the information in order to maintain and improve the health. This study aimed to assess the level of health literacy in students and identify the factors influencing it in the 2015-2016 academic year.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study, 360 students inhabiting the dormitories of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran were randomly selected using the cluster sampling method. To collect the data, an inventory of Health Literacy for Iranian Adults was used. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test with the SPSS software version 21.Results: The mean age of the students was 22.93 ± 4.05 years. The results showed that 9.2% (n=31) of the students had low health literacy, 27.6% (n=94) not so inadequate literacy, 42.6% (n=145) adequate health literacy, and 19.7% (n=67) excellent health literacy. Health literacy was significantly associated with gender and family income (P<0.001).Conclusions: Due to the limited level of health literacy in many students, it is necessary to design training programs commensurate with their level of health literacy and media interests.

Background and Objectives: Diabetic foot ulcers and eye problems are the most frequent complications of patients with diabetes and can be controlled with care. This study aimed at investigating the situation of foot and eye care in patients with type II diabetes based on the Theory of Planned Behavior of Fasa.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, simple randomized sampling was used to select 151 patients with type II diabetes, who had referred to Shariati Teaching Hospital diabetic clinic, during year 2016. Data were gathered using a questionnaire including demographic data and measure theory of planned behavior (attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intention) and the care of feet and eyes. Next, the data were entered in the SPSS statistical software, version 20 and analyzed using independent t test and descriptive statistical methods. P values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant.Results: The mean age of participants was 52.17±12.41 and the mean duration of diabetes was 76.62±4.9. Knowledge on the care of feet and eyes was low. Foot and eye care, subjective norm and people are going to be at a moderate level. Among knowledge, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intention, there was a significant correlation with performance (P<0.05). Knowledge, attitudes, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and intention were predictors of foot care and eye performance in patients with type 2 diabetes. Overall, variables predicted 31.6% of the performance of foot care and 28.4% of eye care.Conclusions: According to this study, design and implementation of training programs theory centered on promoting foot care and eye performance is recommended for patients with diabetes.

Background and Objectives: As the elderly population increases, aging diseases are also increasing. Nutritional status is the major determinants in the prevention of chronic diseases of old age. The aim of this study was to determine nutritional behaviors of the elderly in Ilam city, Iran.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 200 subjects aged over 60 years with a mean age of 61.15±2.37 years were enrolled. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire in two parts including demographic characteristics and nutritional behaviors. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, t-test and one-way ANOVA with the SPSS 19 statistical software.Results: The mean ± SD for the subjects’ nutritional behaviors was 32.59±5.46 from 10 to 40 obtainable scores. The results showed that there was no significant difference between nutritional behaviors regarding gender, educational level and job status (P>0.05). However, there was a significant positive correlation between subjects’ age and nutritional behaviors (r=0.215, P=0.002). Also, the consumption of fruits and vegetables, grains, meats and dairy products was inadequate.Conclusions: The results of this study indicated inadequate intake of important food groups in the elderly, including fruits and vegetables, whole grains and dairy. So, planning for improving nutritional behaviors of the elderly by officials and health experts is suggested.