SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL OF NURSING, MIDWIFERY AND PARAMEDICAL FACULTY
Year:2018 | Volume:4 | Issue:1 |Papers Count:8

Strategies such as expansion of roles, development of associations, documentation, determining proper measurement tools, specific and accurate definitions, interprofessional team formation, having the support of administrators, expansion of nursing services in the community, and interprofessional educations can play an effective and important role in the professional autonomy of nurses. According to Papathanassoglou et al., one of the important strategies of developing professional autonomy is expansion of the professional roles of nurses (1). In order to achieve positive professional identity and development of autonomy, nurses need to improve their public image and gain a stronger position in healthcare organizations, which can be obtained through increasing their presence in scientific and professional assemblies and specialized nursing organizations. In general, specialized nursing organizations must use strategies and establish rules to strengthen their professional identity and achieve autonomy in nurses...

Background & Aim: Today, improvement of quality of nursing services has faced numerous challenges. Therefore, recognizing the relevant aspects and concepts can help nursing managers properly plan their care programs. This study aimed to identify the challenges of nursing quality improvement in Iran. Materials & Methods: This systematic review was conducted by searching keywords such as “ challenge” , “ nursing care quality improvement” , and “ Iran” in the articles published in the databases of Web of Sciences, PubMed, Google Scholar, SID and Magiran during 2000-2018. While 897 articles were retrieved after the initial search, a total of 16 articles (nine descriptive, two empirical, and five quasi-experimental studies) that met the inclusion criteria were entered into the study. Results: In this study, the main challenges in the improvement of quality of nursing cares in Iran were reported to be educational and management weakness, high workload of nurses, physical and mental stresses of nurses, and old methods of division of labor. The positive effects of communication with patients, application of nursing process, peer assessment and use of an educational supervisor have been established in studies conducted in an interventional manner to improve nursing care. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, interventions should be designed and implemented based on the quality improvement challenges in research in order to use their results in improving the quality of nursing services.

Background & Aim: Death anxiety is one of the most common problems in cancer patients and can affect the beneficial course of treatment. This study aimed to compare the death anxiety among women with reproductive and gastrointestinal cancers and related factors in healthcare centers of Isfahan, Iran in 2017. Materials & Methods: This descriptive and analytical research was conducted on 160 women with breast and cervical cancers and gastric and colon cancers divided into two equal groups of 80. The subjects were selected via random sampling, and data were collected applying demographic characteristics questionnaire and Templer death anxiety scale. In addition, data analysis was performed in SPSS version 22 using statistical and descriptive tests. Results: In this research, the highest frequency of breast and cervical cancers (52. 5%) and gastric and colon cancers (53. 8%) was related to the age range of 41-60 years. Results demonstrated that the mean score of death anxiety was significantly higher in women with breast and cervical cancers (47. 8± 20. 30), compared to the subjects with gastrointestinal cancers (44. 19± 41. 10) (P=0. 045). Moreover, in the participants with gastrointestinal cancers, death anxiety was less observed in those with no children, compared to the subjects with children (P<0. 05). Conclusion: According to the results of the study, death anxiety level was higher in women with breast and cervical cancers. It could be concluded that cancers associated with damage to female identity cause more anxiety in women. Therefore, it is suggested that this issue be considered by nurses of the cancer wards to provide spiritual support with the help of support systems (e. g., family of patients).

Background & Aim: Aerobic exercises are recommended as an important technique to control and prevent cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of an incremental interval endurance rope-training program on antioxidant biomarkers and oxidative stress in non-active women. Materials & Methods: This quasi-experimental research was conducted on non-active female subjects (overweight and obese) at the age range of 20-30 years. In total, 20 eligible participants were selected via random sampling and divided into two control and intervention groups of 10. The training program included eight weeks (four 45-minute sessions per week) of incremental rope training. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 20 using dependent and independent t-tests at the significance level of 0. 05. Results: The results of dependent t-test showed a significant increase in the level of superoxide dismutase enzyme, total antioxidant capacity, and glutathione peroxidase, compared to the pre-test state of the subjects (P<0. 05). Meanwhile, a significant decrease was detected in the level of malondialdehyde (P<0. 05). Moreover, results of independent t-test demonstrated a non-significant increase in the total antioxidant capacity and glutathione peroxidase in subjects of the intervention group, compared to the control group (P>0. 05). On the other hand, there was a significant increase and decrease in superoxide dismutase and malondialdehyde, respectively (P<0. 05). Conclusion: According to the results of the study, rope training increased antioxidant defense and decreased oxidative damage and lipid peroxidation. Therefore, it seems that this type of training can prevent cardiovascular diseases in overweight and obese individuals.

Background & Aim: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common types of human bacterial infections, recognized as the second most prevalent infection known to man. Blood group are susceptible agents to cause infections in different parts of the body, playing an important role in pathogenesis of urinary tract infection. This study aimed to determine the type of bacteria causing urinary tract infection in various blood groups. Materials & Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional research was conducted on 491 urine samples collected from patients referring to the laboratory of Alavi Hospital in Ardabil, Iran via midstream clean catch method. A form containing demographic characteristics, history of disease, and type of blood group was filled for all patients. In addition, data analysis was performed in SPSS version 20 using Chi-square and Fisher’ s exact tests. Results: In this research, Escherichia coli was the most common bacteria causing UTI with the highest frequencies observed in two blood groups of O (91. 4%) and A (76. 4%) (P=0. 042). Results were also indicative of a significant relationship between blood group and prevalence rate of UTIs in women (P<0. 005). Conclusion: According to the results of the study, the blood group phenotypes of A and O had a higher prevalence rate, and E. coli was the most prevalent organism separated from cultured urine samples.

Background & Aim: Balance between mental and physical health plays an essential role in happiness and desire for physical activities in individuals. On the other hand, Pilates and aerobic exercises play a pivotal role in creating balance between mental and physical health, in a way that sport activities could improve self-satisfaction and happiness. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of eight weeks of Pilates and aerobic exercises on happiness and desire for physical activities in inactive women. Materials & Methods: This quasi-experimental research was conducted on 40 inactive women in Tabriz, Iran in 2016. Subjects were selected through random sampling and were divided into four groups of control, Pilates, aerobic, and Pilates-aerobic program. In total, the participants attended 24 60-minute Pilates and aerobic sessions (three times per week) and filled the questionnaire of happiness and desire for physical activities before and after the intervention. It is notable that the reliability of the research tool was estimated at the Cronbach’ s alpha of 0. 93 and 0. 87, respectively. In addition, data analysis was performed in SPSS version 20, and P-value less than 0. 05 was considered statistically significant. Results: According to the results of ANOVA and Tukey’ s test, intervention caused a significant increase in both happiness and desire for physical activities in the subjects. However, there was no significant difference between the groups regarding the level of improvement. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, physical exercises and sports, specifically Pilates and aerobic exercises, are not only valuable tools for maintaining physical health, but also they have a close correlation with mental health and happiness of inactive women. Therefore, it is suggested that these types of activities be applied as a solution for creating and increasing a good mood in women’ s society.

Background & Aim: Documentation of cares is one of the responsibilities of operating room nurses. One of the possible patient damages caused during surgery is use of electrocautery and tourniquet devices. Despite the need for recording the performance of these devices, there is no specific part on surgery checklists dedicated to this issue. Therefore, this study aimed to change the surgical safety checklist through documenting the application of electrocautery and tourniquet devices. Materials & Methods: This action research was conducted on 30 operating room nurses in Isfahan, Iran in 2017. The solution of choice was adding a researcher-made checklist to the operating room files in order to document the use of electrocautery and tourniquet devices for three months. In addition, a researcher-made survey on the status of operating room file documentation was filled by the subjects before and after the intervention. Moreover, data analysis was performed in SPSS version 22 using descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: In this research, 28 out of 30 participants had a mean work experience of 11. 87± 8. 30 years in operating rooms. Furthermore, there was a significantly higher frequency of positive response to the question of “ Do you think that the checklist is useful? ” after the intervention, compared to before the intervention (P<0. 001). In total, 90% of the nurses agreed with adding the checklist to patient records, and 96. 7% confirmed the effectiveness of the new checklist on decreased professional errors and patient damage. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, the checklist of use of electrocautery and tourniquet devices was useful. It seems that full documentation can reduce the possibility of errors and provide a valid document for healthcare providers when faced with legal problems.

Background & Aim: In the past years, workplace violence in the area of health has been reported with an upward trend. This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of dealing with workplace violence in emergency medical staff of Sanandaj, Iran and relevant factors. Materials & Methods: This descriptive, analytical, and cross-sectional research was conducted in the emergency medical centers of Sanandaj in 2016. Considering the limited research population, census method was applied and all 126 staff of these centers were selected. Data were collected via a self-report questionnaire. In addition, data analysis was performed in SPSS version 20 using Chi-square and Fisher’ s exact tests. Results: In this research, 84% (95% CI=75-90) of the participants had an experience of workplace violence in the past year, 42% (95% CI=32-52) of which has been physical and 81% (95% CI=72-88) has been verbal violence. In addition, 59. 4% (N=47) of the staff reported the source of violence to be the companions of patients. Moreover, 87% of the participants believed that there is no proper procedure to report workplace violence. Results were indicative of no significant relationship between workplace violence in the emergency medical staff and variables of age, marital status, work experience, and having work shift. Conclusion: According to the results of the study, there is an alarmingly high rate of workplace violence in the emergency medical centers of Sanandaj. This level of violence might reduce care quality and increase occupational stress. Considering the high rate of accidents in Iran and the necessity of composure for the staff, management interventions (e. g., public community education, creation of a suitable report system for the personnel and review of reports) are required to improve this area.