JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND HEALTH
Year:2024 | Volume:14 | Issue:1|Papers Count:10

Any health strategy aims to improve people’s health level and quality of life with special emphasis on the development of health education. Health system workers must have sufficient knowledge and skills in designing, implementing, and assessing health education programs. One of the critical points in educational planning is the selection of the most suitable educational methods and media to convey the content of the education to the audience to lead to the desired learning of the learners.

Background: Undoubtedly, breastfeeding has beneficial consequences for the health of infants and their mothers as well as many benefits for families. Restrictions, quarantine, and social distancing from COVID-19 have led to the separation of mothers and infants after birth. This study aims to consolidate the results of studies on the effects of COVID-19 on breastfeeding since the beginning of the pandemic. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on breastfeeding. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) standard guidelines were used to follow up the review process and report results. Based on this, from the beginning of December 2019 to January 30, 2023, all relevant articles were extracted from CINAHL, EMBASE, Medline, Cochrane CENTRAL, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and PubMed databases. Risk bias assessment of articles was performed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist. Results: Of the 110 articles searched, 11 articles on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on breastfeeding in 2020 and 2021 were finally included in the systematic review. COVID-19 hurt the breastfeeding process in various studies. Also, it led to adverse effects on maternal performance in neonatal care, change in the hospital admission procedure for delivery, no skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby at birth, hospitalization of the baby in a separate room, and no recommendation for breastfeeding. Conclusion: Mother-baby separation hurts the mother-child relationship and can disrupt breastfeeding. Therefore, further studies should be conducted in this area to examine the possibility of vertical transmission of the COVID-19 virus through breast milk with more determination and to take effective steps to improve the health of mothers and children.

Background: The internet has become indispensable for everyone in today’s technology world, which makes its responsible usage a crucial concern. Internet use habits and addictions among adolescents are a pressing public health issue because they represent the future adult population. Therefore, this research aims to explore the predictive role of media literacy on internet addiction among Turkish adolescents. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Ankara Province, Turkey, and the population included 401 adolescents aged 15-18 years in the academic year of 2020-2021. Since the data were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, the sample selection was not feasible, and the study included adolescents who volunteered. The data were collected using a “personal information form,” “new media literacy scale (NMLS),” and “young’s internet addiction test-short form (YIAT-SF).” The data were analyzed using various statistical techniques, including Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskall-Wallis H test, Tamhane’s T2 post hoc test, Spearman correlation analysis, point-biserial correlation analysis, and multivariate regression analysis. Results: It has been determined that adolescents have a high level of media literacy (x̄=126.76) and are in the risk group in terms of internet addiction (x̄=39.01). The average media literacy among girls (U=153; z=-3.851; 05) and internet addiction among boys is high (U=163; z=-2,961; 05). The results of regression analysis revealed that media literacy predicts internet addiction in adolescents (ß=-0.151; R2=0.060), and also emphasizes the importance of media literacy education in enhancing these skills and mitigating internet addiction. Conclusion: It is evident that media literacy predicts internet addiction. Therefore, it is essential to provide media literacy education to adolescents. Thus, adolescents’ awareness of media literacy should be increased, and they should become conscious users.

Background: University freshmen experience increased stress levels, and women, in particular, experience more stress and anxiety. Maintaining mindfulness through mindfulness programs may contribute to a successful university experience. This study aims to determine the effects of a mindfulness-based education program on mindfulness, emotional regulation, interoceptive awareness, and university-life adjustment among Korean university freshmen. Methods: This study was a single-group pre-test-post-test design and a clinical trial (No. KCT0008309) registered with the clinical research information service of South Korea. This study was conducted with 46 female university freshmen using a volunteer sampling approach in Korea from March 2023 to June 2023. The mindfulness-based education program was conducted in 12 sessions, 1 day per week, for 12 weeks. Standard questionnaires were used, including the Kentucky inventory of mindfulness skills, positive affect, and negative affect schedule, multidimensional assessment of interoceptive awareness, and college life adjustment scale. A paired-sample t-test was used for statistical analysis using IBM SPSS software, version 29. Results: Only attention related to mindfulness had a significant difference before and after the intervention (P=0.013). Interoceptive awareness sub-items, including accept (P=0.022), return to the body (P<0.001), and trusting (P=0.035) showed significant increases following the intervention. The interpersonal relationships required during university-life adjustment also revealed a significant improvement (P=0.025). However, no significant changes were observed in the emotional regulation variables after the intervention. Conclusion: These results suggest that implementing a mindfulness program can effectively improve self-awareness and mutual acceptance skills among female university freshmen. This can help them establish strong social connections with their peers and professors. Therefore, we suggest incorporating a mindfulness program into university curricula to support adjustment to university life among female university freshmen experiencing various forms of stress.

Background: Although many negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are reported for adults, little is known about its impacts on children, especially in terms of the relative roles of joint and nuclear families. Using a qualitative design, we explored the protective roles of joint and nuclear families in shaping the children’s life outcomes during COVID-19. Methods: In a qualitative study, 16 full-time mothers of children aged 9-12 years (8 each from joint and nuclear families) from Sagar City, India were interviewed during June and July 2020. Interview contents were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using the thematic analysis method. Results: Five major themes were identified, negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, differences in positive engagements, emotional protective benefits, promotion of positive health habits, and routine activity management strategies. The results showed that the joint families availed and utilized more resources to positively engage their children in creativity, studies, exercise, and entertainment during the restrictions of the lockdown compared to the nuclear families. Contrary to the nuclear families, the joint families emphasized resolving emotional grievances, promoting positive emotional engagement, and extending more emotional support to their children. The joint and nuclear families also differed in their children’s food habits, health grievances, and physical exercise. Also, the joint families played more positive roles in managing children’s play behaviors, sleep habits, television watching, and other children’s activities compared to the nuclear families. Conclusion: The distinctive availability of experiential, emotional, relational, and positive value resources and knowledge repertoires of the two family systems may have extended differential protective benefits to their children during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Background: Despite numerous research reports demonstrating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention on psychological well-being, it is unclear how MBSR intervention affects primary school teachers’ job stress, especially in a developing country like Nigeria. This study aims to examine whether MBSR intervention is effective in stress reduction among primary school teachers in Nigeria. Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test design with a control group. A total of 70 primary school teachers with stress symptoms were selected using a random sampling technique in Nsukka City, Nigeria during the third academic session of 2023. Thereafter, the sampled teachers were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (each group=35). The teacher stress scale (TSS) and perceived stress scale (PSS) were administered. Teachers in the experimental group received a MBSR intervention for eight weeks while the control group received no treatment. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SPSS software, version 29.  Results: The results showed that the MBSR interventions had a significant reduction in the job stress of primary school teachers in the study (F(1.126, 68)=159.386; P=0.001, η2=0.221). Also, a statistically significant interaction effect was observed between time and intervention (F(2, 67)=120.272; P=0.001, η2=0.115).  Conclusion: This intervention relies on the individual’s ability to consciously involve their efforts to pay attention to the surroundings, body sensations, thoughts, and emotions in dealing with job stress. This study adds to the emerging literature on mindfulness-based interventions in solving related psychological problems.

Background: The COVID-19 outbreak, the ongoing pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019, has become a clinical threat worldwide. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of educational intervention, based on the health belief model (HBM), on adopting COVID-19 preventive behaviors in clients referring to urban health centers in Zabol City, Iran. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on clients referring to urban health centers in Zabol City (Southeast of Iran) in 2021. A total of 160 participants (80 each in the intervention group and the control group) were selected using the convenience sampling approach. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire was completed by all participants before and one month after the educational intervention. The educational intervention was conducted using an educational program based on the HBM for 4 weeks. The intervention was performed during 8 sessions of face-to-face interactions in the classroom (two 1 hour sessions per week). The statistical analysis of the data was performed using SPSS software, version 22. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), t-test, and paired t-test. The P was considered 0.05 in this study. Results: The mean age of participants in the intervention and control groups was 35.0±12.34 and 33.87±11.33 years. The mean score of awareness, perceived sensitivity, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived self-efficacy, and COVID-19 prevention behaviors significantly increased one month after the intervention (P<0.05).  Conclusion: The results indicated the effectiveness of educational intervention based on HBM on COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Therefore, it is recommended that health centers employ educational intervention programs based on this model.

Background: Mothers are more responsible for raising their children and are usually the main caregivers of disabled children. This research aims to determine the effectiveness of behavioral activation therapy on depression, mental rumination, and social avoidance in mothers of children with cerebral palsy.  Methods: This study was quasi-experimental with pre-test and post-test with a control group. The statistical population included all mothers of children with cerebral palsy in Ilam City, Iran in 2022. The sample size included 40 mothers who were referred to occupational therapy centers from the mentioned population who were selected by convenient sampling method and were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Behavioral activation therapy was given to the experimental group for 8 sessions of 90 minutes once a week. Data were collected using the Beck depression inventory-second edition (BDI-II), rumination questionnaire, and social phobia questionnaire in two stages before the intervention and after the intervention. In this research, covariance analysis was used to analyze data. Results: The results of the multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) showed that behavioral activation therapy has a significant effect on reducing symptoms of depression (P≤0.001), rumination (P≤0.001), and social avoidance and its components (P<0.05) except for fear (P>0.05). Conclusion: Behavioral activation therapy has a positive and significant effect at the 0.05 level in improving depression symptoms and reducing rumination and social avoidance in the subjects of the present study. This study proposed that behavioral activation therapy is a suitable treatment for depression, rumination, and social avoidance and its components, which can be tested in future research.

Background: Stress is inevitable in nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 and may cause compassion fatigue. Spiritual health seems to play a crucial role in coping with stress. Therefore, this study aims to determine the relationship between spiritual health, nursing stress caused by COVID-19, and compassion fatigue in nurses caring for COVID-19 patients. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 216 nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 participated from Bohlool Hospital (31), Nohomeh Day Hospital (100), and Razi Hospital (n=85), Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran, in 2021. The nurses of the COVID departments were selected by a simple random sampling method. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, spiritual health questionnaire, Figley professional quality of life questionnaire, and nursing stress questionnaire. Due to the non-normal distribution of the data, the Spearman correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationship between spiritual health, nursing stress, and compassion fatigue at a significance level of 5%.  Results: A significant direct relationship was observed between spiritual health and compassion fatigue (P<0.001, r=0.35). Thus, compassion fatigue increases with higher spiritual health. Also, a significant and direct relationship was observed between nursing stress and compassion fatigue (P<0.001, r=0.27), whereby compassion fatigue increased with increasing nursing stress. Conclusion: According to the study results, higher spiritual health and higher nursing stress are associated with higher compassion fatigue. Thus, it is suggested that nurses be trained in nursing stress management techniques that can reduce compassion fatigue.

Background: This paper aims to present open-source computer simulation programs developed to simulate, track, and estimate the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: The programs included two separate parts, one set of programs built in Simulink with a block diagram display, and another one coded as a script in MATLAB R2020b. The mathematical model used in this package was the suspectable-infected-removed (SIR), suspectable-exposed-infected-removed (SEIR), and susceptible-exposed-infected-recovered-deceased (SEIRD) models represented by a set of differential-algebraic equations. It can be easily modified to develop new models for the problem. A generalized method was adopted to simulate worldwide outbreaks in an efficient, fast, and simple way.  Results: To get a good tracking of the virus spread, a sum of sigmoid functions was proposed to capture any dynamic changes in the data. The parameters used for the input (infection and recovery rate functions) were computed using the parameter estimation tool in MATLAB. Several statistical methods were applied for the rate function, including linear, Mean±SD and root mean square (RMS). In addition, an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) was employed and proposed to train the model and predict its output. Conclusion: This procedure is presented in such a way that it can be generalized and applied in other parts and applications of estimating the scenarios of an event, including the potential of several models, including suspectable-infected-removed (SIR), which is sensitive to pollution, etc. This program can be used as an educational tool or for research studies and this article promises some lasting contributions in the field of COVID-19.