Chronic Diseases Journal
Year:2015 | Volume:3 | Issue:2|Papers Count:6

BACKGROUND: Cancer is one of the most common kinds of chronic diseases. In addition, it is a cause of stress in the family members of the patient. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the amount of stress and its related factors in families of patients with cancer. METHODS: In this descriptive study, 96 family members of cancer patients admitted to 3 hospitals in Ahvaz, Iran, were recruited in the study. Data gathering tools consisted of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14), and a researcher-made questionnaire for demographic data and factors associated with caregiver stress. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS software. RESULTS: A total of 55 (57. 3%) subjects showed moderate stress levels and 20 subjects (20. 8%) showed severe stress levels. There was a significant relationship between the levels of stress and age of less than 30 years and female gender. Moreover, a significant relationship was observed between the level of stress and factors such as uncomfortable treatment environment, feeling dissatisfied with staff, fear of recurrence, difficulties in everyday life, no spiritual practice, negative attitudes toward treatment outcome, refusing to participate in favorite activities, changes in interactions with others, lack of leisure time, imbalance between daily responsibilities and care, inadequate income, and lack of appropriate facilities (P < 0. 05). CONCLUSION: There were several factors causing stress in patients’ families. It is recommended that nurses and the medical team be informed of these factors in order to manage stress in patients and their families.

BACKGROUND: Individuals, during opioid withdrawal period, experience symptoms such as dysphoria, insomnia, anxiety, irritability, nausea, agitation, tachycardia, and hypertension which may trigger drug seeking behavior and relapse. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the effect of Tranquival tablets on some heroin withdrawal symptoms in addicted patients referred to an outpatient clinic. METHODS: In this single-blind quasi-experimental study, 69 patients (37 patients in intervention group and 32 in control group) suffering from heroin withdrawal syndrome were allocated randomly to study groups. In the intervention group, 1 Tranquival tablet was administered 1 hour before sleeping each night for 6 weeks. In the control group, 1 tablet of clonazepam (1 mg) was administered at the same time. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), and visual analogue scale (VAS) were completed at the beginning, 3 weeks later, and the end of the study. Data were analyzed using Student’ s t-test, repeated measures analysis, and chi-square test. RESULTS: During the study period in both groups, withdrawal symptoms significantly decreased (P < 0. 001); however, this difference was insignificant between the 3 assessment steps (P > 0. 050). Furthermore, the Bonferroni correction showed an relationship between Tranquival and clonazepam groups in terms of mean anxiety at the begining and the end stage of assessment (P = 0. 012). However, these relationships were insignificant in terms of mean sleep and muscular pain (P = 0. 153 and P = 0. 267, respectively). CONCLUSION: Tranquival was as effective as clonazepam in the reduction of muscular pain and anxiety, and improvement of sleep quality in patients suffering from heroin withdrawal syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Because of the long incubation period of leprosy and disability caused by it, even mother to fetus transmission has been reported. Thus, this disease causes much alarm. Kurdistan Province, which is located in the Western part of Iran, is one of the regions that have previously suffered from endemic leprosy. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of the leprosy elimination campaign (LEC) on leprosy case finding in Baneh, Iran, in 2012. METHODS: This case series study was conducted in Baneh District. Case finding was performed via LEC method, which is a recommended method for leprosy case finding in endemic areas. The performed steps included public education, and screening families of ex-patients through careful examination, identification of suspected cases, and diagnosis based on specialist’ s examination. RESULTS: The families of ex-patients were assessed and 76 people who had prolonged exposure to ex-patients were invited to be examined by a trained general physician. Subsequently, 50 people were referred to a dermatologist for further examinations, 5 of whom and 1 unexposed person underwent bacteriological test for further evaluation. The results of all the tests were negative. CONCLUSION: Active leprosy case finding and use of LEC method require a great deal of money and efforts to identify a small number of patients. Because a district like Baneh is in the process of eliminating leprosy and since the economic and social situation has changed greatly over the past two decades, LEC method is no longer cost effective.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is considered a major health problem due to its complications. However, it could be prevented or delayed by modifications in the patients’ behavior and diets. The objective of this study was to explore the utility of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and complications of diabetes perceived risk to find modifiable diabetes-related beliefs in order to make behavioral changes feasible. METHODS: The present descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in diabetes clinics in Semirom, Iran, based on TPB and complications of diabetes perceived risk using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 154 patients with diabetes without complications of diabetes participated in the study. Measured variables were patients’ attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, complications of diabetes perceived risk, intention to maintain a healthful diet and nutritional style. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze data. RESULTS: The results revealed that the TPB and perceived risk of diabetes complications fitted the data acceptably well among patients with type 2 diabetes and within dietary behavior. Perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, perceived risk of diabetes complications, and intention to maintain a healthy diet were related to healthy diet behavior. No relation was found between attitude and intention to follow a healthy diet. CONCLUSION: The TPB and perceived risk of diabetes complications is a useful theory in determining intentions of patients with diabetes and their adherence to a healthy diet.

BACKGROUND: Most women experience significant changes during and after menopause which causes various complications of menopause and the changes in quality of their life. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Glycyrrhiza glabra plant and exercise on quality of life (QOL) of menopausal women. METHODS: This clinical experiment was performed in Arak, Iran. The study subjects consisted of 120 menopausal women. The participants were selected through convenience method and randomly divided into 4 groups of 30 subjects. Group 1 participants were administered 3 Glycyrrhiza glabra tablets daily. Group 2 participants had a regular exercise program. Group 3 participants were simultaneously administered Glycyrrhiza glabr tablets like group 1 and had an exercise program like group 2. Group 4 received no intervention. The participants’ QOL was investigated before and 1 month after the intervention using the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) Questionnaire. Data analysis was performed in SPSS software using Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon, Kruskal-Wallis, and chi-square tests, and variance analysis. RESULTS: No significant difference between the four groups in terms of vasomotor, psychosocial, physical, and sexual health, and QOL based on the Kruskal-Wallis test before the intervention. However, a significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of vasomotor, psychosocial, physical, and sexual health and QOL after the intervention. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed the efficacy of Glycyrrhiza glabra and exercise programs in controlling the symptoms of menopause. It is recommended that postmenopausal women use exercise programs and Glycyrrhiza glabra to control menopausal symptoms.

Indicators which help us evaluate the burden of a disease and its related health interventions include financial cost, mortality, and morbidity. 1 Quality-adjusted life year (QALY) and disability-adjusted life year (DALY) are two indicators that quantify the total number of years lost because of illness. 2 One DALY is equal to one year of healthy life lost, and disease burden is a measure of the gap between current health status and the ideal health status. ...