Chronic Diseases Journal
Year:2018 | Volume:6 | Issue:3|Papers Count:9

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to assess the factors associated with the mortality of patints with brain tumor surgery at Be’ sat Hospital in Sanandaj, Kurdistan, Iran. METHODS: In this prospectively cross-sectional study, 108 patients diagnosed with brain tumor and followed by a surgery during April to December of 2014 were recruited. Eighteen cases were excluded from the study due to lack of information about their treatment outcomes. Patients’ information including age, gender, tumor type, tumor location, type of treatment, and extent of resection was collected by a checklist. Clinical outcome of the patients in six months after surgery was determined through phone calling to patients. All analyses conducted in SPSS software using logistic regression. RESULTS: Forty-seven (52. 2%) of the studied subjects were women. The age of cases ranged from 3 to 83 years with total mean of 43. 4 ± 21. 9 years. In six months after treatment, 41 (45. 6%) of the treated patients died. After excluding 9 children from final analysis and modeling the data by logistic regression, statistically significant associations were observed between death from central nervous system (CNS) tumor and male gender [odds ratio (OR): 5. 25, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1. 38– 21. 99], higher age (OR: 1. 07, 95% CI: 1. 02– 1. 13), partial vs. total resection (OR: 20. 24, 95% CI: 1. 21– 337. 51), and high malignant potential tumors (OR: 14. 77, 95% CI: 4. 85– 45. 02). CONCLUSION: The results showed that both demographic (advanced age and male gender) and clinical factors (high malignant potential tumors and partial removal of tumor) related to the worse outcome in patients with primary CNS tumors during six months after surgery.

BACKGROUND: One of the significant goals of healthcare delivery organizations is to promote people’ s health and provide high quality care. In this regard, health reform plan was designed in Iran. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the performance of teaching hospitals after running of health system reform plan in Iran. METHODS: This retrospective-descriptive study was carried out in 4 hospitals (Avicenna, Velayat, Rajaee, and Qhods) affiliated with Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran, in 2014. Data collection tool was the checklist of standard indicators of Iranian Ministry of Health, because the checklist is standard to measure hospitals’ performance. In this study, 19 indicators (performance indicators, personnel indicators, and financial indicators) were investigated. To fill out the indicators checklist, the statistics unit of Ministry of Health was used according to the reports of two consecutive years of 2013 and 2014. The collected data were analyzed using Excel software. RESULTS: In general, out of the 7 performance indicators that were investigated in the hospitals, increase was observed in four, and decrease was seen in three items. Out of the six personnel indicators, all of the hospitals experienced a rise; and out of the six financial indicators, four items increased and two decreased. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicated that after one year of implementing health reform plan, the mentioned health care system experienced a remarkable progress in the hospitals. Providing the necessary infrastructures can help better conduction of the plan and promotion of the mentioned indicators by removing or decreasing the effect of some barriers.

BACKGROUND: Flourishing is a component of positive psychology. This refers to a type of life with permanent optimism in human functions, and implicitly refers to goodness, growth, and flexibility. The present study was carried out to evaluate women's flourishing rate and some related factors in Sanandaj, Iran, in 2016. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study on women aged between 18 to 64 years in Sanandaj City, Iran, that 400 of them were selected randomly. The data collection tool was flourishing questionnaire including 8 items. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software and chi-square, t, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests. RESULTS: The highest average score (6. 05 ± 1. 19) referred to "I am deeply about the happiness of the others" and the lowest average score (4. 57 ± 1. 89) referred to "I enjoy my daily activities". There was a statistically significant difference between flourishing rate of subjects and their level of education (P = 0. 04) as well as maternal education (P = 0. 001). CONCLUSION: Considering the relation between the education and the flourishing rate, training classes in the field of mental health and flourishing for women is suggested.

BACKGROUND: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is defined as an injury of the external female genitalia for cultural or non-therapeutic reasons. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of FGM and related factor among women in Kamyaran, Iran. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among women referring to health centers of Kamyaran in 2014. The sample size for the study was 380 women, and with regard to the possibility of dropping, 400 subjects were included. Data were collected by researchers' questionnaire containing two parts. The first part was demographic information, and the second was information associated with genital mutilation. Reliability was assessed by using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, which was 0. 85. Data were analyzed by SPSS software using descriptive statistics, and chi-square, and logistic regression tests. RESULTS: The prevalence of FGM was 50. 5%. In the age group of 21-30 years, there were 168 (42%) women. 263 women (65. 8%) were married and 146 (36. 5%) women had diploma. 328 women (82%) were Sunni and 249 (63. 3%) were born in city. There was significant difference between FGM and women's age as well as religion of father and mother (P < 0. 050). There was no significant difference between FGM and marital status, education of father and mother, and place of birth (P > 0. 050). CONCLUSION: According to the results, FGM is a deep cultural problem in Kamyaran city and there is a need for programs to reduce its rate.

BACKGROUND: The growing popularity of social networking sites (SNS) raises concerns about privacy and security, especially among teenagers and young people, as they experience different types of unsafe behaviors on SNS. In this regard, the problem of the consequences of using this communication tool has attracted the attention of psychology and sociology researchers. The aim of this study was to evaluate self-disclosure behavior in virtual social networks and its related factors. METHODS: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted among 601 students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran. Data were collected by standard questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS software. RESULTS: Effective factors such as presence in the virtual network, obscurity, and access to the Internet and virtual networks were among the factors behind the self-disclosure behavior among students. The goal of attending virtual networks was communicating and sharing personal information, getting rid of loneliness, using in free time, accessing various information and updating information, getting to know friends and colleagues, feeling anonymity, feeling united, and lacking confidence. The findings main reason for self-disclosure behavior was presence in virtual social networks. There was a significant relationship between gender and the desire to obscurity. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that the tendency to self-disclosure behavior in virtual social networks among young people, especially students, is increasing. It is essential for the cultural and social authorities to pay attention and create effective grounds for raising awareness among the youth.

BACKGROUND: Test anxiety as a common educational phenomenon is closely related to the academic performance and achievement, and even the future performance of millions of students. Math anxiety is considered as one of the possible contributing factors to test anxiety. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between test anxiety, math anxiety, and Gray’ s biological model of personality through assessing the self-efficacy mediating role among girl students studying in junior year in Urmia City high schools, Iran. METHODS: This was a descriptive-analytical study with structural equation modeling (SEM) as study design. The statistical population included all girl students studying in the junior year of Urmia City high schools in the academic year of 2016; out of which 315 were selected using multistage cluster sampling method. The data were collected using Spielberger's test anxiety inventory (TAI), Chiu and Henry’ s mathematics anxiety scale for children (MASC), Sherer et al. ’ s general self-efficacy scale (SGSES), and behavioral inhibition/activation system (BIS/BAS) scale. Linear structural relations (LISREL) software was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Math anxiety affected test anxiety both directly (33%) and indirectly (7%), and had a direct effect on selfefficacy (23%). BIS had an indirect effect on test anxiety (8%), while directly influenced self-efficacy (8%) and math anxiety (25%); and BAS had an indirect effect on test anxiety (12%) (P < 0. 01). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the performance of students can be improved by increasing their selfefficacy and decreasing their test anxiety level. Accordingly, it is essential that educational authorities, and particularly teachers, do their best to improve students' academic achievement by adopting appropriate strategies and reducing their test anxiety.

BACKGROUND: Students, particularly medical students, due to the special circumstances, are susceptible to loss their mental health. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depression and its relation to risky behaviors among students of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran, in 2014. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 323 medical/paramedical students in Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected through Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and a checklist including demographic information. Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests and logistic regression method were used to determine the relationship between depression and investigated variables. RESULTS: A total of 323 students, including 161 men (49. 8%) and 162 women (50. 2%) with mean age of 22. 09 ± 1. 67 years were investigated. From our series, 147 students (45. 5%) had the symptoms of depression. Although several variables including degree satisfaction, experiencing educational failure, alcohol consumption, smoking, and having family problems increased the chance of depression in univariate analysis, degree dissatisfaction was the only significant factor for depression occurrence in multivariate analysis by logistic regression. CONCLUSION: Given the results, degree dissatisfaction was the most important factor related to the occurrence of depression. This variable should be considered before entering to the university by students and their parents.

BACKGROUND: Non-pharmaceutical interventions are a promising area of research in psychiatry. Traditional treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) lacked notable efficacy. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of music therapy (MT) and alpha-theta neurofeedback training (NFT) on anxiety and depression symptoms among patients with IBS. METHODS: Patients with IBS, based on ROME III criteria, and high level of anxiety or depression symptoms were randomly assigned into three groups: (A) music, (B) alpha-theta training, and (C) control. In intervention groups, participants received ten 30-minute sessions of either music or alpha-theta NFT. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was administered for all patients before and after the training period. Thirty-three patients completed the study. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to compare changes in HADS scores among the three study groups. RESULTS: There was a significant main effect of HADS scores (F1, 18 = 17. 79, P < 0. 001) in the responses of MT group. Significant decreases were observed in HADS scores from pre-intervention to post-intervention tests in MT group comparing to control group. The MT accounted for 49 percent of variance in HADS scores. There was also a significant main effect of HADS scores (F1, 20 = 17. 79, P < 0. 010) in the responses of NFT group. HADS scores from pre-intervention to post-intervention tests in alpha-theta NFT group comparing to control group showed significant decreases, too. In addition, MT and alpha-theta NFT did not show any significant difference in somatic symptoms scores between pretest and posttest among patients with IBS. CONCLUSION: This study showed that MT and alpha-theta NFT significantly alleviated anxiety and depression level among patients with IBS.

BACKGROUND: Spiritual intelligence is the capacity of human to ask final questions about the meaning of life and the unified relationship between us and the universe. The present study was done to determine spiritual intelligence and its related factors among the students of the universities of Sanandaj, Iran, in 2015. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional research. The study population included students of Kurdistan University, Islamic Azad University of Sanandaj, and Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. 902 students were selected using cluster sampling method. A two-part questionnaire including demographic characteristics and 29 questions about spiritual intelligence was used. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. RESULTS: The mean total score of spiritual intelligence was 116. 43 ± 15. 65. 453 (50. 6%) subjects had high spiritual intelligence. There was a positive correlation between age and spiritual intelligence of the students (r = 0. 02, P = 0. 61). Moreover, there was a significant statistical difference between spiritual intelligence and university (P < 0. 001). CONCLUSION: The results showed that the spiritual intelligence of the most students was satisfactory and good. Considering the high spiritual intelligence score of the studied students, it is expected that most of them have a good performance, especially in the field of education.