Journal of Medical Council of Iran
Year:2021 | Volume:38 | Issue:4|Papers Count:7

Background: Globalization of health services has led to the emergence of a new segment of tourism called Health Tourism. The link between the health and tourism industry due to the benefits of trading, economics and the development of health systems in many countries, is considered as one of the priorities in health and tourism development. But making this link and development of health tourism has a complex and distinct nature, poses challenges for policy implementation in this area. The main objective of this paper is to identify the most important challenges and factors associated with the implementation of health tourism policy in Iran. Methods: In this study, a qualitative-exploratory research methodology has been used because the nature of the problem is complex and the goal of this study is deep understanding of the problems and issues related to the implementation of health tourism policy. The purposeful sampling method is used among competent authorities of this area (Health Tourism Board of Iran) and the Charmaz Grounded Theory strategy (2006) is used to analyze and develop the theoretical framework of the research. Results: Management instability, the challenge of the macroeconomic environment and entrepreneurship, coherent policy and integrity of governance, budget and financial support, the challenges of the international environment, coordination and inter-organizational agreements are the most important causative factors affecting the implementation of tourism policy in Iran. Conclusion: This paper, through the development of a conceptual framework that will strengthen the theoretical background of health tourism policy in developing and Asian countries, can solve the challenges of the Iranian health tourism policy and provides a valuable contribution to strengthening the concepts and frameworks in this regard.

Background: Dietary supplements and anabolic steroids-frequently used by many athletes-are commercially available products consumed as an addition to the usual diet. The aim of this study was to carry out a meta-analytical and systematic review on all papers conducted on the prevalence of dietary supplements and medication among Iranian elite athletes. Methods: This study is based on the PRISMA guideline on scientific data banks includes SCOPUS, Google Scholar, Web of Knowledge, PubMed, SID and Magiran. Finally, 13 articles including dietary supplements used by athletes (7 papers) and articles focusing on the consumption of anabolic steroid use (6 papers) were analyzed. Results: The meta-analytic evaluation revealed a general prevalence of 55% of dietary supplements among athletes. The results of the study indicated that there was a high heterogeneity between studies (coefficient I2 was 99. 159, P-value less than 0. 001). Also, meta-analytic evaluation showed an overall prevalence of 38. 9% of anabolic steroids among athletes. The results of the study indicated that there was a high heterogeneity between the studies (coefficient I2 is 986. 96, P-value less than 0. 001). Conclusion: Half of the elite Iranian athletes consume dietary supplements and one third of them use anabolic steroids. It seems that the frequency distribution of supplements’ consumption is influenced by different geographic areas.

Background: Women with HIV experience negative emotions caused by their physical and mental problems. In recent years, self-compassion has been paid attention as a substitute for negative emotions. This research is aimed at investigating the effectiveness of self-compassion skill training on rumination, hostility, and shame in women with HIV disease. Methods: This study had a quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test and control group. In this research, sampling was done by voluntary non-randomly sampling and random assignment. For this purpose, 60 women with HIV were selected voluntary and randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received ten 90-min sessions of self-compassion skill training held once a week. The assessment tools included rumination questionnaire Trapnell & Campbell (1999), Redford hostility questionnaire (1998) and Internalized shame scale (Cook; 1993). The questionnaires were collected by the sample group in two stages before and after the intervention. Results: The results of analysis of covariance suggest that self-compassion skill training was more effective in reducing hostility and shame (P <0. 01) in experimental group compared to control group at post-test. No difference was observed between the experimental and control groups in terms of rumination. Conclusion: It seems that self-compassion skill training can be effective in decreasing hostility and shame in women with HIV. Thus, this method is suggested for improving the psychological symptoms in women with HIV.

Background: Nitric oxide is involved in many physiological functions of the body. And its important roles in biological process is still the matter of investigation. Nitric oxide is synthesized from the amino acid L-arginine by NO synthase in the presence of oxygen and NADHP (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate). It has been recognized that NO has many protective roles in the immune system as well as cytotoxic effects. The present study was conducted to investigate the stereological changes of white pulp of spleen in pregnant rats following L-NAME administration as a NO synthase inhibitor. Methods: Twenty four female Sprague Dawley rats of 8 weeks old and 200-250 gr weight were selected. They were divided into three groups including 8 rats in each group after mating and observing vaginal plaque. All groups except the control group received 2 ml/Kg saline and 20 mg/Kg L-NAME intraperitoneally on days 3rd, 4th and 5th of pregnancy. On the 18th day of pregnancy, the rats were sacrificed and their spleen were removed. The spleen were fixed in 10% formalin and sections were stained with H&E. Quantitative measurement such as the number and mean diameter of white pulps were performed through light microscopy and Image tools III software. Results: In the L-NAME group we found no statistical significant in the mean diameters of white pulp in comparison with control and saline groups. However, the number of white pulps were decreased in L-NAME group which statistically was significant (P<0. 05). Conclusion: We conclude that the L-NAME as NO synthase inhibitor could decrease the number of white pulps in spleen of pregnant rats.

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of TrKB, FNDC5 and SG6K1 protein in response to eccentric and concentric resistance training in healthy subjects. Methods: 10 healthy men were randomly assigned to two groups of concentric and eccentric contractions of 5 individuals each. Isokinetic contraction protocols included eccentric and concentric knee extension with a maximum power and angular velocity of 60 degree/sec. The torque set for each subject was considered the same in both protocols; and the reciprocating speed was 60 degrees per second. At the beginning and end of the activity, extensive biopsy was performed to examine the expression of the TrKB and FNDC5 genes and the amount of SG6K1 protein. Results: The results showed that intra-group changes of TrKB and FNDC5 were not significant in eccentric and concentric groups (p≥ 0. 05). Also, intra-group changes of SG6K1 protein after one session of activity were significant in eccentric and concentric groups (p≤ 0. 05). However, no significant difference was observed between groups in the post-test in any of the variables (p≥ 0. 05). Conclusion: Overall, the present study showed that a session of eccentric and concentric activity leads to changes in the factors involved in skeletal muscle strength and hypertrophy. In addition, these changes in aggregate eccentric contraction are more than concentric. Therefore, it is recommended to focus more on concentric exercises to increase hypertrophy and muscle strength.

Background: Cerebrovascular Accidents (CVA) refers to any kind of damage caused by direct or indirect damage to the brain and its related elements. About 60% of brain injury victims have a permanent disorder. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a 12-week selected training protocol on men walking following brain injury. Methods: In a semi-experimental study, 30 male subjects with a mean and standard deviation of 52. 2 ± 5. 4 years, weight 78. 8 ± 5. 3 kg and height of 173. 2± 4. 2 cm were selected purposefully and accessible with inclusion and exclusion criteria. The participants were randomly divided into experimental (n = 15) and control groups (n = 15). In order to evaluate the gate with an accelerometer, the kinematic variables of speed, step acceleration, step length, track increment, walking rate and walking similarity with healthy subjects were examined. Data were analyzed by independent t-test and dependent t-test using SPSS-21 software at P≤ 0. 05 level. Findings: findings showed that, effect of selected exercises on walking and its kinematic variables (speed, step acceleration, step length, track increment, change in walking and walking similarity to healthy subjects) were significant (p = 0. 00). Conclusion: From the findings of this study, it can be concluded that the special exercises of the present study have a positive effect on gate parameters of male patients with CVA, so it can be recommended as one of the most important rehabilitation strategies for these patients.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the moderating role of demographic variables in the effect of the four-factor integrated psychotherapy package on the psychological symptoms of HIV patients. Methods: The research method was quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test with a control group. At this stage, 32 men and women living with HIV in two referral centers and AIDS support groups were purposefully selected and randomly placed in two experimental and control groups. The research tool was the Checklist of Symptoms of Mental Disorders (SCL90) which was performed in the pre-test and post-test stages in the two experimental and control groups. Integrative treatment intervention was performed in 12 weekly sessions in the experimental group and the control group did not receive any intervention. Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of covariance. Results: The results showed that four-factor integrated psychotherapy package is effective in reducing psychological symptoms regardless of demographic variables. In other words, the variables of gender, age, education and marriage of the subjects have no effect on the effectiveness of four-factor integrated psychotherapy package on the psychological symptoms of HIV patients.