JOURNAL OF SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH
Year:2017 | Volume:15 | Issue:1 |Papers Count:9

self-control with mental health among students of the University of Applied Sciences and Technology (UAST) in Ilam city, Iran.Materials and Methods: Data collection tools included the Mental Health Goldenberg scale, Tanji Self-control Inventory and Young Internet Addiction questionnaires. The sample consisted of 101 UAST students in Ilam City, Iran.Results: Analysis of the data showed a statistically significant negative relationship between internet addiction and mental health and a positive association between self-control and mental health in male- and female-students.Conclusion: It can be concluded that he more a student uses the Internet, the more likely he/she is to be less healthy mentally, while if a student has more self-control, he/she is more likely to be healthier mentally.The use of the Internet among the new generation in the society is spreading, becoming an important part of life. It has been said that teenagers are at a high risk. Hence the responsible authorities should consider mental health as a factor preventing extreme behavior of young people.

Background and Aim: Arbitrary use of antibiotics has caused resistance to antibiotics to become a major health problem. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of educational intervention based on the health belief model on reduction of arbitrary use of antibiotics in women referred to health units under coverage of South Tehran Health Center Materials and Methods: This study was a randomized controlled trial including 396 patients, conducted in 10 randomly health centers allocated as intervention or control groups. The data were collected using questionnaires. The educational intervention included holding educational classes, distribution of pamphlets, hanging posters/flyers, and sending SMSes. The content of education was based on health pattern constructs as regards effects of arbitrary use of antibiotics. Before and after the intervention, the questionnaires were completed by the subjects and the resulting data analyzed using the SPSS software and appropriate statistical tests.Results: Analysis of the data showed statistically significant differences between mean scores of the health belief model components (knowledge, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers) and practice in both the intervention and control groups before and after the educational intervention (p<0.01).Conclusion: Considering the self-reported increased awareness and decreased practice in the intervention group, it seems that the health belief model is an appropriate model for reducing arbitrary use of antibiotics.

Background and Aim: This study was conducted to identify deterrents to women's participation in sport activities in Alborz Province, Iran.Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive field study. The statistical population was all the working women in Alborz province, Iran, approximately 100000, from among whom a random sample of 384 was drawn based on Morgan table. A standard questionnaire designed with 31 5-choice items, whose reliability had been determined (Cronbach Alpha coefficient 90%), was used for gathering data. The deterrent factors for participation of the women in sports were determined in six areas, namely, cultural and social; economic; specialist manpower; family attitude; equipment and facilities; media and advertisement. The descriptive demographic data on the subjects (age, educational field, etc.) were first analyzed using the SPSS software, followed by nonparametric analysis using the Friedman and Kruskal- Wallis tests to prioritize questionnaire items as well as compare priorities in various age groups.Results: Organizational life creates mental pressure, stress and tiredness in the work environment.Furthermore, women working in an organization are faced with restrictions in many areas, especially as regards participation in sport activities and programs. The resulting immobility among girls and women would mean physical and mental health deprivation, as well as unhappiness and low work efficiency, of an important segment of the society, which would lead to irreparable damage to the whole society.Conclusion: Based on the findings it can be concluded that the most important deterrent factors for participation of working women in sport activities in Alborz Province are economic factors and equipment and facilities. Family attitude was found to be the least important deterrent.

background and Aim: Considering the protection of, and safeguarding, the health of industrial workforce, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the personnel of Abadan oil refinery in the south-west of Iran and factors related to it.Materials and Methods: The study included 721 oil refinery staff members randomly selected based on the yearly occupational health examination records. The information recorded included anthropometric measurements and blood test results; in addition, Breslow lifestyle and Global Physical Activity (GPAQ) questionnaires were completed for each subject.Results: The mean body mass index (BMI) was 28.2 for men and 27.5 for women. The prevalence of obesity and overweight were 29.8% and 48.7%, respectively. Further analysis of the data showed that the prevalence rates were different between men and women; while 48.6% and 30.24% of the men suffered from overweight and obesity, respectively, the corresponding proportions among women were 50% and 15%. Overweight and obesity were associated with age, fasting blood glucose level, lipid profile and hypertension (in all cases p<0.001).Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight and obesity among Abadan oil refinery staff is higher as compared to the mean values in the general population in Iran or to personnel of other industries globally. Development and implementation of public educational programs with particular emphasis on high-risk individuals, such as middle-aged people and those with a low socioeconomic status, and focusing on healthy lifestyle and rotation shift workers can be effective, resulting in improvements in physical and general health of the personnel.

Background and Aim: The incidence of breast cancer in women is expected to rise sharply over the coming decades in Iran. The aim of this study was to determine risk factors for breast cancer in under-50-year-old women during the period 2013-2015 in Kermanshah, Iran.Materials and Methods: This case-control study was carried out in Imam Reza Hospital and private clinics of oncologists (three clinics) in Kermanshah, Iran. The participants were 202 patients with breast cancer and 398 without breast cancer. Subjects of the experiment group were selected from among patients in the Departments of Oncology, Radiation Therapy, and Chemotherapy of the hospital, while the control group subjects were selected from among outpatients referred to specialty and subspecialty departments and private clinics of the hospital (outpatient, oncology, gynecology, ophthalmology, sonography, ENT, infertility). The two groups were matched for age. Data were collected by interviewing the subjects, the Gill standard questionnaire and the patients’ files and analyzed using the STATA software (version 12) ─ Odds Ratio (OR), 95% Confidence Interval (CI) and the Conditional logistic regression model.Result: The following variables were found to be the most important risk factors for breast cancer among under-50-Year-old women: a family history of breast cancer in second degree relatives, an age of 18-35 years at the first childbirth, and a history of a benign breast lump.Conclusion: It is recommended to conduct further studies on the subject with due consideration of other risk factors for breast cancer, as well as education of women about breast selfexamination and importance of periodic clinical examinations.

background and Aims: Cutaneous leishmaniosis (CL) is a neglected tropical vector-borne disease. As other vector-transmitted diseases, its transmission is sensitive to the physical environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and annual incidence of CL in Iran.Materials and Methods: The data of ENSO were obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center for the period 1977-2011 (34 years), and the annual data on CL incidence in Iran from WHO. To determine the association between the ENSO annual fluctuations and annual CL incidence we used crosstab analysis and tow-tailed independent t-test to find any possible differences among the annual CL incidence according to different phases of the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI: El Nino, warming phase; La Nina, cooling phase; neutral phase).Results: Analysis of the data showed that, as compared with the years when El Nino and La Nina were dominant, the annual incidence of CL in Iran was lower in the years when neutral phases of SOI were dominant. The highest incidence was found to have occurred during the years with an intermediate La Nina dominance. During the years when La Nina was dominant the incidence of CL was, on the average, 15-20% higher than that in the years with a neutral phase, while the difference between the annual CL incidence in neutral years and El Niño years was not statistically significant.Conclusion: The findings reveal that in general the mean incidence of cutaneous leishmaniosis during the years with a neutral ENSO index is lower than that during the years with dominant El Nino or La Nina, although there is no difference between incidence in the neutral years and the El Nino-dominant years.

background and Aim: Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate pesticide used in agriculture for pest control. It is a relatively persistent poison and an environmental pollutant with adverse effects on human health. This study was conducted to isolate and characterize chlorpyrifosdegrading bacteria fromrice field soils in Amol City, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, soil samples were collected from rice fields with a history of toxic pollution. A minimal salt broth (Msb) medium containing 100 mg/l chlorpyrifos as the carbon and energy source was used for isolating pesticide-degrading bacteria.The colonies were characterized by Gram staining and biochemical tests and sequencing was done using the PCR method.Results: Four chlorpyrifos-degrading bacterial strains were isolated from the soils. They includedBacillus licheniformis strain IARI-M-12, Bacillus pumilus strain MS42, Bacillus cereus strain ESB15, and Delftia tsuruhatensis strain SJ113. The effects of temperature and pH on the bacterial strains were investigated. TheBacillus strains showed the fastest growth at a temperature of 35o C and a pH=7 in a Msb medium containing chlorpyrifos.Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that bacteria in the farmland can degrade the chlorpyrifos poison. Thus, these bacteria can be used to reduce the environmental problems resulting from soil contamination with chlorpyrifos in the ecosystem.

Background and Aim: The content of the hygiene education and health promotion course in schools is crucial for raising the awareness of, and development of hygiene culture in, pupils. In this study we aimed to develop a hygiene education course with a fully suitable content.Materials and Methods: In this research the content analysis technic using the "Shannon Entropy" method was used, in which data processing in discussing the content analysis is done with a new approach both quantitatively and qualitatively. In the information theory entropy is an index to measure the uncertainty which is expressed by a likelihood distribution. The content was investigated considering the respondents’ perspectives (all textbooks of elementary school sixth grade) and 12 main elements and 58 sub-elements related to hygiene education and health promotion.Results: The results of content analysis based on the Shannon Entropy showed that the element of mental health with 732 items and physical activity with 735 items had the maximum frequencies, while the control and prevention of diseases with 6 items had the minimum frequency.Conclusion: In the official textbooks some elements of health education are treated insufficiently or not at all, despite the fact that health is the most important factor in the progress of the society and a guarantee for survival. Thus, designing, implementation and management of the health component of national development plans are extremely vital.