Introduction
Patients with COVID‐19 often suffer from psychological problems such as post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and self‐stigmatization that may negatively impact their quality of life and ...sleep. This study examined mental health as a potential mediating factor linking self‐stigmatization and PTSD to quality of life and sleep.
Methods
Using a cross‐sectional design, 844 people who had recovered from COVID‐19 were called and interviewed. Data were collected using structured scales. Structural equation modeling was applied to assess fitness of a mediation model including self‐stigma and PTSD as independent factors and quality of life and insomnia as dependent variables.
Results
Mental health, COVID‐19‐related self‐stigma, and mental quality of life were associated. Insomnia, PTSD, and COVID‐19‐related self‐stigma displayed significant direct associations (r = .334 to 0.454; p < .01). A mediation model indicated satisfactory goodness of fit (CFI = 0.968, TLI = 0.950, SRMR = 0.071, RMSEA = 0.068). Mental health as a mediator had negative relationships with COVID‐19‐related self‐stigma, PTSD, and insomnia and positive associations with quality of life.
Conclusion
Mental health may mediate effects of COVID‐19‐related self‐stigma and PTSD on quality of life and insomnia. Designing programs to improve mental health among patients with COVID‐19 may include efforts to reduce negative effects of PTSD and COVID‐19‐related self‐stigma on quality of life and insomnia.
COVID‐19 may result in having post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and self‐stigma. COVID‐19 may induce mental health problems and insomnia. Mental health mediated the association between self‐stigma and insomnia. Mental health mediated the association between PTSD and insomnia.
•Current healthcare plans used in the Iranian diabetes clinics to control complications of type 2 diabetes seems to be inadequate.•A novel health education program may be effective to develop ...positive lifestyle changes in patients with type 2 diabetes.•A novel health education program may improve glycemic control and metabolic measures in patients with type 2 diabetes.•A novel health education program has greater impact on lifestyle modification and glycemic control than routine healthcare programs in Iran.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a common chronic disease with an increase in prevalence within developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of a structured educational program for improving lifestyle and health-related measures in Iranians with T2DM.
A randomized controlled trial was conducted in 80 participants with T2DM who were randomly assigned to either the intervention or a control group. A demographic questionnaire along with the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II and related laboratory tests were used to assess the efficacy of the program. The intervention consisted of six educational sessions held over 45 days. The control group received routine diabetic care at the clinic. Three months after the intervention, participants completed the measures again. Within-group and between-group comparisons were then made.
All subscales of lifestyle measure improved in the intervention group, whereas only the nutrition domain improved in the control group. After adjusting for baseline differences, physical activity and nutrition domains showed the greatest improvement in the intervention group compared to controls. All clinical measures were also significantly improved within intervention group from baseline to follow-up (p < 0.001), whereas HbA1c, fasting blood glucose, HDL, triglyceride, cholesterol, and weight also changed significantly in the control group. The frequency of HbA1c < 7% was increased from 27.5% at baseline to 37.5% at follow-up (10%) in the intervention group compared to only a 5% increase in the control group.
This educational health program significantly improved lifestyle changes and health-related clinical characteristics in persons with T2DM, compared to routine diabetic care in Iran. Further research is needed to better understand the usefulness of such programs in diabetics and other medical conditions among those in different cultural settings.
Background and Objective: Improving the health literacy in the different populations regarding COVID-19 may be useful in the control of its prevalence. This study examined the psychometric properties ...of a newly developed disease-specific measure of health literacy related to COVID-19 to be used as a standard measure. Materials and Methods: Relevant literature was reviewed to identify an item pool, and an expert panel was convened to choose items that might be included in the scale. Content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) was determined and face validity was examined by calculating the impact score in a group of social media users. The factor structure of the initial scale was examined in 590 Iranian individuals participating in online social networks in September 2020. Internal consistency of the scale was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest reliability of responses was measured by Pearson correlation coefficients. Results: A five-factor solution for the 51-items scale was obtained through exploratory factor analysis. The five main dimensions were understanding, communication, information seeking, analysis, and behavior. The dimensions explained 47% of the variance in scale scores. Participants whose scores fell in the high category (27%) were significantly different compared to those whose scores fell in the low category (27%) on all dimensions (p<0.001). The CVR values for all items were greater than 0.85 and all items also got CVI values higher than 0.79 based on nine-person expert panel. The Cronbach’s alpha for the overall scale was 0.89, and it was ranged from 0.71 to 0.90. Test-retest reliability for the scale was high (r=0.89). Conclusion: Health Literacy Scale for protect against COVID-19is a valid and reliable measure for Iranian population. This measure should be translated, and administered, in other settings to replicate the results obtained here.
Police officers may be at a greater risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) than the general population due to their highstress occupation. This study evaluated how an educational program based on the ...health belief model (HBM) may protect police officers from developing CVD.
In this single-group experimental study, 58 police officers in Iran participated in a 5-week intervention based on HBM principles. Outcomes included changes in scores on an HBM scale, time spent on moderate to vigorous physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire), body mass index (BMI), blood lipid profile, blood glucose, and blood pressure. The intervention consisted of 5 HBM-based educational sessions. Follow-up was conducted at 3 months post-intervention. The paired t-test was used to examine differences between baseline and follow-up scores.
All aspects of the HBM scale improved between baseline and follow-up (p<0.05), except the cues to action subscale. Self-efficacy and preventive behaviors improved the most. BMI decreased from 26.7±2.9 kg/m2 at baseline to 25.8±2.4 kg/m2 at follow-up. All components of the lipid profile, including triglycerides, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein, showed significant improvements post-intervention. Blood glucose and blood pressure also decreased, but not significantly. Nearly 25% of participants who were not physically active at baseline increased their physical activity above or beyond the healthy threshold.
A relatively brief educational intervention based on HBM principles led to a significant improvement in CVD risk factors among police officers. Further research is needed to corroborate the effectiveness of this intervention.
The current study sought to identify factors that may affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients recovering from COVID-19 infection in Iran. In a cross-sectional study 258 patients ...diagnosed with COVID-19, participants completed a questionnaire approximately one month after hospital discharge when demographic and clinical factors (including insomnia) and HRQoL were assessed. A logistic regression was used. Age, gender, marital status, education, having child, early physician visit, early diagnosis, early hospitalization, symptom type, Rhesus factor, and level of insomnia were associated with various components of HRQoL (p<0.05). In multivariate analyses, poorer physical HRQoL was independently associated with female gender (OR=4.53; 95% CI=2.22-2.29), initial symptom of cough (OR=2.73; 95% CI=1.26-5.94), and insomnia (OR=2.74; 95% CI=1.22-6.14). Poorer mental HRQoL was associated with being age 40 years or older (OR=1.90; 95% CI=1.02-3.54), female gender (OR=2.48; 95% CI=1.26-4.88), initial symptom being cough (OR=3.12; 95% CI=1.46-6.68), and insomnia (sub-threshold insomnia, OR=3.19; 95% CI, 1.51-6.74, to severe insomnia, OR=3.86; 95% CI=1.35-11.07). Healthcare professionals should be aware that older people, female gender, those with initial symptom of cough, and insomnia may be at greater risk for poor quality of life following hospital discharge.
This study was conducted to determine the impact of education using the Health Belief Model on preventing osteoporosis among female students. This interventional study (quasi-experimental) was ...performed on 45 female students aged 15-16 years old who resided in a town near Tehran. The females participated in a threeweek educational programme based on the Health Belief Model. The data collection instrument was a validated and reliable questionnaire in five sections: demographics, knowledge, Health Belief Model constructs, physical activity and consumption of foods containing calcium. The mean scores of students' knowledge were significantly different before and after the educational intervention (P < 0.05). The mean scores of some Health Belief Model structures changed significantly after the intervention (P < 0.05). Also post-intervention, physical activity increased (P = 0.041) but calcium intake did not. The use of an educational intervention on osteoporosis seems to improve knowledge and health beliefs and may positively impact physical activity-related behaviour.
This study was conducted to determine the impact of education using the Health Belief Model on preventing osteoporosis among female students. This interventional study (quasi-experimental) was ...performed on 45 female students aged 15-16 years old who resided in a town near Tehran. The females participated in a three- week educational programme based on the Health Belief Model. The data collection instrument was a validated and reliable questionnaire in five sections: demographics, knowledge, Health Belief Model constructs, physical activity and consumption of foods containing calcium. The mean scores of students' knowledge were significantly different before and after the educational intervention (P < 0.05). The mean scores of some Health Belief Model structures changed significantly after the intervention (P < 0.05). Also post-intervention, physical activity increased (P = 0.041) but calcium intake did not. The use of an educational intervention on osteoporosis seems to improve knowledge and health beliefs and may positively impact physical activity-related behaviour. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
PDF
