Colorectal cancer(CRC) patients are among the incurable groups who need comprehensive palliative care covering all aspects including physical, mental, social, and spiritual. The purpose of this study ...is to develop, implement, and evaluate a holistic palliative care program for CRC patients in order to improve quality of life of CRC patients.
This study is an exploratory mixed methods study which will be conducted using a sequential qualitative-quantitative design (QUAL quan) consists of four sequential steps using the approach proposed by Ewles & Sminett to develop the program. In the first phase, a qualitative study (semi-structured interview) will be conducted to discover the needs of CRC patients from the perspective of patients, family members and care providers. In the second phase, the literature review will be performed with the aim of confirming and completing the discovering new needs. In the third phase, in order to prioritize the identified needs and prepare a initial draft of the palliative care program will be done a panel of experts. In the fourth phase, the part of the developed program according to the opinions of the panel of experts, will be implemented as quasi-experimental intervention and the effect of intervention on quality of life will be evaluated.
This results of this study are expected to meet the needs of CRC patients and their families through providing a holistic care and improve their quality of life in the socio-cultural context of Iran. This program can be useful in providing care, education, policy making and for future research.
Carbon dioxide is the only fluid which has been applied in producing composite particles by supercritical fluid methods. In the present paper, design of composite particles by supercritical carbon ...dioxide (SCO
2) will be reviewed. The production processes of composite particles by SCO
2 are classified based on fluid roles, which are solvent, anti-solvent, solute and reaction medium. In addition, these processes are sub-categorized based on the fluid flow and contact pattern.
One of the barriers to the integration of palliative care within the process of patient care and treatment is the lack of awareness of patients about palliative care. In order to develop efficient ...resources to improve patient awareness, comprehensive information is required to determine the specific aspects of palliative care where a paucity of evidence on patient awareness exists. This review aims to synthesise evidence from previous studies in order to provide a comprehensive information set about the current state of patient awareness of palliative care.
In this systematic literature review, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, Magiran, Scientific Information Database(SID) and Islamic Science Citation (ISC) were searched to identify articles published between 2000 and 2021 that considered patients' awareness of palliative care.
Of the 5347 articles found, 22 studies were retained after quality evaluation; three full-text articles were excluded. Nineteen articles are included in this review. More than half of the patients did not have any information about palliative care or hospice care. Some patients accurately defined hospice care and palliative care; other patients had misunderstandings about palliative care. Patients had limited information about pastoral care, social care and bereavement care. Patients' awareness about individuals or centres providing palliative care or hospice care was limited. Video presentation and distribution of information at the community level indicated that this method would be beneficial in increasing the awareness.
The review points to the need for patient education programmes and interventional studies to increase patients' awareness.
Given the importance of quality of life (QoL) for cancer patients, it is important to work out what this concept means not only for cancer patients, and for the nurses who care for them, but also the ...aspects of which it is composed. Therefore, an interpretive research study was conducted to explore in-depth meanings and aspects of QoL as expressed by cancer nurses. Participants were selected from different inpatient and outpatient oncology services and a palliative setting in Adelaide, South Australia. Results showed that many aspects contribute to an individual's QoL. These include the physical, the psychological, the spiritual, and both environmental and social interactions. More importantly, participants stated that spirituality is multifaceted and that there may be aspects in life that may be taken for granted. The meaning of patients' QoL was viewed by nurses as a patient's overall happiness and satisfaction. Also, nurses identified that providing choices to patients made an important contribution to a patient's QoL. Therefore, this exploration into the in-depth meanings and aspects of QoL for cancer patients from nurses' perspectives identifi ed that, in addition to the aspects related to QoL that have been identified previously in the literature, aspects related to spirituality would need to be extensively covered, and providing choices to patients would be important in patients' QoL in an Australian setting.
Abstract
Background
In order to provide appropriate and adequate care to women who have experienced termination of pregnancy due to fetal anomalies, the health needs of this group should be assessed. ...Considering the lack of information about the care and services required by these women in Iran, this study was conducted with the aim of exploring the needs related to the health system in women with experience of pregnancy termination due to fetal anomalies.
Methods
This study was conducted with a qualitative approach. 40 participants were selected through purposive sampling, and the data were collected through in-depth semi structured interviews and field notes, and analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis.
Results
After analyzing the texts, the needs related to the health system in women with experience of pregnancy termination due to fetal anomalies were categorized in the three main categories: “efficient treatment team”, “optimal organizational structure in providing services” and “financial support for families”.
Conclusions
The findings of the present study by exploring and highlighting the needs related to the health system in different dimensions in women with experience of pregnancy termination due to fetal anomalies can be helpful for designing and providing basic and comprehensive care programs.
A 25% relative reduction in the prevalence of hypertension is a global target. This meta-analysis estimated the effect of excess weight loss on hypertension.
We searched PubMed, Web of Science and ...Scopus until January 2016. We included prospective cohort studies addressing the association between overweight/obesity and hypertension. We expressed the strength of association using risk ratio and the excess risk using attributable risk fraction with 95% CI based on the random-effects model.
We found 7617 references and included 10 studies with 173 828 participants. Compared with normal weight, the risk ratio of hypertension was 1.52 (1.37, 1.67; 9 studies, I2 = 82.4%) for overweight and 2.17 (1.84, 2.50; 9 studies, I2 = 88.9%) for obesity. The excess risk of hypertension attributable to overweight was 32% (24%, 40%; 8 studies, I2 = 85.5%) and that attributable to obesity was 47% (40%, 54%; 8 studies, I2 = 88.2%). That means, excess weight loss may reduce the risk of hypertension by between 24% and 40% in people who are overweight and by between 40% and 54% in people who are obese.
Excess weight loss is a vital strategy for controlling hypertension and is sufficient for achieving the global target, particularly if it is accompanied with other preventive measures.
Objectives: Subacromial impingement syndrome is one of the most prevalent causes of shoulder pain in dialysis patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of Kinesio tape in ...combination with mobilization versus mobilization alone on rest pain, shoulder abduction pain, shoulder abduction range of motion (ROM), and shoulder functional disability in dialysis patients with subacromial impingement syndrome. Methods: In this randomized clinical study, 40 dialysis patients with subacromial impingement syndrome were randomly divided into two groups. The first group received anterior-posterior mobilization and glenohumeral traction. In the other group, patients received the same mobilization as the first group, with the addition of deltoid and supraspinatus Kinesio taping. The treatment sessions lasted for four weeks, with three sessions per week (12 sessions in total). The primary outcome measures were rest pain and shoulder abduction pain, assessed using the numeric pain rating scale (NPRS). The secondary outcome measures included shoulder abduction ROM, which was assessed by a goniometer, and shoulder functional disability that evaluated by the disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand (DASH) questionnaire. All evaluations were performed before the treatment, after 12 treatment sessions, and 10 days after the completion of treatment. Results: The results showed that functional disability, rest pain, shoulder abduction pain, and ROM significantly improved in both groups (P<0.001). However, there were no significant differences between the two groups before treatment, after treatment, and during the follow-up study (P≥0.05) Discussion: The results suggest that Kinesio tape in combination with mobilization does not provide additional benefits compared to mobilization alone in reducing shoulder rest and abduction pain, improving shoulder abduction ROM, and enhancing functional disability in dialysis patients with subacromial impingement syndrome.
Abstract
Background
Pregnancy termination due to fetal anomalies has many psychological consequences for women. Providing appropriate and desirable care to this group of women and their families ...plays an important role in the process of coping with this crisis. The aim of the present study was to explore the psychological experiences of women with pregnancy termination due to fetal anomalies.
Methods
This was a qualitative content analysis study. 40 participants were selected through purposeful sampling with maximum variation and data were collected through in-depth individual interviews, field notes, and analyzed using the conventional qualitative content analysis method simultaneously.
Results
After analyzing the interview transcripts, the psychological experiences of women with pregnancy termination due to fetal anomalies were classified into two main categories: “emotional reactions coinciding with the diagnosis of fetal anomalies” (consisting of two sub-categories of “disbelief and denial of fetal anomalies” and “feelings of sadness and anger”) and “ psychological problems following pregnancy termination” (consisting of two sub-categories of “ feeling helpless, fearful, anxious, and depressed” and “feeling conscience-stricken, and guilty”).
Conclusion
According to findings of the present study, exploring and highlighting the experiences of women with pregnancy termination due to fetal anomalies in the psychological dimension can provide a deeper understanding of the needs of these women for providing optimal care at different times and ultimately promote their psychological health.
Virtual reality dental simulators as an educational tool may create specific training conditions for dental students, allowing them to practice dental skills in a safe and controlled condition. This ...study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of virtual reality-based education in dental education compared to traditional education approaches.
In this systematic review, four databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct) were searched until 2023 following PRISMA guidelines. The Quality assessment and risk of bias were assessed by the Cochrane Collaboration Tool for RCTs and GRADE, respectively. Inclusion criteria were restricted to randomized or quasi-randomized trials about virtual reality efficacy in dental education. Two authors independently evaluated the data and reviewed the overall risk of bias for all selected studies. Study design, sample size, hardware, onset time of intervention, duration, and number of procedures performed were among the data extracted.
From the 703 titles, 48 full texts were chosen for review, yielding 14 articles for final inclusion. The review of these articles indicated the effective role of virtual reality dental simulators in improving students' knowledge and practical skills.
Based on our findings, adding haptic technology to virtual reality can improve students' practical skills, hand skills, theoretical knowledge, self-confidence, and learning environment. Although a fair amount of research needs to be done, notably on cost-effectiveness, student satisfaction, and other potentially adverse effects, virtual reality is a growing phenomenon with immense potential.
Background: Breast Cancer (BC) is one of the most common cancers in the world, including in Iran. Chemotherapy as one of the basic treatments for BC leads to many side effects such as fatigue. This ...study aimed to examine the effect of a combined exercise program on the intensity of fatigue in patients with BC undergoing chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial study was conducted on 64 patients with BC undergoing chemotherapy referring to the Seyyed al-Shoada and the Al-Zahra clinics from January to April 2022. Eligible patients who met inclusion criteria were recruited by the convenience sampling and then assigned randomly to intervention and control groups. The combined exercise program in the intervention group was done for 8 weeks as three sessions a week (34 sessions) each for 35-40 min. Piper's Fatigue Scale was completed for both groups before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Results: The results showed that the mean score of fatigue intensity in both control and intervention groups had a statistically significant difference after the intervention (p = 0.004). The mean fatigue intensity score in the intervention group decreased significantly from mean (SD) 8.17 (1.88) to 5.56 (1.74). Conclusions: Based on the results, a combined exercise program can reduce fatigue in patients with BC. Therefore, nurses can utilize exercise programs and practices as a subset of complementary medicine alongside other treatment methods, which can effectively promote cancer patients' quality of life by reducing their fatigue.
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