Background: Contamination by pollutants has been considered as one of the environmental concerns during the recent years. Lead is one of the most common industrial contaminants all over the world and ...increase in lead level is associated with behavioral and cognitive problems. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most common psychological-behavioral disorders among children, with the incidence rate of 4% - 12%.
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum lead level and ADHD through comparison of serum lead level between children with ADHD and the control group.
Patients and Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 20 children with ADHD and 23 healthy children in the control group. The serum Lead level measured by an atomic absorption spectrometer, equipped with graphite furnace system, was compared between the two groups. The data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical software, version 16.
Results: The mean level of serum lead was higher in the ADHD children (6.7330 ± 2.39747) compared with the control group (3.0304 ± 1.30573) (P = 0.001). However, no significant difference was observed between the two genders regarding the mean level of serum lead in the case (P = 0.088) or the control group (P = 0.365).
Conclusions: Based on the study results, the mean level of serum lead was significantly higher in the ADHD group in comparison to the control group (P < 0.001). Thus, environmental contaminants, such as lead, can be associated with increasing incidence of ADHD. Yet, further studies on larger sample sizes are recommended to confirm our findings.
Prostate cancer is one of the most common and lethal cancers in the world. The incidence of prostate cancer has been increasing in recent years. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors ...associated with prostate cancer screening behaviors among men over 50 in Fasa, Iran, based on the PRECEDE model.
In this cross-sectional study, 400 men over 50 were studied in Fasa, Iran. Data were collected via a questionnaire on demographic characteristics, such as age, number of children, occupation, education, marital status, smoking, and prostate cancer screening behaviors. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 16. Independent samples t-test and the Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient were used for the statistical analyses.
Men in the study had little knowledge (34.11±8.22) and attitude (28.23±7.23) about prostate cancer and screening behavior. Their mean scores about prostate cancer, screening behavior, quality of life, and general health were moderate. The subjects had low self-efficacy and perceived social support. Their mean scores of enabling factors and screening behaviors were at a low level. Pearson correlation scores showed a significant correlation between cancer prostate screening behavior and demographic variables, such as age (p=0.04, r=0.136), occupation (p=0.01, r=0.121), educational level (p=0.02, r=0.211), and marital status of the subjects (p=0.01, r=0.112), but there were not significant correlations with the number of children (p=0.12, r=0.092) and smoking (p=0.09, r=0.002). The T-test results showed significant relationships between age, occupation, and education of the subjects, and the PRECEDE model structures were significant for predisposing factors, enabling factors, and reinforcing factors (p<0.05).
The prostate cancer screening behaviors in men over 50 in Fasa, Iran, were at a low level. Due to predisposing factors, such as the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of individuals, reinforcing factors can have an important role in the behaviors related to prostate screening, such as their families and health staffs as well as enabling factors, such as health financing, access to medicines and learning self-care. Educational interventions to improve these behaviors and the quality of life of these people seem essential.
Aims and Objectives: Pregnant women are at risk of dental caries and periodontal disease. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of health education program based on health belief ...model (HBM) on oral and dental hygiene behaviors in pregnant women in Fasa city. Materials and Methods: This is a clinical trial study carried out on 110 pregnant women selected using random sampling method from health centers in Fasa city in 2016 (55 patients in the experimental group and 55 individuals in control group). Data collection with questionnaire was based on construct HBM, as well as their performance about oral health. At first, two groups completed the questionnaires. And then, the intervention was conducted for the experimental group based on HBM. Four months after intervention, two groups completed the questionnaires twice. To analyze the collected data, the researchers used SPSS version 22 and descriptive and analytical statistics tests such as independent t-test and Chi-square and Mann–Whitney test. Results: The age of the pregnant mothers was 28.25 ± 3.02 years in the experimental group and 27.8 ± 4.20 years in the control group. Compared to the control group, the experimental group showed a significant increase in their knowledge, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, self-efficacy, cues to action, and performance and decrease in perceived barriers 4 months after the intervention. Conclusion: Applying the HBM is very effective for developing an educational program for oral health in pregnant women. Moreover, in the implementation of these programs, control, monitoring, and follow-up educational are recommended.
The present study assessed the quality of services in the outpatient teaching hospital pharmacies affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2019 according to the SERVQUAL model to ...identify areas for improvement.
The research was cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical. Patients referred to the outpatient teaching hospital pharmacies affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences formed the study population. The sample size was 300 people chosen through the stratified sampling method proportional to the size as well as the convenience sampling method. The modified SERVQUAL questionnaire developed by Mohammadi et al. (in Eftekhar Ardabili H, Akbari Haghighi F, Mahmoudi M, Poorreza A. Evaluation of service quality based on the patients' expectations and perceptions in Zanjan hospitals. J Sch Public Health Inst Public Health Res. 2003;2:71-84) was used for data collection. Data analysis was performed by SPSS 24.0 using statistical tests of paired t-test, independent t-test and ANOVA. A P-value of <0.05 showed statistical significance. Moreover, EXCEL 2013 was used to draw the graphs.
The results showed that the participants had higher expectations regarding the quality of pharmacy services in all six dimensions compared to their perceptions (negative gaps) and the difference was statistically significant (P <0.05). The largest gap was in the 'access' dimension (G = -0.44 ± 1.15) and the smallest one was in the 'reliability' dimension (G = -0.21 ± 1.30). Also, the mean of overall quality gap, among the patients' demographic characteristics, had a significant relationship only with having supplementary health insurance coverage (P = 0.03).
It seems that hospital managers and technical managers of pharmacies should make several interventions in the field of staff empowerment and training empathy and teamwork skills. Also, strengthening the system of receiving quick and easy feedback from patients and paying attention to the voice of customers can pave the way for hospital managers and technical managers of pharmacies to enhance the service quality with subsequence reduction of the existing gaps.
Background and Aim: Among the screening tests for colorectal cancer, fecal occult blood test (FOBT) is important in
comparison other methods due to its ease of use and low cost.The aim of this study ...is to survey the effect of educational
intervention based on health belief model and social support on the rate of participation of individuals in performing
fecal occult blood test for colorectal cancer screening among men who referred to the health centers in FasaCity, Fars
province, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 200 men (100 in experimental group and
100 in control group) in FasaCity, Fars province, Iranwere selected in 2017. A questionnaire consisting of demographic
information, knowledge, HBM constructs (perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, self- efficacy and cues
to action) and social support was used to measure the rate of participation of individuals in performing Fecal Occult
Blood Test for colorectal cancer screening before and three months after the intervention. Data were analyzed using
SPSS22 viadescriptive and inferential statistics, paired t-test, Mann-Whitney, Chi-square, and independent t-test at
a significance level of 0.5. Results: The mean age of the men was 63.18 ± 8.25 years in the experimental group and
65.11 ± 7.66 years in the control group. Three months after the intervention, the experimental group showed a significant
increase in the knowledge, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, Self-efficacy, cues to action,
social support and the level of referrals (participation) of subjects for FOBTcompared to the control group. Conclusion:
This study showed the effectiveness of HBM constructs and social support in adoption of the level of participation of
subjects for FOBTin men. Hence, these models can act as a framework for designing and implementing educational
interventions for undergoing FOBT.
Introduction:
Adequate awareness and a positive attitude of nurses about HIV/AIDS can lead to better care and the provision of accurate information to the general public. Misconceptions about ...HIV/AIDS infection can affect the attitudes of healthcare staff and inappropriately affect the quality of care.
Aim:
The present study aimed to investigate the factors predicting the routine HIV screening behaviors in nurses based on the theory of reasoned action.
Material and methods:
This descriptive-cross-sectional study was conducted on 131 nurses working in Vali-e-Asr hospital in Fasa, Iran. The samples were selected by simple random method. Three 75-item standard questionnaires were also used to collect data, including 15 questions on attitudes, 30 questions on the nurses’ knowledge, and 30 questions on the nurses’ performance.
Results and discussion:
In total, 30 male (22.9%) and 101 (77.1%) female nurses entered in the study. Also, 65.6% of participants were 18–29 years and 48.9% (64) were working in emergency department. The mean attitude and knowledge were calculated to be 20.69 ± 3.17 points and 20.98 ± 4.78 points, respectively. Also, the mean of performance, behavioral control, intention, and subjective norms were calculated to be 84.63 ± 8.06 points, 24.56 ± 2.29 points, 63.93 ± 6.68 points, and 30.53 ± 3.27 points, respectively. The results of the present study indicated a significant relationship between the work experience with their attitude (P = 0.03) and knowledge (P = 0.001) as well as between the age and performance (P = 0.002).
Conclusions:
In the present study, the mean score of attitude, knowledge and performance was found to be moderate; thus the educational intervention seems necessary.
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