Preventive Care in Nursing & Midwifery Journal
Volume:3 Issue: 2, 2014

Promoting illness perception could improve quality of life in hemodialysis patients. According to the high rates of renal diseases and hemodialysis in Iran، and importance of illness perception in these patients، this study assessed the effect of an illness perception promoting intervention on quality of life of hemodialysis patients. In this clinical trial، 71 hemodialysis patients were randomly allocated into two control (n=33) and intervention (n=38) groups. The patients in the intervention group received the illness perception intervention through 45-minute sessions per week for six weeks. Eight weeks later، patients in both groups completed the post test questionnaire of quality of life (KDQOL-SFTM). This questionnaire is reliable and valid for Iranian population. Although the illness perception promoting intervention could enhance the quality of life of patients in dimensions of job situation، dialysis staff encouragement، physical role، pain، public health and emotional role، there were only significant differences between the two groups in job situation (p=0. 04) and emotional role (p=0. 03) dimensions on the patlents'' satisfaction from rules and regulations and the teaching methods (P<0. 05). Illness perception promotion interventions can improve only limited dimensions of the quality of life in hemodialysis patients. Further studies are needed to assess the effectiveness of illness perception promoting intervention on quality of life.

Patients with breast cancer have many pshychological needs. The spouses are main resources for meeting the psychological needs of the patients. The aim of present study was to assess the effects of psychoeducation to spouses on psychological needs of women with breast cancer. In this randomised clinical trial، 94 couples were recruited to the study from Tabriz support group for breast cancer patients. The couples were randomly allocated to experimental (47 couples) and control (47 couples) groups. After the baseline measurements، three educational sessions were held for men on psychological needs of their spouses with breast cancer in the experimental group. One month later، all women were asked to complete the 22-items psychological subscale of the Supportive Care Needs Survey instrument. The validity and reliability of the instrument was assessed using content validity، and test-retest reliability. Data were analyzed using paired and independent samples t tests. Data from 27 women in the experimental group and 28 women in the control group were collected. The mean of scale in the experimental group was significantly more than control group (p=0. 010). Although the psychological needs of patients with breast cancer were decreased via the intervention in our study، further studies are recommended.

Fatigue is a common complaint among patients who undergo hemodialysis. Fatigue influences their somatic، mental، sentimental and cognitive states. This study aimed to determine the effect of progressive muscle relaxation technique on fatigue among patients treated with hemodialysis. In this clinical trial، 90 patients undergoing hemodialysis were recruited from two hemodialysis centers in Gonabad and Yazd and were randomly allocated into control (n=45) and trial (n=45) groups. The progressive muscle relaxation technique was presented to the trial group during three sessions. The patients were asked to make calm once a day for six weeks and at the end complete the relaxtion form. No trainings were provided for the control group patients. The intensity of fatigue was compared between the two groups. Data were collected using a questionnaire including demographic specifications، tools for assessing the severity of fatigue and self-reported checklists. Data was analyzed using the statistical methods in the SPSS. The results showed no significant differences in the level of fatigue between the two groups before the intervention (p=0. 12). There was significant difference in level of fatigue between the two groups after the intervention (p<0. 001). Using the progressive muscle relaxation technique is recommended for patients of the hemodialysis wards.

Patients with HIV/AIDS have different experiences regarding coping with stress. Understanding these experiences is essential to design tailored interventions. The aim of this study was to explore experiences of patients with HIV on coping with stress strategies. In this qualitative content analysis study، 26 participants with HIV were selected using purposive sampling from counseling of behavioral diseases center، Imam Khomeini hospital in Tehran in 2012. In-depth semi-structured interviews were used to collect data during nine months. The transcripts were analyzed using the Diekelmann’s method. The participants were aged 20 to 73 years. Analyzing the data emerged two themes including emotional–based coping strategy with two sub-themes including adaptive and maladaptive coping strategy; and the problem–based coping strategy with three sub-themes including seeking education and counseling، medication adherence and healthy life style. Clarification and explanation of coping with stress strategies can be used to design and implement effective intervention for reducing stress in patients with HIV/AIDS.

Nurses are the largest group of health workers whose professional abilities play important role in realization of health sector mission. Nurses'' perceptions of their work environment forms their sense of empowerment and commitment to the organization. This study aimed to determine the relationship between psychological empowerment and affective commitment among nurses. In this descriptive-correlative study، 491 nurses working in Zanjan province hospitals were selected to the study in winter 2010. The data collection tool included the «Sprietzer psychological empowerment questionnaire» and the «organizational commitment questionnaire of Allen and Meyer». The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were assessed through appropriate methods. Data were analyzed using the ANOVA، t-test، Pearson correlation، and linear regression method in the SPSS-16. Most of the participants (%90. 6) were female. The mean age of the participants was 30. 7 years. The mean score of the empowerment perception among %85. 7 of nurses was high. The mean score of the affective commitment was moderate (3. 17±0. 88). The correlation and linear regression tests indicated that psychological empowerment was statistically correlate with the affective commitment of nurses and could predicted it. Based on the findings of this study، psychological empowerment was a predictive factor for affective commitment. In order to improve affective commitment of nurses، hospital managers should try to increase independency and participation of nurses in organizational decision-makings.

Mother-child bonding is vital for psychological development of children. Previous studies have shown that mothers'' mental health can impact mother-child bonding. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between postpartum depression with mother-child bonding in a group of mothers in Shiraz. In this correlational study، 140 mothers referred to health centers to check their children''s health status were recruited using convenience sampling method. Participants completed the questionnaires including the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (BPQ) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS). The statistical indexes including means، standard deviation، Pearson correlation coefficient and logistic regression analysis were measured to analyses the data using the SPSS. Findings showed that about 25% of mothers experienced symptoms of postpartum depression and 23% had mother-child bonding disorder. The results also indicated that mothers with symptoms of postpartum depression were more likely to have mother-child bonding problems. The findings also showed that postpartum depression predicted mother-child bonding problems significantly. The study showed that mothers with more symptoms of postpartum depression were more likely to have bonding impairment with their children.

Organizational citizenship behavior is related to some organizational variables such as job satisfaction، quality of services and organizational productivity. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between personality traits with the organizational citizenship behavior among nurses in Zanjan in 2012. This was a descriptive study in which 128 nurses working in the hospitals of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences were selected using quota sampling and simple random sampling methods. The participants filled up the questionnaires of personality traits and organizational citizenship behavior. Data were analyzed using the correlation coefficient and regression analysis in the SPSS-19 The result showed that three personality dimensions were related to the organizational citizenship behavior including agreeableness، conscientiousness and neuroticism (P<0. 05). These personality traits could explain 0. 173 of the organizational citizenship behavior variance. There were no significant relationships between the organizational citizenship behavior with gender، matrimony، age and tenure statuses of the nurses. Personality traits of nurses are effective factor to make their organizational citizenship behavior. Hospitals managers can promote/make a visible organizational citizenship behavior through creating positive workplace to choose and recruit nurses with suitable personality traits.

The aim of this study was to compare the viewpoints of medical and nursing students on development of telemedicine procedures at Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. This was a cross-sectional study. Ninety medical students and 55 nursing students were selected using stratified random sampling in the first semester of 2011-2012. The students'' viewpoints on creation and development of telemedicine were measured using a questionnaire. The questionnaire included demographic section، and the students'' viewpoints on telemedicine and different telemedicine tools. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using the Cronbach''s alpha coefficient. Statistical tests were used to analyze the data including the t-test and ANOVA for quantitative variables; and Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis and Chi-squared tests for qualitative variables. There were significant relationships between information literacy and organizational factors with gender (P≤0. 001). There were also significant relationships between the stakeholders'' factors with gender and family location (P≤0. 001). There were significant differences between the medical and nursing students'' viewpoints on the factor of stakeholders (p=0. 029). Medical and nursing students'' viewpoints were similar except for the stakeholders factor. Community and family support for development of telemedicine tended to develop differences in the viewpoints of the students