Advances in Nursing & Midwifery
Volume:17 Issue: 57, 2007

Gestational nausea and vomiting in pregnant women have a high prevalence. The disorder will usually be better after the third trimester but, in some cases, it persists throughout pregnancy and makes the life of pregnant women disturbed. This case-control retrospective study was conducted to determine the relation between Helicobacter pylori and nausea as well as vomiting in pregnant women referring to the healthcare centers affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in 2006. 187 pregnant women at the third trimester of their pregnancy were selected. According to the experience of nausea and vomiting from the first trimester, they were divided into two groups: 89 women with the disorder and 98 women without it. A questionnaire in three parts was used for data collection: demographic information, history of nausea and vomiting, and socioeconomic status.The questionnaire was validated by context validity and reliability by test-retest method.Anti-Hp immunolobin G (IgG) serum antibody wastested by ELISA ti determine seropositivity. (r=0/89) The result showed a significant relation between helicobacter pylori and nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. The subjects did not have significant differences in terms of height, job, education of spouse, husbands’ job, pregnancy and BMI except for age and socioeconomic status (P=0.037 and P.

Today, humans are at increased risk of occupational accidents. Healthcare workers and students expose to many occupational hazards and accidents. Lack of experience and technical expertise places students at more risk. This descriptive study was conducted to determine types, rates and causes of occupational accidents in nursing students at Nursing and Midwifery Colleges in Tehran. 180 nursing students were selected by stratified sampling method. Data were collected with a questionnaire validated and made reliable by content and test-retest methods respectively. 31.3% of the students experienced needle stick, 41.7% sharp injury, 84.8% blood and body fluid exposure, 46.7% exposure to chemotherapy agents, and 33.3% injury and bruise in the past 12 months. There were significant differences in the year of education. Medical, surgical, emergency and oncology wards were identified as risky. Application of protective devices was not satisfactory. According to high rates of some accidents, appropriate educational programs regarding occupational accidents, prevention and timely reporting is necessary.

Diarrhea is still one of the leading causes of death among children. The descriptive study was conducted to evaluate epidemiologic and clinical factors in diarrheal children under five living in Tehran from April 2005 for one year. Totally 617 subjects including 551 (89%) children with acute diarrhea and 66 (11%) with chronic diarrhea were enrolled in the study. Watery elimination was the most common manifestation of diarrhea (62.5% of subjects). The highest frequency of watery and bloody diarrhea was detected in autumn and of mucoid diarrhea in winter. Nausea, vomiting and fever were significantly higher at watery form of diarrhea (P= 0.0001, P=0.0001, and P= 0.03 respectively) but there was no correlation between these symptoms and mucoid or bloody form of diarrhea. Significant increase of anorexia was detected during the autumn, mainly at the ages of 5, 1.5 and 2 respectively (P=0.001). Fever and dehydration were significantly higher in those with more severe diarrhea over 1 day (P= 0.03 and P= 0.0001 respectively). Although many new findings about clinical characteristics of community-acquired diarrhea among young children in Tehran were revealed, our lack of understanding regarding the etiology of most episodes in this common pediatric disease was evident. Further studies to assess other environmental determinants, feeding patterns, immunization status of children and gastrointestinal pathogens in pediatric diarrhea are also recommended.

Today, due to medical improvements, 95% of women reach menopausal age. As a result, health providers should properly educate these women regarding physical and psychological changes of this period. Continuing education of midwives as health care providers is a necessity in this respect. Hence, assessing educational needs of them becomes a determinant factor in guaranteeing efficient educational program. Accordingly, assessing these needs is likely to support national health and wellbeing. This descriptive study was conducted to determine the views of midwives regarding health education and care during perimenopausal period in Rafsanjan in 2006. All 97 midwives working in private and governmental sectors in Rafsanjan were chosen. Data were collected using a questionnaire consisted of two parts: demographic characteristics and items related to midwives’ views regarding educational needs. The validity of the questionnaire was determined by content validity and its reliability by test-retest. Findings indicated that the most urgent need was nonmedical treatments in menopause (80%). The next priority of midwives was sexual problems (76.25%), medical and hormonal treatments (75.75%), counseling during menopausal period (75.75%), exercise during menopausal period (72%), recognition of signs and symptoms of menopause (58%) and nutrition in menopause (53.5%). Recently, special attention has been given to menopause. Our findings showed that nonmedical treatments in menopause are the first priority of midwives regarding educational needs. This verifies nonmedical approaches in treatment during past decades. It is expected to use these approaches in educational planning of midwives. To make continuing education programs for midwives efficient, studies on assessing educational needs in other aspects of midwifery are warranted.

Modern biotechnology has enabled man to make benefit of microorganisms more efficiently than before but it is obvious that this powerful tool can be beneficial or dangerous to human beings depending on its use. Bioterrorism using biological weapons in terrorism is of great concern especially for healthcare workers as the first respondents to the victims. This descriptive study was conducted to identify attitudes and knowledge of nurses concerning bioterrorism at hospitals affiliated to Mazandaran Medical University in Sari. 65 nurses were selected by non-probability sampling method. A questionnaire was used for collecting data. Content and Cronbach’s methods were used for validity and reliability of it. Findings showed that 96.9% of the subjects had a very low knowledge concerning bioterrorism and 96.9% of them was also indifferent. Performing educational programs regarding bioterrorism is recommended because knowledge of nurses in this regard seems to be very low.

Induction of the labor is one of challenging therapies in midwifery. Synthetic oxytocin has been used for many years in obstetric practice for the induction and augmentation of labor. Common side effects of oxytocin are overstimulation, fetal distress and emergency Caesarian section. Despite its extensive use, there is no consensus regarding the initial dose, dosage increments and/or the maximal dose. In addition, there is not enough data to know whether induction or argumentation of labor with oxytocin should be continued or stopped after the onset of active labor. Prolonged oxytocin infusion causes desensitization of oxytocin receptors and reduction of oxytocin receptors MRNA. This study was accomplished to compare the effects of intermittent and continuous oxytocin infusion on outcome of pregnancy in those referring to hospital in Maraghe in 2006. 102 pregnant women were randomly selected and divided into two groups of intermittent and continuous oxytocin infusion. The groups were then matched in terms of parity, age, BMI before pregnancy, gestational age, indication of induction and Bishop score for initiation of oxytocin infusion. Induction of labor in the groups was started by oxytocin infusion of 2mu/min (10 IU of oxytocin was dilated in 1000cc of 0.9% normal saline) and the dosage in the continuous group was increased every 15 minutes by 2mu/min until 3 regular contractions at least 45-60 seconds with moderate severity over 10 minutes. Infusion of oxytocin in intermittent group was discontinued when cervical dilation reached to 5-6 cm but, in the continuous group, infusion of oxytocin was continued at the same level until delivery. Data were collected by a questionnaire, observation of vagina and physical examination. No significant difference was found between the groups regarding the quality of contractions in terms of frequency, duration and severity of contractions (p>0/05). The rate of overstimulation in the continuous group was more. The lengths of active phase in intermittent group were less and the rate of fetal distress in continuous group was more. The rate of Cesarean section in continuous group was less than intermittent group. Further studies in this regard are warranted.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is endemic in human population. It is estimated that 400 million people are infected with HBV in the world. Healthcare workers face with the risk of HBV infection during their work. Despite the increase of the disease, lack of knowledge regarding the mode of transmission and methods of prevention including immunization is still a threat.

The aim of this descriptive study was to assess knowledge, attitudes and practice of cleaning staff at Labafinejad Hospital regarding prevention of HBV.

A questionnaire and a checklist of observation were used for data collection. The questionnaire consisted of 4 parts: 1) 18 questions regarding demographic characteristics; 2) 32 questions on knowledge, route of transmission and prevention of HBV infection; 3) 18 questions on attitude and 4) 4 questions regarding practice. It was validated and made reliable by content and test-retest methods (r=0.87). The questionnaire was distributed among 100 cleaning staff.

Finding showed that 75% of samples was male and 25% female. Knowledge score on universal precautions was moderate, attitude was good and practice was moderate. The results also showed that their attitude and practice were significantly correlated (P=0.009), practice had a significant correlation with age and sex (P=0.03). However, Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between knowledge with attitude, (P=0.35) and knowledge with practice (P=0.12).

It can be concluded that cleaners had positive attitude toward HBV and implementation of universal precautions. On the other hand, cleaners had moderate knowledge and practice with regard to the mode of transmission. Therefore, performing comprehensive educational programs for cleaning staff regarding universal precautions seems necessary.

Faculty members are the most significant personnel of a university. Evaluation of their performance is an important factor in the organization and the main task of managers in professional development and promotion. Performance evaluation of nursing faculty members is more complex than others, but it is necessary because one of the primary ways to assure mission accomplishment and goal achievement in medical universities is to indicate the role of faculty members in promoting the quality of health system. The purpose of this study was to review evaluation systems of faculty members at some of the major universities and schools around the world. By using available resources, some of the advantages and strengths of the evaluation systems were specifically extracted to be applied for evaluation improvement at Iranian universities. This study showed that in spite of extensive areas of performance, most colleges/universities evaluate three major domains, namely, education, research and services. The quality and quantity of these areas are evaluated by using multiple sources. The effective evaluation is flexible and allows a person to choose their activities in the defined framework. By choosing and weighing criteria along with the missions and strategic goals of universities/colleges, the level of faculty efforts and contributions in accomplishing them is recognized. Using mentoring system for outcome evaluation is an important factor for the promotion of faculty members. The evaluation process can be more feasible if evaluation committee consists of the same disciplinary members.