مجید کاظمی

 Multiple sclerosis is one of the most important diseases that change a person's life, especially at a young age, causing a sharp drop in the quality of life and leading to disability. This research aimed to determine the effectiveness of stress control training on the quality of life of female patients with multiple sclerosis.

 The current research is semi-experimental with a pre-test, post-test, and control group in 2017. Sixty female patients with multiple sclerosis were selected as available and randomly divided into two intervention and control groups. The research tool was the quality of life questionnaire of multiple sclerosis patients. The intervention group participated in 10 stress control training sessions for 2 hours. The control group did not receive training. Data were analyzed using independent-t and paired-t statistical tests.

 The average score of quality of life before the intervention in the intervention group and the control group had no statistically significant difference (p=0.672). In the post-test, the average score of quality of life, physical health, and mental health in the intervention group was significantly higher than the control group (p<0.001). The independent t-test results showed a significant difference between the average scores of the quality of life and its dimensions before and after the intervention between the intervention and control groups (p<0.001).

 A stress control management program can help MS patients to manage their disease and problems related to their lives. Since this educational program is efficient and low-cost, it can be included in health interventions for MS patients.

Reducing pain after surgery, especially cesarean section is one of the most important factors for maternal and infant health. Choosing the way of reducing pain with fewer complications has drawn the attention of researchers. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of Hugo point pressure and auricular seed acupressure on pain after cesarean section.

Methods & Materials: 

In this clinical trial, 168 pregnant women who were candidates for cesarean section, referred to the educational and medical centers of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences in 2020, were selected through purposive sampling and randomly divided into three groups: Hugo point pressure, auriculotherapy, and control. In the Hugo group, massage was applied on the li4 point (between the thumb and forefinger) for 10 minutes. 24 hours later, the intervention was repeated. Before and after the intervention, pain intensity was measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). In the auriculotherapy group, earrings were placed on the Shenmen point located in the earlobe. Pain was assessed by the VAS 20 minutes after the intervention and 24 hours later. No intervention was performed for the control group and only the researcher was present next to the studied subjects for 10 minutes. Data were analyzed by the SPSS software version 20 using paired t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). P<0.05 was considered significant.

The average pain score in the Hugo group was 6.70±1.55 before the intervention and 6.20±1.78 after the intervention (P=0.026). In the auriculotherapy group, the average pain score before the intervention was 5.99±1.75 and after the intervention was 4.66±2.01 (P<0.001). No significant difference was observed in the average score of pain intensity on the first day between the two groups, before the intervention (P=0.062). But the average score of pain intensity on the first day after the intervention was lower in the auriculotherapy group compared to the other two groups (P<0.001). On the second day, there was a significant difference in the average pain score between the three groups after the intervention (P=0.009).

The results of this study showed that both auriculotherapy and the Hugo method are effective for reducing pain after cesarean section; but the continuance of pain reduction after auriculotherapy was more than Hugo point pressure. These methods can be used along with other pharmaceutical methods to reduce pain after cesarean section.

Diabetes is one of the chronic diseases that cause physical and psychological problems and decreases the quality of life in these patients. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of education on the quality of life in type II diabetic patients at Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.

This is a pre-and post- randomized trial study. The intervention included an educational program to increase the quality of life which was performed on type 2 diabetic patients at the Diabetes Clinic of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran. The patients in this study were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The sample size for each study group was calculated to be 27 individuals considering the standard deviation (SD) of quality of life reported in previous studies (i.e., 1.7) and based on the effect size of 1.5, confidence interval:  95%, and test power of 90%. However, considering the rate of attrition, the sample size was increased to 30 people. The standard quality of life questionnaire (SF-36) with eight subscales was used to assess the quality of life in type 2 diabetic patients. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 23).

The mean±SD age of patients was estimated to be 54.1±9.8 and 54.8±9.5 years in the control and intervention groups, respectively. The mean score of quality of life in the control group before and after the intervention was obtained at 83.7±8.3 and 82.9±7.7, respectively. These scores in the intervention group were 82.1±14.5 and 91.9±12.2, before and after the intervention, respectively. A significant increase was observed in the mean score of quality of life in the intervention group after the intervention. The subscale of physical functioning, energy-fatigue, emotional well-being, pain, and general health increased after the training program. However, sub-scales of disorder did not change physical health, emotional disorder, and social functioning in the intervention and control groups.

Based on the obtained results, the quality of life of the elderly and their active years can be increased through the implementation of educational programs on self-care and using new educational models.