ali javadpour

Dementia is a growing public health problem worldwide, and its early detection can help to manage the disease more effectively. This study aimed to validate the Persian version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status-modified (TICS-m) questionnaire in older adults in the northeast of Iran.

This cross-sectional study was accomplished as part of the Neyshabur Longitudinal Study on Ageing (NeLSA) from January to May 2019. The translated Persian version of TICS-m was tested for content and face validity. The construct validity of the questionnaire was also assessed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with the extraction method of principal component analysis (PCA) and Oblimin rotation.

A total of 210 community-dwelling adults (aged ≥ 50; mean age: 59.6 ± 6.8 years) were registered in the NeLSA. The content validity ratio (CVR) of all items in the TICS-m questionnaire was higher than 0.62. The content validity index (CVI) of the three items was less than 0.78; so, these items were revised and replaced with alternative words. The face validity of the questionnaire was also confirmed. According to the results of EFA, the six extracted factors accounted for 68.8% of the total variance.

Our results revealed that the construct validity of the Persian version of the TICS-m is satisfactory.

In the present study, the steady-state natural convection heat transfer from a vertical array of a pair of horizontal cam cross-sectional tubes under constant heat flux submerged in water is experimentally investigated. The experiment is carried out for the modified Rayleigh number range of to, and a dimensionless tube spacing range of 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5. The effects of the modified Rayleigh number, cam tube orientation, and dimensionless spacing on the heat transfer rate from the individual tube and the vertical tube array are studied. Based on the results obtained, the effect of thermal plume on the heat transfer rate from the upper cam tube in the vertical array is strongly dependent on the dimensionless spacing. Under fixed conditions, the mean convection coefficient of the single horizontal cam tube with the downward orientation is higher than that of the other orientations for all the modified Rayleigh numbers considered.

While psychological and behavioral symptoms are a major challenging aspect of dementia, they have not been considered as an important mental health issue in developing countries. The aim of the current study was to explore the prevalence and possible associated factors of psychiatric symptoms seen in patients with dementia..
In a cross sectional study, 101 patients diagnosed with dementia were selected. Appropriated world-wide instruments, such as the Neuropsychiatry Inventory (NPI), Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR), barthel index and Cummulative Illmess Rating Scale (CIRS) were used to detect behavioral disturbance, severity of dementia, disability and burden of medical conditions, separately. In this study, the correlation between Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) and severity of dementia, activity of daily living, organic dysfunction and type of dementia was also evaluated..
Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia were frequent in about 70% of the study sample. The most common problematic behaviours were night time behaviours followed by delusion (58%), disinhibition (57%), anxiety (57%), irritability (56%), depression (55%), agitation (55%), and apathy (55%). The least frequent symptom was elation. These behavioral symptoms were significantly correlated with the severity of dementia, greater disability, higher burden of medical conditions, and the level of distress in both patients and their caregivers. Mood symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and elation were not increased with the severity of the dementia..
The findings of this study suggested that the three main cluster symptoms were psychosis, behavioral disturbances such as disinhibition, irritability agitation and, mood symptoms including anxiety and depression..

Although sleeping problems are common among all age groups, the elderly suffer a higher prevalence of sleep disorders. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep quality, self-efficacy, and stages of change among the elderly. This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 36 individuals aged 60-75 years selected through simple random sampling in 2013. The data were collected using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and self-made structured questionnaires, including sleep self efficacy scale and stages of sleep behavior change scale. SPSS statistical software, version 19 was used to analyze the data and descriptive and inferential statistics such as independent samples t-test were used. The results of the present study revealed that the mean of sleep quality was 7.91 (SD=4.99). In addition, most of the subjects (69%) had poor sleep quality. Considering the stages of change, the participants were in different stages of sleep behavior change. Moreover, a significant relationship was found between self-efficacy and PSQI total score (P<0.001). Also, significant relationships were observed between self-efficacy and the variables of stages of change (P<0.05), except for the average night sleep. The results of this study showed that most of the elderly had poor sleep quality. Besides, they were in different stages of change in sleep problems. The results also indicated that self-efficacy affected the sleep quality in the elderly. Therefore, measures should be taken based on stages of change and increased self-efficacy to improve sleep quality among the elderly.

Managing and coping with occupational stress as a recognized problem in the modern era, is vital and important. Nursing is by nature a stressful occupation. Continuous and long-term stress can result in physical, psychological, and behavioral problems in nurses. We aimed to assess occupational stress in nurses working in surgical, internal and psychiatric wards in teaching hospitals of Shiraz, southern Iran.In this cross-sectional study, 180 nurses were selected among nurses working in surgical, internal and psychiatric wards of 4 teaching hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected using questionnaires containing Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and demographic information. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software. t test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used as appropriated.The results of the study indicated that nurses of surgical and internal wards showed significantly higher level of occupational stress in most scales of occupational stress, except relationship, compared with nurses working in psychiatric wards. There was no significant correlation among scales of occupational stress and age, marital status, work shifts and experience. However, we found a significant correlation with some scales of occupational stress and sex and education level.The findings suggest that occupational stress varies within different wards in the hospitals. Occupational stress should be prevented and controlled early and nurses should be supported in this regard.

In spite of the certainty of reality of death, people seem unable to escape anxiety at the prospect of them. Death anxiety contributes to important emotional and behavioral consequences. The aim of this study is to investigate relation of death anxiety with variable such as severity of illness, depression and religious belief The study is a cross-sectional, descriptive study. Data were collected using demographic questionnaire, templar death anxiety scale, beck depression questionnaire, cumulative illness rating scale and religious attitude questionnaire. The co relational and regression analysis were conducted to identify the factors that correlate and predict the level of death anxiety respectively. A group of hundred and fifty persons including 50 severely ill patients, 50 relative caregivers and 50 normal healthy controls completed the questionnaires. Death anxiety score was 7.2 relatives, 5.3 in patients and 4.4 in control group. Depression and severity of illness had positive correlation with death anxiety in medical patients (P < 0.05).in addition to that religious belief had negative correlation with death anxiety (P < 0.05) and was the strongest protective factor for death anxiety in patients group. In relatives and controls depression predicted more death anxiety. individuals suffering from Sever medical illnesses do not inevitably experience more death anxiety. Discussing to the relative the fact, the low death anxiety in their relative patients, will preserve the right of patients to make rational decision about their treatment and life. In presence of death anxiety early detection and management of depression could reduce death anxiety.

There is some evidence that chronic skin diseases like dermatitis could affect the quality of life of sufferers. In addition, patients with dermatological disorders are at greater risk to develop psychiatric morbidity. The aim of this study was to explore the quality of life in patients with chronic eczematous dermatitis. We also examined the effect of a convenient dermatologic intervention on quality of life of the participants. Fifty patients with chronic dermatitis (29 females and 21 males with mean age of 29.3 years) were recruited. Data were collected before and after six weeks of dermatological treatment using Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and a sociodemographic questionnaire. The relevant data were analyzed using paired t test. Mean base score for dermatology life quality index in our sample was 10.94, which was within low limits of averaged for their norm. Moreover, after 6 weeks of treatment, quality of life significantly improved particularly in domains of symptoms and feeling. Dermatologic diseases like chronic dermatitis influence quality of life of patients. Even a feasible dermatologic intervention could significantly improve the quality of life in people who are suffering from such disabling illnesses.

Ôbjective: Substance use among university students is a mental health concern. The aim of the current study was to assess prevalence and motivations for substance use in a sample of dentistry students at Shiraz Üniversity of Medical Sciences in Ïran. This cross-sectional study was conducted on all (236) dentistry students. Data was collected using a confidential multiple-choice questionnaire detecting the current and past history, and motivations for use of various substances. Ïn order to detect the frequency of substance use, Çhi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were used. Â significant proportion of participants (41.5 %) including 18.6% of females and 54.7% of males reported use of a substance at least once in their life. Moreover, 9.3% of subjects reported regular use of at least one substance over the precedent month. Ïn our sample, tobacco was the most common substance used by students, followed by opium, and cannabis. Pleasure seeking was reported as the most common motivational factor for substance use by dentistry students.Çonclusion: Substance use was significantly common in dentistry students, which suggests that it should be considered in mental health programs for university students, in particular those studying in health related fields such as dentistry.