مجله تصویر سلامت
سال سوم شماره 2 (تابستان 1391)

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a chronic disease and requires complex treatment. Due to the various treatment options and gradual understanding of specialists about the risks and benefits of different treatments of IBD, delivering care according to the treatment protocols and guidelines is essential. This study was conducted to assess delivered care from the perspective of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 94 participants with IBD selected randomly in Emam Reza hospital and Golgasht clinic in Tabriz. Data were collected by an approved researcher-made questionnaire via interviewing patients. Chi-Squared Test was used to evaluate the relationship between demographic variables and accordance of delivered care with standards. SPSS17 was used for data analysis. The results indicated that "visit by specialist" and "providing dietary recommendation by nutritionist" aspects had highest and lowest degree of accordance with standards, respectively. Furthermore, the aspects of “delivered care in exacerbation status of disease” and “delivered care by other specialists” had only 20 percent compliance with standards. Also, there was a significant relationship between age, job, education status, smoking and compliance with related standards in some care aspects (). The study results indicated that there is a deep gap between delivered cares for patients with inflammatory bowel disease and related standards. These deficiencies showed the parts that need improvement and require healthcare managers and policy makers’ attention.

Safe pregnancy is among the goals and missions of reproductive health which has an important part in Millennium Development Goals. Unfortunately, bad conditions in reproductive health are the major cause of women mortality in fertility age all over the world especially in developing countries. Congenital anomalies are pregnancy problems that in case of early diagnosis, the anomaly will be done according to list 51. The aim of this study was to determine families’ demographic situations, frequency of congenital anomalies types and the factors of legally termination of pregnancy to suggest solutions in order to reduce anomalies and promote reproductive health. This is a case-control study carried out for 1 year period from 2010 to 2011 in which 603 pregnant women that were diagnosed/recommended to the Legal Medicine Organization for the termination of pregnancy as having a fetus with some types of birth defect(s). Among them, 201 were categorized as case group (receiving termination permission because their pregnancy was before week 20) and 402 of them were categorized as control group 1 (not receiving termination permission because their pregnancy was after week 20) and 200 women as control group 2 who referred to Alzahra hospital to give childbirth. A questionnaire containing demographic and geographical information was made for all the women in those three groups. The average age of mothers in this study was 27.2 years (15-47 years old). In 100 % of women, at least 1 ultrasound examination was performed and genetic and Amniocentesis tests were conducted in 2.1 % and 3.5 % respectively in order to diagnose anomaly. In total, 33 % of pregnant women with congenital anomalies received pregnancy termination permission. The majority of congenital anomalies were neural tube defects 16.9 %, hydrocephaly 8.6 %, limb deformation 7.7 % and Down syndrome 6.4 %. Mother’s age, the history of anomaly in previous child and Folic acid usage during pregnancy, according to the meaningfulness of both regression models, are the main predictive independent factors. (P<0.05) By determining the causing factors of congenital anomalies and removing the shortcomings and weaknesses, it is possible to reduce the number of these anomalies and take major actions to promote the health of mothers and children.

Human resources are the most valuable factor of health services production and delivery and its shortages and surpluses may result in decrease in the quality of services or wasting costs. This study aimed to assess the human resources in Shahid Kaamyab and Shahid Hashemi Nejad hospitals of Mashhad. In this cross-sectional descriptive study, two hospitals affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences were assessed in 2013. The study tool included 14 standard checklists derived from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education's man power standards. The collected data contained man power data of all departments, paraclinical, logistics, wards of participating hospitals and their bed occupancy rate. The data were analyzed using SPSS16. The findings showed that comparing to the Ministry's standards, the assessed hospitals confronted with shortages in human resources. The hospitals demonstrated shortages in man power in physical therapy, pharmacy, laundry, office, and nursing units. Most of the shortages of nursing man power were in intensive care units such as ICU, CCU and NICU. In general, the studied hospitals were facing shortages and improper distribution of man power. In order to improve the efficiency of their services, the hospitals should resolve the problem of shortages. Thus, the proper planning and management of human resources is essential.

Medical Errors reporting system is an initiative that provides staffs’ awareness through learning and sharing. This system improves the patient safety culture in hospitals. The aim of this study was to investigate the status of medical error reporting and sharing system in a military hospital. This is a cross-sectional study. Data were gathered by medical error reporting sheets that were reported in the first semi-annual of 2011 and 2012. Data were analyzed and suggested interventions were distributed among the hospital units and educational trainings were applied to avoid errors. Most of the errors were medication errors. The comparison of reported errors showed that the number of reports was increased from 14 cases in the first semi-annual of 2011 to 38cases in the first semi-annual of 2012. Interventions indicated a positive effect on avoid these errors and an improved reporting culture among staff. Establishment of medical error reporting and sharing system and management’s support of correct reaction unto medical errors provides a good context to improve patient safety culture, quality and safety assurance.

With over one billion smartphones and 100 million tablets across the world, they can perform as a valuable tool in health care management and transform health care through using mobile applications. There are various medical apps in different areas for a variety of users and among these applications, some of them have been approved and recommended by well-known organizations. This is a descriptive-comparative study. This article reviews the mobile apps in health and medical domains developed or recommended by BMJ, NHS, CDC, AMA, Georgetown University, NLM, University of Ottawa, HHS, UCSF, and NYC. The results of this research are presented in terms of the organization developing or recommending the app, the applications’ scope, the usage category of the application and the apps’ users. It seems that the organizations envisioning transformation of their services are the ones which recognize the impact of mobile technologies in this regard, particularly mobile apps.

Current levels of AFP care system have created the possibility to demonstrate the significant decrease in pathogenesis of poliomyelitis. To ensure the success of polio eradication, intensification of AFP care system in a way that it can confirm the lack of polio virus outbreak in areas that have no reports of confirmed cases of this disease, seemed to be essential. This research aimed to represent some features of disease symptoms and final diagnosis of the reported cases and investigate the age, gender, time and geographical zone and the incidence of acute flaccid paralysis cases in the province within 2008-2011. Data for the cases of AFP were collected from all cities in the province from 20/3/2008- 19/3/2013 and were analyzed using descriptive methods (census method). Discovery and reporting 95% of acute flaccid paralysis cases up to 7 days from the occurrence of paralysis, preparing two qualitative samples from 98% acute flaccid paralysis up to 14 days from the occurrence of paralysis, tracking and evaluating 100% of acute flaccid paralysis after 60 days of disease occurrence, on-time sending/receiving 98% of the samples to national laboratory, show the capabilities of provincial care system. Despite the excellent care of acute flaccid paralysis in the East Azerbaijan, it seems that the role of health care facilities and rural and urban health centers and private clinics in identification and reporting of acute flaccid paralysis is non-significant since only 5% of the cases were reported at local levels.