Journal of Caring Sciences
Volume:5 Issue: 3, Sep 2016

Medical undergraduates are heavily burdened by their curriculum. The females, in addition, suffer from vivid affective or somatic premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms such as bloating, mastalgia, insomnia, fatigue, mood swings, irritability, and depression. The present study was proposed to attenuate the symptoms of PMS by simple lifestyle measures like yoga and/or oral calcium.
65 medical female students (18-22 years) with a regular menstrual cycle were asked to self-rate their symptoms, along with their severity, in a validated questionnaire for two consecutive menstrual cycles. Fifty-eight students were found to have PMS. Twenty girls were given yoga training (45 minutes daily, five days a week, for three months). Another group of 20 was given oral tablets of calcium carbonate daily (500 mg, for three months) and rest 18 girl served as control group. Data were analyzed by SPSS ver.13 software.
The yoga and calcium groups showed a significant decrease in number and severity of premenstrual symptoms whereas in the control group there was not the significant difference.
Encouraging a regular practice of yoga or taking a tablet of calcium daily in the medical schools can decrease the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.

Hospitalization in neonatal intensive care unit may leads to many stresses for premature infants. Since premature infants cannot properly process stressors, identifying interventions that reduce the stress level for them is seems necessary. The aim of present study was to compare the effects of Field massage and Gentle Human Touch (GHT) techniques on the urine level of cortisol, as an indicator of stress in preterm infants.
This randomized, controlled clinical trial was carried out in Al-Zahra hospital, Tabriz. A total of 84 premature infants were randomly assigned into three groups. First groups were touched by their mothers three times a day (15 minutes in each session) for 5 days by GHT technique. The second group was received 15 minutes Field massage with sunflower oil three times a day by their mothers for 5 days. The third group received routine care. In all groups, 24-hours urine samples were collected in the first and sixth day after the intervention and analyzed for cortisol level. Data were analyzed by SPSS software.
There were significant differences between mean of changes in cortisol level between GHT and control groups and Field massage and control groups (0.026).
Although the massage with Field technique resulted in a significant reduction in blood cortisol level, but the GHT technique have also a similar effect. So, both methods are recommended for decreasing of stress in preterm infants.

Pregnancy can be associated with different psychological problems such as depression and anxiety. These problems are often neglected and left untreated. This study aimed to examine the effect of mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy on depression and anxiety among pregnant women.
A convenient sample of 80 pregnant women were selected. Participants were randomly allocated to either the experimental or the control groups. Participants in the experimental group received mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy while women in the control group only received routine prenatal care services. A demographic questionnaire, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics measures such as frequency, mean, and standard deviation as well as the repeated-measures analysis of variance test were used for data analysis.
After the study intervention, the mean scores of anxiety and depression in the experimental group were significantly lower than the control group.
Mindfulness-integrated cognitive behavior therapy can significantly alleviate pregnant women’s depression and anxiety. So implementation of this method alongside with other prenatal care services is recommended.

Neonatal intensive care unit induces the high level of anxiety for mothers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of NICU orientation program on the anxiety of mothers who had preterm newborns hospitalized in NICU.
This study was a randomized clinical trial (three parallel groups). Participants included 99 mothers with preterm newborns hospitalized in NICU of Al- Zahra hospital, affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 2015. Mothers were randomly assigned to one of three groups (film, booklet, and control). Mothers completed the State- Trait Anxiety Inventory before entering to the NICU, and then mothers in the experiment groups became familiar with the NICU environment through watching a film or reading booklet. After the first NICU visit, all mothers completed the STAI and Cattell's Anxiety Questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS ver. 13 software.
There was no significant difference between three groups regarding state- trait anxiety before the intervention. After the first NICU visit, a significant reduction in maternal state anxiety was seen in the both experiment groups. There was no statistical significant difference regarding trait anxiety. Data obtained from Cattell's anxiety questionnaire after intervention, showed significant difference in state anxiety between groups.
Employing film and booklet orientation strategy after preterm delivery can reduce the mother’s anxiety and beneficent for the mother, baby, family and health care system.

Recent studies suggest that liaison nurse intervention might be effective to solve the gap between intensive care unit and wards, but little studies are known about the effect of this intervention. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of liaison nurse service on patient outcomes after discharging from intensive care unit.
In this single blinded randomized controlled trial, a total of 80 patients were selected by convenience sampling method from two teaching hospitals located in Tehran, Iran. Patients were randomly allocated to either the experimental or the control groups. Patients in the experimental group received post-ICU care from a liaison nurse and patients in the control group received the routine care. After the intervention, patients’ vital signs, level of consciousness, length of hospital stay, need for re-hospitalization in ICU, and satisfaction with care were measure. Data were analyzed by SPSS Ver.13 software.
None of the participants experienced ICU re-hospitalization. According to the result and there were no significant differences between the study groups regarding heart rate, respiratory rate, systolic blood pressure, post-ICU level of consciousness, satisfaction with care, and length of hospitalization in medical-surgical wards. However, the study groups differed significantly in terms of body temperature.
Care services provided by an ICU liaison nurse has limited effects on patient outcomes. However, considering the contradictions among the studies, further studies are needed for providing clear evidence about the effectiveness of the liaison nurse strategy.

Medical advances have improved life expectancy and survival of patients with thalassemia. However, as getting older, patients with thalassemia experience different complications which impair their quality of life. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a nurse-implemented orientation program on quality of life in patients with thalassemia.
A convenience sample of 55 patients with thalassemia were recruited in this quasi-experimental study. Patients were randomly allocated to control or experimental groups. A demographic questionnaire, Thalassemia quality of life questionnaire, and 36-item short form health survey were used for data collection before and one month after the intervention. In the intervention group, 1.5-month orientation program including of the three steps of inauguration, implementation, and closure was implemented, while the control group received routine care. The Chi-square, independent t-test and paired-samples t-test were used for data analysis by using SPSS ver.13 software.
The intervention and control group did not differ significantly from each other regarding demographic characteristics. Moreover, no significant difference was observed between the two groups regarding the quality of life scores after the implementation of orientation program.
Implementing a short-term orientation program was not effective in enhancing the quality of life in patients with thalassemia; hence, developing long-term multimodal strategies may result in better improvement.

One of the most important components and health indicators, especially among people with chronic diseases is quality of life. One of the possible factors which may impact on quality of life of diabetic patients is family functioning. This study aimed to determine the relationship between family functioning and quality of life of diabetic and non-diabetic women.
In this correlational cross-sectional study, 180 women (diabetics and non-diabetics) who referred to health centers in Mashhad in 2014-2015 were studied. Data were collected using SF-36 questionnaire and Mc Master Family Assessment Device (FAD). Data were analyzed using descriptive and statistical tests by SPSS ver.13 software.
The result showed that diabetic women reported family impairment compared with none diabetic women. There was a significant relationship between the family functioning and quality of life in diabetics and non-diabetic women. Based on the results of the stepwise regression model, among factors of family function only the factor of behavioral control was able to predict the quality of life in diabetic women.
Regarding the study findings, good family function associated with better quality of life in diabetics and healthy women. Therefore, due to disturbed family function in diabetic’s women implementation of training programs and consulting services could improve their quality of life.

Disruptive behaviors cause many problems in the workplace, especially in the emergency department (ED).This study was conducted to assess the physician’s and nurse’s perspective toward disruptive behaviors in the emergency department.
In this cross-sectional study a total of 45 physicians and 110 nurses working in the emergency department of five general hospitals in Bojnurd participated. Data were collected using a translated, changed, and validated questionnaire (25 item). The collected data were analyzed by SPSS ver.13 software.
Findings showed that physicians gave more importance to nurse-physician relationships in the ED when compared to nurses’ perspective (90% vs. 70%). In this study, 81% of physicians and 52% of nurses exhibited disruptive behaviors. According to the participants these behaviors could result in adverse outcomes, such as stress (97%), job dissatisfaction and can compromise patient safety (53%), quality of care (72%), and errors (70%).
Disruptive behaviors could have a negative effects on relationships and collaboration among medical staffs, and on patients’ quality of care as well. It is essential to provide some practical strategies for prevention of these behaviors.

Caustic ingestion that occurs accidently is one of the most common problems in children.
This systematic review has been performed by searching the databases including Science Direct, ProQuest, Google Scholar, and PubMed. A strategic search was performed with keywords including caustic, corrosive, ingestion, and children, and was limited to articles in English and Persian. Data were analyzed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis2 and PASW Statistics 18.
We selected 64 articles regarding caustic ingestion with a total sample of 11,345 cases. The data analysis indicated a higher consumption in young boys (age range 2.78 (2.02) years (OR=0.53 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.49-0.57 (P=0.08)). The most common caustic substances were household cleaning agents, particularly bleaches and cleaners. Esophageal cancer and death were reported as well as digestive and respiratory complications. Invasive and expensive techniques are frequently used for diagnosis, treatment and follow up.
The results demonstrated that although caustic ingestion is a serious problem among children, it is a preventable and manageable issue. Therefore, appropriate efforts by families, government, factories, health team and media should be made to handle adequately this matter.