Iranian Journal Of Nursing and Midwifery Research
Volume:25 Issue: 3, May-Jun 2020

Strengthening of midwives’ position and support for freestanding birth centers, frequently referred to as Freestanding Midwife‑led Units (FMUs), raise hopes for a return to humanized labor. Our study aimed to review published evidence regarding FMUs to systematize the knowledge of their functioning and to identify potential gaps in this matter. 

A structured integrative review of theoretical papers and empirical studies was conducted. The literature search included MEDLINE, Cochrane, Scopus, and Embase databases. The analysis included papers published in 1977–2017. Relevant documents were identified using various combinations of search terms and standard Boolean operators. The search included titles, abstracts, and keywords. Additional records were found through a manual search of reference lists from extracted papers.

Overall, 56 out of 107 originally found articles were identified as eligible for the review. Based on the critical analysis of published data, six groups of research problems were identified and discussed, namely, 1) specifics of FMUs, 2) costs of perinatal care at FMUs, 3) FMUs as a place for midwife education, 4) FMUs from midwives’ perspective, 5) perinatal, maternal, and neonatal outcomes, and 6) FMUs from the perspective of a pregnant woman.

FMUs offers a home‑like environment and complex midwifery support for women with uncomplicated pregnancies. Although emergency equipment is available as needed, FMU birth is considered a natural spontaneous process. Midwives’ supervision over low‑risk labors may provide many benefits, primarily related to lower medicalization and fewer medical interventions than in a hospital setting.</em>

Various pharmacological and non‑pharmacological approaches have been proposed to control the symptoms of Attention‑Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of foot massage by a mother on the severity of ADHD symptoms in children.

This study was a randomized controlled trial conducted on 56 children who referred to psychiatric clinics affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in Iran, 2018. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control. In the intervention group, after giving massage therapy training to the mother, the mother massaged her child’s foot three times a week for 1 month. The data were collected using the ADHD questionnaire. Data were analyzed using inferential and descriptive statistics (independent t‑test, paired t‑test, Mann‑Whitney test, and Chi‑square test).

Comparison of the mean score of ADHD symptoms, after the intervention, showed a significant difference between the two groups in terms of the dimensions of the memory and attention deficit (t47 =3.42, p = 0.001), lack of responsibility and organization (t47 =7.16, p < 0.001), lack of cooperation with others (t47 =5.23, p < 0.001), and the total score of symptom severity (t47 =3.78, p < 0.001).

Massage therapy is affordable and low‑cost care that together with pharmacotherapy programs can reduce some symptoms of ADHD.

Nursing is a vital element in providing safe and effective care. Forensic nursing is one of the specialties in this discipline which, in addition to creating more satisfaction in nurses, is consideredessential in holistic, quality, and safe care. This study aimed to describe the consequences of the presenceof forensic nurses in the health system.

This qualitative study was conductedbetween 2017 and 2018 in Iran. Semi‑structured interviews were performed with 18 participant experts in the field of health and law. The interviews were analyzed using the inductive content analysis approachproposed by Graneheim and Lundman.

The consequences of the presence of nurses in the health system were summarized into two categories: positive and negative consequences. The positiveconsequences consisted of improved performance, better legality of nurses, the calmness of nurses,prevention of patients’ rights violations, advancement comparable with developed countries, reducedcosts, increased accuracy and speed in dealing with forensic cases, improved performance of Iranian Legal Medicine Organization and increased employment. On the other hand, the negative consequences were role conflict with other involved professionals and nursing shortage. Participants included nurses (with different specialties), nurse lawyers, forensic medicines, forensic midwives, a judge, and a medical lawyer.

If planners and policymakers have a positive attitude toward the presence of forensic nurses,we can anticipate better forensic services for clients through the development of systematic educationalprograms, the formation of forensic teams, and the expertise of this profession can provide many benefits.

Approximately half of mothers give birth by cesarean section in Iran and two‑thirds of them are repeated cesareans. Repeated cesarean is threatening for the mothers and newborns and not compatible with fertility policies in Iran. Vaginal Birth After Cesarean(VBAC) is a reasonable strategy but its prevalence is very low due to some barriers. The aim of this study was to explore barriers to VBAC in health care system.

In this qualitative study, 26 semi‑structured individual interviews with maternity care providers and mothers with prior cesarean section as well as one focus group discussion with maternity care providers were conducted. Interviews and focus group discussions were tape‑recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed with conventional content analysis developed by Graneheim and Lundman using MXQDA10 software.

Barriers to VBAC in health care system identified in the main category of “the climate of restriction, fear and discourage” and eight subcategories including: “defective access to specialized services,” “insufficient encouragement system,” “modeling in cesarean section,” “physician‑centeredness in VBAC,” “fear of legal responsibilities,” “imposed policies,” “marginalization of midwives,” and “unsupportive birth team.”

To remove barriers of VBAC in health care system, appropriate strategies including establishment of specialized VBAC counseling centers, performance‑based incentive policies, cultural development and promotion of natural childbirth, promoting of teamwork culture, shared decision making, improvement of knowledge and skills of maternal care providers and implementation of clinical guidelines, should be considered. Future research could be focused on the effect of implementing these strategies to decrease repeat cesarean section rate.

Cardiovascular nurses play a key role in improving the treatment outcomes in patients. Compassion satisfaction and fatigue influence the quality of nursing care. Thus, it is important to examine the levels of compassion satisfaction and fatigue in cardiovascular nurses.This study was performed to determine compassion satisfaction and fatigue in cardiovascular nurses.

This cross‑sectional, descriptive study was conducted with a single‑stagedesign on 200 cardiovascular nurses who were randomly selected from among nurses working in four educational hospitals in Isfahan, Iran, in July–October 2018. Data collection was conducted using the Professional Quality Of Life Scale (version 5) (ProQOL‑ version 5) with 30 items in the three subscales of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS). The results were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS software.

The results indicatedthe high mean (SD) score of 41.39 (5.54) for compassion satisfaction and the moderate mean (SD) scores of 26.93 (4.62) and 26.69 (5.90) for burnout and STS, respectively, in more than two‑thirdsof the nurses. Pearson correlation coefficient showed no significant relationship between the nurses’age, level of education, work experience, and monthly working hours and scores of compassionsatisfaction, burnout, and STS, and total compassion fatigue score (p > 0.05). Work experience was directly related to STS score (r = 0.18, p = 0.01). However, it had no significant relationship with compassion satisfaction and burnout (p > 0.05).

The results showed that the score of compassion satisfaction was high and fatigue was moderate in the cardiovascular nurses. Furtherresearch seems necessary to enhance compassion satisfaction and reduce fatigue in nurses.

Quality of life drives from the individuals’ perceptions of their position in life long and allows holistic assessment of the effects of health conditions beyond the symptoms, signs, and complications. This study aimed to assess the quality of life and recognize females’ point of view about the quality of life aspects. Hence, perhaps it could be a step toward improving women’s health status.

This study was an explanatory mixed method research one which was conducted in the two following steps. In the quantitative step, five hundred women aged 15–49 years were selected from varied zone of Tehran Province, using cluster random sampling method. In order to assess the quality of life, Short Form SF‑36 instrument was used. In the qualitative step, forty women were selected by purposive sampling in a different range of quality of life based on the result of the first step. Data were collected through semistructured, in‑depth individual interviews, which continued up to data saturation point. Data analysis was performed through conventional content analysis.

Among different aspects of quality of life, the highest and the lowest means (SD) were related to physical functioning mean (SD) 70.58 (24.52) and general health 67.72 (27.66), and mental health 55.27 (30.22) and social functioning 57.02 (30.62), respectively. From the interviews, three main themes were extracted as the following: (i) financial support, (ii) informational support, and (iii) service‑based social support.

The present study revealed that Tehranian women do not have high experience related to the quality of life; however, a sense of receiving support from different sources could help them to wrestle with a complicated condition in everyday life.

Physical activity among women with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is an undesirable level. This study aimed to determine the effect of a training program based on the Health Promotion Model (HPM) on physical activity in women with type 2 DM.

This randomized clinical trial was performed on 128 women with type 2 DM, who were randomly assigned to control and intervention groups. Data were collected using the Baecke Physical Activity Questionnaire (BPAQ) and a researcher‑made questionnaire designed based on the HPM constructs before and 2 months after the intervention. The training was carried out in four sessions in the intervention group and the control group received regular education at the clinic. Data were analyzed using Chi‑square, Fisher’s exact test, paired t‑test, independent t‑test, and Mann–Whitney and Wilcoxon tests in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software.

The findings showed that the mean [Standard Deviation (SD)] of physical activity in the intervention and control groups before the intervention was 6.52 (0.86) and 6.56 (1.07), respectively, and there was no significant difference between the groups (p = 0.95). However, after the intervention, the mean (SD) of physical activity in the intervention and control groups was 8.04 (0.92) and 6.33 (1.60), respectively, which showed a significant difference (t126 =9.71, p < 0.001).

The findings of this study revealed that the training program based on the HPM has a positive effect on improving physical activity in women with type 2 DM.

Nurses form the largest group of burn care treatment team. They have valuable experiences regarding the care of burned patients that needs to be explored. Therefore, the present study was aimed to explain the experiences of nurses who work in the burn unit.

This qualitative study was conducted in the burn units of Zabol and Zahedan Hospitals in 2018. Accordingly, the data were collected through a semi‑structured deep interview with 16 nurses. Purposeful sampling method was used for data collection. The data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach.

The data analysis ultimately led to the development of 4 themes and 16 sub‑themes. The extracted themes included burden of burn unit, toil of burn unit as a deal with God, need for continuing the education program, and work‑life imbalance.

Nurses in burn unit experience many challenges that can affect their job and life, which require special attention of the authorities, their families, and other colleagues. For better patient care, there is a need for up‑to‑date facilities and training. The hospital managers should pay more attention to the nursing staff of the burn units through increasing staff number, changing the working units, and offering

Stroke is a major cause of disability around the world. Different studies have shown the inadequate knowledge and skills of nurses to educate and manage stroke patients. Therefore, stroke patients are facing many challenges in their lifetime. In this study, we investigated the effects of nursing empowerment on stroke patients’ satisfaction.

This cross‑sectional study is the fifth stage (evaluation phase) of action research study that was conducted on 29 stroke patients from Alzahra hospital, Isfahan, Iran, during 2013‑2014. Workshops, pamphlets, and booklets were used for nursing empowerment. The stroke patients have been trained by empowered nurses. The data gathering tool that was the researcher‑made survey questionnaire included the characteristics of patients, participants’ satisfaction with self‑care training and nurses’performances. T‑test was used for the analysis of the obtained data.

Twenty‑seven (93.10%) cases mentioned that “they would try to follow all the received trainings”. Twenty‑three (73.10%) cases were satisfied with self‑care training. Majority of patients, 25 (85%) participants were satisfied with the training performances by the empowered nurses and 24 (82.80%) cases were highly satisfied with the nurses’ training method.

Most patients were satisfied with the self‑care training held by the nurses. Based on the obtained data by questionnaires, the nurses’ performance and their training methods were directly associated with a high satisfaction level in stroke patients. Therefore, improving the skills and knowledge of nurses could be a potential approach for increasing the satisfaction levels among stroke patients.

Preterm birth is increasing as a major cause of perinatal complications and mortality in Iran. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of prenatal self‑care based on Orem’s theory on preterm birthoccurrence in women at risk for preterm birth.

The present clinical trial was conducted on 176pregnant women at 24–26 weeks at risk for preterm birth in Mashhad, Iran, from December 2015 to October 2016. A multistage sampling method was used in this study. The intervention group (88 pregnant women) received individual self‑care education but the control group (88 pregnant women) received only common prenatal care.

There was a statistically significant difference between intervention and control groups in terms of preterm birth occurrence (6.80% vs 20.50%) (c2 = 6.90, df = 1, p = 0.008). The incidence of preterm birth in the intervention group was approximately three times higher than that in the control group.

Given that educational interventions could reduce the incidence of preterm birth, it is suggested that the women at risk for preterm birth are trained for prenatal self‑care.

Nurses suffer from Compassion Fatigue (CF) when exposed to chronic stress while caring for patients. Depression and anxiety disorders can develop following CF and intervention at the earliest is essential. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Accelerated Recovery Program (ARP) on CF among nurses.

The present experimental study was carried out with a pretest posttest design and control group among 120 nurses working in Narayana Medical College Hospital, India. The nurses selected through simple random sampling were divided into two groups: intervention and control (every 60 nurses). Data were collected using the Professional Quality of Life Scale: Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue Version 5 (ProQOL) (Stamm, 2010) which consists of the three subscales of Compassion Satisfaction (CS), Burnout (BO), and Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS). The pretest was conducted at day 1, and posttests I, II, III, IV, and V were conducted at 5th week, 3rd month, 6th month, 9th month, and 12th month, respectively using ProQOL. ARP and routine care were implemented for 5 weeks in the intervention group, and routine activities were implemented in the control group. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

There was a statistically significant difference in the ProQOL score between the intervention and control groups, which demonstrated a significant difference between the groups in terms of CS (F1,118 =120.10, p < 0.001), BO (F1,118 =123., p < 0.001), and STS (F1,118 =205.18, p < 0.001).

In conclusion, ARP has a significant impact on ProQOL, resulting in an improvement in CS, and a decrease in BO and STS.

Intellectually disabled persons, as compared with normal people, experience different changes during the adolescence period including the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics. However, owing to their low intelligence quotient, these changes are usually accompanied by more problems and challenges. The present study was conducted to determine the experiences of parents regarding the sexual and reproductive health of educable intellectually disabled adolescent girls.

This qualitative study was carried out on 52 participants (adolescent girls, parents, teachers, healthcare providers, and managers) who were selected via purposeful sampling in Isfahan between July 2016 and April 2017. Data were collected through semi‑structured interviews, focus group discussions and field notes, and analyzed using conventional content analysis.

Five sub‑categories were extracted: “unawareness about sexual needs of the adolescent girl and her potential vulnerability,” “inappropriate actions in directing the sexual behaviors of the adolescent,” “insufficient supervision and care over the adolescent’s sexual health,” “inappropriate actions toward marrying off the adolescent,” and “inappropriate actions regarding the menstrual and genital health” which formed the main category of “parents’ inefficiency in maintaining adolescent girls’ sexual and reproductive health.”

Based on the results, parents face different challenges about the sexual and reproductive health of intellectually disabled adolescent girls. Hence, empowering the parents especially mothers through teachers and healthcare providers with the knowledge and skills to maintain the sexual and reproductive health of intellectually disabled adolescent girls would make them emboldened to find the ability to protect themselves in different situations.

Abnormal vaginal bleeding is one of the complaints of women during menopause. Various diseases such as endometrial atrophy, polyps, and endometrial cancers may lead to postmenopausal vaginal bleeding. This report describes a case of postmenopausal vaginal bleeding caused by pregnancy. A 54‑year‑old woman referred to the prenatal clinic in Arak, Iran, with postmenopausal vaginal bleeding in 2018. Transabdominal ultrasound revealed an uterine pregnancy. At 28 weeks of gestation, she referred to the health center and her prenatal care began in the midwifery clinic. She gave birth to a baby girl at 34 weeks through a cesarian section. This case reminds practitioners and midwives that pregnancy may be one of the etiologies of postmenopausal vaginal bleeding especially in women with sexual activity. Therefore, a free beta‑subunit human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) hormone measurement should be conducted and if found to be elevated, followed by appropriate imaging tests.