Journal of Research and Health
Volume:10 Issue: 3, May Jun 2020

During the 21st century, human beings have encountered three major diseases caused by newly discovered coronaviruses called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). COVID-19, declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization [1], emerged in Wuhan, China in the last days of 2019 and rapidly spread around the world. There are more than 4400000 cases of COVID-19 and 298000 deaths attributed to the disease until May 14, 2020. In Iran, nearly 113000 cases and more than 6700 deaths have been reported to this date [2]. Despite the similarities between the three diseases in terms of the causative agent, the modes of transmission, and the main symptoms, the impact of COVID-19 on public health is very different from SARS and MERS for several reasons. The rapid global spread of COVID-19, the high fatality rate, and the different nature of the virus in terms of persistence in the environment could be considered as the reasons for this difference. To control the disease, various precautions have recommended such as hand washing, social distancing, social isolation, use of personal protective equipment, school/university closure, working at home, cocooning the vulnerable groups such as the elderly, and travel ban [3]. But, these pieces of advice could also have some negative impacts on human life. The social, economic, and cultural consequences of these recommendations could also endanger human public health in the short and long term [4, 5]. Moreover, the main health implications due to implementation of the COVID-19 recommendation are psychological impacts such as psychological distress [6], anxiety [7, 8], depression [9], and insomnia [10] among people, students, and medical staff. As providing qualified care for health service recipients is important, it seems that evaluation and control of the psychological impact among health care professionals have a special priority. There may also be negative public health effects because of the persistence of COVID-19. Indeed, people may fear of potential transmission of the virus while visiting the hospitals, health centers, and health units, even when receiving the required services [11, 12]. Therefore, the necessary services are not received on time, and this could lead to complications in the public health of the community. One of the most important health care services is immunization services [13]. Lack of adequate attention to the immunization program of less than 24-month old children, especially in poor countries and the poor population of rich countries could lead to the loss of all positive vaccination achievements over the past decades. Inadequate attention to immunization can even lead to the return of epidemic-prone diseases such as measles, rubella, polio, diphtheria, and pertussis. WHO asserts that “if immunization services are compromised due to severe limitation of health-care resources, vaccines for these diseases may need to be prioritized” [14]. Although the sustenance of routine vaccination of the target groups would be vital to maintain public health, health services have an important responsibility to protect all health workers [14, 15]. So, while emphasizing the continuity of the immunization program, providing suitable workspace for immunization with the least risk of contamination to the vaccine recipients, as well as providing effective personal protective equipment for the vaccinators would be essential. Another important group that may be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is the elderly [16]. Social isolation may protect the elderly from getting COVID-19, but there are serious public health concerns. Indeed, the risk of their cardiovascular, mental health, autoimmune, and neurocognitive problems may increase during cocooning [17]. They may also be deprived of receiving routine services due to isolation, especially those who do not have close family and or friends. To prevent these problems, the health system may need to run an active health care program through health centers or to launch and enhance a voluntary supporting service for the elderly [16]. In general, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected all aspects of human life, including public health. We do not know when the COVID-19 pandemic will end. So, proper intervention planning and adequate attention to medical staff as well as vulnerable groups in society, including children and the elderly, are needed to reduce the implications of the pandemic. In this regard, the role of international health agencies and the responsibility of governments as well as researchers to provide credible research evidence for informed decisions would be very vital and significant.

Late adulthood, as a sensitive life period of humans, requires unique attention. Elderly people are faced with challenging conditions, including death anxiety. This research aimed to investigate the relationship between religious attitudes and death anxiety in the elderly population of Gonabad City, South Khorasan Province, Iran. 

It was a cross-sectional and correlational study. The study sample included 200 adults older than 60 years. The sample is collected from the adult population of Gonabad City using the random sampling method. The obtained data were analyzed with G Power 3.0.10 software. The religious attitudes questionnaire of Khodayarifard et al. was used to evaluate four religiosity dimensions: religious convictions, affections, behaviors, and social pretensions. A high score in each subscale implies greater religiosity tendencies. The Templer questionnaire was also used to assess the anxiety of death. This questionnaire includes the fear of death; the fear of pain and disease; the thoughts of death, passing time, and shortening life; and the fear of the future. The data were analyzed with the Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman tests.

The religious attitudes were inversely correlated with death anxiety. This implies that the anxiety has decreased as religious attitudes have increased. This research showed a relationship between death anxiety and the population variables (education level, the source of revenue, etc.) This study also indicated a connection between religious attitudes and population variables (marital status, educational level, the source of revenue, lifestyle, and financial status). 

According to the present findings, a better religious approach could improve mental health and decrease death anxiety among elderly people.

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of mindfulness, spiritual experiences, and coping strategies in predicting the quality of patients’ life with Tuberculosis (TB).

The present research is a correlational study and the statistical population comprised all TB patients referred to the Tuberculosis Center in Zabol City, Iran. A sample of 100 people was selected randomly, and they answered the five factorial mindfulness questionnaire, Bonab spiritual experiences scale, Lazarus and Folkman ways of coping questionnaire, and the World Health Organization quality of life scale.

The obtained data were analyzed by using correlation matrix and multiple regressions. The results showed a significant and positive relationship between mind-awareness and quality of life, and this variable could predict 38% and the spiritual experiences 27% and problem-oriented coping strategies 5.2% of the life quality variance. 

There is a negative and significant relationship between emotional coping strategies and quality of life. Given that psychological factors can be predictors of quality of life, they should be taken into consideration in therapeutic planning.

Patients afety is a global medical concern with remarkable influence on the health of patients. Studies have suggested that treatment-related damages occur in approximately 10% of patients at variable degrees, and more than a quarter of these damages are associated with medication errors. Medication errors could be diminished during patient hospitalization and transferusing integrated medication reconciliation. This study aimed to evaluate the determinants of completing integrated medication reconciliation forms based on the theory of diffusion of innovations among the nurses of Ziaei Hospital of Ardakan City and Imam Jafar Sadegh Hospital of Meybod City, Yazd.

In this study, required data were collected from the nurses engaged in the admission centers of the selected hospitals using researcher-made questionnaires. Data analysis was performed in SPSS v. 19 using Spearman’s correlation-coefficient and Mann-Whitney U test.

Findings of this study regarding different structures of integrated medication reconciliation forms were as follows: relative advantage    (86.5 of the maximum score), perceived compatibility (40.75), perceived complexity (44.3), visibility (83.6), and testability (79.8). Moreover, significant correlations were observed between the structures of comparative advantage, perceived compatibility, testability, and visibility.

According to the results of this study, promoting the knowledge and professional attitude of nurses could increase their compatibility regarding the implementation of integrated medication reconciliation. In addition, elaboration on the proper principles of the completion of this form could reduce the mean score of the perceived complexity structure.

Smoking is one of the most common causes of mortality in the world. Emotional intelligence is the adapting ability to respond to the environment and people appropriately. It plays an important role in various aspects of life such as facing stressful situations and consequently, smoking. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between nicotine dependency and emotional intelligence among male smokers. 

This study was conducted on 350 male smokers working at Urmia University of Medical Sciences. The study tools were Cyberia Shrink emotional intelligence questionnaire and Fagerstrom nicotine dependence test.  

The Mean±SD of nicotine dependency and emotional intelligence were 3.33±2.31 (ranged from 0-10), and 110.26±16.24 (ranged from 33-165), respectively. Overall, the results showed a significant reverse relationship between emotional intelligence and its dimensions with nicotine dependency. Individuals with higher emotional intelligence had a lower degree of nicotine dependency. 

Emotional intelligence acts as a guard against harmful behaviors such as smoking. Nicotine dependency can be reduced by teaching emotional intelligence skills.

Walking impairment is one of the most reported symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The documentation of gait impairments is important for indexing disease progression and rehabilitation in MS. By measuring and comparing relevant parameters based on the Center of Pressure (COP) patterns, this study aimed to characterize the execution of the gait task and to identify the relationship between these parameters and the level of Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). 

Ten women with MS, with an average EDSS score of 2.4, and 10 healthy women were tested using a force plate and motion capture system during the transition from standing to gait posture. The time series of COP were acquired and processed to extract the trajectory-related parameters followed by the COP.

The correlation analysis underlined that the progressive alteration of the task execution is directly related to the increase in the EDSS score. These findings suggest that most of the impairments found in people with MS originate from the first part of the COP pattern: the anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs). Before every voluntary movement, the central nervous system performs APAs to minimize the balance perturbation due to the movement itself. 

Gait initiation APAs play a role in some contractions of ankle muscles and induce a backward COP shift to the swing limb. Our analysis highlighted that patients who affected by MS have a reduced posterior COP shift that reveals the impairment of the anticipatory mechanism.

Many studies have emphasized the craving experience as a reason for the persistence of addiction. This study aimed to compare the effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (TDCS) with Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (CBT) on reducing craving and increasing the resilience of addicts under treatment. 

The study population comprised all addicts referring to addiction clinics in. To implement the research, 45 participants were selected purposely from these clinics based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria and randomly assigned to three groups (15 participants in each group). The experimental group number 1 received electrical stimulation of the brain over the skull twice a week for the 10 sequential sessions. Experimental group number 2 received 10 sessions of CBT. Research tools were drug craving and resilience questionnaires. 

The results of covariance multi-factor analysis of variance showed that TDCS and CBT have decreased craving and increased resilience. 

Both interventions can be utilized to enhance resilience and decrease craving in volunteers for quitting addiction referring to addiction clinics.

Philosophy for children (P4C) is a wonderful way of bringing teachers and children together to discuss crucial topics. It has many benefits for both groups. This study aimed to evaluate the teaching process-approach of P4C on students’ metacognitive and irrational beliefs by using an experimental design with the pretest-posttest and control group.

The statistical population consisted of all male students in the sixth grade of elementary schools, out of whom 50 students were randomly allocated to the experimental and control groups. The measurement tools included the metacognition questionnaire of Jones’s irrational beliefs. At first, the pretest was done on both two groups. Then, 12 one-hour sessions of philosophy process-approach teaching were provided to the experimental group, while the control group did not receive any specific teaching. In the end, the posttest was done on both two groups.

The findings showed that the use of a process approach in teaching philosophy has decreased the mean score of negative metacognitive and irrational beliefs among the students in the experimental group; however, there was no significant change in the control group.

P4C can affect negative metacognitive and irrational beliefs.

A healthy diet is one of the most important aspects of health. Nowadays, scrutinizing dietary patterns rather than specific nutrients have prime importance. The purpose of this study is to identify the dominant dietary patterns among adults in Gonabad City in 2019. 

In this cross-sectional study, 250 individuals aged 18-70 years living in Gonabad were selected by multistage random sampling from urban zones 1, 2, and 3 covered by community health centers. Regular dietary intakes of individuals over the past year were obtained using the food frequency questionnaire, and demographic characteristics were obtained via face-to-face interviews. Factor analysis was used to identify dominant dietary patterns. The relationship between dominant dietary patterns and demographic characteristics was assessed employing a Chi-square test. 

Participants’ ages range from 36.40±13.16 years, of whom 44.8% were male, 82.4% were married and 60% were employed. Two healthy and unhealthy dietary patterns were identified. There was a statistically significant relationship between healthy dietary patterns and variables of age (P<0.001), sex (P=0.01), and occupation (P<0.001). Moreover, there was a statistically significant relationship between unhealthy dietary patterns with variables of age (P<0.001), sex (P=0.014), and the number of family members (P=0.035). Demographic characteristics are among the influential factors affecting the type of adult food pattern in Gonabad. It is suggested to consider demographic factors in determining the relationship between dietary patterns and disease.

Demographic characteristics are among the influential factors affecting the type of adult food pattern in Gonabad. It is suggested to consider demographic factors in determining the relationship between dietary patterns and disease.