Journal of Client-Centered Nursing Care
Volume:6 Issue: 3, Summer 2020

Empathy and emotional expression, as important psychological elements, significantly impact couples’ marital satisfaction. Premarital counseling models are designed to increase positive couples’ communication behaviors and emotional style. Accordingly, this study compared the effects of marriage preparation based on Satir’s communication model and narrative therapy on empathy and emotional expression in single young adults. 

This quasi-experimental study employed a pre-test, post-test and a control group design. The research population included all girls and boys on the age of marriage who were referred to Vesta Counseling Clinic in Kashan City, Iran, from March 20th, to September 22nd, 2019. The study participants were 45 individuals who were selected by convenience sampling method. Then, they were randomly assigned to three groups (narrative therapy intervention, Satir intervention, and controls) of 15 clients. The research participants in the two intervention groups attended 11 sessions of narrative therapy and Satir communication therapy; however, the controls received no intervention. The data collection instruments were the Emotion Expression Scale (EES), and the Questionnaire Measure of Emotional Empathy (QMEE). The research hypotheses were tested using the Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) by SPSS.

The present study results suggested that narrative therapy (F=53.97, P=0.0001) was more effective than Satir’s communication model (F=33.82, P=0.0001) in terms of emotional expression. Both intervention groups obtained higher mean scores on emotional expression, compared to the controls (F=29.005, P=0.0001). Besides, the narrative therapy group gained a higher Post-test mean score for empathy (F=101.12, P=0.0001), compared to the Satir group (F=84.93, P=0.0001). Besides, both interventions were more effective in the test groups, compared to the controls (F=68.27, P=0.0001).

Narrative therapy was more effective for improving emotional expression and empathy, compared to Satir’s communication model. Family and marriage counselors are recommended to apply these premarital models for young single adults in counseling centers.

Professionalism is among the major concepts of nursing. Besides, nursing professionalism is often associated with attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors that underlie the successful clinical practice. Personality traits can affect various aspects of an individual’s life. Accordingly, the present study aimed to determine the relationship between personality traits and nursing professionalism. 

A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted on 205 nurses in teaching hospitals of Khoramabad City, Iran, in 2017. The study subjects were recruited by the stratified sampling method. NEO Personality Inventory and Goze Professional Behavior questionnaire were used to collect the required information. Then, the obtained data were analyzed by SPSS using descriptive and inferential statistics. 

Nursing professionalism had a direct relationship with extraversion (r=0.330, P<0.05), conscientiousness (r=0.333, P<0.05), and agreeableness (r=0.172, P=0.014); it also had an inversed relationship with neuroticism (r=- 0.161, P=0.021). 

The Big Five personality traits are strongly related to nursing professionalism; with conscientiousness and extraversion as the most pronounced traits. Nurses’ attitudes are partly rooted in their personality traits and these attitudes affect the nurse-patient relationship. Therefore, it is suggested that these characteristics be considered in appointing nurses in different departments.

Considering the new Coronavirus outbreak and limited data about this pandemic in Iran, this study aimed at assessing the demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms, paraclinical findings, and radiological features of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 according to their hospital records. 

In this descriptive-cross-sectional study, the required data were collected from the Health Information System (HIS) and the records of the patients who had been hospitalized following positive COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and lung Computed Tomography (CT) scans, in some hospitals of Markazi Province, Iran from February 20, 2020, to April 20, 2020. The selected hospitals were affiliated with the Iranian Social Security Organization. Clinical follow-up was continued until April 26, 2020. During this period, 260 records were assessed. The collected data included demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms, as well as the paraclinical findings and radiological features of the patients. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS. 

Among 260 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 161 (61.9%) cases were men and 99 (38.1%) were women. The Mean±SD age of the explored patients was 58.78±16.44 years. Besides, 221 (85%) patients were hospitalized in the general ward and 39 (15%) cases in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Hypertension and diabetes were the most prevalent medical histories (comorbidities). Fever, fatigue, cough, anorexia, myalgia, dyspnea, oliguria, taste impairment, and smell deficiency were the most frequent clinical symptoms. Neutrophilia, lymphopenia, low blood glucose level, and increased BUN, ALP, CRP, and ESR were among the critical laboratory findings. Almost 30% of the studied patients presented acidosis in arterial blood gases analysis and 55% had normal blood gasses. Decreased PaO2 was observed in 80% of the investigated patients. Most of the patients had received oxygen therapy, lopinavir, and hydroxychloroquine. Additionally, 11.2% of the patients were under invasive mechanical ventilators. Concerning the lung CT scan, 42.7% of the patients had ≥5 involved lobes. In terms of density, 51.9% of the subjects had mixed opacity. Most lung damages (41.5%) were in the central part of the lungs. In 55.8% of cases, these damages were patchy lesions, and 40% had an air-bronchogram. According to the Chi-squared test data, there was a significant relationship between the location of the lesions and the patient’s need for suction (P<0.001). Besides, patients with central lung lesions required the highest percentage of suction (26%). In this study, 15% of the explored patients were hospitalized in the ICU, 84% were discharged by April 26, and 8.07% died. 

The current research results provide the health team with beneficial information about the assessment and care of patients with COVID-19 and the prediction of treatment outcomes.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) lack sufficient language and writing abilities and experience delays in the development of their social activities. Thus, this study aimed at determining the effects of children’s pedagogical songs on the development of social as well as writing and speaking abilities in children with ASD. 

This was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test and a control group design. The study sample consisted of 30 children aged 8-10 years with ASD referring to the Welfare Organization in 2018. The necessary data were collected by the Vineland Social Maturity Scale (VSMS) and the Test of Language Development (TOLD). The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics as well as Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) and one-way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) in Manhwa Text using SPSS.

The present research results suggested that rhythmic poetry training was effective on the development of social activities (P<0.01), linguistic skills (P<0.01), and writing abilities (P<0.05) in the explored subjects. 

Based on the obtained results, poetry therapy increased using appropriate language skills, social skills, and written activities in children with ASD. We suggest implementing this method, as an effective intervention, in schools, health centers, and speech therapy centers for children with ASD.

Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) have been used for addressing numerous causes of infertility. However, it remains unclear which kind of these methods are best for various infertility types. Accordingly, this study aimed at determining pregnancy success rates by different ART in tubal, ovarian, and sperm disorders.

The present descriptive retrospective study used the records of individuals who had referred to the Infertility Center of Kerman University of Medical Sciences from March 2016 to December 2017. All subjects underwent Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) and In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). The sperm parameters were assessed based on the criteria of the World Health Organization (WHO) for determining the causes of male infertility. The data were documented and compared with the criteria of the WHO. Then, they were analyzed by analysis of variance, Paired Samples t-test, Chi-squared, or Fisher’s Exact tests using SPSS.

The overall Mean±SD fertility rate in IVF and ICSI was 4.28±2.87 and 3.62±2.54, respectively and the difference was not significant (t=1.02, P=0.319). There was a significant difference in the fertility rate due to tubal infertility (P=0.018) between ICSI and IVF; the fertility rate in the IVF method was significantly higher than that of the ICSI. The pregnancy rate in the freeze method was higher than those of the other methods (P<0.001). This discrepancy was also found in all causes of infertility. There was no significant difference in the disorders of sperm and the result of two methods (IVF/ICSI).

The obtained results suggested that in the freeze method, the pregnancy rate was higher than other approaches; this discrepancy was found in all the causes of infertility. It is suggested that frozen-thawed embryo transfer be used in infertile individuals. This is because it increases the success rate of pregnancy and prevents complications due to the repeated use of infertility treatments and exorbitant treatment costs.

Bullying and the lack of social skills are essential for future risk-related problems, such as delinquency and feelings of rejection in children. The present study aimed to assess the effects of coloring mandala as Jungian art to reduce bullying and increase social skills in Afghan male working children.

It was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test and a control group design. The research population included all 10- to 12-year-old Afghan immigrant boys in Tehran City, Iran, who were studying in Parto School for Working Children, in 2019. The research sample consisted of 30 children who have obtained maximum scores on the Illinois Bully Scale (IBS) and minimum scores on the Teenage Social Skills Inventory (TSSI). The research participants were selected using a convenience sampling method. Then, they were assigned to the control and treatment groups by drawing lots. The treatment group attended ten 45-minute sessions of coloring mandalas and Jungian art. The data collection tools were the IBS: Student Version (Espelage & Holt, 2001) and the TSSI (Inderbitzen & Foster, 1992). The data were analyzed using the one-way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS.

The present research results suggested that the bullying scores for the participants in the treatment group significantly decreased at the post-test, compared to the pre-test (F=24.29, P=0.001); however, their social skills scores significantly increased at the post-test, in comparison with the pre-test (F=42.41, P=0.001). However, no significant differences were found in the bullying and social skills scores of the controls between the pre-test and post-test phases. 

Mandala coloring art was effective in reducing bullying behaviors and increasing social skills among the explored Afghan migrant working children. Therefore, this artistic method can be used as a suitable option for psychological therapies, teaching social skills, and creating participation and empathy in children in educational centers and schools for child labor.

Cultural competence is an essential factor in providing effective services to care seekers. Providing cultural care is a necessity in nursing; thus, measuring cultural competence in nurses is of great importance. Accordingly, the current study aimed at introducing the scales for measuring cultural competence in nursing. 

The current narrative review study was conducted by searching the internet and library resources through credible databases. The keywords “cultural competence, cultural competency, cultural instruments, the measurement of cultural competency, nursing, nursing students, and cultural sensitivity” were used individually and in combination. The selected articles were in English, without any time limits, and only in the medical fields.

Among 16 articles related to cultural competence scales, 19 scales were discovered; 12 of which were in English and applicable in nursing. Nine tools were designed based on a conceptual framework/model, and only 6 of them received psychometric evaluations.

The comparison of the scales suggested that all of them were developed based on different conceptual frameworks; accordingly, various factors should be considered when using them. The compatibility of the scale with the culture and environmental conditions of the studied population, and the areas of cultural competence it investigates, are among such characteristics.