Health Education and Health Promotion
Volume:9 Issue: 1, Winter 2021

The present study aimed at designing the training program of philosophizing and investigating its effects on cognitive flexibility as executive function and proactive inhibition in preschool children.

The methodology used in this study was experimental with pretest-posttest and control group. The statistical population consisted of all preschool children in Mashhad. Forty subjects were selected by the two stages cluster random sampling method and were randomly divided into two experimental and control groups. Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and Stroop test were used to investigating the executive functions. The training program of philosophizing was designed, and children in the experimental group participated in a 20-session program (each session 25 minutes). The children in the control group received no training.

The results of covariance analysis on the scores of cognitive flexibility and proactive inhibition of the posttests of the experimental and control groups showed a significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental and control groups in cognitive flexibility (p<0.01). The rate of these changes was 57% based on the chi-square.

Therefore, it is considered that the training program of philosophizing can be an important factor for promoting the level of cognitive flexibility and proactive inhibition of preschool children and make them enable to understand the concepts in new and different ways.

Physical inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle increase the risk of all-cause mortality. This study aimed to assess the impact of a theory-based education on PA among female health volunteers in Iran by applying the Theory of Planned Behavior.

This randomized controlled trial was conducted on female health volunteers in Shushtar, Iran, from March to December 2016. One hundred ten participants were selected by purposive sampling, and they were randomized into intervention and control groups based on a 1:1 ratio in a single block.  The intervention included three educational sessions and a walking program. A multi-section questionnaire containing items on TPB constructs, the international physical activity questionnaire, and the physiological cost index (PCI- an objective measure of PA) was used to collect the data at baseline and six-month follow-up assessments. Then the data were compared within and between groups using t-test and paired test using SPSS 19 software.

All 110 ‘Health Volunteers’ (55 in each group) were entered into the study. The mean±SD age of participants was 35.65±10.25 years. The results obtained from the analysis showed that the educational program improved attitude towards PA, perceived behavioral control, intention, behavior, and PCI among the intervention group (p<0.001). However, no significant changes occurred in the control group regarding the study variables (p>0.05).

The TPB-directed educational program improved physical activity and physiological cost index. The study framework might be used as a practical template for interventions aimed at improving physical activity among female health volunteers.

Dentists are at high risk of occupational exposure to aerosols, droplets, and droplet/aerosol particles emitted from patientschr('39') mouths during treatment. Therefore, it is natural for dentists to experience a level of fear in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aimed to evaluate the association between fear induced by the COVID-19 epidemic and stress and anxiety scores among dental students.

The present cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2020 among the dental students in Ahvaz, Iran. The standard questionnaire DASS-21 and fear of COVID-19 were used for assessment. The questionnaire was designed on the website https://survey.porsline.ir. A convenience sample of 229 dental students of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences completed the questionnaire. ANCOVA analysis was used to compare the mean scores of four components in different groups, and MANCOVA analysis was used to measure the effect of fear induced by COVID-19 on stress, anxiety, and depression scores, simultaneously.

More than 70% of students were normal in stress, anxiety, and depression. Mental health disorders, social support, and media pressure caused by COVID-19 had a significant relationship with the level of depression and stress scores (p<0.05). Likewise, multivariate analysis showed that the level of fear caused by COVID-19 triggered a significant effect on the score of anxiety, depression, and stress (p=0.001).

The analysis showed that the scores of anxiety, depression, stress, and some other characteristics, including the COVID-19 induced media pressure, are directly associated with the degree of fear of COVID-19. Since fear of disease causes a psychological reaction and threatens mental health, and might make coping with the disease more difficult, promising fear-reduction strategies are recommended during the COVID-19 pandemic mental health for dental students.

Considering that behaviors can be explained based on different theories, one of the most important theories in choosing health behaviors is the Health belief model. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the preventive behaviors regarding corona disease and its related factors based on the health belief model.

The study utilized a cross-sectional study (descriptive-analytical). Web-based sampling methods were used in this study. The sample size was estimated at 2240 samples. Data collection tools included a researcher-made questionnaire. Data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman correlation coefficient tests using SPSS 23. Moreover, the coefficient at a significance level less than 0.05.

There was a significant correlation between age with all constructs of the health belief model in terms of preventive behaviors from COVID-19, gender with all constructs except perceived benefits, education with all constructs except the perceived barriers and performance, and occupation with all constructs except perceived sensitivity (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant negative correlation between perceived benefits and perceived barriers and between perceived barriers and performance. There was a positive and significant correlation between performance score with knowledge (p<0.001, r=0.102) and perceived benefits (p<0.001, r=0.066).

The results showed that the most source of information for people is social networks and the most trusted source of information is a television program. Variables of age group, education, and occupation had the greatest effect on the constructs of the health belief model, and it is suggested that more attention be paid to the elderly, low-educated people, and non-employed occupational groups.

This study aimed to determine the relationship between the constructs of Health Belief Model (HBM) and doing daily exercise to prevent cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) among the employees of Ilam University of medical sciences in Iran.

About 294 employees of Ilam University of medical sciences participated in this cross-sectional study after providing a written consent form in 2017. The tool to collect data was an HBM-ISCS questionnaire, which was applied. Eventually, the obtained data were analyzed using SPSS 16 and logistic regression.

The results showed that 72.4% of participants did not exercise daily, and the Mean±SD of their daily exercise was 8.08±1.51min. Logistic regression showed that the possibility of daily exercise per unit of increase in perceived barriers decreased by about 10%, while every unit of increase in the self-efficacy score resulted in the possibility of 1.12 times more doing daily exercise. The possibility of doing daily exercise among men was 2 times more than in women, and among the personnel of financial/administrative department, it was about 2.5 times more than in the employees of health care department. Accordingly, the possibility of doing exercise decreased by about 8% per unit of increase in work experience.

The amount of doing daily exercise among the participants of this study was low, and implementing interventions commensurate with the results of this study and based on HBM can be effective in improving the amount of doing daily exercise in them.

Breakfast as the most important course meal is often neglected by children and adolescents. The present study aimed to determine the effect of the educational program based on the theory of planned behavior on breakfast consumption among the high school students of Fasa.

The present study is a quasi-experimental study consisting of 120 students selected by the simple random sampling method. The data collection tool was a questionnaire including the demographic questions and the constructs of the theories of planned behavior theory that were completed self-reportedly before and three months after the educational intervention by the intervention and control groups. The intervention group received 10 educational sessions based on the constructs of the theory of planned behavior. Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS software version 22 and using chi-square, independent t-test, paired t-test, and Wilcoxon tests.

Mean scores of attitudes (46.92±6.26), intention (11.24±2.53), perceived behavioral control (22.50±4.25), subjective norms (40.84±7.12) in the experimental group significantly increased after the education compared to the control group. The mean area of attitude after the intervention showed a more significant increase compared to other areas.

The results showed the effect of the educational program based on the theory of planned behavior on the constructs of attitude, behavior, perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, and behavioral intention related to increased breakfast consumption among the first-grade high school students. Therefore, considering the appropriate context of education in schools, the low cost, and effectiveness of educational interventions, theory-based design, and implementation of educational interventions based on the mentioned structures can be suggested to increase breakfast consumption.

Hypertension control is one of the most important healthcare issues in all societies. One way to control high blood pressure is to use antihypertensive medications. Therefore, this research was to study the effect of antihypertensive drugs on changing blood pressure, Body Mass Index, and Framingham Risk Score.

This retrospective cohort study (from January 2014 to January 2018) was done on male workers who work in Mobarakeh steel company using the census method by referring to the workerschr('39') medical records. The case group (n=642) was hypertensive people who took medications for controlling hypertension, and the control group (n=1555) was healthy people without using any hypertension drug. The FRS is a gender-specific algorithm used to estimate the 10-year risk of cardiovascular in individuals. The blood pressure of both arms was measured by three general practitioners using a calibrated portable or wall-mounted Baumometer sphygmomanometer Kompak Model-260mmHg. Data were analyzed by independent t-test and multilevel modeling using R 3.2.1 software.

2197 male workers participate. This study showed that changes in SBP, DBP, and FRchr('39')s variables during 2014 to 2019 in the case group compared to the control group had a significant decrease (p<0.001). Nevertheless, this decrease was not significant for the BMI (p=0.588).

The use of antihypertensive drugs is a very effective method in controlling hypertension patients. Therefore, the priority of pharmacological method in the treatment of this patient is much more effective than other methods.

Fatherschr('39') low health literacy is one factor contributing to childrenchr('39')s poorer oral health. This work aims to evaluate the relationship between the fatherchr('39')s oral health literacy and the childrenchr('39')s oral health in a sample of children with epilepsy.

The present research is a descriptive-analytical study carried out during 2017 in Ahvaz, Iran. One hundred pairs of 3-6 aged children with epilepsy and their fathers referred to a specialized neurologic clinic were included in the study. Childrenchr('39')s oral conditions were evaluated by a dentist based on dmft and simplified oral hygiene (OHI-S) indices.  A valid and reliable researcher-made questionnaire on oral health literacy was filled out by childrenchr('39')s fathers. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and Pearson correlation using SPSS 15.

The mean±SD of OHI-S and dmft index were 2.75±0.95 and 3.51±1.97, respectively. Besides, the mean±SD number of decayed, extracted, and filled teeth of children were obtained to be 2.86±1.65, 0.31±0.48, and 0.19±0.41, respectively. Significant differences were observed between the fatherchr('39')s oral health literacy and the oral health condition of children; dmft value and OHI-S index, (p<0.005). Pearson correlations showed a weak relationship between the comprehension dimension of OHL and dmft and a moderate relationship between the performance dimension of OHL and dmft (p<0.001).

The study showed a significant relationship of the fatherchr('39')s oral health literacy with dmft value and OHI-S score. Therefore, the results highlighted the importance of a family-centered approach to oral health promotion of children with epilepsy and their careers.

The high prevalence of Cesarean section (CS) is a global health concern globally, especially in Iran. The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of a Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) based educational intervention on preventing elective cesareans.

An interventional study (NCT02929875) was conducted on a sample of 100 nulliparous pregnant women attending health care centers in Kermanshah, Iran, 2016. Women were randomly selected and assigned into either intervention or control groups on a 1:1 basis. The intervention group received a theory-based (Theory of Planned Behavior) health education intervention, while the control group received only standard care. A questionnaire containing items on TPB constructs, including attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intention, was used to collect baseline and 1-month follow-up assessments. Each woman also received a phone call after childbirth to record their delivery method. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 15 at a significance level of p<0.05. The paired t-test, the independent t-test, the chi-square, and ANCOVA were used for data analysis.

The results revealed significant differences in scores of attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intention in the intervention group before and after the intervention (p<0.05). Additionally, the intervention group chose elective cesarean less than the control group (p<0.05). The risk of having an elective cesarean section in the intervention group was about one-fifth of the control group (RR= 0.21; CI=0.4197 to 0.0018).

According to this randomized control trial results, the TPB-based education improved the TPB constructs and NVD rates by providing education to women and their close friends or relatives during pregnancy.

Cardiac scan is one of the most accurate cardiovascular tests performed to diagnose coronary artery disease. This study aimed to investigate reducing the anxiety of cardiovascular patients as a result of written-visual training.

The method of this study was quasi-experimental and was performed on 100 cardiovascular patients (50 in the control group and 50 in audio-visual training) referred to the nuclear medicine department of Shahid Rajaei Cardiovascular Hospital in Tehran. Before and after training, participants completed the standard Spielberger Anxiety Inventory (1970). To test the hypotheses, one-way covariance was used. Data were analyzed by SPSS 22.

The study indicated that the mean of anxiety decreased in the experimental group, but the differences between the experimental and control groups were not significant (p<0.05).

Training patients before performing a myocardial perfusion scan has a significant effect on reducing patientschr('39') anxiety and leads to better results and less time wasted.

The increasing rate of divorce has turned it into an important social dilemma, and this necessitates the need to pay attention to the factors related to adjustment after divorce. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between social exclusion and post-divorce adjustment in women.

In this cross-sectional study, 474 divorced women in Rasht City participated. Sampling was performed in a convenience and Snow Ball method. Data collection tools were a three-part questionnaire including demographic information form, social exclusion questionnaire, and post-divorce adjustment questionnaire. Data analysis was performed by descriptive and inferential statistical tests at a significant level (p<0.05).

The highest and lowest scores of social exclusion were related to exclusionary marital status (3.50±0.66) and discriminative marital state (3.9±0.6), respectively. The highest and lowest adjustment scores were related to the areas of self-worth (3.34±0.40) and anger (2.90±0.43), respectively. The areas of horror (β=-0.067; p=0.008) and discriminative marital state (p=<0.001; β=-0.188) were predictors of adjustment. Also, lack of history of physical illness (p=0.024; β=0.145) and increased number of children (p=0.07; β=0.053) had a positive and direct effect on the adjustment.

There is a statistically significant inverse correlation between social exclusion and post-divorce adjustment of women, and therefore the study and development of educational-counseling intervention programs to increase social support can increase women’s adjustment after divorce.

Mass media are among the most important tools for enhancing health information and health promotion in any country. Among the different types of mass media, news agencies are the primary source of health information. The present study examines health coverage in news agencies and implements and evaluates an intervention to improve health promotion news coverage.

The explanatory sequential mixed-method study includes five phases, including quantitative content analysis of news agencies, semi-structured interviews, intervention, and evaluation of the intervention, and synthesis of the recommendations. Four news agencies utilizing the purposeful sampling method would be selected and divided into two cases and two control groups. Primary outcomes: awareness-raising and enhancing the knowledge, attitude, and performance of health journalists and improving the communication between the media and the health sectors. Secondary outcomes: increasing the quality and quantity of public health (health protection, prevention, education, and promotion) related news agencies coverage. In the Fifth phase, utilizing the results of the four phases, a practical recommendation will be proposed for creating health-promoting media.

This result would provide a more holistic approach to understanding the current situation, generating more effective and comprehensive strategies to utilize the potential of news agencies for health promotion and creating health-promoting news agencies.

The quality of antenatal care is recognized as critical to the effectiveness of care in optimizing maternal and child health outcomes. Utilization indices exist to measure the quantity of prenatal care, but currently, there is no accessed instrument to assess the quality of prenatal care in Iran. The purpose of this study was to examine the cross-cultural adaptation of quality of prenatal care using the 46-item Quality Prenatal Care Questionnaire in low-risk pregnant women.

This cross-sectional and psychometric study was performed from June 2018 to January 2019. Two hundred thirty women were referred to community-based practitioners, antenatal hospital clinics, public system, and Private care options. The Quality Prenatal Care Questionnaire was used, and all the data were statistically analyzed using SPSS 22 and LISREL 8.80. The Chi-square test, Cronbachchr('39')s alpha coefficient, KMO index, and Bartlettchr('39')s test of sphericity, as well as EFA and CFA, were applied for statistical analysis.

Cronbachchr('39')s alpha for all items was 0.90, and ICC was 0.93. Explanatory factor analysis demonstrated the adequacy of the sampling (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin=0.80) and significant factorable sphericity (p<0.001). CFA also confirmed the values of fit indices (RMSEA=0.07, CFI>0.92, x 2/df=2.25).

The Quality Prenatal Care Questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring antenatal care quality. The Quality Prenatal Care Questionnaire will be useful in future research as an outcome measure to compare the quality of care across geographic regions, populations, and service delivery, models.

Positive psychology is a new psychology branch that focuses on positive traits leading to freshness, greater concentration, and individualschr('39') satisfaction. This study aimed to extract positivist psychology components and assess the effect of positivist content and theme on school education and improve teacherschr('39') and studentschr('39') psychological capital.

In this hybrid (qualitative-quantitative) research, the first positivist components and themes were extracted from Seligmanchr('39')s point of view using open coding, axial coding, selective coding steps, and a network of positive themes were drawn. Then, to assess the effect of positive psychological components and themes on teacherschr('39') competencies and their mental health and studentschr('39') personal and academic abilities, the opinions of 80 high school principals in Isfahan were evaluated using a researcher-made questionnaire. Data were analyzed by comparison of means and sample t-test using SPSS 19 software.

104 basic and five organizing themes were extracted from the texts of the Positive Psychology book written by Seligman; positive emotion empowerment, fascination (flow), positive relationships, meaning (goal), and achievement (success). Also, from the perspective of principals, positivist components and themes had a positive and above-average effect on improving teacherschr('39') positive mental characteristics, teacherschr('39') mental health and efficiency, teacherschr('39') organizational behavior and interactions, and improving teacherschr('39') abilities and studentschr('39') overall progress (p<0.0001).

Positive psychology has practical and useful components and themes to enhance teacherschr('39') abilities and mental health and can be taught by teachers in various curricula.