International Journal of Health Studies
Volume:8 Issue: 2, Apr-Jun 2022

In recent years, the use of medicinal plants in developing countries has increased significantly. However, these plants can cause adverse effects on the mother and fetus. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of use, knowledge, and attitude towards the use of medicinal plants in pregnant women.

This descriptive–analytical study was performed in 2020 on 290 pregnant women referring to Shahroud health center. The first part of the questionnaire included demographic information and the second part included information related to knowledge, attitude, behavior, reasons for using medicinal plants, source of information, etc. The significant level was set at 0.05.

61% of the participants had used the medicinal plants at least once during pregnancy. Most pregnant women had moderate knowledge (50%) and a positive attitude (73.1%) towards the use of medicinal plants. Behavior was significantly associated with knowledge (Pvalue=0.011) and attitude (Pvalue=0.014). The most common problem during pregnancy that caused the use of medicinal plants was heartburn (43.4%) and the main reason for the use of these plants was the availability of them at home or taking from acquaintances (36.6%). 57.2% had obtained their information about medicinal plants from the family.

Due to the relatively high frequency of the use of medicinal plants during pregnancy and low knowledge about it, informing and increasing knowledge about medicinal plants during pregnancy is very important.

Safety culture is one of the most important determinants of patient safety in hospitals. Due to the increasing prevalence of medical errors, increasing public attention, and public opinion pressure on this issue as well as the limitations of studies in this area, the current study was conducted to identify the role of professional behavior to improve patient safety culture in clinical nurses.

This cross-sectional study was performed on 230 nurses in Shahroud Iran. Data collection instruments included a demographic information form, the hospital survey on patient safety culture questionnaire, and the nursing professional behaviors scale. Stratified random sampling was used and data were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics (linear regression analysis).

Participants’ mean scores of patient safety culture and professional behavior were 132.51±15.97 and 109.57±18.01, respectively. A high score of nurses' professional behavior was directly associated with a higher level of patient safety culture. In addition, the number of working hours per week and change in the workplace were significantly related to patient safety culture level (Pvalue=0.002).

Professional behavior is an effective factor in enhancing safety culture in nurses. Therefore, paying attention to the training and proper application of professional behavior in nurses can improve the level of patient safety culture.

Satisfaction with neighborhood environment in historic quarters is a major indicator of livability and urban quality of life in these quarters, yet little research has been conducted on neighborhood satisfaction in historic contexts of Iranian cities. This descriptiveanalytical study aimed to evaluate the level of the neighborhood (outdoor living spaces) satisfaction and determinants contribute to it in Esfanjan historic neighborhood, Semnan city, Iran.

Determinants of neighborhood satisfaction were collected through a comprehensive literature review, organized in a questionnaire form, and distributed among 215 residents of the neighborhood using the convenience sampling method. The Likert scale was used to express satisfaction levels and the Pearson correlation test in SPSS software was used to measure the level of satisfaction and the relationship between influenced factors and neighborhood satisfaction.

The results show that the level of neighborhood satisfaction in the Esfanjan quarter is low and there is a meaningful relationship between all determinant categories and satisfaction. The most significant relationship is related to physical-spatial, functionalstructural, socio-cultural, and individual-contextual factors respectively. Among functional-structural factors, maintenance; among physical-spatial factors, quality of access routes; among socio-cultural factors, social interaction and participation; and among individualcontextual factors length of habitation have the strongest correlation with neighborhood satisfaction.

This study reveals the importance of good design as the chief factor that influences neighborhood satisfaction in this historic quarter. It also suggests some measures and strategies achieve a more livable urban environment in Esfanjan historic quarter based on neighborhood satisfaction.

Marital commitment has been identified as one of the effective components in the development and stability of marital relationships. This study aimed to investigate the inter-structural relationships between early maladaptive schemas and marital commitment mediated by communication patterns in couples.

This correlational study was performed on married students of Mashhad Islamic Azad university with more than 3 years of marital life in 2019-2020. 300 people participated according to the research statistical method based on hidden variables. Data were collected using Adams and Jones marital commitment questionnaire (1997), Young early maladaptive schema questionnaire (1998), and Christensen and sullaway communication patterns questionnaire (1984). Data analysis was performed by the structural equation method.

The results of path coefficients revealed that the direct effect of early maladaptive schemas on communication patterns is positive and significant (P≤0.01, =0.71) and its effect on marital commitment is negative and significant (Pvalue≤0.01, =-0.45). Also, the direct effect of communication patterns on marital commitment is significant and negative (Pvalue≤0.01, ß=-0.41). Examining of standardized coefficients of indirect effects showed that the indirect effect of early maladaptive schemas on marital commitment is significant with the mediating role of communication patterns (Pvalue<0.01, IF=-0.51). The explained variance of marital commitment in terms of early maladaptive schemas and communication patterns was equal to 0.59.

According to the results, communication patterns act as a mediating variable in the relationship between early maladaptive schemas and marital commitment. Furthermore, two variables of communication patterns and early maladaptive schemas can predict marital commitment.

About 17 to 80% of borderline personality disorder (BPD) patients suffer repeated NSSI (most frequently, cutting/burning self-injury), while 46 to 92% of BPD patients attempt suicide. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the condensed dialectic behavior in reducing automatic negative thoughts and its positive effects on non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior in borderline personality disorder (BPD).

A semi-experimental study with pre-and post-tests is going on with both an experimental group and a control group. In 2019, twenty-two BPD adolescents who attended the treatment clinic) Masire Sabz), district 8, Tehran, were divided into two groups. Two questionnaires of automatic negative thoughts and non-suicidal suicide self-injury were administered before and after the intervention. This study employed SPSS 23 with Levene's test, as well as ANOVA to analyze the data. During the intervention group, twelve 90-minute sessions took place with participants in the intervention group, which followed a protocol adapted from a standard DBT protocol for BD participants in the control group waited for a treatment appointment.

The results showed that the scores of the intervention group significantly decreased in the Automatic negative thoughts and nonsuicidal self-injury after 2 months of the intervention (Pvalue<0.001).

It can be concluded that dialectical behavior therapy was effective on automatic negative thoughts and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior among borderline personality disorder adolescents.

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the prevention and relationship enhancement program (PREP) on marital burnout in married women.

Thirty married women were selected and randomly replaced in experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. The quasiexperimental research method was conducted in the pretest-posttest control group design to examine the effectiveness of the PREP on marital burnout in married women. The sessions of the PREP were implemented for the experimental group during 8 sessions of 90 minutes, one session per week, and no educational intervention was performed for the control group. Multivariate analysis of covariance was used as a statistical method.

The results showed that there was a significant difference between the control and experimental groups in psychological and emotional aspects of marital burnout(Pvalue≤0.02). Our results also showed that the total burnout score was significantly different from pre-test to post-test in the experimental group (Pvalue≤0.01).

It can be implied from the results of our study that PREP can have different implications in Iranian culture.

One of the most important issues since SARS-CoV-2 was identified was the growing information on how the virus was transmitted and how to protect against it. However, many key questions have not yet been fully answered. This study aimed to investigate the correct wearing of a mask in Shahroud city.

This study was a descriptive cross-sectional one conducted on 800 people in Shahroud city in a two-month interval (Aug. 22, 2020, to October 30, 2020). Data were collected using a checklist including demographic information. After being collected, the data were entered into SPSS18 and analyzed using descriptive statistics.

The results indicated that out of 800 people taking part, 415 people (51.9%) were male and 385 ones (48.1%) were female. The mean participants’ age was 61.78 16±16.09; most participants in the study were born in the year 1972-1995 with 385 ones (48%). Also, concerning masks, it was found that the use of masks and the correct use of them accounted for 528 cases (66%) and 377 cases (47.1%), respectively. The most used mask was a surgical mask with 343 cases (42.9). Concerning the non-use of a mask, 132 people (16.5%) cited choking as the most important reason for not wearing a mask. Also, 681 people (85.1%) and 557 ones (69.6%) had chosen not to participate at weddings and parties, respectively.

The results suggested that a greater percentage of participants in the study knew how to correctly wear a mask while not having a history of participating in ceremonies and parties, which is a very good issue.

Due to the lack of a comparative study on the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral approaches on Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), this study aimed to compare the effectiveness of CBT, ACT, MCT, and MICBT on the symptoms of OCD patients.

The research design was experimental, with pre-test, post-test, follow-up, and a control group. The research population comprised patients with OCD who are referred to Shiraz (Iran) Counseling centers in the first quarter of 2017 with a definitive diagnosis of OCD. Participants were elected and had been assigned to five groups of twenty individuals by random. The subjects have been evaluated before and after the intervention by the Yale-Brown questionnaire. Data are analyzed using repeated measure analysis of Anova via SPSS 21.

The findings showed that all four types of intervention, i.e., MiCBT, MCT, ACT, and CBT, were effective in improving short-term OCD symptoms. Also, there was no significant difference in the long-term (follow-up/one month) between the MCT and CBT approaches; while ACT and MiCBT have maintained their therapeutic effect in the follow-up.

OCD can be treated with all the mentioned therapies in short term; but, only ACT and MiCBT can be helpful in the long term.