Women’s Health Bulletin
Volume:9 Issue: 1, Jan 2022

The mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience extreme stress due to the limited social, communicational, and emotional competencies of their children along with inefficient cognitive development and maladjustment. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy and pivotal response treatment (PRT) in family satisfaction in mothers of children with ASD.

The research method was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest control group design. The study population comprised all mothers of children with autism in Ahvaz, Iran in 2021. Forty-five mothers were selected through convenience sampling and were randomly divided into two experimental groups and one control group (each with 15 members). The experimental group underwent positive psychotherapy (fourteen 90-minute sessions) and PRT (twelve 90-minute sessions). However, the control group received no intervention. The data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance.

The mean±standard deviation of the post-test scores of family satisfaction in the positive psychotherapy and PRT groups was 33.66±6.98 and 36.26±6.57, which was significantly different from the control group (18.53±4.05). The results suggested that both positive psychotherapy and PRT were effective in increasing family satisfaction in mothers of children with autism (p <0.001). There were no significant differences between the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy and PRT in increasing family satisfaction in mothers of children with autism.

It can be concluded that positive psychotherapy and PRT can be adopted to increase the family satisfaction of mothers.

Women with breast cancer may suffer from numerous psychological, physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional problems. If their psychological disorders persist, they may perceive a high level of stress. We conducted the present study to evaluate the effect of positive thinking skills training and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on perceived stress among women with breast cancer in Ahvaz, Iran in 2019.

This was an experimental controlled pretest-posttest study. A sample of 45 women with breast cancer was conveniently selected and randomly allocated to the positive skills training group, ACT group, and the control group. The first and second experimental groups underwent eight sessions (90-minute sessions per week) of positive thinking skills training and ACT, respectively. The research instrument included the Perceived Stress Scale. One-way analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data.

The mean±SD of the post-test scores of perceived stress in the positive thinking skills training group was 17.01±2.32 while it was 22.53±1.45 in the ACT group, which was significantly different from the control group (54.10±4.37). Positive thinking skills training and ACT both reduced the perceived stress in women with breast cancer in the experimental groups compared to that in the control group. Positive thinking skills training had a significantly greater effect than ACT on mitigating perceived stress (p <0.001).

According to the results, positive thinking training and ACT were effective in reducing perceived stress in women with breast cancer. Moreover, positive thinking training was more effective in declining stress in women with breast cancer.

The presence of specific learning disability (LD) in any family overshadows the structure and mental health of family members, especially mothers. The purpose of this study was the modeling of loneliness in mothers with children having LD based on coping strategies with the mediating role of self-efficacy.

The method of the current study was structural equation modeling. The statistical population included all the mothers with children having LD referred to medical centers in Tabriz, Iran in 2021, 300 of which were selected as the sample via purposive sampling and the questionnaires of loneliness (Russell and Pilva, 1980), coping techniques (Billing and Moss, 1981), and self-efficacy (Asghari and Nicholas, 1989) were completed. The obtained data were statistically analyzed through correlation coefficient and path analysis using SPSS and AMOS software.

The findings showed that the direct path from problem-oriented strategy to feeling lonely (P=0.009), from emotionoriented strategy to self-efficacy (P=0.0001), from emotion-oriented strategy to feeling lonely(P=0.032), and self-efficacy to feeling lonely (P=0.008) were statistically significant, but problem-oriented strategy to self-efficacy was not of significance(P=0.413). Additionally, the indirect pathway from problem-oriented to feeling lonely via self-efficacy was not significant (P=0.395), but emotion oriented to feeling lonely via self-efficacy was significant (P=0.005).

Based on the results of this work, it could be acknowledged that researchers and consultants in educational and medical centers can benefit by holding training workshops on coping strategies and skills training to strengthen self-efficacy and reduce the feeling of loneliness of mothers with LD children.

Escherichia coli (E. coli) are known to be a major cause of uropathogen among women globally. Urinary tract infection in pregnant women continues to pose clinical problems, which is a big burden for physicians. The emergence of antibiotic resistance to E. coli is inevitable and one of the critical health-associated problems. The present study aimed to determine the E. coli isolates, risk factors, and antibiotic resistance profile of the UTI among pregnant women.

We conducted this cross-sectional study on pregnant women who attended maternity hospital in Zakho City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. From October 2020 to January 2021, 196 subjects were recruited in the present experiment. Uropathogenic E. coli were detected from mid-stream urine of the participants. Subsequently, we performed antibiotic sensitivity test using microbiological standard tests. Through the use of designed questionnaires, the required data were collected, processed, and analysed via the Fisher’s exact test and Chi-square.

Out of a total of 196 subjects, 34 (17.34%) were culture positive for E. coli infection among pregnant women. A high rate of infection was detected in the age group of between 25-34 years (21.6%). Additionally, the highest rate of E. coli belonged to illiterate people (19.4%), followed by those with higher education (18.9%). The assessment of the risk factors associated with E. coli indicated that diabetes (P=0.028), a history of UTI infection (P=0.049), and the presence of symptoms during infection (P=0.001) were statistically significantly different. The antibiotics sensitivity profile in urine samples of pregnant women showed that E. coli were extremely sensitive to Nitrofurantoin (82.4%), Meropenem (79.4%), and around 67.6% for both Amikacin and Ciprofloxacin.

The prevalence rate of E. coli infection is quite lower among pregnant women compared to that in non-pregnant ones. The major risk factors associated with E. coli during pregnancy were diabetes mellitus, a history of UTI, and the presence of symptoms during infection. E. coli isolated from urine samples seem to be different concerning antibiotic sensitivity pattern. During their regular follow-up, pregnant women should also be examined for major risk factors and antibiotic susceptibility.

The pandemic of Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) has exposed working mothers to a disproportionate amount of stress. The present study aimed to examine the coping strategies associated with depression in this group during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

The cross-sectional sample consisted of 192 working mothers from the United States (76% married, 70.3% white, mean age=33.4 years). The participants were recruited through a Qualtrics panel in April 2020 and completed the questionnaires of the Brief-COPE and the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) online. The results from t-tests, ANOVAs, Pearson correlations, and hierarchical linear regression analyses were examined.

The coping styles of self-distraction (r=0.17, P=0.02), denial (r=0.32, p <0.001), substance abuse (r=0.39, p <0.001), instrumental support (r=0.22, P=0.002), behavioral disengagement (r=0.464, p <0.001), venting (r=0.44, p <0.001), planning (r=0.22, P=002), humor (r=0.26, p <0.001), and self-blame (r=0.57, p <0.001) were found to be significantly correlated with depression. The hierarchical linear regression revealed the followings: venting (B=0.561 and P=0.033) and self-blame (B=1.212 and p <0.001).

These results, coupled with the elevated prevalence of depression in the sample, highlighted the importance of considering coping strategies when evaluating the depression-related risk factors in working mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exercise training and zataria multiflora exert anti-inflammatory effects alone and together; these anti-inflammatory effects are partly related to modulating adipokines secretion from adipose tissue. This research aimed to investigate the effect of combined training (aerobic-resistance) and zataria multiflora supplementation on serum resistin and retinol binding protein 4 (RBP-4) in sedentary women.

The present randomized clinical trial, under the registration number IRCT20200812048388N1, was conducted in the winter and spring of 2021. The participants included 40 overweight and obese women who were assigned in four groups (10 women in each group), namely combined training with zataria multiflora (TZ), combined training (T), zataria multiflora (Z), and placebo (C) groups. Each combined training session consisted of 30 min of aerobic exercise, followed by 30 min of resistance exercise. Zataria multiflora supplement was also consumed at 500 mg daily. We carried out blood sampling before and after (48 hours after the last training session) the intervention period and measured the serum levels of RBP-4 and resistin via ELISA method. For data analysis, the SPSS software version 24, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with Bonferroni post-hoc tests were used.

We observed a significant decrease in RBP-4 levels of T compared to that of C group (P=0.045), and in TZ compared to C and Z groups (p <0.001). In addition, the obtained findings indicated a significant decrease in resistin of T compared to that of C group (P=0.046), and in TZ group compared to C and Z groups (p <0.001). In addition, there was a significant decrease in HOMA-IR of T and TZ groups compared to that of C and Z groups (p <0.05).

According to the results, Zataria multiflora supplementation amplified the anti-inflammatory properties of combined training and combined training effect in insulin resistance improvement. Furthermore, it was found to have a synergistic effect along with combined training.