Modern Care Journal
Volume:19 Issue: 1, Jan 2022

The spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused restrictions and shutdowns affecting the economic situation, employment, and the educational needs of society. Meanwhile, the universities of medical sciences have faced serious problems in education.

The present study aimed to assess the satisfaction of the students of Qaen and Ferdows medical schools with virtual education during the COVID-19 epidemic. In addition, the factors effective in this satisfaction are investigated.

This descriptive-analytical (cross-sectional) study was conducted at Qaen School of Nursing and Midwifery and Ferdows School of Paramedical Sciences and Health, Iran, using a researcher-made questionnaire provided to students online. The study population was all the students of these two faculties. The sample size was estimated as 285 people using the Morgan table, and 296 individuals participated in the study. Data were collected and analyzed using descriptive and inferential tests by the SPSS software version 24.

Our findings showed that most (40.2%) students had moderate satisfaction, and only 5.74% had very high satisfaction with virtual education. The mean satisfaction of female students was higher than males without a statistically significant difference (P = 0.4). Moreover, the results of the analysis of variance revealed that the level of the academic satisfaction of students is different in distinct academic levels (P = 0.007). In addition, Pearson’s correlation coefficient indicated a significant positive correlation between age and academic satisfaction score (P = 0.001, r = 0.185).

Overall, the results of the present study showed that less than half of the students were moderately satisfied with virtual education. According to the students, this dissatisfaction mainly results from the lack of a suitable infrastructure for virtual classes. Usually, satellite branches are weaker than the main university in terms of facilities and equipment, and solving these problems requires the special attention of education officials and managers.

COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease and a pandemic. Knowledge, attitude, and practice of people about this disease can play an essential role in better accepting executive actions set by health officials and national planners.

This study aimed to determine the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice of the general population of South Khorasan province about COVID-19 and the influencing factors.

This cross-sectional study was performed online on 699 people living in South Khorasan, Iran. The participants were chosen by a convenience sampling technique. The research tool was an adapted questionnaire from researchers that included demographic characteristics, 15 questions on awareness, 12 questions on attitude, and seven questions on practice. Data were analyzed using the independent t test, one-way analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation coefficient.

The levels of knowledge, attitude, and practice of the participants were 73.13, 80, and 84.85%, respectively. Themost common symptoms of this disease were shortness of breath, dry cough, and fever or headache, in sequence. More than half of the participants (56.90%) felt at risk for contracting the disease. Most participants washed their hands (80%) and used a facemask (79.60%). The correlation between awareness and practice was 0.60. Older, divorced, and low-educated people had lower knowledge and practice.

Despite that the levels of knowledge, attitude, and practice of people was good regarding COVID-19 in this study, the continuous informing of the people through television, radio, and social media is needed for maintaining the status quo. Besides, new approaches and policies for the poor, rural populations, the elderly, the illiterate, and the unemployed should be adopted by relevant authorities due to their lower level of knowledge and practice.

Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that lives inside its host cells, with cats reported as its final host. T. gondii causes toxoplasmosis infection, showing severe symptoms in infected fetuses and individuals with defective immune systems. Drugs used to treat toxoplasmosis have numerous side effects on patients, including toxicity and drug resistance.

This study aimed to investigate the same in vivo anti-Toxoplasma activity of Dracocephalum polychaetum essential oil. Moreover, this study aimed to investigate the effect of different concentrations of D. polychaetum essential oil on the survival rate of mice infected with T. gondii.

The T. gondii RH strain was used in the present study. Moreover, 60 BALB/c mice aged 4 - 6 weeks with an average weight of 20 - 25 g were used to evaluate the in vivo anti-Toxoplasma effect of D. polychaetum essential oil. The BALB/c mice were divided into six groups of 10 cases. One negative control group received Phosphate buffered saline (PBS); two treatment groups received pyrimethamine (25 mg/kg) and sulfadiazine (500 mg/kg), and three other groups received 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg of essential oil, respectively. The data were analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier nonparametric method and log-rank test in SPSS software (version 16) at a significance level of 0.05.

The survival rate of the acutely infected mice was evaluated by the intraperitoneal injection of the essential oil (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg-1 day-1) infected with tachyzoites. There was no general significant difference between the mean survival rate of the studied groups (P > 0.05). However, essential oil and negative and positive controls that showed the best anti-Toxoplasma activity were assayed in triplicate at each concentration.

A concentration of 200 mg/kg of D. polychaetum essential oil had a greater significant anti-Toxoplasma effect than other groups.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral infectious disease and a pandemic since late 2019. One of the factors affecting the quality of life (QoL) and longevity of patients is social support. Social support reduces the effects of stress and calls for effective coping responses in the face of illness. Patients behave better if they have social support.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the QoL and perceived social support in patients with improved COVID-19 in Birjand, Iran, in 2020.

Using the available samplingmethod, the participants of this descriptive-analytical study were selected from the list of patients in the health center. A total of 100 patients with improved COVID-19 were included. Data were collected using the demographic information, the Perceived Social Support (PSS) Questionnaire (Kanti-Michel and Zimmet 2000), and WHOQOL-BREF Questionnaire. Data were analyzed by descriptive and analytical tests (one-way analysis of variance and correlation test) using SPSS version 22 at a significance level of P < 0.05.

The mean age of participants was 50.08±9.63 years and 44% of the samples were male. The mean score of perceived social support was 52.15±7.62 (out of 60), and the mean QoL score was 86.63±16.72 (out of 100). Also, there was a significant relationship between perceived social support and QoL (P = 0.03, r = 0.21).

Our findings showed a significant relationship between perceived social support and QoL. Thus, implementation of interventions to promote perceived social support and QoL by the governments, health care workers, family, and friends is essential

The world is currently in a large scale outbreak, also referred to as pandemic for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (CoVID-19) and its variants. Patients having cancer not only have to combat their disease and its complications, but also they have to suffer lists of side effects due to the use of chemotherapy. This article is written to suggest a list of nutritional consideration for chemotherapeutic patients at this stage of CoVID-19 pandemic for enhancement of their immune system. Since, nutrition has a decisive role in immune response, specifically in immuno-suppressed patients such as the ones undergoing chemotherapy. Due to the complexity of designing a diet for the mentioned patients, we recommend a balanced and varied diet in the CoVID-19 pandemic which include, zinc, omega-3, vitamin D, whole grains, skimmed dairy which were discussed in great detail in the article.

Anatomic variation in the circle of Willis (CoW) is a common finding among the population. Headache has been reported as one of the symptoms of these variations.

Recent studies suggest a possible association between neurovascular accidents and these variations. In this case, a 50-year-old male presenting with headache underwent imaging evaluation, revealing anatomic variations in CoW.

Headaches with or without neurological symptoms or a history of migraine and transient ischemic attack (TIA) may suggest the diagnosis of CoW disease and variations, and additional imaging evaluation is recommended in these cases.

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had unsolvable psychosocial effects on human beings. The marginalized community, especially drug users, probably suffer from greater psychosocial burden.

The current study aimed to predict COVID-19-induced anxiety based on attachment styles, resilience, and life expectancy in drug users.

The present study is correlational descriptive-analytical research. The statistical population of this study included all drug users in 2021 who were in the process of abstaining from substance use and attended narcotics anonymous (NA) sessions in Bojnurd. In total, 134 addicts were selected based on the available sampling method. For data collection, the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS) by Alipour et al., Attachment Styles Questionnaire (AAQ) by Hazen and Shaver, Resilience Scale by Davidson, and Miller Hope Scale (MHS) were used. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, and stepwise regression using SPSS 18.

As hypothesized, COVID-19-induced anxiety was predicted based on attachment styles, resilience, and life expectancy. Multiple correlation coefficient (0.87) was found between independent variables (attachment styles, resilience, and life expectancy) and COVID-19-induced variable, and attachment styles, resilience, and life expectancy could predict 76% (R2 ) of COVID-19-induced anxiety changes.

COVID-19 and addiction are two epidemic and overlapping diseases and cause a serious threat to public health. According to the findings of this study, in order to prevent COVID-19-induced anxiety in drug users, it is necessary to consider their attachment styles, resilience, and life expectancy