Journal of Client-Centered Nursing Care
Volume:8 Issue: 3, Summer 2022

Maternal health is essential for the growth and development of the child. Mothers’ depression can cause great harm to their children. Many studies have investigated stunting in children and its relationship with maternal depression. However, these studies have yielded different results. This systematic review aims to answer the question of “what is the relationship between maternal depression and stunting in children” in published articles.

This study used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The databases used included ScienceDirect, PubMed, ProQuest, and Cochrane Library setting the publication period between 2010 and 2021. The studies with observational designs, measuring maternal depression at any stage after childbirth, and examining child (under five) stunting status, using z-score or percentile were included. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Downs and Black tool, and the risk of bias was evaluated by the Cochrane Collaboration’s Risk of Bias Tool. Two authors extracted the data independently and the findings were synthesized qualitatively.

The literature search yielded 611 articles, and only 14 articles were found to meet the inclusion criteria after removing duplicates, dissertations, editorials, comments, not full texts, and case reports. A total of eight articles showed a significant relationship between maternal depression and stunting. In contrast, the remaining six studies did not show an association between these variables. It seems that the tools for measuring depression and the age difference of children participating in the studies were important factors that affected the outcome of the relationship between maternal depression and children’s stunting. Also, episodic maternal depression does not appear to be associated with stunting.

The findings suggest that to prevent childhood stunting, initiatives may be needed to identify and support mothers with chronic depression. Future systematic reviews are suggested to investigate the relationship between maternal depression and children’s stunting in urban and rural communities or in high- and low-income countries in a broader time frame.

Hearing loss is one of the most common birth defects and early detection of this disorder at birth is not possible without hearing screening. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of loss to follow-up after neonatal hearing screening and its related factors in Khorramabad, Iran.

This retrospective correlational study was conducted from March 2018 to February 2021. The medical records of 13,710 infants born in this period were assessed. All the infants suspected of hearing loss in the first screening of one or both ears (n=310) were followed up for the second screening. The demographic and medical information of the infants and their parents was collected by a valid researcher-made checklist. The initial and follow-up data were extracted from the infants’ electronic records available at Assalian Hospital and the information available at the Dabbagh Clinic, respectively. To analyze the data, frequency distribution was determined and the relationships between the variables were assessed by the Chi-square test using SPSS software v. 16. The significance level was set at α=0.05.

Out of 13,710 neonates, 310 cases (2.26%) did not pass the first hearing screening. Of this group, 60 infants (20%) missed the second screening follow-up. Among the studied variables, a number of socio-economic variables and neonatal factors were associated with not following hearing loss screening (P<0.05). Among the mothers’ personal causes of loss to follow-up, the feeling of no need to follow up with 36.7% and fear of COVID-19 with 26.7% were the most common causes.

About one-fifth of infant hearing screening follow-ups were not performed, which makes education about hearing screening follow-ups necessary for families. Providing a suitable context to facilitate preventing developmental problems in children and save future medical expenses is necessary and this program is needed to be on the agenda of the Ministry of Health and clinics providing mother and child health services.

Nurses working in COVID -19 units during the pandemic are more likely to be psychologically vulnerable. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between psychological vulnerability and psychological capital and health anxiety through the mediating role of emotional processing in nurses working in the COVID- 19 units during the pandemic.

This is a cross-sectional, correlational study using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The statistical population of the research was all nurses working in the COVID-19 units of Shiraz City, Iran in 2021. Five hospitals in Shiraz were randomly selected and then, 200 nurses were selected from their COVID-19 units through multistage random sampling. The data were collected by Symptom CheckList-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ), the Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI), and the Emotional Processing Scale (EPS), and analyzed by AMOS-25 using SEM and Pearson correlation coefficient. The significance level of 0.05 was considered.

The results of the SEM suggested that the proposed model fits the data. The results showed a direct relationship between health anxiety and psychological vulnerability (β=0.49; P=0.011). Moreover, there was a negative relationship between psychological capital and psychological vulnerability (β=-0.53; P=0.002), emotional processing and psychological vulnerability (β=-0.67; P=0.031), and health anxiety and emotional processing (β=-0.48; P=0.001). The direct path of psychological capital and emotional processing was not confirmed and eliminated from the final model. According to the results, there was a significant indirect path from health anxiety to psychological vulnerability through the mediating role of emotional processing (P=0.001). 

Psychological capital and emotional processing could reduce the psychological disturbances caused by working in COVID-19 during the pandemic. Therefore, increasing nurses’ psychological capital and improving their emotional processing skills are suggested.

Nurses working in various patient care departments are exposed to different traumatic situations, patient suffering, and death in their routine care. This study investigated grief and coping experiences amongst registered nurses working in various care departments of a major government health facility in the Ashanti region of Ghana.

A descriptive cross-sectional survey amongst nurses was conducted. A quota-sampling technique was applied to yield a representative sample of 79 nurses working in different wards of Konongo-Odumasi Government Hospital in Konong, Ghana. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Standard descriptive statistics (e.g. frequency and proportions) were used to summarize the survey data. The data were analyzed using SPSS software, v. 20.

The majority of nurses (63%) reported feelings of grief following the death of patients they had cared for. Most respondents (89%) who did not acknowledge a grief experience did not grieve out of fear or as a show of professionalism. Some reported impacts of grief included insomnia (39%), loss of appetite (51%), tiredness (8%), feeling of depression (24%), and reduced functionality at work and home (27%). Common coping strategies for dealing with grief following patient death included physical exercise (67%), engaging in spiritual practices (51%), listening to music (47%), and discussing with other colleagues (42%). Only 47% of nurses reported access to professional counseling.

Regular training on effective grief coping strategies and emotional support for nurses caring for the dying may positively affect the health and well-being of nurses and improve the quality of care for both the dying patient and their families. Providing professional counseling for nurses is also suggested.

Menopausal women experience unpleasant physical and mental symptoms that adversely affect their quality of life (QoL). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of foot reflexology on the QoL of postmenopausal women.

This quasi-experimental study was performed on 90 postmenopausal women who were referred to comprehensive health centers in Yazd, Iran. The subjects were randomly allocated to two equal groups: intervention and control. The intervention group received 15 minutes of foot reflexology on each foot, twice a week for six consecutive weeks. No intervention was performed for the control group. Data were collected through the menopause-specific quality of life (MENQOL) questionnaire. QoL scores were compared between the groups before, immediately after the intervention, and two months after the intervention using Repeated Measures ANOVA. Data analysis was performed using SPSS v. 19. The significance level was set at 0.05.

The Mean±SD of the QoL in the intervention group before, immediately after, and two months after the study were 77.44±19.05, 58.02±15.29, and 55.26±12.37, respectively. In the control group, the Mean±SD were 75.71±19.02, 74.82±16.84, and 75.46±18.05, respectively. Using Repeated Measures ANOVA, the comparison of the mean scores of QoL in the intervention group indicated that the scores decreased over time (P<0.001). 

The results showed that foot reflexology could improve postmenopausal women’s QoL. Due to the simple and easy learning of reflexology, its training is recommended for all menopausal women to improve their QoL.

The breast is a sensitive organ for women. In addition to pain, breast cancer can cause many psychological problems for the patient. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of gestalt therapy (GT) alone and combined with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) [GT-CBT] on the hope and pain intensity of women with breast cancer.

This quasi-experimental study had a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. Out of 96 available patients with breast cancer who were referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital Cancer Clinic in Tehran, Iran, 60 cases were selected based on the inclusion criteria and randomly assigned to the control (n=20), GT (n=20), and GT-CBT (n=20) groups. Patients in the intervention groups received weekly online sessions (90 minutes) of GT or GT-CBT during eight weeks of training using the Zoom app. The data were collected through the miller hope scale (MHS) and hayes & peterson visual analog scale (VAS) and analyzed using descriptive (Mean±SD) and inferential (analysis of covariance) statistics by SPSS software version 20. The significance level was set at 0.05.

The results indicated that both GT and GT-CBT significantly increased hope and decreased pain intensity scores (eta=0.73, F(51, 2)=70.06, P<0.001). GT-CBT showed significantly higher effectiveness than GT (P<0.05).

According to the results, it is suggested to use integrated methods, such as GT-CBT to enhance hope and manage the pain intensity of patients with breast cancer.

The mother, as the first and foremost person interacting with the child, suffers the most from the child’s speech disability. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of mothers of children with speech disabilities.

This qualitative study was conducted using a descriptive phenomenological approach and purposive sampling in Tehran, Iran in 2021. Data were generated through 20 semi-structured interviews with mothers whose children needed speech therapy for at least six months and had been referred to speech therapy centers in Tehran, Iran. The interviews continued until data saturation. Data analysis was performed using Colaizzi’s seven-step method.

Four main themes and nine subthemes emerged, including intrapersonal suffering (psychological pressure and physical pain), feeling empty (lack of husband support and lack of support from the husband’s family), interpersonal conflicts (challenge with therapists and facing public reaction), and need for balance (self-imposed social exclusion/isolation, take refuge in superstitions out of despair, and take refuge in the support of peer mothers).

The results of this research revealed that paying attention to the inner suffering and pain experienced by these mothers is necessary. Support from their husbands and health workers could help them to better resolve the conflicts and create balance in their lives. Implementation of psychological interventions to reduce the subjective and objective burden of these mothers and involving them in counseling sessions can reduce their anxiety and stress.

Chronic pain is one of the most common and serious problems in old age that if not controlled, leads to reduced daily activities. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of acupressure on pain and daily activities in elderly women. 

This was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test design, which was conducted on 80 elderly women who were referred to the health centers of Qazvin, Iran. The subjects were randomly assigned to the experimental (n=40) and control (n=40) groups. The data were collected by visual analogue scale (VAS) and barthel index (BI). The experimental group received ten sessions of acupressure for three consecutive weeks on the related acupoints (LIV3, UB62, SP9, GB34, UB17, GB30, UB (UB25-UB11), GB20, GB21). Each acupoint was massaged for one minute in a circular motion until the elderly could bear it. The control group received sham acupressure. Post-test was performed one week after the end of ten intervention sessions. The data were analyzed by Chi-square test and independent t-test using SPSS software v. 20. The significance level was set at P<0.05.

Before the intervention, there was no statistically significant difference in the level of pain intensity (P=0.352) and daily activities (P=0.420) between the groups. After the intervention, the pain intensity of the subjects in the intervention group decreased (P<0.001) and their daily activities improved compared to the control group (P<0.001). 

According to the findings, acupressure is an affordable, low-cost, easy, and non-invasive complementary therapy, which is recommended to reduce pain intensity and promote activities of daily living in older women.