مجله دانشگاه علوم پزشکی قم
سال شانزدهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 120، فروردین 1401)

Clinical competence is the essence of the nursing profession that develops the quality of nursing care. The present study aims to investigate the clinical competence of Iranian nurses and the factors affecting it.

This is a systematic review that was conducted in 2022 by searching for articles in Persian or English in Web of Science, SID, Scopus, Google Scholar and PubMed databases without time limit. The used keywords were “clinical competency”, “nurse”, “Iran” in both Persian and English. The selected articles were cross-sectional, case-control, cohort and interventional studies that were conducted on Iranian nurses. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklists were used to evaluate the quality of articles. Finally, out of 3757 articles, 46 eligible articles were reviewed.

In the studies, the clinical competence of nurses was at good and higher level based on the self-reports, while it was at moderate level according to head nurses. Some demographic factors, educational factors, working conditions, level of satisfaction, individual characteristics, organizational factors, motivational factor, and psychological factors  were significantly associated with clinical competence.

The clinical competence of Iranian nurses is at moderate to higher level. Paying attention to the factors affecting it can lead to the improvement of their clinical competence.

Learning styles can show changes in how a learner receives and interacts with the environment. Since teaching and improving the current situation for students to learn in clinic settings is one of the tasks of medical education centers, the present study aims to determine the learning styles in clinical education among students of Qom University of Medical Sciences (QUMS).

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020 on 308 students of QUMS from faculties of Medicine, Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedical Sciences who were selected by a stratified random sampling method in two groups of apprenticeship and internship. The data collection tool was the Kolb Learning Styles Inventory. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test.

The mean age of students was 23.7±4.3 years; 54.9% were female and 45.1% were male; 64% were undergraduate students and 36% were doctoral students. It was found that 48.1% of students had an assimilating learning style, 24.7% had a diverging learning style, 17.5% had a converging learning style and 9.7% had an accommodating learning style. There was a significant difference between learning styles in terms of the field of study (P=0.03), but not in terms of gender, educational level, marital status and academic year (first-year and final-year students).

Most of students in QUMS have assimilating and diverging learning styles; therefore, providing learning environments appropriate to these styles is important for their better learning and gaining the necessary capabilities in future educational and professional environments.

General health problems that can create major challenges are common among health care providers such as nurses. This study aims to determine the general health of nurses in special care units of hospitals in Qom, Iran.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 on 300 nurses working in intensive care and critical care units of three teaching hospitals affiliated to Qom University of Medical Sciences who were selected using a consensus sampling method. Data were collected using a demographic form and the General Health Questionnaire. Data were analyzed in SPSS v. 16 using descriptive and inferential statistics.

The results showed that 52.3% of nurses were exposed to general health problems. The mean score of general health was 25.43± 8.84. The highest score (lowest level) was related to social function domain (13.27±1.94) while the lowest score (highest level) was belonged to depression (2.1±1.24). There was no significant relationship between nurses ’demographic factors and general health.

To reduce the general health problems of nurses in special care units of hospitals in Qom city, psychological interventions should be provided to them by nursing managers.

The quality of life (QoL) of the elderly can be declined by several factors. Social capital is one of the effective factors for improving the QoL. This study aims to determine the relationship between social capital and QoL in the elderly hospitalized due to traumatic events.

This is a descriptive-correlational study. The study population consists of all older patients aged 65 years and higher admitted to selected hospitals in Qom, Iran from September 2019 to September 2020 due to experiencing traumatic events. of these, 330 were selected using a non-probability sequential sampling method. Data collection tools were Onyx and Bullen’s social capital questionnaire, the Leiden-Padua quality of life questionnaire, and a demographic checklist. Data were analyzed in SPSS v. 26 software using descriptive statistics and statistical tests including Spearman correlation test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and multivariate regression analysis. The significance level was set at 0.05.

The mean age of participants was 70±4.6 years; 49% were male and 51% were female. The mean scores of social capital and quality of life were 67.6±13.5 and 51.6±17.4, respectively. A positive and significant correlation was observed between social capital and quality of life (r=0.719, P<0.05). Social capital had a significant relationship with marital status (P=0.000), place of residence (P=0.001), insurance coverage (P=0.000) and level of education (P=0.000).

Social capital has a relationship with the quality of life in the elderly experiencing traumatic events. For successful aging and to anticipate its prerequisites, the strengthening and improvement of social capital is important.

Black myrobalan drug, known as “Imam Kazem drug” in Iran, is used by most of Iranian people to prevent and treat the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aims to investigate the consumption pattern of black myrobalan by people in Qom, Iran and their attitudes towards it.

In this cross-sectional study, 1077 patients referred to health centers in Qom, Iran in 2021 participated. They completed a demographic form and a researcher-made questionnaire assessing the consumption pattern of black myrobalan and people’s attitudes towards this drug. Data were analyzed in SPSS v. 20 software using chi-square test, Fisher test, Spearman correlation test, and logistic regression analysis.

Out of 1018 patients who responded to the questionnaire, 660 (64.8%) were familiar with the drug and 491 (48.2%) had used the drug during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among them, 409 (83.2%) had used the drug for prevention and 166 (33.9%) for treatment of COVID-19. The attitude of participants towards this drug was positive in 515 patients (50.6%). The consumption pattern of black myrobalan was significantly correlated with occupation and attitude of people.  It was found out that 83 patients (16.9%) reported mild side effects following drug use.

A significant percentage of people in Qom city use black myrobalan, and have positive attitude towards it. This requires that its efficacy and side effects be investigated in clinical studies.

This study aims to investigate the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of residents in south of Kerman province in Iran regarding scorpion sting and the factors affecting its prevalence.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020 on 384 people living in south of Kerman province, Iran. A KAP questionnaire was used which surveyed the necessary information regarding the familiarity of residents with scorpions, the level of exposure to scorpions and effective factors, and knowledge of basic measures against scorpion stings. The questionnaire was completed through an interview. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

The results showed the participants’ high knowledge of scorpion shelters (87.9%). Their most common measures in dealing with scorpion stings were hospitalization, use of cold compresses, moving away from the scene, covering the sting area with a cloth, washing the sting site, and applying pressure over the sting site. Most of participants (81.6%) suggested that spraying insecticides and the use of petroleum products were the main methods for getting rid of scorpions. About 31% had belief in traditional medicine. Most of them (73.5%) had found scorpions in their houses and 36.7% reported a history of scorpion sting in the family members. Most of them (64%) had got stung indoors. Moreover, 74.8% of them had houses with no walls or with unfavorable fencing, and for 78.3%, they were not safe in terms of scorpions entering.

The measures and training for prevention and control of scorpion stings in south of Kerman province are necessary due to the high exposure of residents to scorpions indoors, the unsafety of their houses, and lack of compliance to preventive measures.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rapidly spread throughout the world, including Iran. The main measures for preventing the spread of this disease are based on personal hygiene and observance of protocols such as social distancing. It is important for medical and non-medical students to be aware of this disease and how to face it. This study aims to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of medical and non-medical students in Mashhad, Iran against regarding COVID-19.

In this analytical cross-sectional study, 650 medical and non-medical students from Mashhad participated, 322 medical students and 328 non-medical students. Sampling was done online using a convenience method. The data collection tools were a demographic form  and a KAP questionnaire for COVID-19. Data analysis was performed in SPSS v. 21 software using descriptive and inferential statistics.

The mean knowledge scores of medical and non-medical students were 72.5% and 72.87%, respectively, which were not statistically significant (P=0.648). The mean attitude scores of medical and non-medical students were 76.89% and 75.95%, respectively, which was not statistically significant (P=0.297). The mean practice score of non-medical students (64.29%) was significantly higher than that of medical students (61.22%) (P=0.004).

The medical and non-medical students in Mashhad have a good level of knowledge, attitude and practice regarding COVID-19. The KAP tool used in this study can be used in future studies.