Journal of Health Sciences and Surveillance System
Volume:10 Issue: 4, Oct 2022

Novel 2019 Coronavirus (covid-19) or SARSCoV-2 disease is spreading quickly throughout the globe and threatening public health. Severe acute respiratory syndrome SARS-CoV-2 may precipitate “cytokine” storm, immune system dysregulation, and hyper-coagulation that are responsible for several organ failure, morbidity, and mortality. The severity of infection symptoms is extremely variable from mild symptoms to acute respiratory distress syndrome. Overproduction of inflammatory cytokines and interplay between the immune system response and dysregulation of coagulation system are hypothesized to play a critical role in the pathological mechanism of seriously ill patients with covid-19 infection via the IL-1/IL-6 central pathway.

The role of SARS-CoV-2 virus in covid-19 disease through cytokine storm and coagulopathy has been discussed in the present brief review. The electronic databases Pubmed, Google Scholar, and SCOPUS were searched to retrieve related English-language articles published between the years 2019 and 2021.

The interplay between immune system responses and coagulation pathway was observed in pathological condition of coronavirus patients, leading to abnormal condition of clot formation and increasing incidence of strokes. Indeed, in nonsurvivor patients, the levels of IL-6, IL-1, and D-dimer were higher than survivor coronavirus patients.

Severe SARS-CoV-2 patients with higher level of IL-1/IL-6 and coagulation abnormality confirm this hypothesis that anticytokine drugs are effective for managing cytokine storm, preventing the risk of strokes, and reducing hospitalization and mortality in covid-19 patients.

Evaluation of the impact of stress on glycaemic control in hospitalized type-2 diabetes (T2DM) patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In this retrospective study conducted at a single centre in Maharashtra from May to July 2020 on hospitalized COVID-19 patients with T2DM who reported having stress of pandemic; they were selected using purposive sampling. DASS-12 stress sub-scale was used to estimate the severity of their stress. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) and post-prandial blood glucose (PPBG) before admission and at the time of discharge were compared. One hundred and ninety-nine patients (mean age 54 years; 61.30% females) were included. Mean±SD FBG before admission was 168.4±30.6 mg/dl which increased to 195.9±28.8 mg/dl at the time of discharge (P<0.001). Also, Mean±SD PPBG before admission was 312±62.3 mg/dl which increased to 351.6±61.9 mg/dl (P<0.001). A total of 73 (36.7%) participants had perceived stress. Moderate and severe/extremely severe stress was found in 44 (27.1%) and 19 (9.6%) patients, respectively. A significant difference was observed in the mean FBG before and during discharge in patients who had no stress and those with moderate stress (P<0.001). There was no difference in FBG in patients with severe/extremely severe stress (P=0.43). Similar observations were seen for PPBG (no stress P<0.001; moderate stress P<0.001; severe/extremely severe stress P=0.06). There was a rise in the glucose level in T2DM patients discharged after COVID-19 treatment. The increase was significant in T2DM without stress and those with moderate stress. In addition to traditional treatment, measures for psychological stress control should also be taken for such patients.

Smartphones and other electronic devices have become a large part of our day-to-day lives, and their influence on our lifestyle is not a matter anyone can disregard. This study evaluates the association between the smartphone addiction scale (SAS) and the Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) with adjustment for possible confounders. Sixty patients of a sleep clinic with recent polysomnography results (< 6 months) who were referred to evaluate for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) were included in the study. The participants' demographic data such as body mass index (BMI), age, gender, and educational level were collected. Participants were then asked to complete the SAS. AHIs of the study participants were extracted from their polysomnography reports. Multivariable analysis revealed no significant association between SAS and AHI after adjustment for demographic variables (beta = 0.006, 95% CI = -0.022 to 0.033, P-value = 0.678). Age was a substantial confounder of the association (beta of SAS after adjusting = 0.009). Smartphone use does not affect the risk of OSA as determined by AHI when adjusted for age.

Magnetization of water, as a factor that stimulates the other factors related to plant growth, is an affective physical solution on plant resistance and yield. In this case-control research, the effect of magnetized water on cadmium removal by Lantana camara was investigated. An experiment with completely randomized-block design was done to irrigate the plant pots using 3 levels of water treatment (W1: magnetic, W2: semi magnetized and W3 non-magnetized:) and 4 levels of cadmium 0, 0.5, 1, and 2 mg/L with 3 replications. The results showed that the interaction effects of cadmium levels and irrigation water treatment on soil, shoot, and root cadmium content were significant. The amount of soil cadmium decreased by 39.49 percent by increasing the concentration of metal (2 mg/L) in irrigation water under the influence of magnetized water treatment. Evaluation of cadmium accumulation, adsorption index and transfer factor showed that the highest amount of them in the treatment of 2 mg / l cadmium in the surface of magnetized water was equal to 0.836, 0.034, and 1.654 respectively. The lowest shoot and root cadmium under the influence of magnetic water treatment was 0.559 and 0.303 (mg Kg-1), respectively, which was significant compared to non-magnetized water treatment. The enzyme activity of CAT (Catalase), SOD (superoxide dismutase), POD (peroxidase), phenol, phenoloid, and anthocyanin was increased by applying magnetic water treatment. Magnetized water by increasing the cadmium absorption by plants and stimulating the plant antioxidants had a significant effect on the absorption and transport of cadmium and increased the efficiency of refining plants by Lantana camara plant.

Yellow fever (YF) is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the yellow fever virus and transmitted by Aedes mosquito species. Despite the availability of a very effective vaccine, yellow fever virus (YFV) remains a public health threat across Africa. Enhanced disease surveillance, vector control, and high vaccination coverages are key to the prevention and control of YF. This paper aimed to describe yellow fever surveillance in Ondo state and the outbreak investigation activities conducted in the LGAs where outbreaks occurred in the year 2021. This is a retrospective cross-sectional study. We conducted an epidemiological investigation of yellow fever suspected and confirmed cases in Ondo State in Nigeria in 2021, using the YF case-based surveillance data. We described outbreak investigation and response activities carried out in affected LGAs, where the outbreaks were confirmed. A total of 62 suspected YF cases were reported from January to December 2021, with no record of mortality. More than half (53%) of the cases were between the age of 15 to 29 years. About three-quarter of the reported cases (73%) had received the YF vaccine. The overall attack rate was 1.33 cases per 100,000 population. Only 3 out of the 62 reported cases were confirmed as yellow fever cases. The resurgence of yellow fever in the state puts the state at high-risk for yellow fever transmission. To reduce the immediate risks to the health of the population, specific activities should be tailored towards increasing awareness on yellow fever transmission, prevention, and control. These include activities on risk communication and community engagement, active surveillance, vector control, strengthening of routine immunization, as well as continued implementation of preventive mass vaccination campaigns.

L ife s kills h elp t he i ndividuals i n d ifferent situations to communicate with others desirably and appropriately and to learn how to access social services, environment, and participation in life-making decisions and activities. The aim of this study was to investigate the level of attention to life skills in the social sciences curriculum of elementary schools from the perspective of teachers in Sothern Iran, Shiraz, in the academic year 2017-2018. In this descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study, we selected 315 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade primary school teachers in Shiraz by stratified random sampling method. A researchermade questionnaire with two dimensions of purpose and content of the curriculum with 26 questions was used. Subjects were asked to rate their views on each of the questions based on a five-point Likert scale. The results were analyzed through onesample t-test, independent t-test, and ANOVA analysis using SPSS22 software. Based on the results, the educators believed that the level of attention to life skills in the goals and content of the curriculum was above average (P=0.001). Also, there was no significant difference between the views of male and female teachers on the level of attention to life skills in the social sciences curriculum in terms of objectives (P=0.793) and content (P=0.484). Since the main purpose of education is to help students adapt to different living environments, the development of applied life skills curricula is essential for all students.

One of the most stressful experiences for any family is managing a child with a disability, disorder, or chronic illness. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment-based therapy on psychological flexibility and resilience among mothers with autistic children in Shiraz. This is a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study with a control group. The statistical population of the present study included mothers with autistic children referring to the autism community in Shiraz city at 1398. According to the semiexperimental design and the criteria for research, a sample of 36 patients (each group of 18) was selected randomly. Samples were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The experimental group received 8 sessions of “acceptance and commitment therapy”. The instrument for collecting information included the Cognitive Flexibility Questionnaire (CFI) and Connor & Davidson Resilience Questionnaire. Data were analyzed through SPSS software using covariance. The results showed that Commitment-based Therapy is effective in increasing the mental flexibility and resilience of mothers of children with autism (P=0.001). Based on the findings, it can be concluded that acceptance and commitment therapy is effective in improving the mental health of mothers with childhood autism.

Safety culture can be a good indicator of safety performance which can contribute to the formation of the employee safety behaviors. Therefore, recognizing the dimensions of safety culture and their effect on the employee safety behaviors could be a useful step in the management of occupational accidents. As such, this study was conducted in order to investigate the relationship between safety culture dimensions with employee safety behaviors and accidents, in 2019. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 315 employees in 19 different industries in one of the central provinces of Iran. Data collection tools included the safety culture and safety behavior questionnaires. Data were analyzed in IBM SPSS 22.0, using independent T-test, logistic regression, multiple linear regressions, and Factor Analysis. The results showed that safety culture had a multidimensional structure, and all of its dimensions had a positive and significant correlation with safety behaviors (P<0.001). In addition, safety culture had a significant inverse correlation with accidents (P<0.05). Management commitment to safety is a key factor in the improvement of employee safety behavior. To reduce accidents and safety problems, it is recommended that the management should focus adequately on the safety policies and procedures.

COVID-19 emerged in China for the first time, and spread rapidly in the world and in Iran. It caused the death of many people. This study was performed to estimate the years of life lost due to COVID-19 in southwestern Iran. In this cross-sectional study, deaths due to COVID-19 were investigated from February 20, 2020 to November 20, 2020 in southwestern Iran. Descriptive analyses included: sex ratio of deaths, mean and standard deviation of quantitative variable of age at the time of death, and specific ages-sex mortality rates. Years of life lost due to COVID-19 were estimated using standard life expectancy and lifetime table of the World Health Organization in 2015. The number of deaths due to COVID-19 was 938 cases. The sex ratio of mortality (male to female) was 1.2, and the people over the age of 80 years had the highest mortality rates in both sexes. The total number of years of life lost was 13205 years, and the 60-69 age group had the highest years of life lost. Based on the findings of our study, health policymakers need to implement timely strategies and plans to reduce deaths especially for the possibleadvent of the next wave of COVID-19.

Healthcare staff are at the heart of the covid-19 pandemic and play an important role in controlling this disease. Operating room practitioners could be contaminated by a coronavirus, which imposes a high pressure on them, affecting their need for recovery from work. This study aimed to compare the need for recovery in the operating room practitioners with and without covid-19 infection history. This cross-sectional study was conducted in the operating room department of a public hospital on 217 operating room practitioners, including Operating room technicians, anaesthesiologists, and service staff. The data collection tools were a demographics questionnaire and the need for recovery scale. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, and oneway ANOVA were used for data analysis. T he m ean a nd s tandard d eviation o f t he n eed f or recovery score in the studied population were 71.30±21.40. The practitioners with covid-19 infection history had a significantly higher need for recovery (P=0.001) than those without covid-19 history. In addition, the service staff had a higher percentage of covid-19 infection and had more need for recovery than operating room technicians (P=0.014). The operating room practitioners with a history of covid-19 infection had a significantly higher need for recovery than those without a history of infection. Therefore, protecting the operating room practitioners against covid-19 infection is the first step in preventing the excessive need for recovery levels. In addition, increasing the number of operating room staff, reducing the number of working hours, and paying more attention to their work-life quality can help reduce their need for recovery.

Complications are defined as the adverse outcome of the procedures. They increase the length of stay and costs, endanger the patient’s quality of life, and are associated with legal issues. This study aims to analyze the complications of drugs and surgeries in hospitalized patients. This descriptive study was conducted on patients hospitalized from 2013 to 2019. Research resources included records of hospitalized patients with Y40-84 codes based on ICD-10 selected by the census. Records numbers were retrieved from HIS based on the code; records were extracted from the archive of an Iranian hospital. Data were collected using a checklist consisting of two parts. First, the characteristics of the patients and second, the cause and type of complications were extracted by studying the records. The data were analyzed using SPSS20 151 records with Y40-84 codes were retrieved. The records related to complications of procedures and medications were 55 and 96, respectively. 55.6% of patients were female, and 44.4% were male. The average age and length of stay were 51.95 years and 5.7 days, respectively. Post-operative infection and gastrointestinal bleeding, with 49.1% and 20.83%, were the most common complications of surgery and medication, respectively. DVT with 17.2% and cesarean section with 7.3% were the most common cause of complications. Finally, Warfarin had the most complications, with 80%. Complications lead to increased length of stay, costs, and mortality. Therefore, to prevent them, it is necessary to evaluate the patient’s condition before proceeding, training, and monitoring the treatment process.

Breastfeeding training among mothers is necessary to ensure the continuation of this behavior. Given the great benefits of breastfeeding for children and mothers and the effective role of training in this process, studies have emphasized the importance of training, support, and follow-up. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the impact of successful breastfeeding training on the knowledge and planning of pregnant women regarding this behavior in 2018. This quasi-experimental study with a pre-/post-test design was carried out on 30 pregnant women with a gestational age of 32 weeks. At first, two comprehensive health centers were selected by cluster sampling. The dependent variable was successful breastfeeding, while the independent variables were awareness and planning for breastfeeding. The educational content was presented in three 45-minute sessions. Due to the lack of a standard questionnaire, a researcher-made questionnaire was prepared using the relevant references. After all, the data were entered into the SPSS 22 software and were analyzed using paired t-test and ANOVA. The mean score of the mothers’ awareness of successful breastfeeding was increased from 49.97±3. 53 to 63.27±3.72 and that of their planning for successful breastfeeding was increased from 42.78±2.99 to 53.77±3.74; these differences were statistically significant (P<0.001). The results revealed no significant relationships between the mothers’ demographic characteristics and the questionnaire scores. Successful breastfeeding training can improve awareness and planning for breastfeeding, which can lead to the continuation and promotion of this behavior.

Awkward posture during work is one of the most critical risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders. A laptop desk fitting with users’ body dimensions plays a crucial role in maintaining proper posture and reducing musculoskeletal disorders. This study aimed to redesign and fabricate a folding ergonomic laptop desk for college students. In this experimental applied study, two hundred and seven college students were considered participants to design an ergonomic laptop desk and fifty students for posture evaluation. Six anthropometric dimensions were measured: height, the height of elbows in the sitting position, elbow-elbow breadth, the length and height of both knees in the cross-legged sitting posture, and the length of the elbow-fingers. Then, two best selling laptop desks were selected and the RULA method assessed laptop users’ posture. Finally, using students’ anthropometric dimensions (n=207), a new laptop desk was designed and built in 2017. The height of our designed laptop desk is adjustable (range of 20-28 cm), with a variable inclination of the desk (0- 34 degrees). It is possible to shorten or lengthen desk legs (48-72 cm), and a special plate of the mouse (19×46 cm) supports both elbows on the sides of the desk. RULA method showed action level 3, which required early change in desks 1 and 2. Applying user›s and expert opinions, measuring users› body dimensions, and applying those dimensions in design and construction can play a significant role in improving and correcting the laptop›s desks so that it could result in suitable posture in students.

Widowhood is an unwonted stage after married life accompanied by emotional and physical stress. Resilience plays an important role in coping with widowhood, but there is no appropriate instrument to help measure resilience among the Iranian population. Hence, the objective of the present study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the widowhood resilience scale (WRS, 25-Items). In a psychometric study, 352 Iranian widows were randomly selected; then, the WRS, Loneliness, general resilience, and demographic questionnaire were used to gather data. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was used to extract the factors using IBM-SPSS version 24 and AMOS version 24. The mean ages of 352 participants were 65.7±9.8, and the highest frequency of education level was no formal schooling (42.6%). The construct validity of WRS based on Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed that the six subscales explained a total of 85.35 % of the variance. The convergent validity of the WRS 25-items was compared to Iranian versions of UCLA-Loneliness (0.71) and CD‐RISC (0.78) as well (P<0.01). The WRS scale demonstrated excellent reliability and Cronbach’s alpha obtained 0.94 for the entire scale (P<0.001). The optimal cut-off point that best differentiates between resilient and non-resilient widows was 55, with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 74.4%. Based on the results, the Persian version of the WRS is a valid and reliable tool that can be utilized to measure widows’ resilience. However, further investigations are suggested.

Trauma, the most common cause of mortality in children and adolescents, imposes high costs on the community. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiology of trauma in children and adolescents and the risk factors associated with death to provide a clinical model of traumas in terms of the type of injury and to adopt effective preventive interventions. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 12522 children and adolescents based on the data recorded in the Emergency Medical Services (EMS 115) in 2017. The study population consisted of trauma patients who had contacted EMS 115. Then, demographic and clinical variables were analyzed using the Chi-square test and logistic regression model. The results showed that 3448 out of the 12522 participants (27.5%) were female, and 9072 (72.5%) were male. The mean age of the injured people was 11.82±5.33 years. The highest and lowest injuries frequencies were accidents (71.8%) and drowning (22%), respectively. Additionally, the highest frequency of death was related to drowning (25.93%). Furthermore, accidents, combats, falls, and drowning significantly correlated with mortality (P<0.001). Considering the relationship between accidents, combats, falls, drowning, and mortality, it can be concluded that the identification of at risk groups, development of training courses, and adoption of protective measures can help take an effective step toward preventing these types of injuries and declining the frequency of mortality among trauma patients.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been around for more than a year as a global problem, the nurses being among the first groups involved in treating epidemics. In addition to becoming infected and dying from the disease, nurses also suffer from death anxiety. This study aimed to predict mental health by religious orientation and the mediating role of death anxiety among nurses in the COVID-19 pandemic. The present descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted on 208 nurses working in the Central Hospital for the Treatment of COVID-19 patients who enrolled in the census in the Persian Gulf Martyrs Hospital in Bushehr. Data collection tools were the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28), the Templer’s Death Anxiety Scale (DAS), and the Revised Religious Orientation Scale (ROS). Data were analyzed by SPSS v.22 software using the Pearson correlation test and multiple regression analysis (α=0.01). According to the findings, death anxiety significantly and negatively affected mental health (P<0.001, β=-0.54). Intrinsic religious orientation led to a reduction in death anxiety (P=0.01, β=-0.16) and improved mental health (P<0.001, β=0.40), while extrinsic socially-oriented religiousness resulted in increased death anxiety (P<0.001, β=0.19) and decreased mental health (P<0.001, β=-0.20). More than half of the nurses had death anxiety in the COVID-19 epidemic, which decreased their mental health. This study revealed that the intrinsic religious orientation positively reduced death anxiety and promoted mental health.

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a major threat to public health in the present century. In this situation, adherence to preventive behaviors seriously impacts the prevention of viral diseases. The present study aims to investigate adherence to public health preventive instructions in patients infected with COVID-19 before contracting the disease. This cross-sectional study was carried out from November 2020 to March 2021 in Fars province. 3242 patients infected with COVID-19 were selected via multistage sampling. Data were collected using a demographic information form and a researcher-made questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed by Stata v. 14 using the chi-square test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. The average age of participants was 38.45±13.07 years. 48.80% had a high rate, 47.90% had a moderate rate, and only 3.30% had a low compliance rate with COVID-19 preventive instructions. The patients’ main reason for not following preventive behaviors was having to be present in busy places (41.1%). There was a significant correlation between the participants’ age, gender, place of residence, occupation, education, history of underlying diseases (P≤0.001), marital status (P=0.041), and use of masks with a rate of adherence to preventive behaviors(P≤0.001). In the random forest, the job represents 36.75% compliance with COVID-19 preventive guidelines. Therefore, by raising public awareness, healthcare policymakers and administrators can enhance the public’s observance of the COVID-19 prevention instructions and consequently control the spread of the infection and improve public health during the current crisis caused by the pandemic.

Education is the most important principle in managing diseases, especially diabetes. On the other hand, economic burden of diabetes is another important issue. Thus, this study aimed to compare the cost-effectiveness of group vs. Weblog-Telecommunication (Web-Tel) nutrition education on glycemic, lipids, blood pressure, and anthropometric indices of type-2 diabetic patients. This randomized controlled trial study will be conducted in health centers of Bushehr city. One-hundred five patients with type 2 diabetes will randomly be assigned to one of the three groups: group education, Web-Tel education, and the control. The study has two phases. The first phase (or preintervention phase) will last two weeks and the second phase (or intervention phase) 12 weeks. In group education, in addition to the usual cares, the participants will receive group seminars monthly (3 seminars in total), while the Web-Tel group will receive education via website monthly (3 sessions in total) besides the usual cares, and the control group will receive the usual cares. The outcomes include glycemic, lipids, blood pressure, and anthropometric indices. Also, the cost of each arm will be calculated. The present study will compare the two methods of nutrition education to determine the more cost-effective nutrition education method for patients with diabetes which can help them in self-care and costs reduction.