Journal of Research and Health
Volume:12 Issue: 4, Jul-Aug 2022

The characteristics of schizophrenia, including delusions, hallucinations, poor insight, cognitive impairment, and disorganized behavior [1] and demographic characteristics including homelessness and living in communal homes [1] have provided the basis for COVID-19 infection in patients with schizophrenia. Due to impairments in insight and decision-making capacity, people with schizophrenia are less likely to adhere to protective measures [2].

This review aims to evaluate the COVID-19 vaccination program in Duhok, determine its negative and positive points, and subsequently improve it. In Duhok, across the 59 mass vaccination centers, vaccination coverage rates were investigated for all populations aged ≥18 years and populations aged ≥12 years receiving the three available vaccines, namely: Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer, by the end of the year 2021. By December 2021, the total number of vaccine doses provided was 621430, of whom 72.92% were Pfizer receivers. At the end of 2021, 35.92% of people aged ≥18 years were vaccinated with at least one dose, whereas the rate was reduced to 25.15% after including people aged ≥12 years. Notably, this rate is higher among health care workers (HCWs), showing that 9474 (60%) of 12000 HCWs were vaccinated with at least one dose. COVID-19 vaccination education highlights its importance in disease prevention and attenuation. Although the average vaccination coverage in Duhok is better than in other cities in Iraq, it remains below the World Health Organization (WHO) standard; hence, urgent action is indicated to increase the coverage rate and to expand the vaccines to include 5-11 years old children. The coverage rate among HCWs is fairly good in Duhok Province. Furthermore, it is important to strengthen the vaccination program in Duhok by improving staff experience, implementing infection preventive measures, and improving the registration system.

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a maladaptive strategy mainly regulating emotions in youth and adolescents. Early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) were identified to affect NSSI. This review aimed to provide a synthesis of the literature on the relationship between EMS and NSSI.

A systematic review was conducted via the electronic databases PsycINFO, PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. The inclusion criteria were (i) the study examined the relationship between EMSs and NSSI, (ii) full texts were available in the English language, and (iii) the study was a piece of published empirical quantitative research. The authors also evaluated the risk of bias assessment.

Ten studies were investigated. The relationship between EMS and NSSI was identified from different points of view. The results confirmed a developmental model of NSSI and shame that focuses on the function of this behavior to regulate emotions (especially shame) in individuals with a predisposition for emerging EMS and schema modes. A major limitation of this review is the absence of longitudinal research.

It is important to address EMSs and modes that lead to NSSI engagement in both preventive and therapeutic interventions.

Uganda is ranked 14 out of 54 countries in Africa with the highest level of teenage pregnancy. The teenage pregnancy rate in Kibuku District in 2016 was 35.8%, high above the average rate in Uganda (25%) and also above rural areas in Uganda (27%). Unfortunately, there is limited information on the experiences of seeking antenatal care and delivery among teenagers. This paper explored teenagers’ experiences seeking services at health facilities in the Kibuku district, Eastern Uganda.

This study used a phenomenological design. Data were collected using in-depth interviews with 27 teenagers aged 14-19 years seeking antenatal care (ANC) or those who had delivered. The teenagers were purposively selected to participate in the study. Data collected was thematically and inductively analyzed through coding.

The study showed that most teenage mothers knew the importance of seeking ANC and delivery from a health facility. Unfortunately, few sought services early due to some experiences, including financial constraints, support from their caregivers (husbands and parents), medication, and health education. The teenagers were motivated to attend ANC and were treated well by health workers. However, most teenagers did not have the decision-making power to seek care.

Teenage mothers knew the importance of seeking ANC and delivery at health facilities. Their experiences with the health facilities also contributed to the health-seeking behavior of the teenagers, including the comfort received by the girls at the facility, the medication administered, how they were treated by the health workers and the availability of utilities. Health and social workers could consider sensitizing teenagers and their caregivers about the delicate nature of their health when pregnant to make personal decisions.

Addiction is one of the most important social issues influencing all aspects of people’s lives, including personal, social, physical, and mental. Given the increasing rate of addiction and its associated irreparable damages to the community, , the methods of preventing and treating addiction should be meticulously investigated. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of expressive arts group therapy in resilience and emotion regulation among addicts undergoing rehabilitation.

This quasi-experimental study was followed a pretest-posttest design with a control group. A sample of 30 addicts (15 people assigned to the experimental group and 15 to the control group) undergoing rehabilitation from March to June 2017 at Mohabbat Addiction Treatment Center in Zahedan City, Iran, were selected using the convenience sampling method. Ten 45-minute sessions of expressive arts group therapy were carried out in the experimental group. After completing the sessions, a posttest was conducted. To collect data, Connor and Davidson’s resilience scale and emotional self-regulation questionnaire were used.

Results of analyses of covariance indicated that expressive arts group therapy was effective on resilience and emotion regulation among the addicts undergoing rehabilitation.

Accordingly, using expressive arts group therapy is recommended to promote resilience and emotion regulation among addicts undergoing rehabilitation.

Academic motivation has always been considered by researchers and specialists in educational psychology as a critical and essential aspect of education. With motivation, students follow the necessary mobility to successfully finish an assignment and reach a goal by demonstrating a specific level of proficiency in their work to finally acquire the essential learning and academic success. This study aimed to evaluate the structural modeling of the role of attachment styles among students mediated by academic self-efficacy.

This analytical cross-sectional research was conducted using structural equations. The research population included all high school students (n=3057) in the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades living in Gonabad City, Iran, in 2019-2020, of whom 1646 were girls and 1411 boys. A total of 250 students were selected by multi-stage cluster random sampling method based on principles of structural equations sampling. After obtaining informed consent, all participants completed the situational motivation scale, the Morgan-Jinks student attachment styles, the cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire, revised adult attachment scale, and the classroom environments questionnaire. Then, the data were collected and analyzed through the Pearson correlation method and structural equations in SPSS software version 19 and AMOS version 20.

Academic self-efficacy (0.20) and attachment styles (-0.15) directly and significantly affected academic motivation. In addition, attachment styles (-0.23) had a direct and significant effect on academic self-efficacy. There was an indirect relationship between emotional regulation (-0.07) and mediated academic self-efficacy on academic motivation (P<0.01).

The attachment styles model owes a good fit to students’ academic motivation with the mediating role of academic self-efficacy. Therefore, the awareness of teachers, parents, principals, and other educational experts can improve students’ academic motivation.

The safety and mental health issues of frontline nurses working during the coronavirus global outbreak must be a first/top priority. The present study aimed to investigate the association between nurses’ occupation stress and organizational support in both infectious and non-infectious intensive care units (ICUs) wards during the COVID-19 crisis.

This was a descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study. The study population comprised nurses caring for COVID‐19 patients in Imam Reza Hospital complex in Mashhad City, Iran. The sample size was 129 nurses selected through random quota sampling and examined with a standard questionnaire. To analyze the information and test the hypothesis, the structural equation modeling approach using Smart PLS 2.0 software has been used. Descriptive and analytical statistical tests were used in this study.

The results indicated a significant negative correlation between stress and perceived organizational support for ICU nurses (P<0.001). Considering subscales in stress, the highest mean occupational stress scores were related to the “death and dying” dimension (n=21, 13.98%). Also, the difference between the two groups of nurses was statistically significant in different workloads (P<0.001) and lack of support (P<0.001).

The results of the present study highlighted the importance of organizational support to reduce stress in nurses. To get through this unprecedented situation, nurses need their employers and organizations to support them with action, planning, and resources.

Dermatologic diseases have considerable effects on patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The assessment of diseases’ effects on patients’ lives is an important component of disease management. Although Skindex-29 is one of the most utilized measures for assessing dermatology-specific HRQoL, there is no Persian version of it in Iran. This study aimed to translate Skindex-29 into Persian and assess its psychometric properties.

The study was a methodological study, carried out to examine the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Persian version of Skindex-29. The translation was conducted based on Mapi guidelines. In total, 200 dermatologic patients filled in the dermatology life quality index and the Persian version of Skindex-29. Internal consistency reliability was assessed using Cronbach alpha. Convergent validity and known-group validity were evaluated. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to test construct validity.

The final translated version was comprehensible and Cronbach alpha was 0.967. Skindex-29 total score and its subscales exhibited strong correlations with the dermatology life quality index. Known-group validity was supported by the difference between the mild and severe disease groups (P<0.05). Factor analyses identified three well-fitting factors like the original version, which accounted for 69.95% of the variance of the instrument.

This study developed an adequate Persian version of Skindex-29, which can be used as a valid and reliable HRQoL instrument to study Iranian dermatologic patients.