مجله طب پیشگیری
سال نهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 25، بهار 1401)

According to the conditions of the COVID-19 epidemic, one of the effective factors in the rehabilitation and recovery of patients with COVID-19 is physical activity. Physiologically, physical activities are divided into two categories: high-intensity exercises and low-to-moderate intensity exercises. According to the studies, low-intensity exercises can have a beneficial effect on the recovery of these patients. Therefore, it is possible to improve the existing research gap with suggestions, such as research in the field of comparing different types of exercises with different intensities during COVID-19 and their effects on inflammatory factors and factors affecting respiratory tract infections.

Objective:

 Childbearing is valuable in Iranian Islamic culture; in Iran, following the implementation of the comprehensive population control program in the 60s to 90s, the population growth was decreased. Due to the importance of demographic changes in Iran in the last four decades, and the impact of economic, social and cultural factors on childbearing, the present study aims to investigate the related factors of childbearing in Iran.

Methods:

 This is a review study that evaluated the related factors of childbearing in Iran until 2020. A search was conducted in the databases using the keywords “childbearing barriers”, “inhibitors”, "childbearing", " facilitators", "Iran” and " childbearing desire " in Persian and English. The observational studies on the barriers or facilitators of childbearing in Iran were included. The review articles, case reports, brief reports, letters to the editor, and articles in languages other than Persian and English were excluded. There was no restriction on the study year, study city, study population, and samples.

Results :

The initial search yielded 217 articles. After analyzing and deleting the duplicates, 38 articles were remained for analysis. Studies on men and women in different parts of Iran showed that factors such as educational level, socio-economic status, religiosity, job rank, employment, place of residence, ethnicity, age of marriage, parental attitude, familism, and access to contraceptives methods were the related factors of childbearing in Iran

Conclusion:

 There are various barriers and facilitators of childbearing in Iran. The findings can help health policymakers to eliminate the barriers of childbearing and increase the population in Iran.

Objective:

 This study aims to investigate the health anxiety of housewives in Hormozgan, Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic, and its related factors.

Methods:

 In this descriptive-analytical study with a cross-sectional design, participants were 258 housewives from Hormozgan Province who were selected using a convenience sampling method. The instrument used in this study was a demographic form and the Short Health Anxiety Inventory with three dimensions (illness likelihood, body vigilance, and the perceived negative consequences of becoming ill). SPSS v. 21 software was used to analyze the data.

Results:

 The mean age of housewives was 35.77±8.81 years. Their mean score of health anxiety was 20.26±6.61. The level of health anxiety in 68.6% of housewives was high. Based on the results of multiple regression analysis, physical activity, chronic illness, and household economic status were significant predictors of health anxiety.

Conclusion:

 In order to reduce the health anxiety of housewives during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is recommended to encourage housewives to increase their physical activity, and the government should provide financial support to low-income families.

Objective :

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has imposed many psychological burden on humans. Nursing students can experience a lot of anxiety and depression in a pandemic situation due to their educational conditions. This study aims to determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Abadan, Iran.

Methods:

 This descriptive-analytical study with a cross-sectional design was performed on 253 nursing students in Abadan, Iran who were selected using a convenient sampling method. Data was collected online by using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale. Data were analyzed using logistic regression analysis in SPSS v. 21 software, considering a significance level of 0.05.

Results :

According to the results, 61.43% of students showed depressive symptoms and 21.43% had moderate and severe anxiety symptoms. The students with a history of academic probation were 16% more likely to have depressive symptoms compared to the students with no probation (OR=0.16, 95% CI: 0.034-0.822) which was statistically significant (P= 0.028). Moreover, the students with a history of COVID-19 infection were about two times more likely to have depressive symptoms than those with no history of infection (OR=2.049, 95% CI: 1.002-4.191), which was statistically significant (P=0.049).

Conclusion:

 Psychological support is needed from the university to prevent the depression and anxiety of nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective :

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a major treat to physical and mental health of people and has affected their quality of life (QoL) by causing various psychological problems. This study aims to investigate the relationship of perceived stress and health anxiety with quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods :

In this descriptive study, 320 residents of Isfahan, Iran over 16 years of age in 2021 were selected by a convenience sampling method. Data were collected online using the Health Anxiety Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale and the World Health Organization's Quality of Life Questionnaire-Brief Version. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation test and multiple regression analysis in SPSS v. 24 software.

Results :

The results of Pearson correlation test showed a significant negative relationship between perceived helplessness (r=-0.606), perceived stress (r=-0.706), risk of disease (r=-0.278), negative effect of disease (r=-0.528) and health anxiety (r=-0.369, P<0.01). There was also a significant positive relationship between perceived self-efficacy and quality of life (r=0.628, P<0.01). Moreover, the results of regression analysis showed that perceived self-efficacy, negative effect of disease, and perceived helplessness could significantly predict 57.5% of the variance in the quality of life (P<0.01).

Conclusion:

 High perceived stress and health anxiety can lead to a decrease in the QoL of people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is suggested that appropriate psychological interventions be designed and implemented to reduce people's stress and health anxiety and improve their QoL.

Objective:

 Child abuse is not a new phenomenon, it exists in different forms in any country and culture. Health care workers in health centers provide health-based services to families from pre-pregnancy to early childhood. Therefore, they should have the ability to identify the occurrence of child abuse. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a PRECEDE-based educational program in empowering health care workers to identify child abuse.

Methods :

This is a quasi-experimental study conducted on 88 health care workers in health centers of Semnan city in Iran in 2017 who were randomly selected. They were divided into intervention (n= 44) and control (n=44) groups. The data collection tools were a demographic form and a researcher-made questionnaire based on the constructs of the PRECEDE model. Educational program was provided in the intervention group at 4 sessions of 60 minutes. Data were collected before and one month after the intervention. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS v. 22 using statistical tests including Fisher’s exact test, independent t-test, ANOVA, and paired t-test.  

Results:

 The mean age of participants was 34±7.81 years. At baseline, there was no significant difference between the two groups. After intervention,  the mean scores of knowledge (P<0.0001), attitude (P<0.0001), enabling factors (P<0.05), and reinforcing factors (P=0.0001) were significantly different between the two groups. The mean pretest score of behavior in the intervention group was 41.41±4.150, which reached 47.34± 2.820 after the educational intervention which was significantly different (P<0.0001), but there was no significant difference between the behavior scores of control group.

Conclusion:

 The education based on PRECEDE model increases predisposing factors (knowledge and attitudes), enabling factors, reinforcing factors, and behavior of health care workers in identifying the cases of child abuse.

Objective:

 Sleep quality is influenced by individual (age and gender), psychological, and environmental factors. The effect of sleep on the growth and development process doubles the importance of sleep in childhood. This study aism to assess the effectiveness of sleep health education on elementary school students' sleep quality. 

Methods:

 This is quasi-experimental study with a pre-test/post-test design using a control group. The study population included male and female students aged 7-12 years in primary schools of Bandar Abbas, Iran, of whom 349 were selected using a convenience sampling method. The students who had sleep problems were divided into two groups of intervention (n=30) and control (n=30). The intervention group received sleep health education for one month. The students were asked to fill out f the Mini Sleep questionnaire before and after education. Analysis of covariance in SPSS v. 24 software was carried out to analyze the data. 

Results:

 The intervention group had a better quality of sleep than the control group. Among the sleep quality domains, the highest scores that reduced the quality of sleep were "Feeling tired upon waking up in the morning" and "excessive movements during sleep .

Conclusion:

 The sleep health education is effective in improving elementary school students' sleep quality. Therefore, holding such educational interventions for parents and students can be useful.

Objective:

 This study aims to determine the relationship of health-promoting behaviors with stress coping styles mediated by cognitive emotion regulation strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods:

 This is a descriptive-correlational study, which was conducted in 2019 on 306 adults in Bandar Abbas, Iran who were selected using a convenience sampling method. Data collection tools were a demographic form, Folkman and Lazarus’ ways of coping questionnaire, health-promoting lifestyle profile, and Garnefski et al.’s cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Results:

 Cognitive emotional regulation strategies negatively mediated the relationship between emotion-focused coping style and health-promoting behaviors, and positively mediated the relationship between problem-focused coping style and health- promoting behaviors (P<0.001).

Conclusion:

 The results of this study can provide the necessary solutions regarding peoples’ relationships based on the study variables.

Objective :

Among the pollutants in water sources, heavy metals are of great concern due to their non-biodegradability characteristics, their ability to accumulate in the food chain, and their adverse and chronic effects on human health. Therefore, this study aims to assess the health risk of exposure to heavy metals through drinking water in Bandar Abbas, Iran.

Methods:

 This descriptive-analytical study was performed on drinking water samples in Bandar Abbas, Iran in 2020. Forty-two samples were taken from the drinking water distribution networks, the point-of-use water treatment devices, and municipal water treatment centers. Heavy metal concentrations in the samples were measured using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry method. The carcinogenic risk of heavy metals was assessed according to probabilistic risk assessment method and Monte Carlo simulation technique.

Results :

The mean concentrations of arsenic, nickel, lead, and cadmium in drinking water were 1.25, 0.0713, 1.28, and 0.0005 µg/L, respectively. The mean carcinogenic risks of the mentioned metals were 1.23×10-4, 8.89×10-5, 2.07×10-4, and 2.23×10-4, respectively.

Conclusion:

 The average concentrations of heavy metals in drinking water of Bandar Abbas city and their risks, except for arsenic, were lower than the standard level. Although the concentrations and risk levels showed no significant threat for the consumers, more studies are needed especially on the arsenic concentration.