Iranian Rehabilitation Journal
Volume:20 Issue: 52, Sep 2022

Lateral ankle sprain is one of the most common injuries to the musculoskeletal system, especially among active people. This injury causes complex complications, such as recurrent sprain because of reduced postural control. Foot orthoses are among the interventions used to improve postural control in this population. This review aims to investigate foot orthoses to improve postural control among patients with an acute or chronic lateral ankle sprain. 

Four electronic databases (Scopus, PubMed, Web of Sciences, and Google scholar) were searched for experimental studies. Articles were selected using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) method. The articles were reviewed for their quality based on the standards for reporting diagnostic accuracy statements and then entered into this review.

The search results in all databases provided a total of 48 articles. After reviewing the documents, we excluded 38 articles that did not pass the inclusion criteria, resulting in 10 remaining articles. Data extraction from population, interventions, and outcome measures was done for these 10 articles.

Foot orthoses are effective in improving the postural control of individuals with an acute or chronic lateral ankle sprain. Considering the existence of mechanical and functional instability, foot orthosis which is made to affect the proprioception and follow the biomechanics of the body seems to be the most effective in this field; however, more studies are required to confirm this

The involvement of parents in raising children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is crucial for both the child’s development and family functioning. However, studies relating to parental involvement in parenting children with ASD mainly focus on the mother’s perspective, resulting in a lack of understanding of the father’s role. On the other hand, the father involvement in parenting plays a vital role in children, partners, and family dynamics. 

The current research is a literature review utilizing a database called Scopus. The main objectives of the paper are to examine predictors of father involvement in parenting children with ASD and to provide an overview of fathers’ experiences in raising children with ASD.

A total of 100 articles were found. After the screening and review process, 21 articles were included in the main review. The literature review found that studies relating to father involvement in parenting children with ASD are dominated by research on the impacts on parents and descriptions of fathers’ experiences raising children with ASD.

Therefore, it is necessary to conduct studies on the predictors of father involvement in parenting children with ASD. In addition, the majority of studies on the parenting of fathers of children with ASD examine the issue from a Western perspective, thus necessitating broader studies. The research limitations are outlined in the article.

Some children are at risk of middle ear infections; however, the impact of the fluctuating hearing sensations on cognitive systems and immature central auditory is not fully recognized. Therefore, we reviewed and discussed the impact of early-otitis media on the cognitive skills of affected school-aged children.

A computerized search of the databases was conducted between January 2000 and December 2020 using the following keywords, including “otitis media” and “cognition” or “attention” or “memory” or “working memory” or “short term memory”.

After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria and appraising the quality, seven studies were included and the data were extracted. Some of the articles reported a relationship between otitis media with effusion (OME) and cognitive deficits in 5 years old children and the other studies did not yield significant association.

It seems that children with OME experience difficulties in attention and memory; though, the relationship between early childhood OME and cognitive skills in children at school ages is not yet definitive and need more comprehensive and well-organized studies.

This study aimed to determine the efficacy of the therapeutic use of play on improving the attention span of children with Mild Intellectual Disability (MID) in elementary school.

This was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test with a control group so that 30 girls with MID were selected from an exceptional school in Tehran City, Iran, via convenience sampling method and assigned to the experimental and control groups. The attention span of all subjects was assessed by the Toulouse-Pieron test and the Cognitive Diagnostic Battery (CDB) before and after the therapeutic sessions. The experimental group participated in 16 therapeutic play sessions (35 minutes for each session) for 8 weeks, but the control group did not. The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the data.

The mean±SD age were 9.80±1.32 and 9.73±1.22 for the experimental and control groups, respectively. In addition, the mean attention span in the experimental group varied from 7.60 to 18.78 after the therapeutic sessions. In addition, after the therapeutic sessions, a significant difference (P<0.001) was observed between the experimental and control groups relating to attention span. According to the Eta quotient, 94% of the variation in the attention span of the experimental group is due to participating in the intervention sessions.

Therapeutic use of play is an effective method to improve the attention span of children with MID. Therefore, the therapeutic use of play can be applied to improve the academic performance of students with MID and reduce negative outcomes due to inattention.

The accuracy of diagnosis in mental disorders, such as depression is the basis of correct treatment. The present study aimed to investigate the sensitivity and specificity of the new multidimensional depression scale in diagnosing depressive disorder.

Two groups of participants were assessed by the new multidimensional depression scale (NMDS) and structured clinical interview for axis i disorders (SCID-I). The experimental group included 55 outpatientswith major depressive disorder selected via the convenience sampling method. The control group included 95 university students recruited via a multi-stage cluster sampling method. Data were analyzed by receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis to achieve the cut-off score.

Based on the results of the ROC analysis, the cutoff score of 106 was the intersection of the two sensitivity and specificity indices, where these two indices have an optimal relationship. This score simultaneously provided the lowest number of false positives and false negatives compared to other scores.

It can be acknowledged that the present study supports the clinical efficacy of the new multidimensional depression scale as a screening instrument for diagnosing depressive disorder.

Using an exercise intervention to improve lumbopelvic control (LPC) can enhance the pain severity and disability of participants with non-specific low back pain (NSLBP). The present study aimed to compare dynamic neuromuscular stabilization (DNS) exercises and common aquatic exercises (AEs) in terms of improving the pain, disability, LPC, and spinal posture of patients with non-specific low back pain (NSLBP).

This single-blind controlled clinical trial was conducted on 45 subjects who were randomly divided into three groups, such as DNS (n=15), AEs (n=15), and control (n=15). LPC, spinal posture, pain severity, and disability were assessed in pretest and six weeks after the intervention by pressure biofeedback, a spinal mouse device, the visual analog scale (VAS), and the Oswestry disability questionnaire, respectively. No intervention was implemented for the control group. 

No significant differences were observed between the study groups regarding the impact of the interventions on improving pain and disability (P>0.05). In addition, no significant difference was observed between the AEs and DNS groups regarding the improvement of LPC disorders (P>0.05). The spinal inclination angle (P=0.03) and inclination of range of motion (P=0.05) were significantly improved only by the AEs.

According to the results, the DNS exercises and AEs had no significant differences in terms of impact on the improvement of pain, disability, and LPC. Therefore, proper alternatives can be used to enhance such dysfunctions in case of a lack of access to pools and hydrotherapy pools.

To determine the prevalence of androgenic anabolic steroids (AAS) use among bodybuilders in different cities of Pakistan.

This cross-sectional study recruited 380 bodybuilders utilizing convenience sampling from different cities of Pakistan, including Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Quetta, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad. The study was conducted over a period of 6 months from January 2019 to June 2019. The sample included male bodybuilders aged 18 to 50 years. The basic demographic sheet and a self-designed form were used to collect data. SPSS software v. 21 was utilized for statistical analysis. The chi-square test was used to observe any relationship with P<0.05 as significant.

The current study showed a prevalence of 109 (28.68%) AAS use in bodybuilders with testosterone being most commonly used. A total of 54 people (49.5%) used self-administration, 38 people (34.9%) used it for the short-term while 27 people (24.8%) used it in long-term. Bodybuilders were mostly inspired by peers 73 (67%) and encouraged by coaches 62 (56.9%) to use AAS. Regarding knowledge of AAS, its usage, benefits, and side effects, the majority (89%) had little or no knowledge.

The study concludes that the use of AAS is quite prevalent among bodybuilders in Pakistan with 28.68% of AAS mainly using testosterone preparation, and bodybuilders of age 20 to 40 mainly consuming AAS. Peers were the main inspiration for most (67%) and encouraged by their coaches to use AAS (56.9%).

Premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are exposed to environmental risks that may cause developmental problems i. The present study aimed to investigate the predictive effect of individual and environmental factors on the motor performance of low birth weight preterm infants.

This cross-sectional study was performed in the neonatal clinic of Shahid Akbarabadi Hospital in Tehran City, Iran. A group of 90 low birth weight infants were enrolled in the study by non-probabilistic method and according to the inclusion criteria. Test of infant motor performance (TIMP), sensory profile2 (infant section), affordance in the home environment for motor development (AHEMD), and a demographic questionnaire were used to evaluate motor performance, sensory status, home environment, and other factors (birth weight, corrected age, parent’s education, etc.), respectively.

TIMP elicited score was positively correlated with the infant’s age (r=0.390, P<0.001) and infant’s weight (r=0.260, P=0.011), and negatively correlated with duration of hospitalization in NICU (r=-0.210, P=0.047). A significant negative correlation was observed between TIMP elicited score and total infant sensory profile2 score (r=0.391, P<0.001) and a positive correlation was observed between TIMP elicited score and total affordance in the home environment for motor development score (r=0.207 P=0.049). 

The present study’s results showed that elicited movement has a significant relationship with infant sensory status and home environment and demographic variables (infant’s age, gender, infant’s weight, type of delivery, NICU duration, father and mother’s age, number of family children) and the sensory status has a more predictive effect on infant motor performance than the environmental questionnaire.

The present study aims to compare acoustic voice parameters in patients with vocal cord nodules, polyps, and normal subjects. 

In this cross-sectional case-control study, the participants were selected by convenience sampling, including 30 patients with vocal polyps for the first group, 38 patients with vocal nodules for the second group, and 42 participants without voice pathologies as the control group. For each group, participants were examined by a speech and language pathologist (SLP) using an Endo-vision laryngoscope. Acoustic voice parameters were measured by MDVP software in Visi-Pitch; then, these parameters were compared in groups in terms of sex.

Three groups showed significant differences in terms of fundamental frequency (P<0.001), jitter (P<0.001), shimmer (P<0.001), and noise-to-harmonic ratio (NHR) values (P<0.001). Women in three groups had the substantial differences in terms of fundamental frequency (P<0.001), jitter (P<0.001), shimmer (P<0.001), and NHR (P<0.001). For men, the three groups showed a significant difference for jitter (P<0.001) and shimmer (P=0.001), but for NHR (P=024), and fundamental frequency (P=0.93) no signification difference were observed. 

It seems that the existence of benign mass lesions, such as vocal cord nodules and polyps affects the acoustic parameters of the voice. The measurement of acoustic voice parameters may help us to differentiate between the voices of normal people and patients with vocal cord nodules and polyps as a supplementary assessment in clinical procedures.

Internalizing disorders include disorders, such as major depressive disorder, dysthymia, and somatic disorders. In the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is recognized as a distinct group, but anxiety is a common symptom. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of play therapy programs based on social cognition in children with internalized behavioral disorders.

This study was an experimental design with a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. The subjects were screened based on the inclusion criteria, then 20 children with internalized behavioral disorders were selected after the matching process, and they were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (10 persons in each group). The intervention program was implemented in 10 sessions over 3 months. In this research, the Achenbach questionnaire (teacher report form) was used to assess students’ behavioral problems.

The results showed that play therapy with the social cognition method decreased the behavioral problems in children with the internalizing disorder (P≤0.05). 

It suggested that this supportive program can be implemented in a community of children with internalizing behavioral disorders.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed healthcare workers to heavy stress and made them vulnerable to various types of mental illnesses. This study aims to evaluate the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of healthcare workers in the COVID-19 ward.

This study was performed during the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 9-Dey Hospital of Torbat Heydarieh in Iran, in which a total of 178 healthcare workers in the COVID-19 ward participated via the census sampling method. In this study, we employed the Goldberg general health questionnaire along with a researcher-made questionnaire on the experience of exposure to COVID-19 disease. Following the completion of the questionnaires, the participants’ data were analyzed by the SPSS software and statistical tests (the Spearman and Pearson correlations).

Our results showed 91.1%, 77.57%, 87.55%, 87.07%, 56.75%, and 74.16% for the general health, physical symptoms, anxiety symptoms, sleep disorders, social dysfunction, and depression symptoms, respectively, during the COVID-19 pandemic conditions. The results showed a significant association between the experience of exposure to COVID-19, anxiety symptoms, and sleep disorders (P<0.05).

Access to counseling and psychotherapy systems, rehabilitation, and the improvement of working conditions can effectively enhance resilience and promote the mental health of healthcare workers and increase the quality of care and treatment services.

This paper aims to determine the factors that affect the position of deaf children within the professional treatment procedure and family environment.

The sample consisted of 217 respondents, of which 94 were parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing children and 123 respondents were professionals. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were applied for processing the results. Testing was performed with Wilks lambda, and the tested significance in the discriminant analysis was done via the F test at the statistical significance of 0.01.

The results demonstrated a relationship between the influence of the communication system and the attitude of the environment toward deaf children where the communication discriminatory factor was isolated. Insufficient information from the experts and decision-making factors in the education and rehabilitation processes are also isolated. 

The obtained results indicated that it is necessary to carry out a series of systematic activities to improve and enhance the cooperation between parents and professionals to increase the level of information of professionals and to develop better models of counseling, education, and working with parents.

There are several predictor variables for speech anxiety (SA) among students. Affective balance (AB) and social intelligence (SI) are two main factors in this field. In this study, we assess the mediating role of consequence expectation (CE) among these variables. Accordingly, this study aims to explore a model of the relationships between AB, SI, and SA mediated by CE among teacher-training students of Farhangian University.

This was a descriptive-correlational study and the population included students of teacher-education courses at the Farhangian University in Kerman Province, Iran, in the 2020-2021 academic year. The sample included 740 participants who were selected via the cluster sampling method. They completed the speech anxiety thoughts inventory, the Bradburn scale of psychological well-being (1969), the social intelligence questionnaire, and the personal outcome expectancy scale.

The results showed that the model of explaining AB, SI, and SA through the mediating role of CE in teacher-training students of Farhangian University has an acceptable fit. Hence, AB has a direct effect on SA. SI has a direct effect on SA and AB has a direct effect on the expectation of CE. Meanwhile, SI has a direct effect on the CE and AB has an indirect effect on SA through the mediating role of the CE. And, SI has an indirect effect on SA by the mediating role of the CE.

We can conclude the proposed model of the relationship between AB, SI, and SA with the mediating CE among teacher-training students of Farhangian University is fit and has proper values.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is characterized by progressively worsening lung function, ventilation capacity, dyspnea, and finally reduced exercise intolerance. All of these have a significant negative impact on functional capacity and quality of life. In this study, we aim to evaluate the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) in IPF and assess the predictors of success.

Data from 17 IPF patients who completed the program from the total of 27 patients who applied to PR were used in our study. We evaluated their pulmonary function tests, exercise capacity, peripheral-respiratory muscle strength, body composition, quality of life, and psychological states before and after PR.

Following the PR program, improvements over the minimal clinically important differences were observed in almost all parameters compared to the baseline; however, statistically significant improvements were only observed in the medical research council (P=0.020), the St. George respiratory questionnaire (P=0.002), the maximal inspiratory pressure (P=0.024), the anxiety score (P=0.001), the depression score (P=0.002), and the right quadriceps muscle strength (P=0.046). There was only a statistically significant negative correlation between the initial forced vital capacity and the forced expiratory volume in one-second value with the increase in patients’ maximal inspiratory pressure values after PR. 

After a multidisciplinary, comprehensive PR program, dyspnea sensation, exercise capacity, endurance time, quality of life, respiratory and peripheral muscle strengths, and psychological status were improved regardless of age, gender, antifibrotic treatment, and comorbidities. Therefore, patients should be referred to PR units before the deterioration in the quality of life in the early stages of the disease.

Investigating the prevalence of speech and language disorders and the contributing factors can help determine the best treatment options suited to the needs of these patients. So far, no comprehensive study has been conducted on screening speech and reading disorders and Problems in the Structure and Function of Articulation Organs (PSFAOs) in children in Mashhad City, Iran. This study aims to screen for these disorders and investigate the effects of demographic factors on such disorders.

Via the stratified-cluster sampling method, 2770 native Persian-speaking children participated in this study, of whom 1381 were girls and 1389 were boys, ranging from preschool to the third grade (3 to 9 years old). After obtaining the demographic information, the PSFAOs screening was performed for all participants using a semi-structured questionnaire taken from Paul et al.’s report (2017). Screening for a grade of dysphonia was then carried out for children with suspected voice disorders using the grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, and strain test. Fluency of speech screening for children with suspected fluency disorders was performed using the stuttering severity instrument – fourth edition test, and screening of reading skills for school children was performed using the screening inventory reading test. Analytical analysis was performed via the Chi-square test between study variables, including disorders and other variables. Two types of logistic regression models were used. The data were analyzed using survey data analysis of the Stata software, version 14.1, and P<0.05 was considered significant.

The prevalence of articulation disorders, voice disorders, stuttering, PSFAOs, reading disorders, and multiple disorders (presence of two or more disorders per person) was 1.62%, 1.99%, 1.69%, 1.1%, 8.21%, and 14.89%, respectively. Descriptive analysis showed that the prevalence of articulation disorders, voice disorders, stuttering, and multiple disorders

Violence against women is a global public health problem. Although there has been much research done on violence against women, there are few studies that provide the current scientific production.

In this study, bibliometric analysis has been used to evaluate the 1984 documents from 1986 to 2020 based on the Scopus database. These documents were analyzed quantitatively by the Bibliometric R Package and the VOS viewer software. In addition, the 20 top-cited papers were analyzed qualitatively.

The research findings show that the United States is a leader in this field with the most highly cited articles and also the greatest number of publications followed by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and South Africa. A total of 1984 documents were collected from the Scopus database and were analyzed in the Bibliometric R Research Package and the VOSviewer software. The results demonstrated that the average citations per year for each document were 23.39% and the annual scientific production growth rate was 16.86%. The keywords analysis indicates that most articles focus on “sexual violence”, “sexual assault”, “intimate partner violence”, “violence against women”, “sexual abuse”, “domestic violence”, “child sexual abuse”, “prevention”, and “rape.” Sources such as the “Journal of Interpersonal Violence”, “Journal of Violence Against Woman”, “Journal of Violence and Victims”, “Psychology of Women Quarterly”, “Journal of Adolescent Health”, “Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology”, “American Journal of Public Health”, “Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology”, and “American Journal of Public Health”, and “The Lancet” are the top most productive in this field.

Examining the articles showed that the vast majority of women have experienced verbal, sexual, intimate partner violence, cyber harassment, and so on.

The emergence of COVID-19 and its prevalence in the global community had various economic, social, emotional, psychological, and educational impacts. The closure of schools and universities in the country because of the outbreak of COVID-19 has led to the emergence of e-Learning in education at all levels. Given the importance of virtual education during the pandemic and the need to improve its quality at schools and universities, this study aims to explore the quality, efficacy, and understanding of the strengths and drawbacks of virtual education from the perspectives of professors and students at Ahvaz Jondishapur University of Medical Sciences.

In the domains of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and audiology, the current descriptive-analytical study was done with 17 professors and 210 undergraduate and postgraduate (master’s degree) students. The data was collected using the Persian version of the Watkins e-learning standard questionnaire and was analyzed via the SPSS software, v. 26.

From the professors’ perspective, the quality and effectiveness of virtual education based on different components of the questionnaire did not differ significantly and all dimensions were considered effective. However, the students considered the dimensions of technology access and online skills and relationships as strengths and faced challenges in the importance of success.

Considering the identified strengths and challenges, it seems that policymakers in the field of education should pay special attention to providing the necessary conditions and facilities to improve the quality of learners’ virtual education.

Sensory processing patterns refer to a person’s ability to receive and respond to sensory events which are important to succeed in daily routine activities. This study aims to determine the sensory processing patterns in infants/toddlers. 

This is a cross-sectional study. A total of 518 infants/toddlers participated in this study. Their ages ranged from birth to 36 months. Parents completed the infant/toddler sensory profile for all participants. 

No significant difference was observed between girls and boys in sensory processing from birth to 6 months; however, there is a significant difference between girls and boys in low registration, sensory sensitivity, and sensory avoidance from 7-36 months. In addition, no significant difference was detected between children born by cesarean and those born through natural childbirth in terms of sensory processing (quadrants and scores) from birth to 6 months and 7-36 months. There is a significant difference between preterm and full-term children (birth to 6 months) in auditory processing. The findings also indicate only a significant difference in oral sensory processing between the preterm and full-term children (7-36 months). 

We discussed sensory processing patterns in children and their differences based on different factors. The results of this study can provide considerations for Iranian occupational therapists and psychologists.