Journal of Health Sciences and Surveillance System
Volume:11 Issue: 2, Apr 2023

The effect of laser on reducing inflammation has always been considered. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical studies on the effect of using low-power lasers on the production and activity of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α.

This study is a systematic review of Google Scholar, PubMed, and SCOPUS database articles which was conducted from 1990 to 2021. All information was categorized in a table.

In the review conducted in the mentioned databases and according to the considered time period, 239 articles related to the searched terms were found through the abstract. After removing duplicate titles and articles, 31 articles were selected and a more detailed review by the evaluation team yielded 16 articles. The full texts of these 16 articles were reviewed. For the final selection, 13 articles met the inclusion criteria and included the objectives of the present study.

Understanding the true mechanisms of low-level laser therapy (possible photochemical, photomechanical, and photobiological changes) and examining the relationship between cellular effects and changes in cytokines and clinical phenomena require numerous controlled clinical trials to develop an effective treatment protocol.

Teachers are exposed to work stress due to high workload, role conflict, and environmental conditions that affect their performance. The present study investigates the mediating role of occupational burnout between job stress and job performance among Iranian teachers. This is a cross-sectional study, and the participants were 292 high school teachers in Golestan province in 2019. To collect the data, we used three questionnaires of the Maslach burnout inventory, Paterson’s job performance questionnaire, and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) stress indicator tool. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation test, and structural equation modelling. The findings showed that 19.9% of teachers had burnout. The SEM indicated a negative and significant relationship between occupational burnout (β=-0.226) and job performance and job stress and job performance (β=-0.428). The mediating role of occupational burnout between job stress and job performance in teachers was confirmed. Occupational burnout is a mediating variable for the impact of job stressors on human performance. The findings of this study showed that role conflict and the quality of the relationship between colleagues could be recognized as two stressors affecting performance.

Breast cancer is the second cause of death in Asian countries, and 39% of all new breast cancer cases are diagnosed in Asia. The current study was designed to identify different patterns of breast cancer incidence rates among Asian countries. In this secondary analysis study, information about the incidence rates of female breast cancer for 46 Asian countries was extracted from the Gapminder website from 1990 to 2016, and a growth mixture model was developed to describe the growth patterns and identify the main longitudinal trends in Mplus 7.4. Finally, the estimated trend in each cluster was characterized by intercept (the rate at 1990) and slope (the observed annual trend changes). Our findings suggested an overall increasing trend throughout the continent, but individual trajectories showed different behavior patterns amongst countries. Bayesian information creation showed that the 3-cluster model was the best choice. The annual growth of -0.13 (per 100,000 persons) suggests a slight negative trend for the incidence rate of breast cancer in cluster one countries, including Bangladesh, Israel, Kyrgyz Republic, Maldives, Nepal, North Korea, Tajikistan, and Timor- Leste. Seventeen countries, including Armenia, Bahrain, Brunei, Cyprus, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, and United Arab Emirates, which belonged to cluster 2 had not only a higher number of incidence rate in 1990, but also an annual growth of 0.96 (per 100,000 persons), indicating a sharp increase trajectory. Also, annual growth of 0.38 (per 100,000 persons) showed a slow increase in the incidence rate of breast cancer over time for the 21 remaining countries. The observed sharp increase of breast cancer incidence in Armenia, Bahrain, Brunei, Cyprus, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, and United Arab Emirates is remarkable; therefore, effective strategies to prevent it are urgently required.

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers among women worldwide. The phe scale is the first credible measurement tool to delve into critically ill patients’ experiences and emotional state and detect their level of engagement in the treatment and care process. However the Persian version of the scale needs to be further investigated. Accordingly, the present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric features of the patient health engagement scale (phe s) in Iranian patients suffering from breast cancer. This is a cross-sectional study. The sample size was estimated by multiplying the total number of items by ten. The sample size was estimated for this 5-item scale 128 breast cancer patients who referred to a specialized clinic in 2020. Content validity and reliability analysis were performed, and the data were analyzed using IBM SPSS26 software and R content validity package. The ordinal alpha of thesample was 0.626, indicating an acceptable internal consistency. The analysis of the rash model revealed an acceptable infit and outfit MNSQ (685-932). The polychoric correlation coefficient within the items was 46, representing a moderate correlation. All the factor loadings had a high value (0>60), thereby confirming the single dimensionality of the scale. The phe scale has favorable reliability and validity to assess the patients’ emotional adjustment and their engagement in their health and self-management before designing and implementing any intervention.

Nowadays, breast cancer (BC) metastasis is a nightmare for women and one of the main challenges among researchers worldwide. Unlike traditional statistical methods that are not able to handle and take into account the complexity of effects and existence of interactions among predictor variables, the decision trees can overcome these problems. This study aimed to predict and identify the main prognostic factors of BC metastasis status (binary response) using decision tree modeling. This retrospective cohort study was conducted on 375 patients with BC who had registered with the Comprehensive Cancer Control Center from 1998 to 2013. Some demographic features related to the conditions of the Person’s disease and the type of treatment received were recorded. We applied a tree-based approach using the Gini index as the homogeneity criterion to explore the factors affecting metastasis occurrence in BC patients. The mean (SD) age of BC patients with and without metastasis was 55.7 (12.4) and 43.1 (7.2) years, respectively (P<0.001). The rate of metastasis was 33.3%. The five most important risk factors for metastasis of tumor proposed by tree diagram were age at diagnosis, grade of tumor, type of surgery, number of deliveries, and axillary surgery. The prediction accuracy of the proposed model was 84.3%, and its sensitivity and specificity were 66.4% and 93.2%, respectively. Age at diagnosis was the most important factor for predicting breast cancer metastasis, so that breast cancer patients aged over 54 were at high risk of metastasis.

Catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) has been explained as a growth in spending for health care services that exceeds 40% of total household income. Therefore, devoting a large portion of household resources to health care services can greatly threaten to standards of living in the short and long term. The present study was an attempt to evaluate the financial contribution of Iranian households in health care services system in Hamadan Province in 2017. This cross-sectional study reflected on spending for health care services. For this purpose, the data were extracted from the household expenditure statistics published in the database of the Statistical Center of Iran. Accordingly, among the common econometric models associated with the subject matter, the logit model was employed, and the data were then analyzed using the Stata 14 software. The study findings revealed that 8.9% of the total household costs had been allocated to health care services. The results also showed that 3.5% of the households faced catastrophic cost among all the studied households. Upon examining the factors, significant relationship was further observed between the probability of exposure to CHE and living in rural areas, income decile group, number of employees, and marital status in the households concerned. It was concluded that poor distribution of health care services, unequal distribution of income and wealth among jobs, as well as socioeconomic conditions could influence CHE. Therefore, there is a need to plan and develop policies for better access to health care services.

Successful treatment of breast cancer (BC) depends on its early detection, which has a significant role in reducing its mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the services provided and the results in women referred to Babol Health Center Breast Cancer Screening Clinic. This cross-sectional study was performed on 1421 individuals. Data were collected using a questionnaire, including demographic information, health history, and screening questions. Initial examinations were performed by midwives at the centers, and suspected or family history cases were referred to counseling centers and then to a physician for mammography. All follow-up was recorded by an expert in the center. The mean age of the subjects was 46.19±8.84 years, and that at first delivery was 21.08±4.38; 93 (6.5%) of them had a history of infertility and 253 (17.8%) had a family history of BC. Of those who did a clinical examination, mammography and ultrasound, 580 (40.9%), 171 (12%), and 441 (31.1%) had BIRADS above two, respectively, and 12 of those who performed biopsy had a positive mass result. Among the other variables studied, history of benign tumor (OR=2.86, P<0.001) and changes in breast skin (OR=2.96, P=0.021) and change in the breast size (OR=2.92, P. value=0.020). ) was observed in predicting effective mammography. In the random forest chart, the history of benign tumors showed 20.34% of mammographic predictions. Breast self-examination with 12.06% and then hormonal drugs with 10.45% were in the second and third ranks. Using two methods of clinical examination and mammography will identify most people in stage 2 who have a good prognosis. Given the proper functioning of the center, it is suggested that more extensive screening should be done to reduce the prevalence and costs of treatment.

Physical fitness and optimum functional movement are essential for efficient performance of job tasks without fatigue and injury. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between Functional Movement Screening (FMS) test score and prevalence of Musculoskeletal symptoms (MSSs) in emergency nurses and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) staff. The present study also sought to determine optimum cut-off point of FMS test score in health personnel. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 134 male and female emergency nurses and EMS technicians. After watching a video tutorial and undergoing practical training of how to do the FMS test, the participants carried out the test while wearing comfortable clothes. In addition to the demographic data questionnaire, Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire was also completed for each participant. The data were analyzed using the SPSS software, version 18 at the significance level of 0.05. Totally, 49.3% (n=66) of the participants were female. The subjects’ mean age and work experience were 35.3±8.7 and 11.4±7.7 years, respectively. Cut-off point of 17 was determined with the highest sensitivity (0.71) and specificity (0.71) based on ROC curve. The highest prevalence of MSSs was observed in the knees (n=44, 32.8%) and lower back (n=31, 23.1%). Multiple linear regression modeling also showed that age, sex, and the prevalence of MSSs were significantly associated with the FMS test score. FMS test seems to be an appropriate screening tool in pre-employment and periodic medical tests for jobs requiring physical fitness and optimum functional movements.

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a volunteer-led food safety training program based on social cognitive theory on behaviors and their determinants among community women. This is a single-blinded randomized controlled trial conducted in 8 urban health centers in Marvdasht city, southern Iran. 60 volunteers and 502 women who were selected through multi-stage cluster random sampling method participated in the study. A 4-session food safety training program was implemented for health volunteers in the experimental group (n=30). They then trained the women in the experimental group (n=260) in their local community for a month. Data were collected using validated questionnaires in the group of volunteers before and one week after the intervention and in the group of women before and one month after the intervention. Data were entered in SPSS software version 22 and analyzed using Chi-Square and comparisons between the two groups were conducted by ANCOVA. P<0.05 was considered as the significant level. The results of the study showed significant improvements in food safety-related behaviors and their determinants in the experimental groups, i.e., among both health volunteers and community women after the intervention. No significant changes in the study constructs (knowledge, self-efficacy, outcome expectations and behavior) were observed among women in the control group after the intervention. The findings of this study were in favor of the success of health volunteers in food safety training with the aim of improving food safety-related behaviors and their determinants (within the framework of cognitive theory) among community women.

Taxes are not only an important source of government revenue, but also one of the most important policy tools for tobacco control. The present study was designed to determine the optimal tax rate on cigarettes. A descriptive-analytical study was conducted using the survey data from the Statistics Center of Iran from 2015 to 2019. The survey is carried out every year at the national level and households are selected by three-stage stratified sampling method. The inclusion criteria for our study were based on household information in the study period and its completeness and legibility. The Poisson regression model was used to estimate the factors affecting the quantity of cigarette demand in households with smoker members. The optimal tax rate on cigarettes was calculated based on the concept of Laffer curve. Statistical analysis was performed using Stata version 15.1. The study was performed on 191,648 Iranian households. The cigarette price elasticity of demand was around -0.24. There were statistically significant relationships between the cigarette demand and variables including having a member of 15-18 years in the family; having male member of 19-64 years; having a female member of 19-64 years old; the study periods; age, education level; and job status of the household head (P<0.05). According to the Laffer curve simulation, if cigarette tax rate is increased to account for 219% of the retail price, that will maximize incremental tax revenues at around US$2.39 billion. The government can achieve public health goals as well as maximum tax revenues by raising cigarette taxes by almost 200% and raising the average price of a cigarette pack from $1 to about $3.

In recent decades, especially after the publication of the World Health Report in 2000, many efforts have been made to develop assessment tools and improve the performance of health systems at the global and national levels. The purpose of this study was to design a method and assess the performance of health systems in various countries in its use. In this retrospective study, health systems were evaluated using the opinions of experts as well as international data. Health system experts expressed their views on appropriate indicators for evaluation. The performance of the studied health systems was ranked using multi-criteria decision-making techniques (SAW & TOPSIS). Collected data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Data related to 38 indexes in eight general areas of macroeconomics, affordability for health costs, disease control, health care financing, health and nutrition, life expectancy, health resources, and mortality rates were collected in 105 countries from 2018 to 2020. According to the findings of country ranking, the health systems of Sweden, Norway, and Japan have the best performance and Afghanistan, Nigeria and Guinea have the weakest performance in the years examined. Health systems face major challenges around the world. Scientific evaluations show that spending more resources and costs does not necessarily enhance the performance of health systems, yet using and distributing these resources and costs in health systems could enhance the hope for better performance.

Aggressive behaviors are the most critical and common challenges shown by children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) through their life. Children- scale for hostility and aggression: reactive and proactive (C-SHARP) is a comprehensive instrument for measuring aggressive behaviors. No instruments have been developed for measuring aggression in children with ASD or other developmental disabilities in the Persian language; therefore, this study aimed to assess the reliability, validity and responsiveness to change of Persian version of C-SHARP in children with ASD. This is a psychometric study with three phases including translation process, assessment of the validity and reliability, and responsiveness to change. World health organization (WHO) guidelines for translation and adaptation process were used to translate the C-SHARP. To evaluate the psychometric properties of the instrument, we performed across-sectional study on 162 children with ASD and dimensionality and convergent validity, internal consistency, and composite reliability were used. In order to measure responsiveness, we performed a comparative study in the form of a free-gluten dietary intervention, and gamma correlation coefficient was used to correlate change the scores with GRS. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were reported greater than 0.85 for all subscales and the composite reliability coefficient for C-SHARP was 0.94. Root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) was 0.052 which confirmed robust construct of C-SHARP Persian version. Average variance extracted (AVE) for total C-SHARP was >0.50. Gamma correlation coefficient was 0.77, indicating excellent responsiveness to change of the instrument. The current study approved the reliability, validity, and responsiveness to change of the Persian C-SHARP in children with ASDs. Persian C-SHARP can be used in clinical and research settings to assess aggression.

Nosocomial infection (NI) has always been considered a significant problem around the world. Due to the special conditions of the admitted patients, NI is of significant importance in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). The present study was an attempt to study the prevalence of NI in PICU and its effects on hospital stay and mortality rate. The present research is a retrospective cross-sectional study in which the clinical and laboratory data of 693 patients admitted to the PICU of Namazi Hospital in 2018 was studied. Then, the information was entered into SPSS and analyzed. Of 693 admitted patients, 101 developed a nosocomial infection in the PICU, accounting for 14.57% of patients. Pneumonia, urinary infection, and septicemia were reported as the most frequent nosocomial infections. The most common pathogen responsible was Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter in pneumonia, Enterococcus in urinary infection, and Stenotrophomonas in septicemia. The present study showed that nosocomial infection was associated with increased hospital stay and mortality rate. Nosocomial infection is considered an important challenge in the health system; its prevalence in different parts of the world is different, and it was not high in the present study. Nosocomial infection increases mortality and hospital stay and imposes a heavy burden on the health system; therefore, it is vital to decrease its prevalence. These findings can be used to plan for better infection control strategies and decrease nosocomial infection, hospital stay, and mortality rate.

The aim of this study was determination of the quantity and quality of construction and demolition waste materials in Kermanshah city, Iran. This descriptive cross-sectional research was carried out on eight urban areas in Kermanshah city from April to December in 2018. Due to the fact that in winter season, the C&D rate in Kermanshah is very low, data were not included in the study. Parameters of weight, volume, and density were calculated and presented in a seasonal average. The descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data in SPSS and Excel software. More than 372.62 ton of waste materials were generated during the study, and the amount of concrete, bricks, soil, plaster, stone, ceramic, asphalt, and glass were approximately 31.49, 26.09, 23.45, 10.7, 3.37, 2.79, 2.07, and 0.0003%, respectively. According to the results, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, wood, plastic, paper, and cardboard have been recycled and sold due to their high economic value. Therefore, they were not in the C&D waste or were very little. With regards to the high volume of C&D waste generated, setting laws and regulations to reduce C&D waste should be considered to control optimally and efficiently the processes of production, collection, transportation, disposal, and recycling of waste.

Psychosocial adjustment problems can be obviously detected in patients with major depressive disorder. The present study aimed to assess the impact of cognitive-behavioral group training on psychosocial adjustment among patients with major depressive disorder. This randomized clinical trial with pre/posttest design was conducted on 50 patients with major depressive disorder who were hospitalized in Ebnesina hospital, Shiraz, Iran. The intervention group took part in eight sessions of psychotherapy based on cognitive-behavioral approach. The participants completed Bell adjustment inventory before and two weeks after the intervention. After all, the data were analyzed using SPSS 22 software. The results revealed a significant difference between the two groups regarding the score of psychosocial adjustment after the intervention (P=0.000). Indeed, a significant difference was found in the intervention group’s adjustment score before and after the intervention (P=0.000). A significant difference was also observed between the two groups regarding the difference in the adjustment scores (P=0.000). It is expected that behavioral skills alongside cognitive skills can empower the individuals’ capabilities to create more appropriate and purposeful relationships. Cognitivebehavioral training is a combination of behavioral and social skills together with modification of individuals’ attitude and cognition.

Life satisfaction is a comprehensive concept reflecting the general feeling of people about the society in which they live. Previous research has found that health status is associated with life satisfaction. Sexual intercourse is of physiological and psychological needs, which is closely associated with the wellbeing of any individual. In this study, we examined life satisfaction in Marvdasht, Fars province. This population-based survey was conducted in 2016 among Marvdasht urban and rural population aged 18-50 years. The participants were selected via cluster random sampling. A telephone survey was conducted to complete an interviewadministered questionnaire. Significance level in this study was considered 0.05. All stages of data analysis was done in SPSS22 software. A total of 3879 participants from urban and rural areas of Marvdasht were interviewed. There was a difference between urban and rural men in terms of sexual satisfaction (P=0.01) (7.90±2.01 vs. 8.15±1.89) and life satisfaction (P=0.011) (5.64±3.54 vs. 5.14±3.71). Satisfaction in both cases in men in urban areas was better than men in rural areas. Also, the average score of sexual satisfaction was higher in rural men compared with that in urban male residents (P=0.01). Regarding women, at error level of 0.05, there was a difference between urban and rural women in terms of sexual satisfaction (P<0.0001) (8.62±1.502 vs. 9.12±0.789) and life satisfaction (P<0.0001) (8.37±1.641vs. 9.13±0.669), so that satisfaction in both cases in women in rural areas was higher than men in urban areas. Life satisfaction had a close relationship to geographical areas of residence. However, this was for women living in rural areas than women living in urban areas in both cases.

Methylphenidate is an important drug treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Parents’ knowledge of the drug predicts their adherence to this treatment and active participation in the therapeutic interventions. The present study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of the parents of children with ADHD, who referred to the child and adolescent psychiatry clinic of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, regarding methylphenidate (Ritalin). This descriptive, cross-sectional study was performed on 300 parents during 2019-2020. The subjects were selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using the socioeconomic status questionnaire and a researchermade questionnaire, which encompassed the two sections of demographic information and parents’ attitudes, knowledge and performance. The validity and reliability of the tool were confirmed. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16 using descriptive statistics, Chi-square, and t-test. The mothers played a more significant role in the care of children with ADHD compared to the fathers. Significant correlations were observed between the parents’ knowledge, attitude, and performance with Ritalin consumption, and the knowledge score of the parents was low (46.6%), confirming their need for education in this regard. Meanwhile, 52.86% of the parents had a moderate knowledge level, and only 1% had excellent knowledge regarding the drug. Overall, the parents considered methylphenidate a more effective drug for ADHD compared to other medications. However, 84% of the parents were concerned about their children’s Ritalin addiction. According to the results, mothers played a more significant role in the treatment of children with ADHD compared to the fathers. According to the results, parents’ participation in the treatment of children and adolescents with ADHD as a supporter and provider of methylphenidate had a positive effect in this regard. Therefore, supporting and improving the knowledge and attitude of parents could improve their perception of methylphenidate consumption by their ADHD children, thereby enhancing the prognosis of the patients.

The prevalence of infections among general population can affect the prevalence among blood donors. Due to to the importance of blood safety, this study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV in donated bloods in Iran in 2018.

Using information of 1,308,284 blood donors, we designed this cross-sectional study to estimate the prevalence of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) in Iranian blood donors. All the prevalence was reported per 100,000 population.

HIV prevalence in blood donors was about 2 per 100,000 (95% CI: 1.999, 2.001) population. Prevalence of HBV and HCV was 53(95% CI: 52.999-53.00) and 26 (95% CI: 25.999-26.001), respectively.

It seems that the screening of volunteers would defer many people who may have been infected with TTIs; as a result, people with the least risk of being infected are selected to donate blood. Notice: All of these infected bloods were detected and discarded from the blood donation chain.