مجله علوم مراقبتی نظامی
سال نهم شماره 3 (پاییز 1401)

The military as the first and largest incident response team in the event of unexpected accidents must be able to use their skills and speed of action to ensure the safe transfer of casualties and to prevent the aggravation of the injuries for the injured.

The current study aimed to determine the effect of teaching transportation of the injured at the accident scene by two methods of role-playing and demonstration on awareness, attitude, and performance of soldiers.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2020 in Mashhad, Iran. Three military units were selected through a randomized allocation. These groups were divided into two test groups (role-playing and demonstration) and a control group. Each group consisted of 27 soldiers, who were selected through purposive sampling. Four 90 min classes regarding teaching the transportation of the injured at the accident scene were held for the test groups. No intervention was performed for the control group. Data collection was performed through questionnaires of awareness, attitude, and a checklist of valid and reliable researcher-made performance. Questionnaires and the checklist were filled before, immediately, and two weeks after the intervention. The collected data were analyzed using Chi-square and One-way ANOVA tests.

Although a significant difference was observed between the test groups (role-playing and demonstration) and control group in the awareness and attitude scores immediately after and two weeks after the intervention, respectively (P<0.001 and P<0.05), no significant difference was found between the performance scores of test groups and control group immediately and two weeks after the intervention (P>0.05).

Based on the results of the present study, due to the attractiveness of the role- playing and demonstration methods, it is suggested to consider new teaching methods in the usual training of soldiers in military centers.

Veterans' inabilities create problems for spouses and negatively affect their physical and mental health.

This study aimed to determine the validation and effectiveness of women's psychological empowerment package on resilience and mental health of women with veteran husbands.

The research method was a quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test with a control group. The statistical population of the present study included all the wives of veterans under the auspices of the Martyr and Veterans Affairs Foundation of Lordegan, Iran, in 2021. Sample members were randomly divided into experimental and control groups; thus, 15 were people in each group. Data collection tools included Connor-Davidson's (2003) Resilience Questionnaire and Goldberg and Hillier's (1979) Mental Health Questionnaire. The psychological empowerment program was implemented in 12 sessions of 90 min over six weeks (two sessions per week). Multivariate analysis of covariance, repeated measures analysis of variance, and post hoc tests were used to analyze the collected data.

The results showed that women's psychological empowerment program significantly improves the resilience and mental health of women with a veteran spouse (P<0.05). In addition, the results of repeated measures analysis of variance revealed that the improvement made by the women's psychological empowerment package on resilience and mental health in the follow-up phase was also stable (P<0.05).

Based on the findings of the present study, it is suggested that the psychological empowerment program be transformed into a permanent family care program at the Martyr and Veterans Affairs Foundation to improve the health of women with veteran spouses.

Work motivation among nurses may decrease over time, and the risk of quitting their job and shortage of personnel threatens the health system. In this case, strengthening their resilience by using psychological interventions is of great importance.

The present study aimed to determine the effect of positive thinking skills training on the resilience of nurses working in selected military hospitals in Tabriz.

The present study was conducted based on a pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental design. The statistical population consisted of nurses working in selected hospitals of Aja in Tabriz in the second half of 2022. Based on the inclusion criteria, 50 nurses were selected and randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. For the intervention group, positive thinking training was conducted through group discussion in eight 90-minute sessions of face-to-face training. Demographic characteristics form and The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale were used to collect data. Data were analyzed in SPSS statistical software (version 21) using statistical tests.

There was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups in terms of demographic characteristics. The mean scores of the resilience of nurses before the intervention were obtained at 39.28±6.12 and 41.56±9.54 in the intervention and control groups, respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.32). After the intervention, they reached 60.12±4.66 and 42.60±8.98, demonstrating a significant difference between the two groups (P<0.001). Resilience also improved from the pre-test to the post-test in the intervention group (P<0.001); nonetheless, it was not significant in the control group (P=0.16).

Considering the effectiveness of positive thinking skills training in nurses' resilience, it is suggested that this simple, cheap, and applicable method be used for nurses.

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease are a group of patients who experience high levels of anxiety. Acupressure is a non-pharmacological method that can be used as a complementary treatment to improve the condition of patients.

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of acupressure in reducing anxiety in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

This clinical trial was performed in 2020 on 56 patients with inflammatory bowel disease referred to the emergency department of a selected military hospital in Tehran, Iran. Patients were selected by purposive sampling method and randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Initially, the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was completed by the samples, and then, the intervention was performed for four weeks including the method of applying acupressure, identification of the desired points, the technique of applying pressure to the points, and the duration of pressure. After the intervention, the questionnaires were completed again, and the obtained data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 16) through descriptive and inferential statistics.

There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic characteristics and level of anxiety before the intervention (P> 0.05). After the intervention, the results of Fisher's exact test showed a statistically significant difference in terms of anxiety levels between the two groups (P<0.001). Accordingly, the experimental group reported a lower level of anxiety, compared to the control group.

According to the results of the present study and the positive effect of acupressure on reducing anxiety in patients in the experimental group, it is recommended to use acupressure as a complementary treatment and present it to the nursing staff in the form of in-service training.

Ensuring and maintaining the physical and mental health of students is important because mental disorders affect the academic process and lead students to academic failure. Psychological capital approaches and the mindfulness approach provide a practical and positive framework that helps to prevent and improve mental health.

The present study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of psychological capital and mindfulness training in improving the mental health of medical students at a military university in Tehran, Iran.

The current experimental research was conducted based on a pretest-posttest design with a control group and follow-up in 2021. The research sample consisted of 75 medical faculty students who were randomly selected on the basis of their years of study and were then randomly divided into two experimental groups and one control group (n=25 each). Mental health questionnaire was used to collect data, and the variance method (with repeated measurements) was used for data analysis to test the hypotheses at a significance level of P≤0.05.

The means of mental health of experimental and control groups were not significantly different in the pre-test; however, under the influence of psychological capital and mindfulness training in the post-test and follow-up were significantly different between the two mentioned groups (F=52.132, Eta=0.592, P<0.001). These results showed the effectiveness of the mentioned methods to improve mental health.

The findings of the present research indicated the effectiveness of group training in psychological capital and mindfulness on the improvement of mental health dimensions. Moreover, comparing the effectiveness of these two approaches on mental health dimensions showed the superiority of the mindfulness approach over psychological capital. Therefore, it is suggested that psychological capital and mindfulness group training programs be performed in educational centers, counseling and psychology centers, and medical and health centers to improve mental health.

By identifying the factors affecting the knowledge, attitude, and performance of health workers concerning the Zika virus, a considerable step could be taken to fight against this virus.

The present study aimed to determine the relationship between demographic variables and knowledge, attitude, and performance of the health services staff regarding Zika virus.

This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among the staff of health service centers in Shar-e-Rey, Iran, in 2020. A total of 354 people were entered into the study by proportionate stratified sampling. The data collection tool included demographic questions and questions related to the knowledge, attitude, and performance regarding Zika. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software using descriptive and analytic statistics (e.g., Chi-square and Fisher's exact test).

A significant relationship was observed between knowledge and educational level (P>0.001), occupational status (P>0.001), participation in Zika-related educational programs (P=0.010), reading or hearing about Zika (P>0.001), and receiving information about Zika from primary sources (P>0.001). In addition, there was a relationship between attitude and reading or hearing about Zika (P>0.001), internet access at the workplace (P=0.014), and receiving information from primary sources (P=0.004). Moreover, a significant relationship was observed between performance and marital status (P=0.032), participation in Zika-related educational programs (P=0.002), reading or hearing about Zika (P>0.001), and receiving information from primary sources (P>0.001).

Based on the findings of this research, it is suggested that when implementing educational interventions related to the Zika virus the individuals with following charachteristics should be given priority: Staff who are single, with a low level of education, non-clinical, no history of participation in Zika-related educational programs, have no history of reading or hearing about Zika, as well as the staff who do not have access to the internet at their workplace and are not interested in reading medical journals or watching health-related TV shows.

Loneliness is associated with the loss of positive feelings and the emergence of more negative ones during social interactions, as well as poor family functioning.

This study aimed to determine the relationship between family functioning and the loneliness of children admitted to Imam Jafar Sadegh Meybod Hospital in 2018.

This descriptive correlational study was performed on 94 children aged 7-14 years admitted to Imam Jafar Sadegh Meybod Hospital with their mothers. Children were selected through purposeful sampling, and data were collected using the Questionnaire of Family Functioning and the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient test and the SPSS software (version 22) at a significance level of 0.05.

The results of the Pearson correlation test showed significant negative relationships between loneliness and the problem-solving component (P=0.003, r=-0.30), the relationship component (P=0.012, r=-0.26), the component of emotional companionship (P=0.006, r=-0.28), the component of emotional intercourse (P=0.001, r=-0.43), behavior control component (P=0.001, r=-0.57), and overall family functioning (P=0.001, r=-0.54). On the other hand, there was a significant positive relationship between feelings of loneliness and the roles assigned to children in the family (P=0.001, r=43).

In general, the findings revealed that family functioning and its components are inversely related to children’s sense of loneliness. In other words, the better the family functions, the less children feel loneliness. The results also showed that roles in the family have a direct and strong effect on children’s feelings of loneliness. Therefore, to improve children’s loneliness, we should pay more attention to family functioning.

The mortality rate of children under 5 years is one of the important indicators of health development. Investigating child mortality to identify the causes and design preventable interventions for similar deaths is one of the most important strategies to promote children's health.

This study aimed to determine the causes of death of children aged 1-59 months covered by the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Neishabur, Neyshabur, Iran, from 2015-2019.

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, we analyzed the data of the death files of 112 children aged 1-59 months in Neyshabur from 2015-2019. Required data were extracted from registration forms of the Child Health Office of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education of Iran. Data analyses were performed in SPSS-21 software by descriptive and analytical statistics at a significant level of 0.05.

The results showed that the mortality rate of children increased by 2.4% during the study period. The main causes of death in children were congenital anomalies (32.14%), respiratory system diseases and chronic diseases (16.96%), non-traffic accidents (12.5%), and road traffic accidents (9.8%) in descending order. Statistical analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between children's age and their death due to road traffic accidents and non-traffic accidents (P<0.05).

Since congenital and anomalies chromosomal abnormalities were the leading causes of death in children in this study, it seems that most of these deaths can be preventable by implementing intervention programs, such as genetic counseling and screening exams during pregnancy.

The deployment of soldiers in military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq has a significant impact on their suffering from various mental, infectious, respiratory and musculoskeletal diseases, as well as on the rate of suicide, as well as alcohol and drug abuse.

The present study aimed to investigate the health status of the military forces deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq So to improve the health of Iranian military advisors.

This narrative review study reviewed the health status of troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. PubMed, Web of Science databases, and also Google Scholar Search Engine were used for this study without time limitation in English. The desired articles were searched in these databases using the keywords Iraq war, Afghanistan war, and Military health. A total of 4, 610 articles were retrived, and finally 33 articles were selected according to the various criteria of inclusion and exclusion of articles.

According to the findings of these studies, soldiers who return after deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan are exposed to a wide range of physical and mental problems, including respiratory and infectious diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, physical dysfunction, traumatic Brain, and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), alcohol and drug abuse, increase in the suicide rate, sleep disorder, and increase in violent crimes, Social support, coping, and psychological resilience will have significant indirect effects on PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorders) and depression.

As evidenced by the obtained results, the complexity and extent of the health risks in the soldiers stationed in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan increases the concern about the health consequences in the future. The identification of soldiers at risk and therapeutic measures to increase resilience are important issues that should be considered.