journal of Social Behavior and Community Health
Volume:7 Issue: 1, May 2023

The role of balanced diet in the life of an individual physically challenged or not cannot be overlooked. The condition of the physically challenged children attracts little or no attention. Several factors have been identified as causes of malnutrition in physically challenged persons. A nutritional diet is one of the factors that can help to reduce this phenomenon. The study was designed to examine the effect of a nutrition diet on health status of physically challenged students at Ade Okubanjo Institute for the Blind at Ijebu-Igbo.

This study used a descriptive survey research design and was conducted in 2022. 120 students were selected as the population of this study of which 100 were retuned valid. The research location was Ade Okubanjo Institute for the Blind, Ijebu-Igbo. A self-structured questionnaire was used to measure the nutrition diet of physically challenged students. To do so, 100 questionnaires were analyzed using a purposive sampling techniques method.  Nutritional diet and health status questionnaire was the instrument used for this study and questions about physical performance, nutritional diet, lack of adequate nutrition and family/parental status questions were asked from the participants. Cronbach’s alpha of NHSQ was 0.72. The data analysis method included the descriptive statistics were analyzed using chi-square.

Findings revealed that physical activities performance will significantly influence the nutrition diet of physically challenged children (Cal. value = 125.748a,, p-value = .000.), Lack of adequate nutrition will significantly influence the nutrition diet of physically challenged children (Cal. value = 46.180a,, p-value = .000.) also mental health status significantly influence the nutrition diet of physically challenged children (Cal. value = 41.165a,, p-value = .000.), Family/parental status will significantly affect the nutritional diet intake of the physically challenged (Cal value = 41.165a, , p-value = .000.).

The findings concluded that Physical performance, Lack of adequate nutrition, Mental status and Family/parental status significantly affect the nutritional diet intake of the physically challenged students at Ade Okubanjo Institute for the Blind.

The 2018 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) revealed that out of the current non-users of contraceptives amongst married women, only 38% of them made their own decision to abstain. The remaining 62% either decided jointly with their partner or the partner solely decided for them. This elicits the notion that social expectations within reference networks could influence the use of modern contraceptives (MCs) in Nigeria.

16 structured qualitative interviews were used to gather the beliefs, attitudes and social expectations of the respondents as regards the non-use of MCs between March and June 2020. Through snowballing sampling method, residents in the Ibadan Metropolis, southwest Nigeria responded to the hypothetical scenarios presented by the vignettes during interviews. Data were analysed using the Social Norms Analysis Plot framework. This framework serves as the checklist for the reporting of findings.  Basic ethical principles were upheld throughout the study.

Seven categories and five main themes emerged from this study. These categories include gender norms, social influence, peer pressure, myths, misconceptions, awareness and pluralistic ignorance. The themes were generated using the Social Norms Analysis Plot framework and they include empirical expectation, normative expectations, sanctions, sensitivity to sanctions and exceptions. The majority of the respondents strongly believe that most women in their community will not use contraceptives simply because of their male partners and friends. Out of those who do not use MCs due to social expectations, it was seen that the majority personally support its use.

To promote the uptake of modern contraceptive use in Southwest Nigeria, it is important to update people’s social expectations. The findings of these study studies are relevant for policymakers and civil society organizations in designing effective intervention reproductive health programs in different regions of Nigeria (especially areas of lower use of modern contraceptives).

Abortion is a problem with which all societies are dealing all over the world, having psycho-social consequences. The aim of the present study is to investigate the anxiety and coping style between successful pregnancy and non-successful pregnancy regarding recurrent abortion

50 women of 20-45, into 5 to 20 weeks of pregnancy, with at least 2 recurrent abortions were surveyed at Avicenna infertility center in Tehran, Iran. Kattel Anxiety and Lazarus Stress questionnaires were completed, and the outcome of pregnancies was followed up. All data analysis was performed by SPSS 22 software.

In this study, 32 women successfully passed the 20th week, and 18 women had a miscarriage. The mean score of anxiety in women with recurrent abortion with unsuccessful pregnancies was 12.56 (SD = 1.886) and with successful pregnancies, it was 7.38 (SD = 2.780). The mean score of anxiety for unknown abortion was 12.21, and for immunological, abortion was 6.89. 8.48 were related to abortion because of other reasons. 33% of the variance in stress coping strategy was related to women with recurrent abortion. The anxiety level of women suffering from recurrent miscarriages in secondary recurrent miscarriage (11.67) was higher than primary abortion (7.88). There was a difference between the anxiety of women suffering from recurrent miscarriages and a history of four miscarriages and two miscarriages. This was statistically significant (P < 0.0005).

The anxiety level of pregnant women that have recurrent abortion history and abortion outcome is more than they have successful pregnancies outcome. Therefore, anxiety can be considered one of the factors influencing recurrent abortion. Therefore, anxiety can be considered one of the factors influencing recurrent abortion.

Insects’ stings and bites are common phenomenon among school children in rural areas primarily due to closeness to bushes. Knowledge of teachers on allergies and anaphylaxis due to insect bites and stings is important to promote healthy school living; hence, this study investigated the knowledge of primary school teachers on stinging insects and allergic reactions.

This was a descriptive survey research with 120 participants. Knowledge of insect stings prevention questionnaire (KISPQ r = 8.27) and knowledge of insect stings first aid treatment questionnaire (KISFATQ, r = 7.68) were the main instruments used for the study.  Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the four research questions while linear regression analysis was used to test the two postulated hypotheses at 0.05 alpha levels.

Findings revealed that teachers were not significantly knowledgeable about insects’ stings regarding allergies and anaphylactic reactions. This was because only about 50% of the teachers could recognize the insects causing allergies and anaphylactic reactions. The result of F-value of 81.760 whose probability was close to zero percent showed that, statistically, the teachers' knowledge of the prevention and first aid treatment of allergy due to insect bite had a significant influence on prevention of anaphylaxis. The result of F-value of 110.618 whose probability was close to zero percent indicated that teachers' knowledge of aetiology and prevention of allergy regarding insect bite had a significant influence on first aid skills.

There is lack of knowledge in these areas at primary school level and that allergies and anaphylactic prevention should be added to health education curriculum content in school to improve knowledge of both the teachers and the pupils. Therefore, this study focuses on training teachers regarding prevention of insect stings and improving first aid treatment skills for stings and bites.

Shift work is a job stressor. Health service is one of the centers where shift work is an integral part, and the level of job commitment in staff has a significant impact on service delivery. The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between shift work and job commitment, and the mediating role of work-life balance among emergency medical personnel of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province in 1400.

This was a correlational study. The statistical community included emergency medical personnel of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, and the statistical sample was selected by stratified random sampling method. The research tool consisted of 3 questionnaires: a: survey of shift workers (SOS) (@ = 0.8), b: job commitment (@ = 0.9), and c: work-life balance (WLB) (@ = 0.9).  Findings were analyzed using spss21 software (p ≤ 0.05).

The level of work-life balance in these personnel was very desirable. The job score was slightly higher than average. The score of the work shift status questionnaire was lower than the average. In almost all cases, there was a positive and significant correlation between shift scores and work-life balance. There was no significant correlation between job commitment score and work-life balance in all cases. Moreover, there was no significant correlation between shift score and job commitment.

There is a correlation between shift work and work commitment and the mediating correlation of work-life balance (workplace support component). The adjustment of personnel shift work should be seriously considered by managers and of health organizations in particular and policymakers of the health system in general need to address this correlation.

Bangladesh has one of South Asia’s highest rates of child marriage, making female adolescents vulnerable to reproductive health risks. Shornokishoree (SK) Network has been implementing a mobilization program in Bangladesh using a variety of community engagement approaches. The main objective is to raise awareness among adolescents in secondary schools, bringing together as many stakeholders as possible. This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of the Network’s interventions and to determine changes in adolescents’ knowledge, attitudes and practices to prevent child marriage.   

630 participants were recruited from 35 secondary schools across eight divisions of Bangladesh. This study adopted a quasi-experimental design and consisted of a sample for intervention (308) and control group (322). The intervention group consisted of the participants who attended awareness sessions regarding early marriage and reproductive health issues. The study was conducted using stratified random sampling technique. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Chi-square and z-tests were performed to assess the program’s effectiveness including associated factors.

The study shows that knowledge about child marriage remained significantly lower (p < 0.01) for the control group compared to the intervention group. Nearly one-third (27.9%) of the experimental group rejected the assumption that women’s marriageability begins with puberty. 38.4% of the participants in the  control group were unaware of the consequences of adolescent pregnancy compared to 8.1% of the intervention group (p < 0.01). Additionally, 29.9% of the control group had a very limited understanding of the child mortality and maternal death issues compared to 6.8% of the intervention group (p < 0.01).

The study concluded that the awareness program has been very useful in improving knowledge about child marriage among adolescents, creating an impact on child marriage prevention.

Today, we are facing the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic and its undesirable effects on healthcare providers. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the organizational atmosphere and the tendency to leave jobs and fear of covid-19 in health team members of health centers in 2021.

In this descriptive-analytical study, 120 personnel working in the health network headquarters and health centers of Koohrang city of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province were selected by census and studied as health team members. After explaining the objectives of the research and completing informed consent by participants, the organizational atmosphere questionnaire, the tendency to leave jobs questionnaire, and the fear of COVID-19 questionnaire are completed. Finally, collected data are analyzed via SPSSv21, descriptive tests, and T-tests.

Average score and standard deviation of research variables for organizational atmosphere, leave job tendency, and fear of COVID-19 are obtained as 3.48 ± 0.59 (Above average), 3.81 ± 0.68 (Above average), and 2.14 ± 0.90 (Below average), respectively. The mediating variable of COVID-19 fear was not have a significant effect on the tendency of personnel to leave their jobs based on the organizational atmosphere (P = 0.109). Between the organizational atmosphere and leaving the job there was a direct relationship and meaningful (P = 0.005). Between the organizational atmosphere and fear of COVID-19, there are indirect relationships and meaningful (P =0.008). But, there was no evidence of a significant relationship between the tendency to quit and the employees' fear of COVID-19 (P = 0.140).

According to the results, there is a favorable organizational atmosphere, but the desire to leave the job is high among them, although the fear of Covid-19 does not play a mediating role in this desire to leave the job. The results of this study can be used in management planning.

Cancer leads to fear and anxiety and reduces mental health in patients soon after its diagnosis. Hence, it is imperative to examine therapeutic steps toward promoting the psychological conditions of these patients. The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy (PPT) on the psychological well-being and hope of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

The study was a single-blind clinical trial with a pretest-posttest design with experimental and control groups. The statistical population included all patients referring to Taleghani Hospital of Tehran in 2020. Thirty patients were selected by purposeful sampling and randomly assigned into two experimental and control groups. The experimental group learned PPT in six sessions held once a week and the control group received no intervention. Demographic forms, Ryff's psychological well-being scale (RPWBS-18), and Snyder’s hope scale (SHS-12) were used to collect data, which were analyzed by the Chi-square and ANCOVA tests run in the SPSS-20 software.

The results showed that PPT enhanced psychological well-being (F = 9.29) and hope (F = 8.28) among patients with cancer (P<0.01). Moreover, the effect size of the PPT was 29% for psychological well-being and 27% for hope.

The PPT is effective in promoting the psychological health of cancer patients. Thus, this cost-effective therapy can be used in healthcare centers to promote the psychological health of these patients.

Tobacco use by adolescents is one of the most devastating social challenges throughout the world, threatening the health of future generations and communities in all social, cultural, health, and environmental aspects. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the prevention against Tobacco dependence (PAD) interventions among students in Varamin City in 2020.

This study utilized the findings from the initial phase of the Prevention against Tobacco Dependence (PAD) project, which was conducted using a cohort method in Varamin city (Tehran province). The study encompassed four phases and involved both male and female students. For the second phase, a sample of 780 ninth-grade students was chosen using stratified sampling, with 350 students (45%) serving as PAD-helpers. Data was collected using a modified version of a questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In the students’ families, most fathers still used cigarettes (25.5%) and hookah (11.4%). In total, the prevalence of hookah, cigarette, and new tobacco product use among students was 35%, 15.9%, and 22.2%, respectively. The most important reason for smoking was curiosity (56.7%), and more than 71% of students believed that PAD project increased their knowledge about dangers of smoking. Based on t-test scores, there was a significant difference between PAD-helpers and non-PAD-helpers in terms of anti-smoking knowledge, attitude, and practice. Two variables of the level of knowledge and attitude towards smoking had a significant direct relationship with the variable of anti-smoking practice (p < 0.05).

This project contained effective interventions to raise the students’ knowledge and change their attitudes towards smoking, and these changes have been more evident among PAD-helpers and their anti-smoking practice.

auditors are required to make judgments in various fields, and their cognitive limitations lead to the deviation of their judgments. Goal orientation, which comes from the motivation of each person, as well as self-efficacy as another cognitive factor, can affect the way auditors’ judge. Therefore, this research examines the relationship between goal orientation and auditors' judgment performance, emphasizing the mediating role of self-efficacy.

The statistical population of this research is auditors working in auditing institutes in Yazd and Isfahan provinces in 2021. In order to collect data, the auditors' standard performance questionnaires of Susetyo, Elliot and McGregor's goal orientation questionnaire and Bell and Kozlowski's self-efficacy questionnaire were used.

The results of the structural equation modeling test in Amos software showed that out of the four dimensions of goal orientation, two dimensions of performance approach goal and mastery approach goal had a positive and significant relationship with auditors' self-efficacy and judgment performance (P < 0.05). The two dimensions of mastery avoidance goal and performance avoidance goal had a negative and significant relationship with self-efficacy and the auditors' judgment performance (P < 0.05). While self-efficacy had a positive and significant relationship with the auditors' judgment performance (β = 0.786, P = 0.000). Moreover, self-efficacy played a mediating role between the three dimensions of goal orientation, i.e. performance approach goal (β = 0.685, P = 0.033), performance avoidance goal (β = -0.671, P = 0.002), and mastery avoidance goal (β = -0.139, P = 0.014), with the auditors' judgment performance. Moreover, self-efficacy played a mediating role between the three dimensions of goal orientation, i.e. performance approach goal, performance avoidance goal and mastery avoidance goal, with the auditors' judgment performance.

According to the research findings, it is important to pay attention to the auditors' psychological factors because these factors affect the auditors' judgment. This research helps companies and their audit committee to pay special attention to the psychological characteristics of auditors, including their goal orientation and self-efficacy in selecting an auditor.

Psychological empowerment and constructive thinking and its fit with the job are one of the most important success factors in advancing the organization's goals and increasing commitment and job performance. This study was conducted to investigating the relationship between individual and organizational fit and psychological empowerment and constructive thinking in medical personnel of a Hospital in Behbahan City in 2022.

This descriptive-analytical (cross-sectional) study was conducted on 250. The assessment of psychological empowerment was measured using a 15-question Spritzer and Meishert questionnaire, the evaluation of constructive thinking was measured using a 28-question Epstein and Mayer questionnaire, and the state of individual and organizational fit was measured using a 10-question Scroggins questionnaire. The data was analyzed using SPSS 26 software and a significance level of 0.05.

The average age of the study participants was 36.21 years. The average score of psychological empowerment was 13.39 ± 9.84, which was higher than the average and was at a desirable level. The average score of constructive thinking was 27.75 ± 19.08, which was at the optimal level and above the average. The average score of fit between the individual and the organization was 18.91 ± 17.08 which was above the average and at the optimal level. There was a positive and significant relationship between the average score of individual-organization fit and constructive thinking (p = 0.007). The relationship between the mean score of psychological empowerment and constructive thinking was also positive and significant (p = 0.000). However, there was no significant relationship between the average score of individual-organization fit and psychological empowerment (p = 0.196).

According to the results and the positive relationship between the fit variables of the organization and the psychological empowerment with constructive thinking, it is possible to improve the other variables with the positive changes and promotion of each of them and advance it towards its goals by promoting the organization.

Medical assistants spend numerous hours of their day in the work environment, which may influence their performance. Empathy with the patients has a significant impact on the treatment process. This study was conducted among residents of different medical disciplines to determine self-efficacy in inter professional collaboration and empathy in dealing with the patients.

  This was a descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study on all medical residents at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. Data was collected via the following questionnaires: demographic (including age, gender, marital status, year of study, and specialty), Jefferson’s scale of empathy, self-efficacy, and Hagemeier’s interring professional collaboration.

Of the 162 questionnaires distributed, 135 were received (response rate = 83.33%). The mean age and work experience were 31.42 ± 4.56 and 2.70 ± 4.18 years, respectively. Self-efficacy scores in inter professional cooperation and teamwork was at a good level and empathy scores were at a moderate level. There was a significant relationship between marital status and self-efficacy (p = 0.03). Empathy was related to medical residents’ level of interest in their field (p = 0.019). There was no gender difference in empathy (p = 0.77) and self-efficacy scores (p = 0.36). However, males had higher inter professional communication scores compared to females (p = 0.001). Psychiatric residents had the highest and orthopedic residents had the lowest scores in empathy with the patients, empathic patient care, and emotional separation. 

This study showed that medical residents had an acceptable level of self-efficacy and empathy, which differed among medical fields. Similar studies should be conducted to therefore assemble an educational program for medical residents to increase empathic patient care and achieve inter professional cooperation goals.