مجله آموزش و سلامت جامعه
سال دهم شماره 2 (Jun 2023)

The quality of well-being of the older population is a crucial determinant of successful aging as well as the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG target 3). However, the impact of psychosocial-spiritual factors on well-being is affected by the level of general health conditions in the older population. Previous studies have focused more on the physical health and psychological well-being nexus, but the role of general health conditions in mediating the association between psychosocial-spiritual factors and well-being in the older population in Africa was not investigated. This study, therefore, examined the psychosocial-spiritual factors associated with well-being in the older population in Africa with a focus to determine the contribution of all the psychosocial-spiritual factors when mediated by general health conditions.

In this regard, a quantitative research methodology was adopted using a descriptive survey. A total of 833 elderly people with a mean age of f 68.04±6.71 years were recruited, comprising 484 females and 399 males in five municipalities.

The findings revealed that general health conditions, quality of life, social support, and social network are significantly associated with well-being in older people. Furthermore, the mediating effect of general health conditions had an inverse association with well-being.

Accordingly, a commitment to quality of life, healthcare services, social support, and family social network is effective for Africa to achieve healthy lives and promote well-being for individuals of all ages.

 Although researchers have performed several smoking-related investigations, limited achievements have been found in decreasing rates of smoking because most of them were not implemented based on the appropriate theory. This study aimed to apply the structural equation modeling (SEM) method to examine the relationships between protection motivation theory (PMT) constructs, health literacy, and smoking behavior among university students.

 In the current cross-sectional investigation, 542 students of Mashhad Universities of Applied Sciences were collected using cluster sampling on August 2022. The data collection tools were sociodemographic, PMT, and health literacy questionnaires. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 24. Moreover, the SEM was implemented by applying Amos. Pearson correlation examination was performed to study the relationships between behavior and other variables. Moreover, SEM was performed using Amos 18, and several indexes were calculated, including chi-square/degrees of freedom (χ2 /df), goodness of fit index, root mean square error of approximation, comparative fit index, and Tucker Lewis index.

 The resulting of the smoking behavior model demonstrated an acceptable fit with the studied data. Smoking behavior was significantly associated with higher intention extrinsic and intrinsic rewards and the perceived cost and lower response efficacy, self-efficacy, and perceived vulnerability; nonetheless, intention and self-efficacy had more effects, respectively (P<0.05).

 It can be more beneficial to increase the people’s self-efficacy in order to further trust themselves so that they can successfully avoid smoking via reinforcement of the coping skills.

 Smartphone use has been shown to have effects on psychological health outcomes. There is evidence that the psychological effects of smartphones on young people are significant. It is associated with anxiety, depression, and psychological distress in various populations. The tendency to spend cumulatively long durations exposed to smartphones is an emerging phenomenon among university undergraduates. This study aimed at determining the relationship between smartphone use and psychological distress in university undergraduates.

 Data for this cross-sectional study were collected from 3,325 undergraduates of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria in September 2021 using a Sociodemographic proforma, Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short version, and psychological distress was measured using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12). Data were analyzed using SPSS 23.

 The mean age of respondents was 21.3+2.59 years, and 1835 (55.2%) of them were females. In addition, 3305 (99.4%) owned smartphones, and 720 (21.7%) had more than one smartphone. Psychological distress was present in 1097 smartphone users (33.2%). The level of study (P=0.002), presence of problematic smartphone use (PSU, P<0.001), total time spent on the phone per day (P=0.014), and the time spent on social media per day (P<0.001), as well as leaving the phone data on all day (P=0.001) and engaging in overnight calls or social media chats (P<0.026), Facebook (P=0.001), WeChat (P=0.001), and Snapchat (P=0.001), were significantly associated with psychological distress. Independent predictors of psychological distress were being in year 5 (OR=0.548, P=0.008), presence of PSU (OR=1.586, P<0.001), switching on phone data throughout the day (OR=1.388, P<0.001), and use of WeChat (OR=1.451, P<0.027) and Facebook (OR=0.703, P<0.001).

 Our findings revealed that important smartphone-related indices such as PSU, switching on phone data access all day, and WeChat were predictive of increased levels of psychological distress. Structured counselling about the productive use of smartphones should be administered in the early years of study for university undergraduates.

 Breast cancer and cervical cancer, the most common forms of cancer in women worldwide, are on a fast and steady rise. Cancer screening tests are an important tool to combat cancer-related morbidity and mortality. Considering the importance of health literacy in promoting community health, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between health literacy and the history of screening behaviors of common cancers in women referred to Bushehr healthcare centers in 2019.

 This cross-sectional study was carried out on 380 women referred to urban health centers in Bushehr in 2019. Data were collected by using a questionnaire consisting of three parts: demographic characteristics, breast and cervical cancer screening behavior, and health literacy (HELIA) questionnaire. Data were analyzed via SPSS 21 software using the Chi-square test, an independent t-test, and descriptive statistical methods. Furthermore, P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

 The mean age of the subjects was 34.88±9.15 years. Moreover, 3.2% of subjects had inadequate health literacy, 13.9% had health literacy at a border level, and 82.9% had sufficient health literacy. In this study, 46.8% and 88.2% of the women did not undergo Pap tests and mammography, respectively, and 73.9% were never referred to the health centers for clinical examination of breasts. In addition, health literacy had a significant relationship with monthly breast examination and undergoing Pap smear (P<0.001), but health literacy had no significant relationship with undergoing mammography and clinical breast examination (P>0.05).

 The results of this study indicated that women with higher levels of health literacy are more likely to get in the habit of doing monthly breast self-examination and undergoing the Pap test. Thus, it is suggested that this result be considered in prevention programs (primary and secondary) to increase women’s health.

Teenage girls who are passing through sensitive puberty time are among the vulnerable ones whose sexual health information needs have not received sufficient attention. The present article aimed to explore barriers and facilitators of sexual health information-seeking behaviors (SHISB) among teenage girls in Rasht in 2022.

The present study was performed using a qualitative method based on conventional content analysis. The participants were selected by the maximum variation sampling method and included 15 teenage girls in the age range of 15-21 years old and 5 key adults, including mothers, teachers, and sexual health specialists. Data were collected by the semi-structured interview technique and then analyzed using Landman and Granheim’s approach.

According to the results of the present study, 7 main categories and 25 subcategories were extracted, including barriers, facilitators, motivations, and resources for seeking sexual health information. The main categories were individual barriers, family inappropriate performance, cyber threats, social inhibitors, facilitating elements of information seeking, information seeking motivation, and channels of sexual health literacy.

In addition to clarifying the barriers and facilitators of seeking sexual health information among teenage girls, the findings also point to the necessity of providing educational situations to learn sexual health topics. Therefore, the present study suggests the necessity of family institution, health, and education cooperation, along with formulating community-oriented programs to support teenage girls’ information needs, changing the family and society’s point of view considering sexual health.

 Oral health literacy (OHL) and dental health indicators in people with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are important health conditions that have been less investigated in this group of patients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate oral health conditions and OHL in adult patients with cardiovascular conditions who referred to dental clinics in southwest, Iran.

 This cross-sectional study was conducted in Ahvaz, Iran in 2021-2022. The oral and dental health status and literacy of 302 people were investigated, and data were collected using a standard questionnaire about OHL (with dimensions of comprehension and calculation ability), as well as demographic and medical information. Then, the patients were clinically examined by a dentist to determine oral health indicators (Decayed, missing, and filled teeth: DMFT) and oral health index (OHI-S). Finally, data were analyzed using SPSS, version 22.

 The mean DMFT was 11.06±3.55. According to the OHI-S, 124 (41.1%), 75 (24.8%), and 103 (34.1%) people were categorized in mean, good, and poor oral health levels, respectively. Pearson’s correlation coefficient demonstrated a direct, strong, and significant relationship between age and DMFT and OHI (r=0.702, r=0.678 P<0.001). The relationship between understanding ability and DMFT and OHI was inversely correlated (r=-0.389, r=-0.278, P<0.001), and the relationship between calculation ability and OHI, as well as between calculation ability and DMFT was inverse and significant ((r=-0.572, P<0.001) and r=-0.429, P<0.001, respectively).

 The results showed that there is a relationship between OHL and OHI in people with CVD, although it is not in a favorable condition. As a result, the design, implementation, and evaluation of oral health education programs for patients with CVD are highly recommended, and it is imperative that oral and dental health be carefully monitored in these patients.

 The socio-cultural status of any society depends on the health of children. Enjoying spiritual health, as one of the important dimensions of health, plays an essential role in ensuring the comprehensive health of the child. This qualitative study was done to explore the consequences of spiritual health in Iranian children.

 This qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews. Participants included 17 children and 9 researchers and specialists in the field of children’s mental health. Data analysis was carried out using the qualitative content analysis approach developed by Graneheim and Lundman.

 During the analysis of the text of the interviews, three themes of “psychological consequences” with three categories (mental vitality, mental growth, and cognitive growth), “socio-moral consequences” with two categories (ethical growth and social growth), and “religious-spiritual consequences” with two categories (religious behavior, religious transcendence) were obtained.

 The spiritual health in children helps them grow in all aspects, which indicates the capacity of spiritual health in children. It seems that focusing on moral-spiritual development in order to ensure the spiritual health of the child helps to prevent moral-behavioral disorders and provides the ground for excellence and meaningful growth. Therefore, considering the importance of having spiritual health in children, it is necessary for those in charge of education to implement and evaluate written and practical programs based on the consequences of spiritual health and in accordance with the family system, community, and school.

 Genital misconceptions can lead to sex avoidance in women with genital pelvic pain and penetration disorder (GPPPD). Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the sexual cognition of Iranian women with GPPPD.

 This comparative analytical descriptive study was performed on 200 GPPPD and non-GPPPD Iranian women who referred to women’s clinics in Hormozgan province in 2021. In this study, availability samples were used, and data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and a localized vaginal penetration cognitive questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 25, and the significance level was assumed to be 0.05.

 The mean age of participants was 29.14±5.44 years. Mean scores for negative self-images, and catastrophic and control cognition were higher in the GPPPD group compared to the non-GPPPD group (P<0.001), while the mean scores of positive cognitions in the GPPPD group were lower (P<0.001).

 The findings demonstrated that the beliefs and knowledge of women with GPPD should be corrected to promote their sexual health. Interventions should be designed to meet the needs of this group to improve sexual relationships and avoid sexual tension.