Nursing and Midwifery Studies
Volume:1 Issue: 2, Apr-Jun 2012

Context: Studies show that despite the role of mouth care in preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia, there is no high quality evidences for it. This study reviewed the literature related to mouth care in patients receiving mechanical ventilation.Evidence Acquisition: PubMed, Ovide, Elsevier, ProQuest, IranMedex, SID, and Magiran databases were searched using key terms such as oral care, mouth care, critical care, and intensive care. Fifty-seven full-text articles in total were retrieved and included in the study. Totally, 15 review articles and 42 research articles were reviewed. Only 13 articles introduced or evaluated the validity of instruments or caring guidelines in the area of mouth care. Only one study discussed about designing and validating the psychometric properties of a mouth assessment scale. Most of the articles emphasized on brushing the teeth as the best method for mouth care, but there was no consensus on the frequency of washing and the best washing solution. Despite the importance of mouth care, few original studies are conducted in this area and there is no approved clinical guideline for this procedure.

Communication skills of operational managers such as head nurses greatly influence the performance of nursing personnel and by extension, the quality of the care provided by them. This study was conducted to identify the role of a development program on communication skills and job satisfaction in head nurses. This research was a non-randomized two-group trial. A random allocation of two hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences created an intervention and control group. In the intervention group, all head nurses were entered in a two-day communication skills development workshop using adult learning theory. The head nurses of the other hospital were allocated to the control group. Job satisfaction and communication skills of head nurses were investigated prior and 6 weeks following intervention in two groups. The data were analyzed by Chi-square, Fisher exact test, T-test, paired t test and analysis of covariance. Following intervention, the communication skills scores achieved by intervention group were 127.5 ± 7.10 at pretest and increased to 134.11 ± 7.32 after the intervention (P < 0.01). The mean score of the communication skills did not alter significantly in the control group. Moreover, no significant change was observed in the mean scores of job satisfaction of head nurses in the intervention group compared to those of the control group (P = 0.102).. The development programs of communication skills resulted in an increased level of communication skills in the head nurses. However, more effective steps have to be taken in professional and organization conditions to enhance head nurses’ job satisfaction level.

Several studies have investigated the effect of acupressure on pain and vital signs however the results are inconsistent. Either no study has been conducted on the effect of acupressure on vital signs of post-surgical patients, or it is not available. The present study was conducted to assess the effects of P6 acupressure on pain and vital signs of patients following small abdominal surgeries.Patients and A double-blind randomized controlled trial has been conducted during the first three months in 2012 on patients after small abdominal surgeries in Al-Zahra hospital of Isfahan. Patients who were candidates for small abdominal surgeries and met the inclusion criteria were entered the study and were randomly allocated to the intervention and placebo groups (40 patients in each group). In the intervention group, acupressure was applied to P6 acupoint on both hands. An acuband without a push button was also placed around the patients’ wrist in the placebo (control) group. Acubands were worn for seven hours. Pain and vital signs were assessed prior starting acupressure and once every hour in the first seven hours after regaining consciousness. Data analysis has been conducted with SPSS version 11.5. T test was applied to compare the severity of pain and the mean of vital signs in the two groups. The mean score of pain severity was higher in P6 group at the first and fourth hours following surgery but this score was lower in this group at other times. However, the differences between the mean of pain severity of the two groups were not statistically significant. In total, no significant differences were observed between the vital signs parameters in the two groups at seven hours. This study showed that P6 acupressure had no statistically significant effect on post-operative pain, and vital signs of patients who underwent small abdominal surgeries. Further investigations with larger sampling are suggested.

Type of personality and emotional intelligence affects a person’s mental function and capabilities, which can influence academic achievement. This study was designed to evaluate the relationship between emotional intelligence, type of character and academic achievement. This is a cross-sectional study on students of Kashan University of Medical Sciences in 2012. In total 221 students participated in the study. In addition to demographic information, a Five Factor Personality Questionnaire and Emotional Quotient Inventory were used. Participants completed questionnaires in their classrooms. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 16. Descriptive statistics were calculated and analysis of variance and regression analysis were used. Students in the various disciplines were not statistically different in terms of personality. Students with different grade point averages were significantly different in relation to: problem-solving, happiness, self-actualization, optimism, self-respect, flexibility and total emotional quotient (EQ) scores (P < 0.05). However, no statistically significant differences were observed between personality types in students with different grade point average. All variables (EQ, agreeableness, extroversion, openness, consciousness) except neuroticism were excluded from the regression model. Some components of personality types and emotional intelligence are predictors of academic achievement. Therefore, attention to these issues in students is needed to ensure the best achievement gains.

Transferring research-based knowledge into practice would help to maximize the quality of health care. However, the role of knowledge producers and the organizational roles related to knowledge transfer have been largely ignored. This study was accomplished with the aim of describing the organizational activities needed to transfer the findings of nursing research from the viewpoint of nurse educators in Iranian Universities of Medical Sciences.Patients and This descriptive study was carried out with participating 279 nurse educators of medical sciences universities. Data were collected using Knowledge Translation Self-Assessment Tool for Research Institutes (SATORI). Nursing faculty members evaluated the organizational activities of transferring the knowledge of nursing research at the “medium” level and for the domains of “the question of research” and “promoting the use of evidence” at a “weak” level and in the domains of “knowledge production” and “knowledge transfer” at a “medium” level. Organizational activities related to the knowledge transfer of nursing research are demonstrably low (medium at best). It is recommended that in each faculty and with the participation of all faculty members, the research transferring procedure should be assessed and all necessary changes needed to improve the research transferring procedure should be implemented.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) are one of the most common types of exams used in evaluation of students in any educational setting. The question items making up these exams need to be examined if they are to meaningfully contribute to the student scores. Such characteristics are amenable to examination by item analysis. The purpose of this research was to examine the quality of MCQs used in Nursing and Midwifery Faculty and to compare the results with the other faculties in Kashan University of Medical Science in the academic year 2008-2009. In this cross-sectional study, 101 multiple-choice exams were randomly chosen for the study, and 37 exams were selected from the faculty of nursing and midwifery. The difficulty, discrimination indices and Cronbach’s Alpha were calculated for every exam and then mean values for each index were calculated by LERTAL 5.0 software purchased from Assessment Systems Corporation of the United States. A total of 7062 MCQs in the university and 1793 items in the faculty of nursing and midwifery presented to the students by different instructors were analyzed. The average of difficulty index of the faculty of nursing was 0.5. The discrimination index was 0.36, and the average of Alpha-Cronbach was 0.82 in the faculty of nursing. All the values were significantly better in the faculty of nursing and midwifery compared to the rest of the university. The difficulty index, the discrimination index and the Alpha-Cronbach values in the faculty of nursing were within the acceptable range recommended by experts in the field of educational measurement. However, some of the tests had values less than the recommended.

Menopause is a unique event in a woman’s life which has many symptoms. Frequency and severity of these symptoms vary, and they are based on the woman’s epidemiological characteristics. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms and related factors among women, 40-60 years in Kashan, Iran.Patients and In this cross-sectional study, 700 menopausal women in Kashan City were selected using cluster sampling. Data were collected by the Menopause Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL). In addition, demographic variables including; current age, age of menarche and menopause, marital status, educational level, working status and exercise activity levels, were recorded. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 16 and socio-demographic characteristics were compared using a chi-square test. A P value < 0.05 was considered significant. The most common symptoms in; vasomotor, psychosocial, physical and sexual domains were; ‘night sweats’, ‘accomplishing less than I used to’, ‘feeling a lack of energy’, and ‘change in sexual desire’, respectively. Moreover, the most severe symptoms in these domains were; ‘night sweats’, ‘feeling anxious or nervous’, ‘aching muscles or joints’, and ‘avoiding intimacy’. There was a statistically significant difference between; the severity of menopausal symptoms and working status (P = 0.017), different educational levels (P = 0.001), exercise activity (P = 0.001), exercise frequency (P = 0.04), and duration of menopause (P = 0.03). The prevalence of menopausal symptoms in our population is similar to most other communities. Employment, higher educational levels, doing physical activity and duration of menopause of more than five years is associated with milder menopausal symptoms.

It is believed that self-evaluation can empower students; help them to pick higher goals and to try harder to realize these targets. However, the nursing students’ self-evaluation on clinical skills has rarely been studied. To investigate the correlation of nursing internship trainees’ self-evaluation of clinical skills with their teachers’ evaluation. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 75 nurse interns of Kashan University of Medical Sciences in 2010. Data obtained using a questionnaire including questions on demographic characteristics as well as 190 items related to 15 categories of nursing skills necessary for caring for different medical, surgical and critically ill patients. The students’ self-evaluation score was compared with their mean score of theoretical and clinical courses. The data was analyzed in SPSS 11.5 using t test and correlation coefficient. The overall self-evaluation mean score was at a moderate level. The mean scores the students received from their teachers in theoretical and clinical courses were 15.12 ± 1.30 and 16.55 ± 1.56 respectively. The mean score of the students’ self-evaluation in clinical skills was 396.4 ± 93.6. A significant relationship was observed between the overall self-evaluation mean score and the scores the students received from their teachers in clinical (r = 0.78, P = 0.001) and theoretical courses (r = 0.51, P = 0.001). A significant difference was observed between self-evaluation scores of students in the seventh and eighth semester. Self-evaluation scores were at a good level in six areas and at a moderate level in nine categories. The students’ overall self-assessment score was significantly correlated with scores given by their teachers. The students’ self-evaluation scores were at moderate levels in different areas. Self-evaluation may be used as a good method for evaluating students’ clinical skills

Managing diabetes requires changes in the patients’ life style and health habits which in turn need the comprehensive understanding of the disease and its impact. To understand the explanatory model of diabetes in Iran, a qualitative study was performed using the grounded theory method.Patients and Thirty persons were interviewed: fifteen patients, eleven nurses, three physicians and one dietitian. The semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analyzed in three stages of open, axial and selective coding. The findings showed that patients’ personality can shape their self-care behavior; however, curing, caring and supporting systems are also necessary. The interactions between personality, curing, caring and supporting systems and society makes the outcome, which is the core variable in the designed explanatory model of diabetes. This paper reflects an explanatory model of diabetes management. Understanding the factors that affect self-management behavior is important for nurses as key providers in the health care system.