Fatemeh Pashazadeh Kan; Zahra Hoseinipalangi; Samira Raoofi; Sima Rafiei; Hossein Hosseinifard; Maryam Masoumi; Hooman Koohestan; Afsaneh Dehnad; Sepideh Aghalou; Faranak Rokhtabnak; Azadeh Laali; Saba Ahmadi; Niloofar Ahmadi; Ahmad Ghashghaee
Abstract
Background: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is known as one of the most chronic conditions, having significant effects on physical and mental health status in infected individuals, and thus reducing their quality of life (QoL).Methods: I n t ...
Read More
Background: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is known as one of the most chronic conditions, having significant effects on physical and mental health status in infected individuals, and thus reducing their quality of life (QoL).Methods: I n t his s ystematic r eview, t he d ata w ere i nitially collected from the databases of Scopus, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Google Scholar from January 2000 to September 2020 based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study. The data were then analyzed by using the R software.Results: A total number of 25 research articles addressing the QoL in 5,952 HIV/AIDS patients were evaluated using three valid questionnaires, including the Medical Outcomes Study HIV Health Survey (MOS-HIV), the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life in HIV-Infected Persons (WHOQoL-HIV). Based on the MOS-HIV, the SF-36, and the WHOQoL-HIV questionnaires, the QoL mean scores in HIV/AIDS patients were 51.80 (49.4- 54.57), 54.81 (52.68-56.93), and 13.62 (11.97-15.26), respectively. In addition, the physical items gained a higher mean score than the mental ones in all the questionnaires. The QoL showed higher mean scores in the SF-36 and the WHOQoL-HIV questionnaires in Africa, except for the MOS-HIV questionnaire, which had the highest mean score in North America.Conclusion: Overall, the QoL in HIV/AIDS patients in this study was acceptable, even though further changes and studies are still required to support the findings.
Zahra Nasiri; Mohsen Kalantari; Masoumeh Amin; Salman Daliri; Kourosh Azizi
Abstract
Background: The prevalence of arboviruses is increasing worldwide. Their vectors are widely distributed in different continents of the world. Despite the importance of the phleboviruses, unfortunately data about the spread of the viruses in human and animal communities is very limited.Methods: This study ...
Read More
Background: The prevalence of arboviruses is increasing worldwide. Their vectors are widely distributed in different continents of the world. Despite the importance of the phleboviruses, unfortunately data about the spread of the viruses in human and animal communities is very limited.Methods: This study is a systematic review of phlebovirus and its vectors worldwide, with emphasis on Middle East countries including Iran. Accordingly, all English language articles which were conducted up to the end of 2020 were found by searching the databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Scopus. Furthermore, the authors used the Strobe checklist to evaluate the quality of the articles.Results: Phlebotomus perniciosus was the main vector of the Tosca virus in the Mediterranean regions such as Italy, France, and Greece. In African counties, Aedes species were more important vectors of phleboviruses, especially Rift Valley fever. As these diseases can easily spread to even uninfected areas of Asia, permanent monitoring is needed to control phleboviruses.Conclusion: Practical methods have been used to control the vectors and hosts of phleboviruses. Some important methods are listed as follows: impregnated bed nets/curtains, residual spraying, repellents, establishment of the robust surveillance of animal and their products, and limited movement of livestock during outbreak time. These methods can minimize the risk of transmission of phleboviral diseases, especially RVF infection.
Fatemeh Pashazadeh Kan; Niloofar Ahmadi; Sima Rafiei; Maryam Masoumi; Omid Elahifar; Maryam Doustmehraban; Hajar Eshtod; Zahra Hosseinipalangi; Mobina Navidriahy; Zahra Nejatifar; Negin Gholamali; Farnaz Zarabi; Fatemeh Seyghalani Talab; Shayeste MohamadRahimi; Rana Soheylirad; Batool Sadat Hoseini; Mona Rajabi; Ahmad Ghashghaee
Abstract
Background: Strict adherence to safety precautions and, most importantly, social distancing and isolation of people infected with the Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) virus have considerably affected the daily life activities of individuals and overshadowed their routine lifestyle. We conducted a systematic ...
Read More
Background: Strict adherence to safety precautions and, most importantly, social distancing and isolation of people infected with the Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) virus have considerably affected the daily life activities of individuals and overshadowed their routine lifestyle. We conducted a systematic review to provide evidence-based information for clinicians, health policymakers, and social workers in developing useful interventions to effectively mitigate the adverse impacts of the pandemic on people’s life and health condition.Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, studies assessing quality of life (QOL) among the population during the COVID-19 pandemic were searched in four main databases and Google Scholar from the onset of the epidemic to May 2021 with Mesh terms of quality of life and Covid-19.Results: We included 23058 people who participated in 33 studies; the total quality of life score was estimated at 59.45 (95% CI, 56.33-62.58). Based on the analysis, for each year added to participants’ age, their quality of life score was reduced by -0.3%. Furthermore, a significant association between gender and QOL was affirmed, indicating a more favorable condition among men. The highest score of QOL was reported in AMRO at 66.77 (95% CI, 60.55-73) and WPRO at 64.79 (95% CI, 59.30-70.28), respectively, while SEARO with 47.95 (95% CI, 47.67-48.23) got the lowest score.Conclusion: Our review robustly recommends the necessity for community health promotion programs to be implemented in vulnerable community segments and adds corresponding knowledge to the existing literature about the status of quality of life in people with different socio-demographic characteristics living in different regions worldwide.
Sima Rafiei; Fatemeh Pashazadeh Kan; Samira Raoofi; Maryam Masoumi; Omid Elahifar; Maryam Doustmehraban; Zahra Hosseinipalangi; Sepideh Rezaei; Mahmoud Nasiri; Ahmad Ghashghaee
Abstract
Background: Depression and anxiety are the psychological problems that have intensified during Covid-19 and have affected the psychological well being of people. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the prevalence of anxiety and depression in Middle East countries.Methods: In this review, ...
Read More
Background: Depression and anxiety are the psychological problems that have intensified during Covid-19 and have affected the psychological well being of people. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the prevalence of anxiety and depression in Middle East countries.Methods: In this review, we searched for studies aiming to estimate the prevalence of depression and anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic among the general population in databases including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Google Scholar from January 2020 to February 2021. We used the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis-2 software for data analyses and generated forest plots of the summary pooled prevalence.Results: In this systematic review, 55 articles with a total sample size of 28128 people were included. The pooled analysis of depression and anxiety amid the pandemic was estimated at 41% and 39%, respectively. Based on the study results, Iraq and Egypt had the highest prevalence rates of depression at 88% and 82%, respectively. Regarding anxiety, the highest and lowest prevalence rates were reported for Egypt with 91% and Qatar with 17%.Conclusion: To effectively provide mental health services for people, particularly the ones who are suspected of higher risk of depression and anxiety, it is necessary to identify individuals who are more likely to be suffered from psychological problems.
Mohebat Vali; Alireza Mirahmadizadeh; Zahra Maleki; Sima Afrashteh; Arefe Abedinzade; Farzaneh Kasraei; Haleh Ghaem
Abstract
Background: Coronavirus is among the pathogens that primarily target the respiratory system. Given the importance of Health Care Workers (HCWs) in the fight against COVID-19, their infection with the virus and death can cause irreparable damage to public health. The present systematic review and meta-analysis ...
Read More
Background: Coronavirus is among the pathogens that primarily target the respiratory system. Given the importance of Health Care Workers (HCWs) in the fight against COVID-19, their infection with the virus and death can cause irreparable damage to public health. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the physical and psychological implications of COVID-19 among HCWs. Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, some well-known databases were searched for the studies published before 26 June 2020 using the following search strategy: “Novel coronavirus pneumonia”, “Nurses”, “Physicians”, “Medical Staff, Hospital”, “Health Personnel”, and “Community Health Workers”. Finally, 101 out of the 2234 primary screened articles were assessed. Results: Of the total studies included, 54 were related to Physical problems, and 47 were related to Psychosocial Stress. Skin damage (54.48%), Nasal bridge (58.79%), and Dryness tightness (58.57%) were the most common Physical Problems, and Insomnia (32.03%) and Distress (29.34%) were the most common psychosocial problems among HCWs. Conclusion: Training and awareness of the treatment staff about the unwanted side effects of these diseases should be considered in educational programs in different countries because patient care depends on their availability.
Mahsa Hosseini; Zahra Borzabadi Farahani
Abstract
Introduction: Mandala coloring is a branch of art therapy that significantly impacts maintaining and promoting various dimensions of mental health. However, it has received little attention as a complementary treatment to cure and prevent mental disorders.
This study aims to evaluate, in a systematic ...
Read More
Introduction: Mandala coloring is a branch of art therapy that significantly impacts maintaining and promoting various dimensions of mental health. However, it has received little attention as a complementary treatment to cure and prevent mental disorders.
This study aims to evaluate, in a systematic way, the effectiveness of mandala coloring to promote its use for preventing and treating mental disorders.
Methods: This research is a systematic review study. To retrieve the articles, the authors used keywords “Art therapy”, “mandala coloring”, “ mandala” , “mandala therapy”, and “coloring therapy” both in Persian and English. Available databases were used to collect the articles. Then, based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, only five articles were recognized as eligible and included in the study.
Results: The findings of this study showed that research on mandala coloring as a mental health complementary therapy is minimal in Iran.
Conclusion: Despite the effectiveness of mandala coloring on various dimensions of health and its ease of use and access, this complementary therapy is still unknown and limitedly used in Iran. Accordingly, further research is needed in this field to apply their results in medicine and education
Mohebat Vali; Alireza Mirahmadizadeh; Zahra Maleki; Fatemeh Goudarzi; Arefe Abedinzade; Haleh Ghaem
Abstract
Backgrounds: Given the novelty of COVID-19, reviewing diagnostic methods can be of great help to community health policymakers. Considering the importance of diagnosing COVID-19 and the need for reducing the number of false positive and false negative cases that appear to be different in various ...
Read More
Backgrounds: Given the novelty of COVID-19, reviewing diagnostic methods can be of great help to community health policymakers. Considering the importance of diagnosing COVID-19 and the need for reducing the number of false positive and false negative cases that appear to be different in various diagnostic methods, this systematic review aimed at comparison of PCR test accuracy with laboratory data and CT SCAN in COVID-19.
Methods: In this systematic review, EMBASE (Elsevier, 2018), MEDLINE (National Library of
Medicine, 2018), Scopus, ProQuest, Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics, 2018b), and Google Scholar
data bases were searched for the studies published prior to 3 April 2020. Based on the inclusion criteria, 20 out of 859 primarily screened studies were finally assessed.
Results: The results indicated that the laboratory diagnosis of viral nucleic acid could have false-negative results, and serological testing of virus-specific IgG and IgM antibodies should be used as an option for diagnosis. Moreover, chest Computerized Tomography (CT) was found to be more sensitive in comparison toReverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) (98% vs. 71%). Hence, the articles offered the combined use of chest CT, SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR, and multi-plex PCR.
Conclusions: Follow-up RT-PCR and chest CT are necessary in COVID-19. In addition, serological testing of virus-specific IgG and IgM antibodies along with laboratory diagnosis of viral nucleic acid can lead to the highly sensitive and accurate diagnosis. Moreover, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) is one of the cost-effective methods in epidemic conditions in low- and middle-income countries.
Mohebat Vali; Alireza Mirahmadizadeh; Zahra Maleki; Fatemeh Goudarzi; Arefe Abedinzade; Haleh Ghaem
Abstract
Background: The new Corona virus disease (COVID-19) appeared in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Methods, such as quarantine, isolation, and social distancing, if implemented properly, can help prevent the transmission of the disease. This study aimed to examine the effects of quarantine, isolation, and ...
Read More
Background: The new Corona virus disease (COVID-19) appeared in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Methods, such as quarantine, isolation, and social distancing, if implemented properly, can help prevent the transmission of the disease. This study aimed to examine the effects of quarantine, isolation, and social distancing on the prevention of COVID-19.
Methods: In this systematic review, EMBASE (Elsevier, 2018), MEDLINE (National Library of Medicine, 2018), Scopus, ProQuest, Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics, 2018b), and Google Scholar databases were searched for the studies published prior to 10 April 2020. The search and data extraction were conducted by two authors and to check and control the quality of the articles, we used the Newcastle-Ottawa checklist.
Results: Based on the inclusion criteria, 24 out of the 768 primarily screened studies were finally assessed.
Studies showed that the short-term negative psychological effects of quarantine included frustration, boredom, anger, and confusion. Nonetheless, extending the adult quarantine period to 18-21 days could be effective in preventing the spread of the virus and controlling the disease. Moreover, the decision to control the people’s travels through restrictions on freedom of movement must be balanced regarding the estimated epidemiological impact and the expected economic outcome.
Conclusions: Although isolation, quarantine, and social distancing all have challenges, they are very useful methods for controlling the disease, which can be best used by knowing their duration of implementation.
