Efat Mohamadi; Zhila Najafpour; Mohammad Mehdi Kiani; Morteza Mohammadzadeh; Amirhossein Takian; Alireza Olyaeemanesh
Abstract
Background: There are substantial differences in the health outcomes across countries. Then, assessment of the status of health indicators can give us a valuable information to adjust policies to improve the health status in the world. This paper examines differences and relationships of health status ...
Read More
Background: There are substantial differences in the health outcomes across countries. Then, assessment of the status of health indicators can give us a valuable information to adjust policies to improve the health status in the world. This paper examines differences and relationships of health status and contextual factors.Methods: This is a multi-country cross-sectional study performed using secondary data of different sources in 2019. We identified indicators that revealed the relationships of health status and health coverage and also contextual factors by expert panel which consist of two categories of indicators: (1) producing health indicators as dependent variables (Life expectancy, Healthy life expectancy, Maternal mortality ratio, Under-five mortality rate and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) service coverage indicator); (2) contextual indicators as independent variables (Current Health Expenditure, Skilled health professionals density, Population density and Government Type). Also, countries were categorized based on the income level and six regions of World Health Organization (WHO). We used SPSS 20 software for a descriptive analysis and R 2018 software for statistical analysis and also drawing of scatter charts.Results: Results showed a considerable gap between the average of life expectancy (84.2 vs. 53 years) and healthy life expectancy rate (72-63.3 years). This disparity was observed in the Maternal mortality and Under-5 mortality rate (from 882 to 3 per 100000 live births), (5 is 2.1 and the highest is 127.3). Although there was a marginal correlation between population density indicator and life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, and under-5 mortality rate indicators (±0.2), there was no correlation between population density and maternal mortality rate with UHC (P>0.05).Conclusion: There is a considerable difference between countries in producing health indicators based on contextual indicators; a comprehensive health system approach that can result in improvement in the health outcome.
Mohammad Hassan Minooeianhaghighi; Alireza Mohammadzadeh; Fatemeh Khani; Roya Peirovi-Minaee; Milad Mokhtarzade; Javad Bagheri
Abstract
Background: Mosques are known as a gathering place and a center of worship for Muslims. The present study aimed to investigate the environmental health status and fungal and bacterial contamination of mosques in Gonabad, Iran. Methods: This analytic-cross sectional study assessed the environmental health ...
Read More
Background: Mosques are known as a gathering place and a center of worship for Muslims. The present study aimed to investigate the environmental health status and fungal and bacterial contamination of mosques in Gonabad, Iran. Methods: This analytic-cross sectional study assessed the environmental health status of mosques using the relevant regulations. The sterile carpet sampling method and the sterile swap were used to take the samples of the surfaces. Standard methods were used to determine fungal and bacterial contamination. Overall, 67 samples were taken from the surfaces of doors, windows, and carpets. Data were analyzed at a significance level of 0.05. Results: Data analysis indicated that the environmental health status of mosques was acceptable. None of the dermatophyte fungal colonies grew on the plates which contained Sabouraud agar with cycloheximide and chloramphenicol (SCC) during incubation of primary culture media. Aspergillus niger was detected in all mosques and on all surfaces. Frequency and percentage of Aspergillus niger were 18 (48.67%) and 6 (16.23) for Mucor. In the case of bacterial contamination, Coagulasenegative staphylococci with the highest percentage (38.46%) and Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella, and Escherichia coli, each with 3.84%, were the lowest types of detected bacteria, respectively. The most fungal and bacterial contamination was detected in the carpets. Conclusion: According to the results, it is essential to pay attention to the environmental health of the mosques and personal hygiene that requires the implementation of new programs and rules to increase the health awareness of worshipers and mosque servants to prevent the spread of fungal and bacterial infections.
Reza Tavakkol; Ashkan Karimi; Armin Fereidouni; Azadeh Amiri; Ebrahim Nazari Far
Abstract
Background: Coping strategies depend to a large extent on stressors, individual experiences, severity, and characteristics of the stressors. In general, it seems that the risk of physical and mental health problems in stressful situations increases if people do not use coping mechanisms. Methods: This ...
Read More
Background: Coping strategies depend to a large extent on stressors, individual experiences, severity, and characteristics of the stressors. In general, it seems that the risk of physical and mental health problems in stressful situations increases if people do not use coping mechanisms. Methods: This is an observational cross-sectional study of analytical and descriptive type performed on 192 operating room staff at 7 hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The data were collected through "Ways of Coping Questionnaire (Folkman and Lazarus)", "General Health", and "Lifestyle" questionnaires. SPSS software version 20 was then used to analyze the data. Results: The analysis of the results revealed that the total mean scores of lifestyle and mental health were reported to be 333±42.91 and 39.24±39.24, respectively. Also, the mean total scores of the emotion-focused problem-focused style were equal to 100.16±13.90 and 104.38±14.89, respectively. There was a significant relationship between gender and work experience in the emotion-focused coping style (P<0.05). There was also a direct relationship between lifestyle and coping strategies in the operating room staff, and that the relationship was significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: Due to the high level of stress among the operating room staff and also the relationship between coping strategies and gender, it seems quintessential that operating room staff should take measures to avert and reduce staff stress. Furthermore, given the use of various coping strategies in stressful situations by operating room staff, it appears necessary to train the people living in that specific society to use effective coping techniques.
Parviz Mirzaei; Nafiseh Vaez; Mohammad Hassan Talebian
Abstract
Background: The nature of population policies in the field of health, especially population, fertility, and childbearing is complicated, so the families’ and policymakers’ decision on the quantity and quality of the reproduction and the childbearing process has been controversial. This paper ...
Read More
Background: The nature of population policies in the field of health, especially population, fertility, and childbearing is complicated, so the families’ and policymakers’ decision on the quantity and quality of the reproduction and the childbearing process has been controversial. This paper was conducted to identify and explain the adverse effects of population policies on reproductive health and childbearing in 1978-2020. Methods: This study has a cross-sectional descriptive-analytical design. The study participants were 30 managers and specialists who studied in the fields of policy, demography, sociology, and health at university of medical sciences in Khuzestan in 2019-2020. Delphi method was used and the data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire that was standardized by calculating the validity and reliability using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The authors analyzed data using descriptive and inferential statistics,. The main question was whether the population policies adopted after the Islamic Revolution have challenged decision-making on reproductive health and childbearing at both levels of operational managers and the society? The main hypothesis allocated the answer "yes" to itself. However, since policymakers still do not frequently use policy-making knowledge as a criterion for public policy, there is dissatisfaction and mistrust among families who have to implement the policies.. Thereforethe new message of the researchis that in the future, any decision and manipulation on health and population should be all-inclusive and comprehensive along with conservatism and maturity. Results: The significance level was observed in 18 items, and it indicates that population policies on reproductive health and childbearing in the studied variables have been facing challenges. The main challenges included lack of experts in reproductive health policymaking, lack of sufficient evidence to make decisions, lack of attention to spatial planning infertility policy making, lack of a coordinated system between the Ministry of Health and other ministries, lack of ideological-based reproductive health policymaking, lack of attention to the socio-economic evaluation of population policies, and lack of long-term strategic and sustainable vision in health-based policymaking. Conclusion: Population policies on reproductive health and childbearing after the revolution are not adequate for the country's decision-making system to achieve a proportionate and balanced population. Therefore, practical work and special responsibility accomplish the most promising demographic result
Gideon. I.A. Okoroiwu
Abstract
Background: Ascaris worm, as one of the commonest helminthic infections, constitutes a major public health challenge and concern in the majority of developing countries. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of Ascaris worm infection and its associated risk factors among primary school children ...
Read More
Background: Ascaris worm, as one of the commonest helminthic infections, constitutes a major public health challenge and concern in the majority of developing countries. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of Ascaris worm infection and its associated risk factors among primary school children in Lambata community to determine the prevalence of Ascaris infection, age, gender and associated risk factors among them to create awareness and effective management program. Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted between January 2019 and November 2020, in nine selected primary schools in Lambata community. A total of 303 stool samples were collected using random sampling to determine the prevalence of Ascaris infection using stool smear technique. The socio-demographic data were collected, using a structured interview questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using simple percentages, OR and chi-square analytical methods. Results: Out of the 303 screened stool samples, 156 (51.5%) had Ascaris infection. The most infected age-groups were 11-12 years old (73.8%; OR = 2.11) and 9-10 years (57.1%; OR = 2.01), while 6-8 year old subjects had the lowest rate (42.3%; OR = 1.00) of infection. Males (65.9%; OR= 2.00) were more infected than their female (39.9%; OR = 0.09) counterparts (p <0.05). Age, educational status / occupational status of parents, and defecation habits were significantly(p <0.05) associated with the prevalence of Ascaris infection. Conclusion: With the overall prevalence of 51.5% of Ascaris infection among the subjects, there is an indispensable need for health education promotion and coordinated de-worming of the primary school children in this community
Shohreh Javadpour; Mehdi Kargar; Hajar Haghshenas; Mohammad Hossein Kaveh
Abstract
Introduction: The role of fathers in adolescents’ health is regarded as less important than mothers. This necessitates considering their role more than before. The present study was conducted to investigate the associations between high school students’ demographic profile and their general ...
Read More
Introduction: The role of fathers in adolescents’ health is regarded as less important than mothers. This necessitates considering their role more than before. The present study was conducted to investigate the associations between high school students’ demographic profile and their general health with the fatherhood characteristics of their fathers. Methods: This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional investigation was conducted among 604 girl and boy students in 2015 in Shiraz (Iran). The data collection tools included two self-administered questionnaires and a General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Two self-administered questionnaires consisted of 5 demographic and 16 fatherhood characteristics questions. They were selected through a simple random sampling method, and the data were analyzed by Pearson correlation and descriptive statistics. The significance level was considered as 5%. Results: The findings showed that 495 students (46.90% girls and 53.10 boys) participated in the present study. They also demonstrated that 382 students were between 15-17 years old (79.20%) and 113 of them (20.80) aged about 18-19. There was significant associations between the mean scores of students general health and some of their fatherhood characteristics (P value=0.01). Some of their demographic information was also correlated to their general health significantly. The mean scores of fatherhood characteristics and students’ general health were, in turn, 38.56 (SD=14.6) and 44.99 (SD=9.69). Conclusion: This study demonstrated the role of fathers in their offspring’s health status. It makes it necessary to educate fathers and reinforce their capabilities to promote their children’s health.
Mohammad Hossein Kaveh; Fatemeh Shirdel; Abdolrahim Asadollahi
Volume 6, Issue 1 , January 2018, , Pages 36-39
Abstract
Evidence suggests that the quality of family relationships is associated with family members’ general health. Given of the scanty studies on adolescents, especially in Iran, this study aimed to determine the association between parent-adolescent conflict and adolescents’ general health. ...
Read More
Evidence suggests that the quality of family relationships is associated with family members’ general health. Given of the scanty studies on adolescents, especially in Iran, this study aimed to determine the association between parent-adolescent conflict and adolescents’ general health. Methods: Out of 40 high schools in Behbahan, 10 were randomly selected, and then 391 students were selected through random sampling method. The Parent-Adolescent Conflict Questionnaire and General Health Questionnaire were used for data collection. Pearson correlation coefficient, t-test, and ANOVA were used for data analysis in SPSS. Results: The findings of this study showed a significant and positive correlation between parent-adolescent conflict and general health (p=0.001, r=0.142). There was also a significant difference between the parent-adolescent conflict and mother's educational level (p=0.001), between general health and mother's educational level (p=0. 01), and between parent-adolescent conflict and father's educational level (p=0.003). There was no statistically significant difference between gender and parent-adolescent conflict and general health. Conclusion: According to the results, with an increase in parent-adolescent conflict, the general health scores would also increase, indicating lower general health. Further studies are recommended to identify familial conflict and general health (mental) risk factors. A family-oriented training program is recommended to improve the parent-adolescent communication skills