Journal of Health Sciences & Surveillance System

Abstract Background:
Nowadays, the ability to understand and interpret statistical data is the basis for any decision in all societies. In the health system, people who play a role in the information system cycle could have a significant impact on decision makers in health organizations and communities. This study was conducted to investigate the statistical literacy of the HIS managers and workers as an educational need assessment in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences
Methods:
In this cross-sectional study, statistical literacy of 89 statistics officials and statisticians working in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences and Health Services was investigated via a researcher-made questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed based on the basic scientific requirements of the study group and educational programs held during the past two years and inspiration from the two questionnaires developed by Watson (Watson, 2003) and Shield (Shield, 2002). 
 
Results:
The mean score of the respondents (19.7) was slightly higher than half (19) of the total score. 50% of the participants obtained a score of 19 and lower.  Only 25% of the participants answered about two-thirds of the questions correctly. The statistical literacy of the participants about the measures of central tendency and using tables and charts was less than the areas of the probability and statistical inference.
Conclusion:
The findings indicate the need for designing more effective in-service training sessions and workshops for HIS workers, paying more attention to the quality of the reported health statistical data, and employing HIS workers by the health system administrators.

Abstract Background: Normal Body Mass Index (BMI) = 18.5-24.9 kg/m2 and high Body Fat (BF), have been defined as Normal Weigh Obesity (NWO), which can increase the risk of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) and cardiovascular diseases. The present study aimed to determine the association between NWO and MetS indicators, Insulin Resistance (IR), and inflammatory and oxidative stress indices in NW obese compared to normal weight women referring to Imam Reza medical center, Shiraz, Iran.
Methods: In this case-control study, 41 healthy NW obese Iranian women were recruited and compared to 45 healthy non-obese control subjects. Anthropometric features, body composition, blood pressure, inflammation and oxidative stress indices, fasting insulin, lipid profile, and blood sugar were measured. IR was also assessed by means of special formulas.
Results: The results showed a significant difference between the NWO and the control group regarding anthropometric measurements and body composition, including waist (p=0.008) and hip (p<0.001) circumferences, BF (p<0.001), skeletal muscle (p=0.03), protein(p=0.04), body cell mass(p=0.02), bone mass content(p=0.04), and arm circumference(p<0.001). All subjects had normal systolic and diastolic blood pressures. However, the NWO group showed significantly higher serum concentrations of triglycerides (p=0.02), total cholesterol(p=0.02), and C-reactive protein (p<0.001). On the other hand, the results of McAuley test indicated significantly lower insulin sensitivity in the NWO group (p=0.03). Besides, serum MDA concentration did not have a marked differences in both study groups.
Conclusion:

Abstract Introduction: One of the major pollutants in the environment is heavy metals. The stability of heavy metals in the environment has created a lot of problems. Refinery effluents are one of the most important sources of heavy metals and should be treated before being discharged into the environment.
   Methods: This interventional experimental study aimed to remove heavy metals from petroleum effluent by using the micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) at Kermanshah Oil Refinery. Since ultrafiltration membranes alone cannot remove the heavy metals, surface active agents, such as surfactants, are injected into the effluent. Surfactant monomers in reaction to metal ions creating a complex that cannot cross the ultrafiltration membrane. Heavy metals are removed from the effluent stream. In the present study, Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) as surfactant was used to add the effluent to improve the process of heavy metal removal.
Result: The results showed that heavy metals such as nickel, lead, cadmium and chromium decreased by 96%, 95%, 92% and 86%, respectively. In the inlet effluent with increasing pH, the efficiency of the processes for metal removal increased, so that at pH = 10, the highest removal efficiency was observed.  
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the use of membrane processes as a practical and efficient method in industrial wastewater treatment can be applied in various industries, especially refinery ones.

Abstract Background: Continuous educational programs are one of the essential ways to promote human resources; inconsistency of the courses with individual and organizational needs may lead to organizational dissatisfaction, job performance reduction, and time and capital waste. The study aimed to evaluate the attitudes of the employees about in-service continuous educational programs; they participated in the above-mentioned programs in the continuous educational units from 2006 to 2017 in Ahwaz city, Iran.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all the treatment and administrative employees in the hospital participated in the educational plans. Out of 548 employees, 225 were selected using the ratio-random sampling method in the late 2017. The study instrument was a validated questionnaire with 66 items and 5 scales of adaptation, efficient management, individual development, growth of attitudes, employees’ knowledge and skills, and managers’ support for implementing operational programs; its validity was measured using Cronbach’s Alpha (α=0.93). The collected data were analysed in SPSS V.23 using descriptive statistics, mean scores, SD, χ2 test, ANOVA, and t-test.
Results: Based on the study findings, the participants maintained that management of continuing education courses was useful and beneficial, and there was a statistically significant difference between the main variables and the total score (ρ<0.001). The Eta square showed that literacy (ɳ2=0.224, R2=0.462) and gender (ɳ2=0.205, R2=0.345) had less efficiency, and occupation (ɳ2=.581, R2=.219) significantly affected continuous education programs (ρ<0.01).
Conclusion: It is suggested that cognitive dimension and occupation should be considered in implementing continuous education programs. Additionally, educational content should be updated

Abstract Introduction: Mistreatment with medical students is a global phenomenon, which has been proved in several studies. The aim of this study is to investigate the extent of mistreatment that the medical students experience in educational hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out using descriptive-analytical method. All medical students were studied in educational hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences by census method. A questionnaire with 26 questions was used to collect data on demographic information, experience of mistreatment and observation of mistreatment towards the other students and open-ended questions. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 18 software.
Results: The results of the study showed that 86.3% of the students experienced at least one kind of mistreatment during the previous year; among these misbehaved students 57.5% were female and 42.5% were male. The most cases of mistreatment were verbal mistreatment (95.1%) and abuse of authority (76.2%). The highest number of mistreatment has taken place in obstetrics and gynecology(OB-GYN) departments (60.3%) and in internal departments (49.2%), respectively; most of the individuals who misbehaved toward the students were residents (73%),nurses (66.7%), and interns (60.3).
Conclusion: Regarding the high prevalence of mistreatment against medical students, there is a need for a plan for training communication skills and more support for students in this field.

Abstract Background: Diabetes control is highly self-care and emotional complications and mental stress play an important role in controlling blood sugar in diabetes, and these factors affect the quality of life of people with diabetes. The aim of this study was to determine the predicting role of personal resources for quality of life in diabetic patients.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study done in 2017. The population of this study was all diabetic patients referred to Shahid Motahari, Imam Reza (AS) and Nader Kazemi clinics in Shiraz in 1396. A total of 198 patients were selected by simple random sampling method. Quality of life, optimism, self-efficacy of diabetic and resiliency questionnaires were used for data collection. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 19 using Pearson correlation and multivariate regression.
Results: Findings showed that resiliency, self-efficacy and optimism had a positive and significant relationship with the quality of life of patients with diabetes. In a prediction model, self-efficacy and resiliency could predict 19% of the quality of life changes in patients with type 2 diabetes (p <0.05). The findings of this study showed that self-efficacy and resilience variables predicted the quality of life of patients, but optimism had no predictive power.
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that increased self-efficacy and resiliency lead to increased quality of life in diabetic patients. This may help the patients to cope with problems and excitement and is effective in planning interventions for diabetics.

Abstract Background: Several items affect the use of dental services. The objective of this study was to assess the association between socio-economic status (SES) and dental insurance coverage with the use of dental services amongst Iranian adolescents aged 13-15 years old.
Methods: In this cross sectional study, we used a researcher-made questionnaire to assess the association between socio-economic status (SES) and dental insurance coverage with the use of dental services in 423 Iranian adolescents aged 13-15 years old. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the data, generate descriptive statistics, and perform multiple logistic regressions.
Results: Use of dental services was statistically significant amongst the students with dental insurance and parents with higher income (P<0.001), which was independent of the other socio-economic factors (parent’s age, education and marital status).
Conclusion: The results showed that one of the important policies to reduce inequality in dental care is to improve dental insurance coverage.

Abstract Introduction: Emotional intelligence is considered as one of the significant aspects of person-environment adaptation and one of the important factors of individual differences. As students of each society are the human resources and the constructors of its future, and their physical and mental health is of great importance, the present study aimed to compare emotional intelligence in medical and non-medical students of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences.
 
Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 483 students of Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences who were selected through stratified sampling in 2018. The data collection tool was the Goleman's standardized emotional intelligence questionnaire. Chi-square and independent t-test were used for statistical data analysis by SPSS version 20. The significance level was considered 0.05 in all the tests.
 
Results: The mean and standard deviation of emotional intelligence in medical and non-medical students were 81.79 ± 8.45 and 84.03 ± 7.71, respectively. The independent t-test showed that there was a significant difference between the mean score of emotional intelligence and the field of study (P = 0.003).

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the mean score of emotional intelligence in non-medical students was higher than that of medical students. Hence, it is suggested that educational managers of universities should have special financial investments in emotional self-awareness, while holding training courses and using human resource educators for conducting emotional intelligence promotion workshops.