Health Promotion Perspectives
Volume:5 Issue: 1, Mar 2015

In making food choices, children innately gravi­tate to foods that have a sweet flavor.1 Yet, flavorings no longer are confined to foods. For example, the sweet flavor present in candy is now widespread in children’s vitamins, and medicinal items like cough syrup. Vitamin and mineral supple­ments are consumed by approximately one-third of children in the United States.2 With a myr­iad of choices including different colors, shapes, candy flavorings, and cartoon characters, young consumers are bound to be satisfied. This, how­ever, presents issues relevant not only to pediatri­cians, but public health practitioners, and, in the worst-case scenario, emergency care professionals. In 2012, there were nearly 50,000 calls to poison control centers in the United States due to chil­dren (those 5 and under) consuming excessive amounts of vitamins.3 Overconsumption of vita­mins is a recognized risk, particularly with those that have such a close resemblance to candy.4 Simi­larly, cold and cough preparations accounted for 28, 837 calls regarding pediatric exposures (those 5 and under) to poison control in 2012.3 Flavorings in these products as well often resem­ble candy, and no doubt, make this product more palatable. While these are products often thought of as health promoting, health professionals may overlook the possible harm of overdose simply because of the nature of the product. However, there is now an emerging concern with potential for children to be drawn to sweet flavoring and risk the possibility of being poisoned by liquid nico­tine.

Bam earthquake was the most catastrophic natural disasters in recent years. The aim of this study was to review different aspects of crisis manage­ment during and after the catastrophic earthquake in Bam City, Iran. Data needed for this systematic review were collected through search­ing PubMed, EMBASE and SID databases, for the period from 2003 to 2011. Keywords included earthquake, Iran and Bam earthquake. The data were summarized and were analyzed using Content Analysis. Out of 422 articles, 25 articles were included in the study. Crisis Manage­ment aspects and existing pitfalls were classified into seven categories including planning and organization, human resource management, management of logistics, international humanitarian aids, field performance of the military and security forces, health and medical service provision, and information manage­ment. Positive aspects and major pitfalls of crisis management have been introduced in all the mentioned categories. The available evidence indicated poor crisis management during Bam earthquake that resulted in aggravating the losses as well as diminishing the effect of interventions. Thus, concerning the importance of different aspects of the crisis management and the high prevalence of disasters in Iran, the observed vulnerability in disaster management process should be addressed.

Research regarding risk factors and prevalence of low bone min-eral density (BMD) among African-American and Caucasian college-aged wom-en are limited. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to determine if selected predictors of BMD in African-American and Caucasian college-aged women differ by race. A total of 101 local African-American (n=50) and Caucasian (n=51) females, ages 18 to 30 years, were in this study. All data were collected in the Bone Density and Body Composition Laboratory. BMD was measured using DXA technology. Race, family history of osteoporosis, BMI, current physical activity, osteoporosis knowledge, length of time on oral contraceptives, age at menarche and calcium intake were included in the multiple regression analyses with spinal and femoral BMD as dependent variables. Overall, 38.6% had low spinal BMD and 7.9% had low femoral BMD. BMI (β=0.073, R2 =. 148, P =. 001, 95% CI [0.030, 0.116]) and current physical activity (β=0.071, R2 =. 148, P =. 017, 95% CI [0.013, 0.129]) were the only variables that were statistically significant in predicting spinal BMD. BMI (β=0.056, R2 =. 13, P =. 010, 95% CI [0.014, 0.098]) and current physical activ-ity (β=0.078, R2 =. 13, P =. 007, 95% CI [0.022, 0.134]) were also the only varia-bles that were statistically significant in predicting femoral BMD. Race was not a significant predictor of spinal or femoral BMD. It is imperative for both African-American and Caucasian women to engage in osteoporosis-preventive behaviors.

The Behavioral Intention Model is one of the best and most widely models used regarding attitude of behavioral of pregnancy and decrease the rate of cesarean section (CS) among pregnant women, except effect of atti-tude and subjective norms on behavioral intention. Two variables of self-efficacy, and outcome expectation, relate to individual’s behavior in an upcoming situation, and both of them are important at the development of behavior. The purpose of the present study was to develop a model to explain women’s inten-tion to choose natural vaginal delivery (NVD). The variables of self-efficacy and outcome expectations, derived from Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, and Behavioral Intention Model constructs were used to define the model. The study was descriptive and cross-sectional in nature and took place in Pars Abad, Iran in 2014. The non-probability sample consisted of 200 pregnant women who voluntarily participated in the study and provided the data. SPSS 21 and MPLUS 6.8 were employed to analyze the data. Self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and attitude toward NVD were associated with intention to choose the NVD. The study findings may play a role in designing educational inter-ventions aimed at influencing the NVD and improving childbirth programs.

Since the emergency department (ED) waiting room hosts a large, captive audience of patients and visitors, it may be an ideal location for conduct-ing focused stroke education. The aim of this study was to assess the effective-ness of various stroke education methods. Patients and visitors of an urban ED waiting room were randomized into one of the following groups: video, brochure, one-to-one teaching, combi-nation of these three methods, or control group. We administered a 13-question multiple-choice test to assess stroke knowledge prior to, immediately after, and at 1 month post-education to patients and visitors in the ED waiting room. Of 4 groups receiving education, all significantly improved their test scores immediately post intervention (test scores 9.4±2.5-10.3±2.0, P<0.01). At 1 month, the combination group retained the most knowledge (9.4±2.4) exceed-ing pre-intervention and control scores (both 6.7±2.6, P<0.01). Among the various stroke education methods delivered in the ED waiting room, the combination method resulted in the highest knowledge reten-tion at 1-month post intervention.

Developing countries such as Iran are experiencing a growth in the elderly population. This is a challenge for healthcare providers and their families. This study investigated the extent in which hospitals at Tehran meet the criteria of age-friendly hospitals. In this descriptive study, using convenience sampling, 26 hospitals were selected in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. The instrument was a checklist included 50 items in the three dimensions of information and training of service providers, management systems in health care centers, physical environment and accessibility of hospitals. Most hospitals were in a good condition regarding physical environment and access to public transportation, but in a poor condition for special healthcare programs for the elderly, teaching principles of geriatrics and gerontology, interaction of medical staff, physicians and nurses with senior patients and systems of priority for them. Due to the growing elderly population, it is necessary for health policymakers, especially in developing countries, to consider seriously the issue of elderly healthcare and their need for special outpatient and inpatient services.

Data on the physical strength capabilities are essential for design-ing safe and usable products and are useful in a wide range of clinical settings especially during treatment of disease affecting the function of the hand. The purpose of this study was to determine peak lateral pinch strength, key pinch strength, tip-to-tip pinch strength and three-jaw pinch strength exertions in a healthy Iranian children and young adult population. The study was conducted among 511 participants (242 males and 269 females) aged 7-30 years. Measurements were carried out with both dominant and non-dominant hands in standard sitting posture using a B&L pinch gauge. Two repetitions of each strength measurement were recorded for each condition and the average value of the two trials was used in the subsequent analysis. The results showed significant differences in the pinch strength data in terms of the age, gender and hand dominance. The lateral pinch strength, key pinch strength, tip-to-tip pinch strength and three-jaw pinch strength exertions by females were 68.4%, 68.8%, 78.8% and 81.8% of those exerted by males, respectively. Strength exertions with the non-dominant hand were 6.4%, 5.2%, 6.6% and 5.1% lower than strength exertions of the dominant hand for the lat-eral pinch strength, key pinch strength, tip-to-tip pinch strength and three-jaw pinch strength exertions, respectively. These findings can be used to fill the gaps in strength data for Iranian population.

At present, there are no comprehensive validated instruments for measuring adolescents’ beliefs regarding tobacco smoking in the Iranian society. This study aimed to evaluate the validity, reliability and feasibility of the belief-based tobacco smoking scale using the Theory of Planned Behavior’s (TPB) constructs as a theoretical framework. This cross-sectional validation study was carried out on 410 male adolescents of Hamadan, west of Iran, recruited through multi-stage random sampling method. Reliability was assessed by internal consistency and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). In addition, Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) and Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA) were performed to test construct valid-ity. Content validity was examined using Content Validity Index (CVI) and Con-tent Validity Ratio (CVR). Results obtained from factor analysis showed that the data was fit to the model (X2=391.43, P<0.001) and TPB consisted of 22 items measuring sev-en components which explaining 69.7% of the common variance. The mean scores for the CVI and CVR were 0.89 and 0.80; respectively. Additional anal-yses indicated acceptable results for internal consistency reliability values ranging from 0.55 to 0.92. The belief-based tobacco smoking questionnaire is a reliable and valid instrument and now is acceptable and suitable and can be used in future studies.

Role of diet on colorectal cancer (CRC) has been considered in terms of single foods and nutrients, but less frequently in terms of dietary patterns in Iran. The objective of this study was to determine the association between Iranian dietary patterns and CRC. This case–control study was conducted in four hospitals in Tabriz City of Iran including 414 participants aged 35–75 years:207 cases with CRC confirmed by pathology and colonoscopy findings were selected and 207 controls free of neoplastic conditions and diet-related chronic diseases (from the same hospital at the same period for the cases). Dietary data were assessed using a 123-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Two dietary patterns were found by using of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method;“Healthy pattern”and “Iranian pattern”. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (OR) for relationship between dietary patterns and colorectal cancer. After adjusting for confounding factors, the Iranian dietary pattern was significantly associated with an increased odds of colorectal cancer (OR= 1.46; 95% Confidenec Interval (CI)=1.05–2.19) while a reduced odds of colorectal cancer was observed with the Healthy dietary pattern (OR=0.18; 95% CI= 0.091-0.47). Iranian dietary pattern (IDP) seems to increase the odds of colorectal cancer and protective effect of Healthy dietary pattern.