Journal of Community Health Research
Volume:1 Issue: 2, Oct-Dec 2012

Health, as a general topic and as one of the principle human requirements in all societies, recently has been apt to great environmental and social changes. So as the aforementioned societies depending on their facilities, and development in economics and human well-being, go through different stages of epidemiological transition and in each phase of this transition will face various necessities. Nowadays developed societies, entering the final phases of this transition, are going to control non-communicable diseases and their risk factors, so as health indices and statistics show this significant reduction. Reciprocally, developing countries such as the Islamic Republic of Iran are faced with a lot of diseases and their related risk factors. The rapid economic, social and cultural growth of these societies, which is accompanied by increased population and life expectancy, has caused a considerable population of these countries to reach to the age of suffering from non- communicable diseases. On the other hand, great social changes have led to the appearance of such risk factors as smoking, immobility, obesity, hypertension, and so on. Increased costs of health care services accompanied by increased cost which is paid by people; known as out of pocket; are unavoidable outcomes of this unordinary phenomenon. Executing the project of family physician is a proper and practical method to confront this event. This project has begun to work in rural areas for the last seven years and recently its urban version has been introduced. We hope that using preventive principles at all levels leads to a reduction in disease load especially non- communicable diseases all over our country and by safe and harmless steps we could enter the next phases of the epidemiological transition

Discharge of textile wastewater causes the reduction of sunlight penetration, interferes with the receiving waters ecology and damage the environment. The aim of this study was to determine the removal efficiency of reactive blue 19 dye from aqueous solutions by cuttlefish bone powder. This study was performed experimentally and in laboratory scale. In this research, the effect of adsorbent dose, contact time, initial dye concentration and pH was evaluated. Dye concentration in unknown samples was determined by UV/Vis spectrophotometer. In order to better understand the adsorption process, the experimental data were analysed with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. Results showed that increasing the adsorbent dose up to 0.4 gr/100ml and increasing of contact time, led to an increase in the efficiency of dye removal. Increasing the initial pH had no effect on the adsorption efficiency and increasing the initial concentration of dye decreased the removal efficiency. The Removal efficacy of the dye was found to be 60%, 45%, 37.5% and 31.9% at the time interval of 3h and the initial dye concentrations of 25, 50, 75 and 100 mg/l, respectively. The experimental data were in good concordance with Langmuir isotherm model (R2=0.993). Cuttlefish bone powder is a natural and inexpensive adsorbent that can be used for the removal of environmental contaminations. The adsorption process is affected by sorbent dose, initial dye concentration and contact time but pH had no significant effect on removal efficiency

Up to now, the number of epidemiological studies about eating disorders (ED) in Iran is still limited. This study determined the prevalence of eating disorders in female students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences. A randomly selected group of 400 female students studied at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences had been assessed. After measuring height and weight, participants were invited to complete the Eating Attitude Questionnaire (EAT-26). Questionnaire was completed by 366 students (91.5%). An average prevalence of anorexia (13.11%) was found for female students. Current dieting for losing weight was reported by 20% of participants. 11.5% of participants were thin and 88% of them were not satisfied with their own weight. Frequency of eating disorders was significantly higher among overweight/obese students (p<0.001). Eating disorders were present in over 13 percent of female university students. Preventive programs in order to decrease the progression of these disorders should be addressed.

Oral health is an important public health issue that influences general health and quality of life. Mothers are key persons in families paying attention to whom not only guarantees their oral health, but also the oral health of the family members. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the dental service demand status and its related factors among mothers in Yazd city. In this cross-sectional survey, total numbers of 300 mothers in urban areas of Yazd city were selected by cluster random sampling. Data was collected by a researcher designed questionnaire which validity was approved by a panel of experts and were completed by mother’s private interview. Twenty seven percent reported that they use dental services less than 1 time per year, 28% reported 1 time per year and 45% reported more than one time per year. Only 30.7% had a regular check up program every six months. Annual dental services utilization rate was in relationship to educational level, receiving dental treatment source, the rate of a parent's attention to oral health, receiving oral health information source, socioeconomic status and deprivation from dental treatment because of financial problems. Having a dental check-up plan also was in relation to the above variables and income level. Demand for dental care among women is sophisticated and is in related to a variety of factors such as education level, financial issues, cultural issues, availability and accessibility of oral health services and cues to action. Addressing the above factors in intervention programs aimed to increase dental care utilization among women is recommended

Dysmenorrhea is one of the most common and important health problems especially among young girls. It causes absence from classes and work. It has some negative effects on daily activities of patients. Because of cultural problems, patients ordinarily don’t seek help from others in this situation. The aim of this survey was to study the prevalence of this disorder among university students and evaluate their knowledge and practice toward it.

This was a descriptive study on 300 female students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd. Subjects were selected by simple sampling. The data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire. The data were analysed by SPSS (ver. 17) using Chi - Square and Kruskal-Wallis tests.

The age range of participants was 18 - 35 years (mean: 21±4.3 years). Prevalence of dysmenorrhea was 38.3% and the knowledge of 6.3% of students was good. There was a significant difference between participants regarding their knowledge and age. The first source of awareness of 39% of students was their mother. The practice of 17.7% of subjects was good.

the results of this study showed that the knowledge and practice of participants about dysmenorrhea was low, so there is necessary to plan training programs for university students.

Diagnosis of tuberculosis under the National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTCP) is based on microscopic examination of sputum. The main objective of this study was to assess the perception of physicians and patients regarding the importance of chest X-ray in diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis with a view to suggest corrective measures. One hundred and eighty three consecutive patients reporting at the Nikopoor Tuberculosis Center under the National Tuberculosis Control Program were questioned in detail through a specially designed semi-structured questionnaire. Of all patients, 145 (79.23%) had already taken a chest X-ray before attending the Center, either for medical advice or on own initiative, but only 37 (19.66%) had been sputum examined. Apart from these 145 patients, another 38 (15.63%) had to have their chest X-ray taken at the Center according to NTCP. Thus, 100%, in all, had to be examined radiologically. Physician’s belief that chest X-ray is the most important initial investigation of pulmonary tuberculosis needs a change or else the NTCP’s curtailing of radiological examination will become meaningless.

Depression as a disorder is relatively common in all societies; several factors are involved in depression development, that shift work is one of these factors. This study compared the frequency of depression in different shifts of nurses in hospitals of Yazd University of medical sciences. This study is a descriptive analytical study. Based on statistical methods, 150 nurses participated in this study. The research tool was a questionnaire that included 15 personal questions and 21 questions related to Beck test. The results were analysed by SPSS software. 13.3% of all subjects were males and 86.7% were females. Results showed that, there is no significant relationship between gender, education, type of job, employment status and satisfaction levels of income with depression. Marital status (P-Value = 0.009 and F = 6.93), shift work (day working and shift work) (P-Value = 0.032 and F = 1.11), job satisfaction (P-Value = 0.000 and F = 7.641) and the satisfaction of the employer (P-Value = 0.001 and F = 5.414) were significantly associated with depression. 3.49% of the nurses were in normal status, 7.26% had mild depression, 3.9% required consultation with the psychiatrist,% 7.8% suffered from moderate depression, 75.4% from severe depression and 3.1% from very severe depression. It seems that shift work can not cause depression alone, but depression is the result of the interaction of several factors.

Health care industry consists of an unexpected and confusing environment in which quality events play the important role. In such conditions, the necessary changes should be made. Excellence models are general oriented frameworks that are able to achieve the above intention. This study is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Data gathered by a standard checklist of Baldrige Model through interview of the chief managers of Hasheminejad Hospital. In the health care field this hospital obtained 426 of 1000 scores. Within major criteria, the highest score was related to the standard of focusing on staff obtaining %51 of the total score of this model and the leadership standard obtained the lowest score (38 percent). This hospital obtained 222 of the total 1000 points of the Malcolm Baldrige score in the educational field. Findings also show those main criteria of strategic planning and the focus on students, interest groups and markers obtained the maximum score. Since, each of them obtained 33 percent of the total score of the model and the minimum score, 18 percent, belonged to the results of organizational performance criterion. The result indicates the necessity of paying more attention towards organization’s performance, especially education. Barldrige model can be applied as a comprehensive model for evaluating the performance of medical-educational hospitals.

The aims of the study were to investigate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences (Iran) and to identify factors that might have associated with their HRQoL. In 2010, 364 students with a cluster sampling method enrolled in the cross- sectional study. HRQoL was assessed by using SF-39 questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression methods were used to examine the association indicators of HRQoL and socioeconomic characteristics. The highest SF- 36 scale score was obtained for physical functioning. Univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences in the HRQoL scores by faculty, smoking and regular exercise. Total score and seven health dimensions of SF-36 significantly (P<0.05) correlated with academic achievement. The logistic regression analysis showed that the physical composite score decreased with family income, smoking habit, marital status and employment. Family income and academic achievement increased the risk of having mental composite scores above the median. These findings demonstrate that multiple factors were associated with HRQoL in Iranian university students. Appropriate health education programs to largest modifiable risk factors may improve student HRQoL.