شیرین برزنجه عطری

The concept of age-friendly cities has been introduced by the World Health Organization (WHO) in an attempt to pay more attention to the elderly. In Iran, this issue is more important due to demographic changes and age conditions. This study aimed to investigate the views of the elderly people living in Tabriz about the indicators of age-friendly cities.

In this cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study, 351 elderly people were selected from six age-friendly centers in Tabriz by simple random sampling method. The data collection tool was the standard questionnaire of the WHO in an age- friendly city. To analyze the data, both descriptive statistics (frequency, frequency percentage, mean, and standard deviation) and analytical statistics (analysis of variance and t-test) were used. Also, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 16 was used and significance level was considered as 0.05.

Among the four studied indicators, the health component had the highest average (44.57 (11.81)), followed by the components of social respect (38.5 (11.5)), participation in social relations (34.8 (9.12)), and the cultural and recreational index (32.86 (10.54; range 1-100)). We also observed a significant relationship between gender and marriage with cultural and recreational component (P = 0.002).

Since none of the four indicators of age-friendly cities in Tabriz were standard, the managers of aging-related organizations should plan to standardize these indicators to achieve the desired conditions.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the world and is associated with a significant mortality rate. The survival rate in colorectal cancer is completely related to the time of its diagnosis and so screening is a valuable method for its early detection. This study was performed to determine the predictive factors for participation in colorectal cancer screening based on the BASNEF model.

This is a predictive correlational study that was performed on 576 subjects over the age of 50 in Tabriz in 2019. The sampling method was multi-stage clustering method. To collect the data, a demographic questionnaire and a researcher-made questionnaire based on the constructs of BASNEF model were used. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 16 and descriptive and analytical statistical methods.

Only 20.4% of patients reported a history of performing fecal occult blood test and 9.5% of patients reported a history of colonoscopy. Based on linear regression modeling, among BASNEF model’s constructs, knowledge and subjective norm and also marital status, smoking and education were significantly related to colorectal cancer screening participation (p <0.05); and these variables can predict 23.9% of changes of variance of colorectal cancer screening participation.

The constructs of the BASNEF model are good predictors of participation in colorectal cancer screening. Regarding the importance of early diagnosis of colorectal cancer and the low rate of participation in its screening, it is necessary for policymakers to pay more attention to predictive/effective factors in participation of colorectal cancer screening and use interventions such as raising awareness and using important resources of subjective norms.

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in Iran is increasing and mothers of these children are exposed to parental challenges. One of the most important determinants of emotional behavior problems in children is the parenting style of parents, especially the mother. So, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between parenting styles in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders and emotional behavioral problems in these children.

This descriptive correlational study was performed on 146 mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (4-13 years old) referred to autism centers in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. The sampling method was available. Standard questionnaires of Baumriand,s parenting styles and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) questionnaire were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using frequency and relative frequency, Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression in SPSS 21.

The findings showed that the dominant parenting style of mothers is authoritative. Also, all children have emotional-behavioral problems, but 63% of children are in non-clinical range and 37% of children are in clinical range. Only authoritative parenting style had a statistically significant relationship with the subscales of anxiety, physical problems, and aggressive behavior (p<0.05).

Given the high prevalence of emotional-behavioral problems and the relationship between some of its subscales with parenting styles, it is necessary to educate mothers about the nature and characteristics of autism spectrum disorders. This would improve their understanding of problematic behaviors of their children, thus, they can act with more awareness and cognition. In this regard, it is recommended to run parent-centered and family-centered educational programs for this group of mothers.