دکتر سمیرا رئوفی

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a Psychopathic disorder characterized by abnormal communication and verbal behaviors. ASD is very common in children, affecting about 1 in 160 individuals, and the symptoms of this disorder appear before the age of three, and the main cause is still unknown. The effectiveness of this technology on the abilities required for people with ASD to communicate in a social setting has been the subject of several systematic and comprehensive studies. 

A systematic review by searching in PubMed, EMBASE and CINAHL for publications was conducted from 1 January 2012 to 30 May 2021 involving use of virtual reality interventions on children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder in which autism, autism spectrum disorder, ASD, virtual reality, VR keywords were utilized. Three reviewers independently investigated search results for inclusion in analysis and resolved disagreements by consensus.

Literature research of databases specifies a total of 808 records. According to the abstract and the full text of the studies, after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria and eliminating duplicates and screening articles, 15 articles were selected for final review based on the PICO criteria (population, intervention, comparison and results). The studies focused on the five topics of emotion and social interaction, social communication, daily life skills, specific fears and anxieties, physical activity, and attention.

According to reports, the findings rightly claim that the use of virtual reality technologies not only improves the social and communication skills of children with ASD, but also provides them with an engaging and enjoyable experience. Moreover, Parents indicated high satisfaction with VR applications and this technology can contain many benefits in the treatment of ASD.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is known as one of the most chronic conditions, having significant effects on physical and mental health status in infected individuals, and thus reducing their quality of life (QoL).

I n t his s ystematic r eview, t he d ata w ere i nitially collected from the databases of Scopus, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Google Scholar from January 2000 to September 2020 based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study. The data were then analyzed by using the R software.

A total number of 25 research articles addressing the QoL in 5,952 HIV/AIDS patients were evaluated using three valid questionnaires, including the Medical Outcomes Study HIV Health Survey (MOS-HIV), the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life in HIV-Infected Persons (WHOQoL-HIV). Based on the MOS-HIV, the SF-36, and the WHOQoL-HIV questionnaires, the QoL mean scores in HIV/AIDS patients were 51.80 (49.4- 54.57), 54.81 (52.68-56.93), and 13.62 (11.97-15.26), respectively. In addition, the physical items gained a higher mean score than the mental ones in all the questionnaires. The QoL showed higher mean scores in the SF-36 and the WHOQoL-HIV questionnaires in Africa, except for the MOS-HIV questionnaire, which had the highest mean score in North America.

Overall, the QoL in HIV/AIDS patients in this study was acceptable, even though further changes and studies are still required to support the findings.

Depression and anxiety are the psychological problems that have intensified during Covid-19 and have affected the psychological well being of people. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the prevalence of anxiety and depression in Middle East countries.

In this review, we searched for studies aiming to estimate the prevalence of depression and anxiety during the Covid-19 pandemic among the general population in databases including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Google Scholar from January 2020 to February 2021. We used the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis-2 software for data analyses and generated forest plots of the summary pooled prevalence.

In this systematic review, 55 articles with a total sample size of 28128 people were included. The pooled analysis of depression and anxiety amid the pandemic was estimated at 41% and 39%, respectively. Based on the study results, Iraq and Egypt had the highest prevalence rates of depression at 88% and 82%, respectively. Regarding anxiety, the highest and lowest prevalence rates were reported for Egypt with 91% and Qatar with 17%.

To effectively provide mental health services for people, particularly the ones who are suspected of higher risk of depression and anxiety, it is necessary to identify individuals who are more likely to be suffered from psychological problems.

The Health Transformation Plan (HTP), the latest reform in Iranchr('39')s health system to achieve the 3 main goals of financial protection, equity, and quality of health care, was started on May 5, 2014. This study aimed to review all available literature regarding the achievements and outcomes of this reform after 6 years of its implementation.

The 5 English databases were examined by using appropriate keywords to find documents published on the HTP between June 5, 2014, and the end of April 2020. Out of 532 recovered articles, 137 were included in the study. The studychr('39')s organization was based on the Arkesy and Ochr('39')Malley framework and data analysis was done using the content analysis method. 

The findings of the study were divided into 11 sections. Studies on the planchr('39')s impact on financial protection (22.6%), performance indicators (14.5%), and natural delivery promotion (14.5%) were the most frequent, respectively. Regarding the impact of the HTP on patient satisfaction ,performance indicators, and efficiency, mostly positive results have been obtained. However, in terms of the impact of the HTP on financial protection and informal payments, the outcomes have been different, contradictory, and sometimes negative.

Although the HTP has successfully achieved a number of its goals, in some of the goals, the results are not significant. Given the changing health conditions and funding constraints, it is better to consider measures to fundamentally review the HTP and executive packages.