فهرست مطالب pouria rezasoltani

Down syndrome (DS) is a genetic disorder that causes many problems for the affected person and his or her family. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of resilience training on the stress of mothers of students with DS. 

This study is a non-randomized clinical trial conducted on 36 mothers of students with DS studying at Shahid Rajaieh School, Tehran. They were selected by a convenience sampling method and divided into the control and intervention groups. Resilience skill training intervention was performed in ten sessions for the intervention group. The instruments used in the present study included a demographic questionnaire and a parenting stress index. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 18. 

Before training resilience skills, no significant difference was observed between the mean stress scores in mothers of the intervention and control groups. After the training program, there was a significant difference between the mean stress scores of the two groups.

Training resilience skills can reduce stress in mothers of children with DS.

Light is a physical factor that can influence the mood and vision of people during work and study. According to the importance of these physical factors, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of the source and color temperature on the mood and vision (acuity and color recognition) of students of TUMS and USWR medical universities.

The present study is an applied study, and the research method is quasi-experimental. Twenty subjects were determined by first-type error (0.05) and test power (0.08). The mood was measured using the profile of mood states (POMS), visual acuity in different lighting conditions based on Snellen and FrACT methods, and color recognition by Ishihara’s test. Data were analyzed by SPSS 22, one-way ANOVA, and Greenhouse-Geisser.

The results of investigating six subscales of the POMS scale in sunlight, LED, and fluorescent with color temperatures of 4000 K and 3000 K indicated improvement in mood states (P < 0.001). Color recognition under different lighting conditions showed no significant difference (P < 0.05). However, visual acuity with the FrACT method under sunlight showed a significant difference in other lighting conditions (P < 0.001).

Light sources can influence mood and vision states (acuity and color recognition) under different lighting conditions. Therefore, using sunlight in educational environments can improve the mood and state of students.

Psychological therapies can play an important role in the improvement of anxiety, depression and stress in patients with asthma. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral stress management group therapy in group therapy on anxiety, depression, stress and readmission in asthmatic patients.

In this quasi-experimental study, 38 patients with asthma were selected and randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. DASS-21 questionnaire was used for data collection which was completed at pre-test, post-test and follow-up. Cognitive-behavioral stress management therapy was administered to the intervention group on 10 sessions but no intervention conducted for the control group. Data were analyzed using ANCOVA, one-way ANOVA, t-test, and repeated measures.

The results showed that there was a significant difference between the mean score of depression in the intervention group before (6.42±7.9) and after the intervention (5.05±5.55) (p=0.00). There was also a significant difference between the mean score of depression between the intervention (5.05±5.55) and control groups (13.47±9.49) in first month (p=0.017). There was a significant difference between the mean scores of stress before (10.5±74.97) and after (9.05±5.22) the intervention in the intervention group (p = 0.00). The mean score of anxiety variable after the intervention was significant different between the intervention group (4.53±5.37) and control groups (10.95±7.90) (p=0.01). There was no significant difference in re-admission in the intervention and control groups before and after the intervention.

The results of the present study indicate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral stress management therapy in improving anxiety, depression and stress in patients with asthma. Given the high level of anxiety, depression and stress in patients with asthma and the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral stress management training intervention and the need for serious attention to psychological therapies in this group of patients.

The validity of test scores may be compromised because of the presence of aberrant responding behaviors. The presen research applies the  &  person fit statistics to examine the response pattern of TIMSS 8th math test of Australia, Iran, and Republic of Korea. After determining the students with misfitting response pattern, the impact of the inclusion and exclusion of their response on the items parameters estimates has been investigated. The changes in item parameter estimates were found to be significant for some items. In addition, the equivalence of students’ response pattern were determined through   &  person fit statistics, and it was found that there is a consistency between the results of the two statistics. The relationship between the fitting/ misfitting response patterns of the students and their ability has been also studied, and it showed that there is a significant relationship between student’s ability parameter estimation and their response pattern for the  person fit statistic, but for the  person fit statistic, this relationship was not significant.

Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in patients with multiple sclerosis, which according to it is very important in nursing. This study aimed to determine of Spiritual-religion Care on Depression in Women with Multiple Sclerosis referred to the MS Society of Iran is in 2016.

This study is semi-experimental study that in that Pretest-posttest plan with control group was used. All of the women with MS, who referred to MS Society of Iran in first 6 months of 1395, were our statistical research community. 60 patients were selected Based on inclusion criteria and purposive sampling method and randomly divided into two groups of experimental and control by using a table of random numbers. Experimental groups were performed intervention include Spiritual-religion Care during seven weeks, seven sessions of 45-60 minutes (weekly one session). Patient filled Beck Depression inventory before and after intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS 19 software and Statistical tests.

Results showed that no different between two groups of intervention and control about demographic characteristics. The mean depression Score was 27.13±13.89 in intervention group, and 28.03±14.79 in the control group before intervention, which respectively reached to 18.13±9.39 and 26.16±14.51 after implementation of the intervention and this difference was Significant in intervention group (P≤0.001).

According to the results we can say that Spiritual-religion Care is effective in reducing depression in women with Ms. so it can be applied method of this study as a simple, non-invasive, low-cost and effective in reducing depression in MS patient to nurses suggests.

Nurses are required to use stress management methods due to their high exposure to daily stress. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of resilience skills training on nursing stress of nursing staff in hospitals of Golestan Province. The present study is quasi-experimental. Participants included nurses working in hospitals in Golestan province who were randomly selected and randomly assigned to participate in the study. The samples were 40 in each of the experimental and control groups. The experimental group underwent a 4-session workshop on resilience skills. Data were collected using a two-part instrument consisting of demographic questions and “Nursing Stress Scale” (NSS). The Scale was completed by participants in the three stages before, immediately and one month after the intervention. The reliability of this scale before the intervention was performed by Cronbach's method. Collected data was analyzed using SPSS. 21. In the test group, the difference between the mean score of total nursing stress before and after the training was 101.05, 93.50, respectively. After intervention, training of resilience skills between two groups of test and control was also significant in nursing stress variable. In other words, intervention significantly decreased nursing stress in nursing staff (n = 141.104, P < 0.001). Training of resilience skills reduced nursing stress in nursing staff. Training this skill for nurses is recommended.

 Healthcare providers have different attitudes toward old people; such an attitude can impact providing effective services to them. Thus, the current study aimed to determine the attitudes of Occupational Therapy (OT) students and alumni towards the elderly. A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on 125 students and alumni of OT with a Mean±SD age of 22.4±1.24 years (70 women, 55 men). The subjects were selected using convenience sampling method. Data collection tools were Kogan’s Attitude Toward Old People (KAOP) scale and a demographic data questionnaire.  For statistical analysis, the Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U test were used.  The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS at the significance level of P≤0.05.  The mean score of attitudes of occupational therapists toward elderly was 151.448; i.e. an intermediate attitude. The highest scores regarded to the subjects with a PhD, subjects with ≥5 years of practical experience, and those working in the psychiatry field. The mean scores of subjects with an experience of caring for the elderly and those without such experience were the same (mean=151). There was a statistically significant relationship (P<0.05) between attitude score and educational grade of the subjects; however, there was no significant relationship between attitude score and practical experience, working field and the experience of providing care to the elderly (P>0.05).  The attitudes of occupational therapists towards the elderly tend to be positive; however, because of their high contacts with old people, this attitude score is not enough. the obtained results can be used as a basis for developing programs of attitude promotion towards the elderly in future studies.

Person fit assessment is useful in ensuring validity and fairness in the use and interpretation of test scores. In this research, applied the H^T person fit statistic to examine response pattern of TIMSS eight grade mathematics test of Australia, Iran, and Republic of Korea. In order to investigate the effect of contextual variables on students’ person fit statistic, hierarchical linear modeling was used, due to the hierarchical structure of data. Based on intraclass correlation coefficient, 83.7% of variance of the H^T person fit statistic is at student level, and 16.3% of variance of the H^T person fit statistic is at school and country levels. In addition, according to the hierarchy linear final model between the H^T person fit statistic and factors of students, schools, and countries; only the average of students mathematics achievement in countries, school emphasis on students academic success, students confident in mathematics, and estimate of students ability, are significant factors in the final model.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of social group work interventions with cognitive behavioral approach on social competence in physically disabled adolescents. This was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test and post-test and control group design. The statistical population included physically disabled adolescents aged 13-18 years who were referred to the Center of Rehabilitation and Vocational Training in Sanandaj City, Iran, to participate in educational programs. To this end, 30 physically disabled adolescents were selected based on inclusion criteria and were divided into 2 matching groups (intervention and control). Social competence questionnaire was completed by both groups at the beginning and at the end of training. The intervention group was trained for 8 weeks in terms of social competence, whereas the control group received no special training. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS. The Chi-square, Independent samples t-test, and Paired t test were used to verify the study assumptions. Comparing the intervention group with the controls before and after training reveled that teaching patients with cognitive behavioral strategies had a significant impact on increasing their social competence (Mean±SD, 181.66±17.88 versus 120.93±10.47; P=0.0001) and its dimensions (cognitive, behavioral, emotional and motivational) of the former group. It seems that one of the efficient methods to increase social competence among physically disabled adolescents is cognitive behavioral therapy within the social group work. Thus, coaches and teachers of this group are recommended to use this method, to increase their social competence and subsequently increasing their presence in public areas.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is the most common behavioral disorder in children that results in social, educational, and familial ability problems. Psychodrama is one of the effective psychotherapy methods in curing some of psychological disorders. Therefore, the aim of this research is to study the effect of psychodrama on social skills of school children suffering from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. This research is a semi-experimental research including a pretest-posttest instrument with a control group. The statistical population includes all school children suffering from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were referred to Tehran NezamMafi Rehabilitation Clinic in 2016; in 90 children who had the quality of participating in the research 40 children were selected to be available and were placed accidentally and simply into two equal 20-population experiment and control groups. The Social Skill Rating System (SSRS) by Gresham & Elliot (1990) was used to investigate the children’s social skills. After the pretest, the experiment group participated in 12 sessions of psychodrama lasting 40-60 minutes and the control group received routine interventions. After conducting the experiment, the social skills of the two experiment and control group were investigated and the data was analyzed through descriptive statistical calculations and differential T-test by SPSS v.22 software. The comparison of the scores between two experimental and control groups of the children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder showed that the average of the scores in experimental group was 35.72 with standard deviation 19.4 )P = 0.001) that was more than the average of the control group 29.63 with standard deviation of 30.2 (P = 0.069), and it showed that the experiment group in comparison with the control group had a meaningful increase in social skills and their subdivisions (P < 01.0, t = 71.5). The findings demonstrates that psychodrama increases social skills of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, so it can be used as a therapeutically method in teaching social skills to these children.

Background and Purpose: The goal of this research was to investigate the effects of educational computer games on learning of mathematics’ basic concepts include Classification, Sorting, Conservation, Detecting Similarities and Differences and Geometry in preschoolers. The statistical society of the research included preschoolers of four pre-schools in Kerman city. In this research non-probability (available) sampling has been used. The research’s selected sample consists of 44 children who have been divided into treatment and control group equally according to the number and gender. After doing the pre-test via “Basic Mathematic Skills Test for Children” on both groups, the treatment group received training via special designed educational computer games for 2 months, 2 sessions per week. Finally, the post-test was done and the results were recorded per each component and children. Then the data was analyzed by using differential t-test. The results of analysis show that four out five primary hypotheses related to the effects of computer games on learning of categorization, sorting, conservation and detecting similarities and differences were confirmed. But, the hypothesis related to learning of geometry was not confirmed. The results show that using educational computer games has positive effects on learning of mathematics basic concepts in preschoolers.

The most critical issue in providing appropriate services to the large number of patients referring to emergency wards is the proper conduct of triage, by considering the shortage of personnel and the insufficiency of facilities. The learning of the triage can only be possible through retraining of nurses. Therefore, this study attempts to compare the two educational methods, competency-based training and lecture, and to compare their impact on the knowledge and performance of nurses regarding triage.
In this semi-experimental study, 75 nurses employed in the emergency wards of Fatemeh Al-Zahra, Rasul Akram, and Shahid Motahari hospitals were selected based on the inclusion criteria of the study. Nurses were placed in three groups (one control and two intervention, n=25) through a simple random method person groups of control and intervention. The researcher-made tools included “triage knowledge test” with 15 questions, and “triage performance checklist” that included 50 scores. The validity of the tests was performed through the formal and content method with the opinion of experts, and the reliability was verified through the test-retest method for which the Pearson Correlation Coefficient was 0.88. After examining the level of knowledge and performance, the intervention was carried out through two methods in the two groups. Eventually, a renewed test and the performance checklist were carried out for all the three groups and data were analyzed using SPSS software V. 21.
There is a significant difference between the mean score for knowledge and performance in the two groups before and after intervention (P Education and training through the competency-based method have more effect than lecture training on the performance of nurses in the field of triage. It is suggested to use this method for retraining of nurses in the field of triage.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral play therapy on externalizing behavior problems among street and working children.
This experimental study was conducted with a pre- and posttest control group design. The statistical population of this study included girls aged 7-10 years who had been identified by the social workers working in Kiana Sociocultural Group Center in the city of Karaj in order to study, participate in educational programs, and also receive the relevant services. To this end, 40 of the girls who scored 63 or above from the Teacher’s Report Form (TRF) were randomly selected and assigned to intervention and control groups. Then, the intervention group was divided into 4 groups of 5 girls who participated in a cognitive-behavioral play therapy program for 12 one-hour sessions lasting 2 sessions per week. Following the intervention, teachers once again filled out the Achenbach’s Teacher Report Form (TRF) for both intervention and control groups, and finally, the data were analyzed.
The findings revealed that reduction in externalizing behavior problems among children such as aggression and law-breaking behavior in the intervention group compared with those in the control group was significant (P It seems that one of the effective ways to lessen externalizing behavior problems among street and working children is cognitive-behavioral play therapy; therefore, coaches and teachers of such children are recommended to make use of this method to lower their behavioral problems.

The study aims to investigate the effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Play Therapy (CBPT) on the self-esteem of children with intellectual disability.
Pre-test and post-test, control group, quasi-intervention design was adopted for the study. The study sample consisted of 40 children conveniently selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria from among educable intellectually-disabled children in two care centers for children with special needs in Tehran, who were randomly assigned into intervention and control groups. In both the groups, the pre-test was conducted by the Cooper-smith Self-Esteem Inventory (CSEI) and then for the intervention group, CBPT sessions were performed in 12 sessions of 60-minute each (two days a week). The post-test was also administered to both the groups after intervention. The data obtained were analyzed using independent t-test and Levine's test by SPSS software.
Self esteem was observed to be significantly increased in the intervention group (P

Injury and vulnerability happen in of all disasters. Evidence shows that in the history elderlies are one of several vulnerabe groups during disasters; therefore¡ the present study was designed and conducted with the purpose of developing interventions to increase the possibility of earthquake preparedness and its subscales with risk reduction among elderlies in Hadishahr¡ Jolfa¡ Iran.
This was a quasi-experimental study with pretest posttest design with a control group. Fifty communities dwelling elderlies were chosen through simple random sampling method from two health centers and were randomly allocated to intervention and control groups. The intervention consisted of educational sessions with slideshows¡ group discussions and sending reminder materials via mails to elderlies'' addresses one week later. The data were collected using a researcher developed preparedness questionnaire consisting of 36 items and subscales (communication¡ during and after the earthquake period). Inferential analyses of data including analysis of covariance were conducted by SPSS version 16 software.
Based on the results of demographic data¡ the elderlies were within the age range of 60-80 years old¡ whose mean age was 66.80 ± 5.66 years. About 56% of them were male; 62% had passed elementary education and the rest had a higher level of education. About 90% of the participants lived with their families¡ among which 76% hardly had any dispute with other family members. Furthermore¡ 56% of the individuals did not have any experience of offering assistance in disasters. Comparing the mean scores of experimental communication preparedness (P = 0.001)¡ preparedness during earthquake (P = 0.004)¡ and preparedness after earthquake (P = 0.017)¡ post-intervention had a significant increase¡ which indicates the effectiveness of the educational intervention program.
The results of our study showed that implementation of risk reduction program improved earthquake preparedness subscales in the communities dwelling elderlies. Thus¡ it can be concluded that such compound educational interventions are able to enhance disaster preparedness of these vulnerable groups in the society.

Because of vulnerability of the elders in disasters, preparedness of this group is very important in reducing the damages caused by the earthquake. Therefore, the present study designed and conducted with the purpose of developing interventions to increase earthquake preparedness and risk reduction in the elderly people living in Hadishahr Jolfa City, Iran.
This study was a quasi-experimental study with pretest, posttest design and a control group. Fifty community dwelling elderly people were selected through simple random sampling method from 2 health centers and randomly allocated to intervention and control groups. Intervention program consisted of educational sessions with slideshows, group discussions, and sending reminder materials to their addresses a week later. The data were collected using the researcher developed preparedness questionnaire consisting of 58 items with 4 subscales (communication, environmental, during and after earthquake period). Inferential analyses of data, including analysis of covariance was done by SPSS version 16.
The findings showed that scores in all subscales of earthquake preparedness (communication, environment, during and after earthquake) significantly increased after educational intervention (P Preparedness programs for disaster risk reduction has a positive effect on the elders’ preparedness. Thus, similar multimodal preparedness programs should be used more frequently for this vulnerable community citizens.

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease. Evidence has indicated that epilepsy has an impact on mental and physical health of children. The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of attribution retraining on health enhancement of epileptic children.
This was an experimental study with a pre-test and a post-test design with a control group. Thirty students with epilepsy (11 female and 19 male students) were selected in convenience from Iranian Epilepsy Association. They were assigned to experimental and control groups and their mothers completed Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ-PF.28) before and after the intervention.
The experimental group attended to eleven sessions (each session 45 minutes; twice a week). Subjects were trained by attribution retraining program, but control group was not. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used for analyzing the data.
Health (both psychosocial and physical) of experimental group enhanced significantly after the intervention sessions compared to control group.
Attribution retraining is an effective intervention to enhance the psychosocial and physical health of epileptic children.

Musculoskeletal disorders are the most common occupational injuries and constitute a huge global health problem with substantial economic and human cost as well as negative impact on the quality of life. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and level of risk among the workers of the assembly line of a battery factory.
In this descriptive cross-sectional study performed in 2013, 138 workers aged between 20 and 46 years from assemble line of a battery construction company that have been selected randomly and filled out the NORDIC questionnaire.
Also, for the assessing physical posture during work, RULA method were applied and filled out by researcher. Statistical analyzing were done by SPSS (v.21).
On the basis of the findings of this study majority of the recruited population suffer from upper back 42 Workers(%30.4) and neck pain 36 workers (%26.1) and lower back pain 25 workers (%18.1) then by knee pain 16 workers (%11.6) respectively. Also results of RULA method analyzing showed that risk level score for 31.2, 53.1 and 15.6% of all postures were 4, 3 and 2 respectively.
The prevalence of MSDs in the workers was high. Most of postures are needed to be corrected because of high score in RULA method. Based on the obtained results, the most significant ergonomic problems in workers were found to be awkward postures, manual material handling and back bending and twisting.

Diabetes is one the important health problems and common chronic metabolic disease that its side effects is considered as one of the main cause of mortality and morbidity. Self-efficacy has a key role in the successful self- management among Diabetes patients. The current study was aimed to study of educational intervention effect based on the self-efficacy theory on Diabetes management among patients who attained in Diabetes clinic of Ale Jalil hospitals in Aq qala city. In a two groups semi-experimental design, 58 patients (19 male,39 female) were recruited to study and randomly allocated into intevention and control groups. Data gathered through Sherer General Self-Efficacy scale, Diabetes Management Self-Efficacy Scale, as well as selected demographic variables. Educational Intervention was implemented based on the self-efficacy theory in 3-session each of 90 minutes during 3 weeks. Two months later post test was obtained. Gathered data were entered into SPSS version 18 and analyzed using independent sample t test, paired t test, and Chi-square test. Mean age of intevention and control groups subjects were 55.90 and 53.92 years respectively. Duration of disease was 10.58 years in case and 8.59 in control ones. There was no significant difference between demographic variables in case and control groups. Mean score of General Self-Efficacy and Diabetes Management Self-Efficacy were in moderate levels. After intervention these scores were increased significantly in case group (p=0.001). The results of the study revealed that implementing interventional education based on the self-efficacy theory increases patients general self-efficacy and Diabetes self-efficacy alike.

Social participation is an important aspect of health in aging. It is also a part of life and key element in function that improves physical and psychological health in elderly.It is possible that usage of assistive mobility device impacts social participation in this population. Current study aims to compare social participation in older adults who use assistive mobility devices with those who do not use assistive devices in Tehran. In this cross sectional study, older adults with and without assistive mobility device were comprised in their social participation. Seventy nine older adult (39 females and 40 men) who were 60 years old or older were recruited using convenient sampling. They completed life habit, Mini Mental State and demographic questionnaires. For analyzing continuous data with normal distribution, t-test and ANOVA were used while Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used for categorical variable or those with non-normal distribution. The finding indicates that older adults with assistive mobility device engage less in social participation than those who do not use these devices (p< 0.05). Older adults in age group of 60-74 had higher social participation in comparison with those in 75-89 age group (p< 0.05). There was no different between male and females, and single older adults and those who were married in their social participation. Type of assistive device affects social participation in older adults. The results suggest that older adult with higher physical ability have higher social participation. Older adults who use assistive devices face with more limitations to participation in their community. It is necessary for team of rehabilitation to pay attention to improving social participation for older adults.

Preterm newborn birth is usually a challenge for the mother and the family. The mother feels inadequate for the care of her newborn and her self-esteem decreases. In this regard, this study aimed to determine the effect of Kangaroo other Care (KMC) on the self-esteem of mothers of preterm newborns.
This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 46 pairs of mothers and newborns admitted to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Social Security and Shahid Sadoughi hospitals of Yazd City, Iran. We used available sampling; samples were placed in 2 groups of intervention and control. In the intervention group, the mother held the newborn in an upright position at the middle of her chest to establish skin to skin contact. KMC was performed for 30 minutes each day after feeding, for a period of 4 weeks. However, the control group received the regular process of care from NICU. The mothers’ self-esteem in both groups before and after KMC was evaluated and compared by Rosenberg questionnaire. Data analysis was performed by using the Fisher exact test, paired t test, and independent t-test.
The mean(SD) self-esteem score of the mothers in the intervention group was 25.826(2.480) after the study. However, in the control group, it was 9.609(2.016) (P˂0.001). The average self-esteem scores of mothers in both groups showed a significant difference prior to intervention (P=0.014); however, in the control group, it was reduced after performing routine nursing cares. Also a significant difference was observed between the self-esteem of mothers in the intervention group before and after intervention (P˂0.001).
Kangaroo care increases the self-esteem of preterm infants’ mothers. Therefore, we recommended it to be performed for preterm infants.

One of the main goals of nursing education is training them to provide proper medical services to patients as well as healthy people in the community and health centers using their knowledge and specific skills. This service requires nurses’ critical thinking and effective learning. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of critical thinking skills on decision making styles of nursing management.
This interventional study is of semi-experimental kind and conducted on 60 nursing managers (30 in each group of the samples). In the beginning of the study, California questionnaire of critical thinking scale was completed by the participants. The intervention group received critical thinking skills training for 8 sessions (4 theoretical sessions and 4 practical sessions). A week after the end of the last training session, the same questionnaires were completed by the participants.
Prior to conducting the study, 2 groups were not significantly different regarding demographic variables. The mean score of critical thinking and decision making style of the control group was the same before and after intervention, but in the intervention group, the mean score increased.
Teaching critical thinking skills increases the level of critical thinking and the use of rational decision making style by nurses. Nurses’ cognitive ability, especially their ability to process information and make decisions, is a major component of their performance and requires possession of critical thinking. Thus, universities of medical sciences are suggested to provide necessary support to allow the development of professional competencies, decision making, problem-solving, and selfsufficiency skills, which are influenced by the ability for critical thinking.

Background and Cerebral palsy is a common disorder in children leading to their dysfunction in many aspects. Therefore, to provide appropriate treatment plan that could improve the function of these children, a valid assessment tool is needed. Pediatric Evaluation Disability Inventory (PEDI) is designed to evaluate the performance of children with disabilities in three dimensions: self-care, mobility, and social function. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability of the Persian version of PEDI in children with cerebral palsy aged 3 to 9 years old. In this study, 75 participants were selected by convenience sampling. Information was collected using demographic questionnaire and Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). The parents were interviewed and PEDI was completed. After two weeks, in order to evaluate the reliability of the test-retest, 22 parents were re-interviewed. Internal consistency was examined by Cronbach's alpha, and the reliability of the test-retest was assessed by intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). In examining the internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha was found to be high (0.94-0.98).The results of test-retest reliability of the functional skills and caregiver assistance scale were excellent (0.96-0.97). Also, the results of test-retest reliability in modification scale were excellent in self-care and social performance (0.99 and 1, respectively) and good in mobility dimension (0.66). This study proved the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the Persian version of PEDI in evaluating the performance of Persian-speaking children with cerebral palsy. Therefore, PEDI could be applied in research and clinical settings for evaluation of children with cerebral palsy in Iran.

In linguistic studies, the word definition task is used for surveying organization of concepts in the mental lexicon. The aim of this study was to review the literature related to the developmental processing concepts and organization of using word definition task. Methods and Materials: Published articles on the subject of the development of word`s definition in children was surveyed using these keywords word definition, definitional skills, children within the timeframe of 1980– 2014. Databases of Science Direct, Springer, Google Scholar, Elsevier, PubMed, ASHA and related Iranian studies were used. In the word definition task, the children were asked to define words. The answers that be expressed in this task are scored based on content and form. By increasing the age and improvement of metalinguistic skills in schools, responses are closer to the Aristotelian definition. By increasing the age, noun definitions are developed from functional and concrete responses into more abstract and the conceptual responses, and also using of superordinate terms is increased. Increased use of super ordinate terms in definitions indicates that by increasing the age, concepts are organized into hierarchies of connections and super ordinates have connection with subordinates.

Regarding the type of service receivers as well as the technicality of the services provided, these services often bear high complexity and difficulty which can eventually lead to job burnout and shortage of motivation in the staffIn this study, the factors affecting job motivation from the viewpoints of staff and managers of Semnan Welfare Organization have been identified and possible differences have been analyzed. In the present study, based on Herzberg’s model of job motivation and considering several assessment tools produced according to this model, a draft of a researcher-designed questionnaire was prepared in order to determine the factors affecting job motivation in the staff and managers of the State Welfare Organization in Semnan province. The content and face validity of the questionnaire was determined and approved by 10 experts, 5 managers and 15 staff members of the Semnan Welfare Organization who were selected purposefully, using the Lawsche’s method. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed and approved by test-retest correlation coefficient determination. After informed consent was obtained, all staff and managers conforming to the inclusion criteria were invited to participate in the study and to complete the questionnaire. In contrast to Herzberg’s theory which considers intrinsic factors as more important than extrinsic factors in causing motivation, our results demonstrated that staff and managers of Semnan Welfare Organization believed extrinsic factors provoked higher motivation. The major motivation factors for staff and managers of Semnan Welfare province were somehow related to management practices of managers and staff, both of which are categorized as extrinsic factors.