shohreh ghasemi

Because of the numerous problems created by neurofibromatosis type 1, particular quality-of-life evaluation measures are quite significant. In Iran, general instruments are used to assess the quality of life of the target group. This study aimed to translate and examine the psychometrics of the Persian version of the Neurofibromatosis Type 1 Adult Health-related Quality of Life (NF1-AdQOL) questionnaire.

This was a methodological and cross-sectional study. A total of 414 adult patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 in the Iranian Association of Neurofibromatosis were selected via convenience sampling. With the permission of the questionnaire's developer, the English version was translated into Persian using the standard back-translation procedure. Validity was assessed using face validity, content validity, exploratory, and confirmatory factor analysis. The reliability and internal consistency of the questionnaire were assessed by Cronbach's alpha and Spearman's correlation, respectively.

The participants' mean age was 34.48±8.3 years. The 31-item questionnaire was translated into Persian, and based on content validity analysis, 2 items were removed. The adequacy of the sample size was acceptable (KMO = 0.940). Exploratory factor analysis revealed 4 factors. The scale had good reliability (Cronbach's alpha: 0.95), and the intraclass coefficient was 0.91. The total mean quality of life score was 93±25.18.

The finding showed that the Persian version of the questionnaire has good structural characteristics and is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring the quality of life of patients with neurofibromatosis 1.

The objective is to compare the impact of clear aligner treatment (CAT) versus conventional fixed appliance treatment (FAT) on oral health‑related quality of life (OHRQoL) among adults at five‑time points: pretreatment (T0), 1 week (T1), 1 month after (T2), and 6 months after (T3) treatment initiation, and in the long‑term follow‑up (T4).

Search terms were based on Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and non‑MeSH. Potentially eligible studies compared OHRQoL in clear aligner (CA) and fixed appliance (FA) patients. In February 2023, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, and PubMed were searched for published studies. Nine out of 94 shortlisted papers were eligible for a systematic review. Of these nine papers, five studies were considered for a meta‑analysis.

At T0, CA and FA patients had similar oral health impact profile (OHIP)‑14 questionnaire scores with a standard mean difference (SMD) of 0.105 (confidence interval [CI]: −1.029–1.48). The SMD of the OHRQoL related to T1, T2, and T3 was −3.119 (CI: −0.145, 0.355), −1.527 (CI: −5.597, −0.64), and − 2.331 (CI: −1.906, −1.148). T4 showed no difference between groups (SMD = 0.007, CI: CI: −4.286, −0.376). Regarding the OHIP‑14 domains, functional limitations remained consistent in both groups across all time intervals. Psychological discomfort exhibited a notable difference only at T2. Throughout the treatment, CAT showed significantly lower levels of physical, psychological, and social disability, as well as handicap, though these differences did not persist beyond T4. Notably, physical pain was the sole domain that remained elevated in the FAT group up to T4.

During the 1st day of the orthodontic treatment, both the CA and FA groups had comparable OHRQoL statuses. However, as time passed, the CA group notably improved their OHRQoL compared to the FA group. Interestingly, after a year or the completion of treatment, both groups eventually reached similar OHRQoL levels. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that FA patients continued to experience more physical pain even a year later.

Context:

 Epulis gravidarum in pregnancy is a condition usually affecting pregnant women between the 3rd and 9th months of pregnancy.

 Considering the lack of precise statistics about the prevalence of this condition in the Mazandaran province, we set out to conduct a study for examining the frequency of epulis gravidarum among pregnant women in Sari and Ghaemshahr cities in 2020.

Setting and Design: 

In this cross‑sectional investigation, 1800 pregnant women were studied by stratified random sampling method in healthcare centers in Sari and Ghaemshahr in 2020.

 In total, 30 centers were monitored during 2 working months and from each center, about 60 pregnant women were selected. A checklist was designed to record the data, including demographic characteristics as well as the oral health status of the participants. Then, intraoral examination was performed to detect the epulis gravidarum.

Statistical Analysis Used:

 Data were analyzed through descriptive (mean, standard deviation, and frequency) Chi‑square, and Cramer’s V correlation coefficient.

 The prevalence of epulis gravidarum was 4.38% (79 pregnant women). Furthermore, 11.27% of the total participants in the study were women in their 1st to 3rd months of pregnancy; 47.55% in 4th to 6th months, and 41.18% in 7th to 9th months of pregnancy. Based on multivariate logistics analysis, a significant relationship was observed between the use of cigarette smoking (P < 0.001), low age (P = 0.002), and don’t use of floss (P < 0.001) and presence of epulis gravidarum.

 The results indicated that oral and dental health care is very important during pregnancy, and if women observed any atypical lesions during pregnancy in their mouth, they should consult a dentist.

Oral cancer is one of the most prevailing neoplasms globally, and human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the risk factors for this condition. Knowledge and awareness about HPV-related oral cancer can lead to a better diagnosis and prognosis of this disease. This systematic review aimed to evaluate knowledge and awareness about HPV-related oral cancer among dentists and dental students.

We searched Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and ProQuest databases with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and non-MeSH keywords to find related articles. Our eligibility criteria were: 1) cross-sectional studies including knowledge and awareness about HPV-related oral cancers, 2) publication date up to August 18, 2021, 3) studies containing dentists or dental students as the main participants, or as part of the participants. The Joanne Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist was used for quality assessment.

A total of 10 studies were included in this systematic review. Five studies have shown that over 80 percent of dental students know HPV can cause oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). More than three-quarters of dentists reported HPV as a cause of oral cancer. Less than half of patients in two studies mentioned biopsy for adequate diagnosis.

HPV-related oral cancer knowledge and awareness need to be improved through focusing on academic and public education. For dental students, it is necessary to identify HPV as a risk factor for oral cancer. Moreover, the significance of routine checkups should not be ignored.

An effective interview can strengthen the clinician‑patient relationship and improve treatment outcomes. We aimed to assess the effect of communication skills training using the Calgary‑Cambridge model on interviewing skills among midwifery students.

In this randomized controlled trial, 30 midwifery students of Golestan University of Medical Sciences were selected using the convenience sampling method and randomly assigned through minimization into the intervention (n </em>= 15) and control (n </em>= 15) groups in 2018. The routine interventions were administered for the control group, and four sessions of communication skills training based on the Calgary‑Cambridge model was performed in small groups for the intervention group. Evan and colleague’s History‑taking Rating Scale was used before and four weeks after the intervention. Data were analyzed using paired and independent‑sample t and Mann‑Whitney U tests at the significance level of less than 0.05.

The mean (SD) scores of interviewing skill before and after the intervention was 33.71 (7.34) and 54.50 (8.16), respectively, in the intervention group (t13 = 9.26, p </em>< 0.001) and 33.64 (6.02) and 33.93 (5.39) in the control group, respectively (p </em>= 0.85). The difference between the two groups was significant (t26 = 7.86, p </em>< 0.001).

Communication skills training based on the Calgary‑Cambridge model can be used as an effective method to improve interviewing skills among midwifery students.

Communication skills are of top priority for health care providerchr('39')s professional traits and communication is an essential part of the midwifery care. Many studies of midwifery and midwifery studentschr('39') communication skills are poor and average. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of communication skills training through the Calgary Cambridge model on communication skill among midwifery students.

This randomized controlled field trial was conducted in 2018. Thirty midwifery students were recruited using conventional sampling method from Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran. Then subjects was assigned into two experimental and control groups by stratified random allocation method. Initially, their communication skill was assessed using Queendom scale. Participants in the experimental group received communication skills training based on Calgary-Cambridge model in four four-hour sessions held twice weekly. The control group did not receive any intervention. Communication skill in both control and experimental groups was re-assessed respectively four weeks after pretest. Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test, the independent-sample t test and the paired-sample test in SPSS-16 software.

The pretest mean scores of communication skill in the experimental and the control groups were respectively 122.43±9.40 and 122.29±7.81, with no significant between-group difference. At post-test, the mean score of communication skill in the experimental and the control groups was respectively 122±8.06 and 120±8.08 and the between-group difference was not significant (P=0.51).

Communication skills training through Calgary-Cambridge model is not effective in significantly improving midwifery students’ communication skill. Therefore, to improve communication skills, this model is insufficient and may need to be modified, or it is necessary to add more intervention to this model.