Journal of Caring Sciences
Volume:10 Issue: 3, Aug 2021

In dentistry, local anesthetic (LA) administration in children is often associated with behavioral problems. Hence, the present study evaluated the efficacy of aromatherapy in reducing the dental anxiety and pain during LA procedure.

This clinical trial was conducted upon 150 children in the age range of 8-12 years. Subjects were randomly divided into five groups; Group 1: Lavender essential oil using nebulizer; Group 2: Lavender essential oil using inhaler; Group 3: Orange essential oil using nebulizer; Group 4: Orange essential oil using inhaler; Group 5: Control (without aromatherapy). For all the children, baseline anxiety was recorded followed by aromatherapy (except for children in the control group). Following the standard protocol, LA was administered. The procedural pain was assessed using Faces, Legs, Activity, Cry and Consolability scale (FLACC) and Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R). Finally, anxiety was again recorded. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 17.0.

A significant difference in ANOVA test was observed among anxiety scores after LA in aromatherapy groups 1, 3, and 4 compared to control. When the FLACC scores were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis, there were significantly lower values in aromatherapy groups compared to the control group. The pain scores, as reported in FPS-R, were also lower in aroma groups 1, 3, and 4.

Aromatherapy with lavender or sweet orange, using either nebulizer or inhaler, decreased the dental anxiety of children, whereas, only sweet orange could reduce the pain as self-reported by children.

Ineffective breastfeeding techniques is one of the factors contributing to poor breastfeeding outcomes in post-cesarean mothers. To assist post-cesarean mothers to find a comfortable breastfeeding position, a trial was conducted to compare different positions of breastfeeding in these individuals.

A randomized clinical parallel trial was carried out on primipara post-cesarean mothers admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India. Participants were enrolled by convenience sampling technique, which was further randomized (block size= 4) and allocated to receive either “L” shape (n= 30) or side-lying (n= 30) position for breastfeeding. The assigned intervention was provided at least six times a day for four consecutive days. Data were collected using breastfeeding assessment Tool, maternal breastfeeding evaluation scale and numeric pain rating scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 23.

The baseline characteristics of participants in both groups were similar. The mean comparison of breastfeeding outcome and maternal satisfaction indicated no significant difference between the two positions. However, the mean scores of maternal pain were statistically significant. Hence, it was inferred that the maternal pain was significantly less in post-cesarean mothers in “L” shape compared to side-lying.

There is significantly less pain in post-cesarean mothers during breastfeeding in “L” shape than side-lying. Furthermore, maternal satisfaction and breastfeeding outcomes were found to be similar in both positions.

High prevalence of psychiatric disorders and the high effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) have made this treatment a useful intervention. Memory impairment, headache, and muscle pain are the most important complications after ECT. This research aimed to determine the effect of reflexology on the headache and muscle pain intensity of patients after receiving ECT.

This randomized controlled trial was conducted in Razi teaching hospital of Urmia, Iran. A total of 56 patients with depression receiving ECT were randomly assigned into two equal groups of control (n=28) and intervention (n=28). In the intervention group, reflexology was performed for 20 minutes at reflex points and, in the control group, only the conventional measures were taken. Pain intensity was measured with visual analogue scale (VAS) before and 1, 6, and 24 hours after the intervention. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 13. Furthermore, chi-square, Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon, and repeated-measures tests were performed.

The mean difference in the severity of headache and muscle pain in the intervention group was significantly reduced compared to the control group. Moreover, the results demonstrated a significant difference between the mean headache and muscle pain in the two groups after the intervention.

The results of this study showed the positive effect of reflexology on reducing the intensity of pain in patients receiving ECT. Thus, it is recommended that nurses, health care providers, and caregivers use reflexology to reduce pain in patients with depression receiving ECT

Kangaroo mother care (KMC), as a complement to incubator care, is one of the ten recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the care of preterm infants. The KMC stabilizes the heart rate, improves oxygen saturation, makes weight gain better, and reduces crying in the infant. In order to launch KMC unit, the barriers for implementing this type of care should be recognized.

This qualitative research was conducted using a focus group discussion and individual semi-structured interview with nurses, doctors, executive and management staff of a neonatal unit of a third level teaching hospital in Tabriz, northwest Iran. The participants were selected using purposeful sampling. Content analysis was used for analyzing data. Data were analyzed by MAXQDA 10 software.

After analyzing data, four main themes were extracted including mother-related barriers, father-related barriers, physician- related barriers, and system-related barriers.

Based on the findings of the research, it seems that in order to facilitate practicing continuous KMC, much emphasis should be placed on training the parents and health care providers. Furthermore, in some cases, reforming the payment system for physicians, providing an instruction for performing continuous KMC, and continuous assessment of hospitals annually are necessary.

Sleep problems and fatigue are common symptoms reported by cancer patients. In this study, the researchers used a specialized tool to measure fatigue in cancer patients and its relationship with sleep quality in Yazd, Iran.

This descriptive correlational study included 149 cancer patients (age range: over 18 years) referred to Shahid Sadoughi Hospital in Yazd, Iran. Data were collected by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Cancer-Related Fatigue Questionnaire. A PSQI score of ≥5 indicated a poor sleep. Data were analyzed using SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 13.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA), Pearson’s correlation, t test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and linear regression.

The mean (SD) PSQI score of patients was 13 (4.85) out of 21. About 69.3% of patients had a poor sleep quality. While the mean (SD) of sleep duration was 5.57 (0.54) hours, it was 69.44 (46.58) minutes for sleep latency. Also, with increasing the mean of sleep quality, the mean of fatigue significantly increased (P<0.001, R=0.63).

According to the results, there was a relationship between the sleep quality and fatigue in cancer patients, so that patients with better sleep quality had less fatigue.

Chronic kidney disease is a serious problem and patients need active self-care. This study focuses on the relationship between self-care and its predictive factors in hemodialysis (HD) patients.

This multicenter correlational study was conducted on 201 HD patients referring to HD centers in the west of Tehran, Iran. A multi-stage sampling method was used to select the samples. Data were collected using self-care Scale, Paloutzian-Ellison Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and Connor Davidson Resilience Questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 13 and descriptive statistics and linear regression with stepwise method.

The mean (SD) scores of self-care, resilience, and spiritual well-being were 35.5 (5.69), 53.4 (12.94), and 97.4 (17.9), respectively. Univariate analysis showed that self-care had a statistically significant relationship with gender, occupation, education, being diabetic, and hyperlipidemia. Self-care positively correlated with the resilience and negatively correlated with age. Multivariate regression indicated that the resilience (β=0.78, P=0.001), being diabetic (β=-0.09, P=0.01), and age (β=-0.11, P=0.005) could be predictors of self-care. These variables accounted for 78% of variance in self-care in HD patients.

Our results showed that resilience was positively correlated with self–care, but being diabetic and age were negatively correlated with self-care in HD patients. Therefore, the health care providers should pay more attention to HD patients who are diabetic and older, as they are at a higher risk of having impaired self-care.

The need and use of long-term care services for older people has increased with their rising population and there is little information about the state of serving in nursing homes. This study aimed to identify the caring process in Iranian nursing homes.

This qualitative study was conducted in three Iranian nursing homes using grounded theory approach. The participants included 28 individuals (14 older people and 14 caregivers). The data were collected using unstructured interviews up to data saturation, and analyzed by constant comparative method.

Fragmented care emerged as the core variable. The main factor for developing the core variable was ‘experience-based caring’. Other factors included ‘inappropriate structure for care’ as contextual factors in the nursing homes environment and ‘keeping instead of caring’, ‘dismal life’, and ‘up and down of the path’ as strategies and consequences.

The most common type of care was the routine and unplanned one with focusing on physical aspects. To improve a delivery care system for older people in nursing homes, proposing a care plan with focus on an integrated model of care in nursing homes, provision of instructions for treatment, as well as supervision and training caregivers to provide better care are necessary

Breastfeeding is an important strategy to ensure health promotion and wellbeing. Since breastfeeding rates have consistently decreased around the world, protection, promotion, and supportive programs are considered as public health priorities. This study aims to explore breastfeeding mothers’ perceptions and experiences of emotional support needs.

This study was performed in five health centers and four hospitals affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Using a qualitative approach, 36 breastfeeding mothers, family members, and health providers attended individual semi-structured in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using directed content analysis based on the Elo and Kyngas approach, with MAXQDA software version 10.

Four categories of ‘need to tranquility and solace’, ‘sense of being loved and belongingness’, ‘creating hope, motivation, and confidence’, and ‘empathy and companionship’, and 12 subcategories including ‘not inducing stress’, ‘relieving the mother’s stress and worries’, ‘creating and maintaining tranquility’, ‘understanding and attention’, ‘receiving affection from significant others’, ‘being respected by others’, ‘ being inspired by significant others’, ‘being assured by family members’, ‘being motivated by significant others’, ‘interacting with others’, ‘having the companionship and presence of others’, and ‘receiving empathy from others’ were identified as the mothers’ emotional support needs.

Mothers need emotional support to sustain breastfeeding. Significant others, such as the husband, family members, and health providers play an important role in meeting breastfeeding mothers’ emotional support needs.