مجله سلامت و سالمندی خزر
سال هفتم شماره 2 (پاییز و زمستان 1401)

the elderly are at a high-risk of COVID-19 infection. Since the perception of higher risk can affect the protective behavior, preventive measures such as raising the level of awareness and prevention skills in this vulnerable group are recommended for personal protection. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of COVID-19 educational program on risk perception of COVID-19 among the elderly in Isfahan in 2022.

This quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test study was conducted on 100 elderly people selected using simple random sampling in the first stage and then they were randomly divided into two groups. For the intervention group, the COVID-19 educational program was held in three face-to-face sessions of 30 minutes. Data were collected using demographic form and risk perception questionnaires completed before and one month after the implementation of the educational program. Data were analyzed using SPSS 22.

In terms of demographic characteristics, there was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups. After intervention, there was a significant difference in mean risk perception scores between the intervention (79.39±3.33) and control (67.00±10.45) groups as well as behavioral assessment had a significant difference between the intervention (14.52±0.68) and control (10.95±1.54) group (P<0.0001).

Education on COVID-19 has improved the risk perception of the elderly; therefore, in order to improve the health of the elderly, it is suggested to provide training that increases their risk perception.

Frailty is one of the most common syndromes that can affect the prognosis and outcomes of the disease in the elderly undergoing hemodialysis. Therefore, it is important to identify the factors associated with frailty in this group of elderly people. The aim of this study was to determine the degree of frailty and its related factors in the elderly undergoing hemodialysis.

This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 198 older adults undergoing hemodialysis, selected using the convenience sampling method. Data were collected using questionnaire of demographic and clinical characteristics, Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS), and Fall Incidence Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS 26 through independent t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Pearson correlation coefficient.

The mean age of the elderly undergoing hemodialysis was 68.10.±7.40 years, as well as 55.4% of them were male. The mean and standard deviation of the frailty score of the older adults undergoing hemodialysis were 6.91±3.12, and most of them were susceptible to frailty. The results indicated that there was a positive and significant relationship between frailty with demographic and clinical characteristics and falling history in these people.

To improve the prognosis in the elderly undergoing hemodialysis, health care professionals should evaluate frailty using standard tools, especially considering factors such as age, gender, comorbidities, and other relevant factors and should help prevent and reduce the adverse consequences of frailty on the quality of life of this group of elderly people by designing individual care and support programs.

Hypertension increases with age. Low levels of health literacy are more common in older people with chronic diseases and hypertension, and these people are probably more affected by the unpleasant effects of low health literacy than other people in society. The aim of this study was to investigate the health literacy of the elderly with hypertension and related factors.

This descriptive-analytical correlational study was conducted in 2019. The study sample was 210 elderly people with hypertension selected among patients referred to specialized clinics using the convenience sampling method. Data were collected using demographic medical information, Abbreviated Mental Test (AMT) and Health Literacy for Iranian Adults (HELIA) questionnaire. Data were analyzed via descriptive (frequency distribution tables, mean and standard deviation) and analytical (t-test, ANOVA and Pearson) statistics using SPSS 23 and a significance level of 0.05.

According to the results, most of the elderly (58.1%) had adequate health literacy. Moreover, there was a significant inverse relationship between health literacy and age in the elderly with hypertension (p<0.05). Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between health literacy and the variables of employment status, education level, place of residence and, number of medications consumed (p<0.05).

In this study, the health literacy of the elderly with hypertension was adequate and it was found that the health literacy decreased as the elderly aged.

Side effects caused by taking medications can have different consequences, ranging from sensitivity to death. Medications used to relieve chronic spasms include baclofen. Poisoning with baclofen is a rare problem, and in poisoning with baclofen, absorption of the drug is longer and more complete, so baclofen in therapeutic doses shows its effect first in the spine, but in higher doses, the drug penetrates more easily and crosses the blood-brain barrier, showing symptoms such as brain death, which is manifested as dilated pupils and their asymmetry, as well as hypotonia and hyporeflexia. Although few studies have reported deaths from baclofen use, poisoning has been associated with baclofen at doses above 270 mg.

Case report:

 The present study reports on a case who, after taking only 50 mg of baclofen, suffered from severe decreased consciousness and drowsiness and whose muscle tone was greatly reduced.

Since albumin, the most abundant protein in the blood, is responsible for the transport of most drugs in plasma, albumin level has a great impact on the pharmacology and pharmacokinetics of the drug in plasma and may cause intoxication in patients. Therefore, it is suggested that nurses pay attention to the blood albumin level as an intervening factor in the patient's response and reaction to treatment with baclofen when examining the patient's condition and providing their care.

Although there have been significant advances in cancer treatment in recent years, and the prognosis of many cancers has improved, families and patients are greatly burdened with the diagnosis or treatment of cancer. One of the main stressors is fear of disease progression (FoP) or fear of disease recurrence (FoR). Therefore, the aim of this simple review study was conducted to explain the FoP in cancer patients.

In the first step, Scopus, SID, Magiran, Iran doc, CINAHL Google Scholar, Web of sciences, PubMed databases, and Persian keywords such as fear of disease progression, fear of recurrence, cancer and English keywords such as cancer, fear of progression, fear of recurrence, were searched.

In various studies, FoP has been shown to vary from 23 to 87% and to be related to age, sex, marital status, occupation, family history of malignancy and presence of cancer, cancer type, treatment type, residence and activity level, smoking, and disease stage.

Based on the results of the present study, with proper planning by policy makers and planners in the field of cancer patients, it is possible to reduce the FoP in these patients, and these measures definitely have positive effects and impact on their health.

The complexity and protracted nature of diabetes causes care burden and anxiety for caregivers of diabetic patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of family-oriented self-care programs on care burden and anxiety of caregivers of elderly patients with type 2 diabetes.

This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 92 caregivers of elderly people with type 2 diabetes in Khatam Al-Anbia Hospital in Behshahr, who were randomly divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group. Data were collected using the Care Burden Questionnaire and the Spielberger Anxiety Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS 16 through descriptive and inferential statistical tests (analysis of covariance) at a 0.05 significance level.

The results showed that the mean and standard deviation of care burden and anxiety in the experimental group were 96.54 ± 3.65 and 121.30 ± 5.60 before training and decreased to 61.8 ± 4.73 and 79.67 ± 4.57 after education, respectively. This result means that the education significantly reduced the average caregiver burden and anxiety (p < 0.05).

The research findings indicated that educational programs reduced the care burden and anxiety of caregivers of patients with diabetes. Therefore, hospital decision makers are recommended to develop educational programs for caregivers of these patients.

Diseases such as migraine, acne, allergic reactions, baseline blood pressure, and increased heart rate are influenced by psychological conditions. The aim of this study was to compare state-trait anxiety in patients with acne, migraine, and hypertension in 2019.

In this comparative causal study, the population was selected from patients referred to clinics and offices in Qom city (90 individuals in three groups of 30) diagnosed with migraine, hypertension and acne. Data were collected using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger) and analyzed using SPSS 21 by multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and Scheffe post-hoc tests.

The three groups of patients with acne, migraine and hypertension differed significantly from each other in state anxiety (p<0.01). The anxiety state of migraine patients was more than other patients and 8.1% of the state anxiety was affected by acne, migraine and blood pressure, and the state anxiety was significantly different between dermatological and migraine patients (p<0.05). Moreover, there was no significant difference in the three groups of patients with acne, migraine and hypertension with respect to the trait anxiety.

People with these three symptoms (migraine, hypertension and acne) are more likely to suffer from anxiety, and anxiety is more common in patients with migraine than in patients with acne and hypertension. It can be suggested that more studies should be conducted in psychological areas that lead to the occurrence of psychosomatic and somatic symptoms.