Journal of Health Sciences and Surveillance System
Volume:11 Issue: 1, Jan 2023

Obesity is known as a major public health problem, with multi-factorial aspects. A complex interaction among genetic, physiological, and behavioral variables affects both the development and maintenance of the obese condition. Currently, there is an increasing interest in recognizing the significant role of psychosocial determinants of dietary behaviors to develop effective interventional weight loss programs. A review of the existing knowledge about the psychosocial determinants of food intake may be beneficial for developing dietary behaviors for health promotion among the populations. Differences in the psychosocial determinants of eating between obese and nonobese individuals and youth and adult groups provide a better understanding of the drivers of socioeconomic disparities in dietary intake, and how to develop targeted intervention strategies. In this review, we discussed the basic psychosocial concepts and theories related to food behaviors. Then, the psychological factors associated with the obesity-related food behaviors and the comparisons between the correlates of dietary behavior in obese and non-obese individuals were explained. Finally, the results of population-based studies which have addressed the contribution of dietary behavior among the youth and adults were presented.

Regarding demographic, socio-economic differences, and some other infrastructural factors, there are concerns about the access to and use of mobile health technology. This study aims to identify the facilitators and barriers to the use of mobile health from the perspective of users.

In this qualitative meta-synthesis, electronic databases were systematically searched. Studies included qualitative investigations published by 30th of December 2020 that examined the facilitators or barriers to using mobile health from the users’ point of view. The Critical Appraisal Skills Program checklist was used to evaluate the quality of each study. A steady comparison process has been used to identify similar structures in several studies that have been summarized in thematic constructs.

Six factors were identified as barriers and seven factors as facilitators. Barriers included difficulty in use, inaccessibility, uselessness or inapplicability, lack of adequate skills, communication barriers, and security concerns; facilitating factors included motivational factors, documentation, degree of ease, provider credibility and source of information, perceived usability, social-cultural appropriateness, and perceived benefits.

The findings of this study provide a good basis for information and communication technology practitioners as well as health care services to improve access to and use of mobile health technology by adopting appropriate policies for infrastructure development and social empowerment. Further research focusing on technological, demographic, and geriatrics aspects is suggested.

This study was performed to describe clinical profile of patients with androgenic alopecia and investigate the efficacy of autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in androgenic alopecia. In this prospective study, adult patients in stage III-VI androgenic alopecia were enrolled. Their clinical profile, i.e., age, duration of alopecia, history of previous treatment, family history of alopecia, pattern of alopecia, grade of alopecia, and hair pull test were noted. The enrolled patients were treated with PRP once a month for 3 months and evaluated with clinical photographs. Hair density and hair thickness were measured using USB portable digital trichoscope and digital computerized trichoscan analysis. Clinical evaluation was performed using a 4-point scale including worsening, no improvement, mild improvement, and moderate to significant improvement. Patients were followed every month for 4 months after the procedure. Out of 36 patients, 7 (20%) had a history of previous treatment and 12 (33.3%) had a positive family history of alopecia. The mean (SD) hair count of 17.33 (4.42) at visit 1 increased to 19.20 (6.24) at visit 4 (P<0.0001). The mean hair thickness increased from 0.07 (0.058) mm at visit 1 to 0.11±0.09 mm at visit 4 (P<0.0001). Overall, clinically significant and mild improvement was observed in 11 (33.66%) and 9 (30%) patients, respectively. No improvement was observed in 4 (13.33%) patients, whereas 2 (6.66%) patients experienced worsening of the condition. PRP is effective in increasing the hair count and hair thickness. However, clinically significant improvement was observed in only one third of the patients. PRP can be considered as an adjuvant treatment for patients with androgenic alopecia.

Leishmaniasis, as a neglected health issue, is spreading in most parts of the world. It is one of the most important vector-borne diseases in Iran. Bee venom has shown a wide range of medicinal properties. The present study aimed to survey the effect of venom and propolis of Apis mellifera on Leishmania major in different environments, including in vivo and in vitro. In this experimental study, bee venom was extracted using the modified Benton method, and propolis was prepared by the soxhletation method. The promastigotes of L. major were exposed to the different doses of the venom (0.03125-1 μg/ml) and propolis (2.5-80 μg/ml) and then evaluated by MTT assay and Flowcytometry after 24 hours. In vivo phases, 107 promastigotes of the L. major in stationary phase were intradermally inoculated into 48 mice based on the study design. After appearance of the wounds, the mice were topically treated with the lotion containing different doses (5 and 10 μg/ml) of the venom and propolis. The size of the ulcers was measured for four weeks. The results showed that propolis and BV had no significant effects on the vitality of Leishmania promastigotes. However, they had a high mortality effect on macrophages. The highest mortality belonged to propolis (78.39 %). In vivo results showed significant differences between some treated and control groups in terms of the mean ulcer size. It seems that a combination of honeybee venom and propolis in a particular dosage can prevent the development of the ulcers caused by L. major. More studies are needed to evaluate the effects of their constituent compounds precisely.

Pelvic floor disorders include urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, pelvic visceral prolapse, and sexual dysfunction, which are more common in women after childbirth. In the present study, we aimed to investigate and compare pelvic floor disorders in primiparous women 2 and 6 months after vaginal delivery and cesarean section by using a questionnaire, clinical examination, and perineometer at the same time. This Prospective cohort study was performed on 76 primiparous mothers under normal delivery and cesarean section. All participants were examined after 2 to 6 months after delivery by perineometer pelvic organ prolapse quantification test (POPQ), pelvic floor distress questionnaire (PFDI-20), and female sexual function index (FSFI). The mean of perineometer power and FSFI in the cesarean section group was significantly higher than in the vaginal delivery group (P<0.001). Otherwise, the mean of Anterior and posterior wall prolapse severity and mean of PFDI in the vaginal delivery group were significantly higher than cesarean section patients (P<0.05 and <0.001, respectively). Although the symptoms of pelvic floor muscle weakness, pelvic floor disorder, and the severity of prolapse in the vaginal delivery group was greater than the cesarean section, the improvement in sexual function and prolapse symptoms over time in the vaginal delivery group and obtaining the sameresults in questionnaires after 6 months, shows that most of these symptoms are temporary in the women who had an uncomplicated vaginal delivery, and passing of time, environmental factors and lifestyle are effective in improving most of the pelvic symptoms after delivery.

Gastrointestinal and cardiovascular diseases are considered to be among the consequences of shiftwork in nursing staff. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of gastrointestinal and cardiovascular diseases and model their consequences in nurses. This cross-sectional study was conducted in seven hospitals in Khuzestan Province in 2020. The participants of the study were 652 nurses. The data were collected through a questionnaire developed by Choobineh et al. The questionnaire included demographic questions and shift work related health effects. The modeling was performed via logistic regression in SPSS 22. The prevalence of gastrointestinal (52.53% vs. 35.19%) and cardiovascular (35.02% vs. 22.22%) disorders were significantly higher in shift working nurses than in day-working ones (P<0.05). In addition to shiftwork, work experience, working hours per week, and hospital wards significantly affected the prevalence of gastrointestinal disorders in nurses (P<0.05). The shiftwork system, age, work experience, and working hours per week had significant positive correlations with the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in nurses (P<0.05). Furthermore, the chance of having gastrointestinal and cardiovascular diseases was 2.73 and 2.08 times more in shift-working nurses than in day-working ones, respectively. Beside the shift work, the findings of the study indicated the important role of other risk factors, such as age, work experience, working hours per week, and hospital wards for the prevalence of gastrointestinal and cardiovascular diseases in nurses. Therefore, it is recommended that these factors should be taken into account while trying to manage, control, and reduce such negative consequences in nurses.

Personality traits, due to having a relative stability, are important factors for predicting employees’ safety behavior. Consideration of Future Safety Consequence (CFSC) is a personality trait that was recently introduced to predict the safety behaviors. The purpose of this study was to translate and assess the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the CFSC scale. In the first stage of this cross-sectional study, the instrument was prepared by the forward-backward forward translation technique and evaluated by 487 employees of a gas refinery. The validity of the scale was evaluated through face, concurrent, validity, and construct validity. The safety performance questionnaire was used to examine the concurrent validity. The reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated using internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient) and test-retest. Content validity index was 0.885. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the CFSC scale had a single factor. Also, Pearson correlation showed a positive correlation between the safety performance and the Persian version of CFSC (R=0.401). Test-retest reliability and internal consistency were calculated as 0.86 and 0.82, respectively. It is concluded that the psychometric properties of the Persian version of CFSC scale are desirable and can be used in future studies

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the quality gap of maternity service in the labor and postpartum wards and its relationship with childbirth satisfaction. This cross-sectional study was carried out on 332 pregnant women referring to the labor and delivery wards of the two selected hospitals affiliated to Ahwaz University of Medical Sciences in 2020. Pregnant mothers were selected by convenience sampling method and data were collected using SERVQUAL and Mackey Childbirth Satisfaction Rating Scale in labor and postpartum wards. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive and inferential statistics. The quality gap of maternity service in the postpartum ward (-0.35) was higher than that in the labor ward (-0.28). There was a significant difference between the mothers’ expectations and perceptions in all dimensions of the SERVQUAL except for the responsiveness dimension. The highest and lowest gap in the quality of service in labor and postpartum wards was related to empathy (-0.41 and -0.48, respectively) and the responsiveness dimensions (-0.07 and -1, respectively). There was a significant inverse correlation between the gap in the empathy dimension with overall childbirth satisfaction in the labor ward. There was a correlation between empathy and overall childbirth satisfaction and the physician’s satisfaction in the postpartum ward (P<0.05). Empathy is the most important variable affecting the quality of services provided in the maternity wards and it is necessary to improve this skill in maternity health care providers.

Cardiovascular disease, the first leading cause of death worldwide, is associated with different consequences, including rehospitalization. Health literacy (HL) is a factor with potential effects on rehospitalization. This study aimed to examine the relationship between HL and rehospitalization among patients with myocardial infarction (MI). This prospective cohort study was conducted in 2015–2017. Participants were 366 hospitalized patients with MI who were conveniently recruited from four teaching hospitals in Tehran, Iran. A demographic questionnaire and the Health Literacy for Iranian Adults instrument were completed for participants at the time of their hospital discharge. One month after hospital discharge, thirty-day rehospitalization was assessed over telephone. The SPSS program (v. 16.0) was used to analyze the data through the Chi-square test, independent-sample t test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation analysis, and logistic regression analysis. T he t otal m ean s core o f H L w as 5 3.08±16.64 ( in the possible range of 0–100). Most participants (78.6%) had inadequate or barely adequate HL. At the time of rehospitalization assessment, fifteen participants were inaccessible. Among the remaining 351 participants, 28 (8%) reported thirty-day rehospitalization. The mean scores of HL among the participants with and without rehospitalization were 55.36±19.06 and 53.08±16.53, respectively. Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting the effects of potential confounders, HL had a significant relationship with rehospitalization (odds ratio=1.05; 95% confidence interval: 1.007–1.1; P=0.024). Most hospitalized patients with MI have limited HL, and their HL has a significant relationship with rehospitalization.

Aedes mosquitoes transmit important arboviral diseases such as dengue to humans. This study was conducted to determine dengue virus infection in Aedes mosquitoes, emphasizing Aedes aegypti by Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay from different regions in Southern Iran. Aedes samples were collected by standard methods from different habitats of Hormozgan province, Southern Iran, in 2016-2017, and identified by morphological characteristics. In this study, TissueLyserII was used to homogenize the collected mosquitoes. In addition, the RT-PCR technique was used to identify dengue virus RNA. Overall, 1351 larval and adult Aedes mosquitoes were collected from five sites in Hormozgan Province, including 452 adults and 899 larvae. Five species from Aedes genera were collected (Ae. aegypti, Ae. vittatus, Ae. caballus, Ae. caspius, Ae. vexans). The investigations of dengue virus infection in Aedes mosquitoes showed no dengue virus infection in this species. This study provides important information about Aedes mosquitoes. Vector control strategies must be emphasized and prioritized. Such actions prevent the establishment of Aedes mosquitoes and the spread of arboviral diseases in new areas. In addition, early detection of arboviruses in vectors and entomological monitoring can enhance the control measures for arbovirus diseases.

Since psychological well-being can predict the individuals’ suicidal ideation, therapeutic interventions such as reminiscence can be helpful for these persons. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of reminiscence intervention on psychological well-being among individuals with a history of suicide attempt. This study was a randomized controlled trial. The population of this study consisted of individuals who had attempted suicide and referred to public hospitals in Shiraz. The sample size in each control and experimental group was estimated to be 20 people. The comparison of the mean score of depression in the intervention and control groups showed that the two groups did not have a significant difference before the intervention (P=0.414), while immediately after the intervention (P<0.001) and one month after it (P=0.003) a significant difference was observed. Also, the mean score of anxiety immediately after the intervention and one month after the intervention was significantly different between the intervention and control groups (P<0.05). In the stage immediately after the intervention, the comparison of the mean scores of self-esteem in the intervention and control groups showed a significant relationship (P=0.019). It can be said that this intervention has been effective in reducing the symptoms of anxiety and depression and increasing the self-esteem of people who have a history of attempted suicide.

The present study aimed to compare the effect face-to -face and distance learning on knowledge, attitude and practice of females about breastfeeding in Shiraz, Iran. This randomized controlled trial was conducted in Shiraz, Iran in 2019 on 313 women who were referred to health centers (93 face-to face group, 105 distance learning group, and 115 control group). The study outcomes included knowledge, attitude, and practice of the women about breastfeeding which were measured at the onset and one-month post-intervention. The data were analyzed using SPSS 21 software. Mean changes of knowledge and attitude were significantly higher in the face-to-face and distance learning intervention groups compared to the control group (P<0.05). Mean practice changes from the baseline until one month after the intervention was significantly higher in the face to-face intervention group compared to the control group (P=0.015) and in the face-to-face intervention group compared to the distance learning intervention group (P=0.002). The present study showed that both face-to-face and distance learning breastfeeding interventions effectively increased the mothers’ knowledge and attitudes, and that faceto- face intervention would led to improved practice.

Case finding and malaria foci management is significant strategy for the prosperous performance of amalaria elimination program. Therefore, detection, treatment. and follow-up of all cases (symptomatic & Asymptomatic) in malaria elimination program is necessary. This study aimed to find an active cases of malaria in Bashagard (With a previous history of local malaria transmission) with emphasis on the use of molecular methods in order to successfully implement the malaria elimination program. A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine more precise the positive cases reported and to identify possible cases of additional malaria. In the first stage, all eligible residents of the community were sampled. In the next step, the villagers who had moved to work in the neighboring city were identified and sampled. In this study, 230 people participated to be tested for malaria by microscopic, Rapid Diagnostic Tests and Nested- PCR techniques. In the first phase of the study, three positive cases of Plasmodium vivax were reported using microscopic and RDT methods. In the second step of the survey, an asymptomatic malaria reservoir was identified using molecular technique. The results of this study emphasize the important role of active cases finding using molecular techniques along with routine diagnostic methods in malaria control and elimination programs.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected infection currently occurring in some regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. This study was an attempt to determine the temporal patterns of VL from January 2000 to December 2019 in the Ardabil Province of north-western Iran using the Markov Switching Models (MSM). This descriptive study used monthly data of 602 VL cases during the study period. The data were provided by the Leishmaniasis National Surveillance System (LNSS), the Iran Meteorological Organization (IMO), and Space Agency (SA), and two states were considered for such modelling. Given the Akaike and Bayesian information criterion, the two-state MSM with a five-month lag is an appropriate model. The MSM showed that the probability of staying in the non-epidemic state is 67%, (P11), while that of staying in an epidemic state is 93% (P22). The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) was 31.63%, and the portmanteau test (Q=19.03, P=0.66) for the residuals of the selected model revealed that the data were completely modelled. The total VL cases in the next 24 months forecasted 14 cases. The MSM has a relatively acceptable predictive power and is useful in planning future interventions with more information about different stages of the epidemic it provides to policymakers for early warning of epidemics.