Health Scope
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In Collaboration with Health Promotion Research Center, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences
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Health Scope Journal serves as a multidisciplinary forum for all research areas of public, environmental and occupational health. Original papers, rapid communications, reviews, case reports, technical notes, and editorials are invited and will be accepted for publication following peer review. High priority will be given to articles on public health (i.e. lifestyle, nutrition and physical activity), health promotion, environmental health (environmental pollution, water and wastewater treatment, air and waste management, environmental epidemiology, environmental microbiology), occupational health (risk assessment, environmental toxicology, human factors, occupational accidents, safety) and clinical aspects related to environmental and occupational medicine in an integrated fashion to address critical issues related to environmental quality and public health, health care services administration, health policy, hospital hygiene and other topics relevant to public health.
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- ItemInspection of Isolation Rooms Based on Standards, a Cross-Sectional Study in the COVID-19 Crisis(Brieflands, 2025-02-28) Ramazan Mirzaei; Mohammad Nourmohammadi; Majid Sezavar; Maryam Naseri; Mohammad Kazem Razavipour; Gholamreza KhademiBackground: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the significant vulnerability of healthcare facilities, particularly hospitals, in the context of acute respiratory syndrome outbreaks has been highlighted. Given the critical role of hospital services, it is essential to assess the preparedness of hospitals to manage the spread of pathogens. Isolation rooms represent one of the most critical areas in hospitals for infection control. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate hospital isolation rooms and compare their conditions with established standards. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 33 isolation rooms across 13 different hospitals in Mashhad were examined in 2020. The degree of compliance with standard conditions was assessed using a checklist based on regulatory standards for isolation rooms. The checklist included items related to room sealing, air inlet and outlet conditions, pressure warning systems, and the pressure differential between the isolation room and adjacent areas. Additionally, the proper use of HEPA filters was evaluated. Results: The findings indicated that in 81.8% of cases, there was no evidence of air recirculation to the isolation rooms, meeting the relevant standard. However, the required configuration of the air inlet positioned above the patient’s head and the air outlet at the foot of the bed was not observed in 72.8% of the rooms. All rooms met the standards regarding door width and the minimum distance between beds. Conclusions: This study revealed that a substantial proportion of isolation rooms do not meet standard conditions in several critical areas. Such deficiencies pose significant risks during outbreaks of infectious diseases like COVID-19, potentially endangering both healthcare providers and immunocompromised patients.
- ItemPrediction of Pralidoxime Dose in Patients with Organophosphate Poisoning Using Machine Learning Techniques(Brieflands, 2024-04-24) Babak Mostafazadeh; Shahin Shadnia; Sayed Masoud Hosseini; Mitra Rahimi; Haleh Talaie; Seyed Ali Mohtarami; Peyman Erfan Talab Evini; Joshua KingBackground: Early and appropriate antidotal therapy is crucial for patients with organophosphate poisoning. Objectives: Given the lack of a comprehensive consensus on the optimal dose of pralidoxime for patients with organophosphate poisoning, this study aims to develop a machine learning-based prediction model to determine the individualized pralidoxime dose for these patients. Methods: The dataset was divided into training and test sets with a 70:30 ratio. Feature selection was conducted using Pearson’s correlation coefficient (filter approach) method. Both classification and regression were employed to develop the prediction model using the selected features. The performance of the developed models was evaluated using ten-fold cross-validation and various metrics, including sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, F1-score, and AUC. The models were implemented and assessed using the scikit-learn library in Python. Results: After applying exclusion criteria, data from 325 patients were utilized to train and test the machine-learning models. In the classification approach, the random forest method achieved superior performance with an AUC of 98.6. In the regression approach, the gradient boosting regressor, with an R2 value of 65.4, outperformed other algorithms. Feature selection revealed that muscular weakness, plasma cholinesterase activity, and blood urea nitrogen were the most significant predictors of pralidoxime dose in the classification model. In the regression model, the top predictors were age, HCO3-VBG, and atropine bolus. Many of the selected features coincide with those identified in previous studies, with muscular weakness being particularly significant in both models. Conclusions: The most effective algorithms could be employed to develop a clinical decision support system for personalized pralidoxime dosage prediction in patients with organophosphorus poisoning. However, the study is constrained by its small sample size, retrospective design, and the absence of an external validation cohort. Conducting a prospective multicenter study with a larger sample size is crucial to validate the findings of this study.
- ItemDesign and Development of an Ergonomic Chair for Students in Educational Settings(Brieflands, 2018-11-30) Samira Ansari; Ahmad Nikpay; Sakineh VarmazyarBackground: Proper designing of chairs based on ergonomics increases efficiency, promotes quality of education, leads to correct posture in students, and reduces risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Objectives: The aim of this study was to design and develop an ergonomic chair, based on anthropometric data of students in educational settings. Methods: Anthropometric parameters were obtained from a stratified-random sample of 207 students. The data were analyzed using the SPSS 20 software, and the results were extracted as mean, standard deviation, and percentiles. The chair was planned in the CATIA software and developed by a three-dimensional print. Results: In this study, an ergonomic chair was designed based on anthropometric data from students. The seat height, depth, and width of the chair were determined as 44 cm, 42 cm, and 42.15 cm, respectively. The height of the desk was adjustable in 19 to 29 cm, and the depth and length of the desk were considered as 51 cm and 65 cm. The width and height of the backrest were also 54 cm and 44 cm, and the backrest angle was adjustable in 95° to 105°. Conclusions: An ergonomic chair with adjustable parts was designed to achieve a well-match between anthropometric characteristics of students and the furniture. Such chair can reduce musculoskeletal disorders in students. Some ergonomic characteristics of this chair include adjustability of footrest, backrest, armrests, and desk. A chair with such characteristic can be used by many students with different body sizes.
- ItemThe Effect of Family Empowerment Model on Self-care in Hemodialysis Patients of Zahedan, Iran(Brieflands, 2021-02-28) Bent Al Hoda Taheri; Alireza SalarBackground: Self-care is one of the important aspects of treatment in hemodialysis patients. This study was done to determine the effect of the family-centered empowerment model on the self-care of hemodialysis patients. Methods: This study was performed on 100 hemodialysis patients referring to the Zahedan hemodialysis department in 2018. For the intervention group, the family-centered empowerment model was executed in four stages, including understanding the threat, problem-solving, educational participation, and evaluation according to the steps of the model, and the control group received the usual care of the department. The data collection tools were the demographic information questionnaire and self-care questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS V.22 by analysis of variance (ANOVA), independent t-test, repeated measures t-test, and Chi-square test. Results: Based on the independent t-test, the mean self-care score of patients in the intervention and control group was significantly different (P < 0.001). There was a significant difference in the "main caregiver relation" variable (P = 0.006). The results of the "time" and "intervention" effects of this test also showed that these two variables had a significant effect on mean self-care scores (P < 0.001). The results of ANOVA showed that self-care score changed in the two groups there was an increase in the self-care score in the intervention group compared with the control group (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Implementing the family-centered empowerment model in hemodialysis patients by strengthening the ability of the patient and their families to care provides a platform for their promotion and maintenance of their self-care.
- ItemIdentification and Prioritization of Clinical Decision Support Functionalities Built Within A Computerized Provider Order Entry System(Brieflands, 2021-02-28) Mehrdad Karajizadeh; Farid Zand; Afsaneh Vazin; Mahdi Nasiri; Roxana SharifianBackground: Clinical decision support (CDS) functionalities in Computerized Provider Order Entry system (CPOE) need to be identified by the institutional healthcare providers in developing countries. In this regard, CDS functionalities should be a priority for the execution in CPOE. Objectives: Thus, our study was done to identify and prioritize the CDS functionalities in CPOE. Methods: A Two-round Modified Delphi process was used. Firstly, a systematic search was conducted in electronic databases from the date of database inception to February 2019 for identifying CDS functionalities integrated into CPOE. Studies were retrieved from databases, including PubMed, Embase, ProQuest, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, Science Direct, ACM digital library, and IEEE Xplore Digital Library. Secondly, the Modified Delphi method was carried out in 2019 to provide contextual priorities regarding CDS functionalities in CPOE in two iterative rounds. A total of 12 experts working in the three Intensive Care Units (ICUs) with more than three years of experience with homegrown CPOE in Shiraz Nemazee Teaching Hospital, including two clinical pharmacists, two health information management faculty member, four cases with critical care fellowship, and four critical care experts participated in the study. The ≥ 66.6% agreement was considered as the consensus level. SPSS software version 24 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Totally, 327 studies, which met eligibility criteria were found. A number of 60 potential CDS functionalities in CPOE were identified from eligible studies. Also, 13 out of 60 CDS functionalities reached high priority consensus after 2 iterative Delphi rounds, including drug-allergy checking (83.3%), basic dosing guidance (75%), single dosing checking (66.7%), duplicate therapy checking (66.7%), drug-pregnancy alerts (75%), time-based alerts (66.7%), alert for deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis (66.7%), alerts for duplicate medication order checking (66.7%), drug-drug interaction checking (75%), intelligent dosing guidance based on the patients’ characteristics (66.7%), renal-drug problems checking (83.3%), drug-disease interaction checking (66.7%), and displaying medication/test cost (75%). Conclusions: Our study identified high-priority CDS functionalities to be considered in the CPOE system from the viewpoint of multidisciplinary experts, especially in Iran. Results of this study may be beneficial to plan, design, and implement CDS functionalities in CPOE in the ICU.
- ItemComparing Anticonvulsive Effect of Melissa Officinalis` Hydro-Alcoholic Extract and Phenytoin in Rat(Brieflands, 2012-05-31) Elaheh Gorgich; Zahra Zakeri; Soheila Ebrahimi; Gholamreza Komeili: Background: Epilepsy originates from brain function disorders that might appear in the forms of overt disorders or fainting (losing consciousness), abnormal motional activities, behavioral abnormalities and sensational impairment and/or disorders in autonomic performance; all these symptoms are observable in early sleeping stages.Objectives: Epilepsy is one of the most common neural disorders in human beings and with regard to the conducted studies , the Melissa officinalis plant has been used to treat epilepsy disease. Therefore, in this empirical work the effect of pretreatment with hydro-alcoholic extract of this plant compared to Phenytoin in the prevention of the epileptic convulsions caused by Pentylenetetrazole was studied.Material and Methods: In this research the following groups receive the following drug doses intraperitoneal : four groups received different concentrations of extract (25, 50 , 100 , 200 mg/kg body weight), the positive control group was tested by Phenytoin (5 mg/kg) and the negative control group was tested by normal saline. Data were analyzed by kruskal – Wallis test and Tukey test.Results: Injection of 50 and 100mg of the extract per kilogram of the body weight during the30 minutes interval before the systemic injection of Pentylenetetrazole, resulted in delay in the average onset time of the clonic convulsion Seizures with respect to the control group (P = 0.001) and also delay in the average onset time of the tonic – clonic Seizures with respect to the control group (P = 0.02) and besides the rates of mortality in that group of animals which were pretreated with 50 and 100 mg concentrations of the extract per kg of body weight indicated a significant difference with respect to the control group (P = 0.004) . Mortality rate was 100 % in the negative control group,37.5 % in the50 mg/kg weight group and 12.5 % in the 100 mg/kg weight group and 12.5 % in the group treated by Phenytoin.Conclusions: This study indicated that the hydro-alcoholic extract of the Melissa officinalis plant can cause helpful effects on Seizures induced by Pentylenetetrazole in rats. Therefore, further studies are needed to understand the extent and mechanism of these effects. Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education:The results of this article may be used by other investigators for future study about precise mechanism of anticonvulsive effects of this plant. If these results approved by other research, can be used with clinicians for prevention of seizure in human trails. These results can be used with other investigators for analysis of this extract for effective components. Please cite this paper as:Gorgich E, Komeili Gh, Zakeri Z, Ebrahimi S. Comparing Anticonvulsive Effect of Melissa officinalis` Hydro-Alcoholic Extract and Phenytoin in Rat. Health Scope. 2012; 1(1):44-8. DOI: 10.5812/JHS.4816 Copyright© 2012 Kowsar Corp. All rights reserved.
- ItemIdentify Affecting Factors on Total Fertility Rate: A Systematic Review(Brieflands, 2024-08-31) Sanaz Borzoiepour; Gisoo Alizadeh; Hasan Jafary; Rahim Khodayari ZarnaqBackground: The total fertility rate (TFR) is a key indicator of population dynamics and health. It shows the average number of children a woman would have in her lifetime, based on the current fertility rates for different age groups. Various factors affect the TFR, such as social, economic, political, technological, environmental, and health factors. By analyzing these factors and how they influence the TFR, policymakers and planners can design and implement interventions to achieve optimal population and health outcomes. Methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, and ProQuest databases, as well as the Google Scholar search engine systematically. We searched for studies from 13 December 2021 - 20 May 2022, without time limits. We included studies that described at least one driver of TFR. We applied the STEEPH framework (social, technology, environmental, economic, political, and health) method to analyze the qualitative data. Results: We included 64 studies from 26 countries. We identified 410 drivers of TFR, and classified 181 drivers into six main categories: Social, technological, environmental, economic, political, and health. The main factors that lower the fertility rate are education, aging, poverty, postponing marriage (social), exposure of women to mass media (technology), type of residence and living in urban areas, road accidents (environmental), income and economic situation (recession and inflation), unemployment, debt, women’s employment (economic), government policies (political), use of anti-fertility drugs (health). The main drivers that raise the fertility rate are having first child girls, women’s proximity to their workplace (social), use of assisted reproductive technology (technology), living in rural areas and natural and unnatural disasters (environmental), improvement in men’s labor market conditions, employment opportunities (economic), increased parental leave (political), high infant mortality (health). Conclusions: We identified a comprehensive list of effective drivers that have increased or decreased TFR in different parts of the world. It is necessary to review these drivers considering the specific conditions and social, cultural, economic, and political coordinates of each country. This review should inform policymakers' actions in this area.
- ItemWho Makes Decisions in Hospital? A Scoping Review and Meta-Synthesis(Brieflands, 2024-08-31) Hadi Zomorrodi Niat; Mehdi Yousefi; Hosein EbrahimipourContext: The aim of this study was to identify decision-making issues and key decision-makers within the hospital. Methods: This scoping review was conducted by searching the databases of Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed in January 2024. Additionally, articles related to Newhouse's main article were searched on Google Scholar to identify decision-makers in the hospital and their areas of decision-making. The 37 articles were analyzed using the framework analysis technique with Atlas-ti software. Results: Decision-makers addressed 160 issues, which were identified and categorized into 7 areas: Strategic management, human resource management, financial management, physical resource management, employee compensation payment, service delivery management, and hospital reputation. Additionally, 21 decision-makers were identified and classified into 6 categories: Group of managers, group of physicians, group of nurses, board of directors, government, and political groups. Hospital managers were identified as the primary decision-makers, responsible for making decisions independently in three areas and jointly with the board of directors in one area. Conclusions: It can be concluded that no single decision-maker holds a dominant role in the decision-making process. Several decision-makers exert varying degrees of influence depending on the issue. Among these decision-makers, managers play a more significant role in decision-making than others.
- ItemModeling Nitrate Removal by Nano-Scaled Zero-Valent Iron Using Response Surface Methodology(Brieflands, 2014-08-15) Mohammad Ali Zazouli; Ramazan Ali Dianati Tilaki; Marjan SafarpourBackground: Contamination of water resources with nitrate is a serious environmental problem in many regions of the world. In addition, this problem has been observed in some regions of Iran. As Nitrate is threatening for human health and environment, it must be decreased to standard levels in drinking water. Objectives: The purpose of this research was to model the nitrate removal from water by nano-scaled zero-valent iron (nZVI) using response surface methodology and to investigate the effects of the nZVI dose, nitrate concentration, contact time, and ionic strength on removal efficiency. Materials and Methods: Box-Behnken design was used. Response surface methodology was used for modeling nitrate removal. All experiments were conducted according to standard methods. Important assessed parameters included nZVI dose (0.5-2 g/L), nitrate concentration (50-150 mg/L), contact time (15-60 minutes), and ionic strength (1000-5000 μmho/cm). Results: Results indicated that there was a direct association between nitrate removal efficiency and time and nZVI dosage. Therefore, increasing of the contact time or nZVI dose would increase nitrate removal. On the other hand, the nitrate removal was decreased when ionic strength and initial concentration were increased. The analysis of variance revealed that the proposed regression model could be appropriately used to design experiments. The model correlation coefficient was 0.9992 and the adjusted value was 0.9982. Conclusions: Response surface methodology and Box-Behnken design were powerful statistical tools for navigating nitrate reduction process. The results showed that a high percentage of nitrate were reduced by nZVI and this method might be efficiently used for nitrate removal from water.
- ItemZika Virus (ZIKV) and Wastewater Treatment Plants(Brieflands, 2017-05-30) Hooshyar Hossini; Meghdad Pirsaheb; Hiwa Hossaini; Mojtaba LimoeeThis article does not have an abstract.
- ItemArtificial Neural Network (ANN) Approach for Predicting Cu Concentration in Drinking Water of Chahnimeh1 Reservoir in Sistan-Balochistan, Iran(Brieflands, 2013-05-15) Alireza Shakeri Abdolmaleki; Ahmad Gholamalizadeh Ahangar; Jaber SoltaniBackground: Access to safe drinking water is one of the basic human rights and essential for healthy life. Concerns about the effects of copper on human health have led to numerous guidelines and regulations limiting its concentrations in water. Objectives: The major goal of this study is to demonstrate artificial neural network model of the Chahnimeh1 reservoir water quality (Heavy metal concentration) and show the potential of the ANN for producing models capable of efficient forecasting of Cu concentration. Materials and Methods: Water samples were collected from Chahnimeh1 reservoir which was the most important source of drinking water in Sistan-balochistan and analyzed for physical quality parameters such as: EC (electric conductivity), TDS(total dissolved solids), T(temperature), pH and heavy metal (Cu) concentration using standard methods. In this study, a three-layer artificial neural network (ANN) model was investigated to predict the Cu concentration in the water of Chahnimeh1 reservoir. The input variables are electric conductivity, total dissolved solids, temperature and pH, while the Cu concentration in water is the output. We applied The Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) algorithm to train ANN. Results: According to the ANN outputs, hidden layer with 7 neurons had the best performance for predicting Cu concentration. Evaluation indexes including MSE and R in this article were obtained as 0.00008 and 0.9346; 0.00019 and 0.8612; 0.00014 and 0.9372 for training, validation and testing date sets respectively. Conclusions: As we can see the ANN outputs values are very close to actual Cu concentration, so indicating that predicted values are accurate and the network design is proper and the input variables well suitable for the prediction of Cu concentration.
- ItemAssessment of Seasonal Variations of Average Traffic Pollution Levels in Curbside Open-Air Microenvironments in Kolkata, India(Brieflands, 2016-05-01) Anirban Kundu Chowdhury; Anupam Debsarkar; Shibnath ChakrabartyBackground: Traffic is a source of both noise and air pollution, contributing more than 50% of the total environmental noise and air pollution load of urban areas. Objectives: The objective of the research was evaluation of seasonal variations of the average traffic pollution level (ATPL) in terms of traffic noise and concentrations of PM2.5 and NO2 in curbside open-air microenvironments in Kolkata, India. Materials and Methods: Number of total motorized vehicles (TMV) traffic noise, and PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations were monitored repeatedly in the microenvironments of 21 major roads between 08:00 a.m. and 08:00 p.m. in the post-monsoon (winter) and pre-monsoon (summer) seasons. Simultaneous data on air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed were collected from a roof-top automated weather monitoring station. The exceedance factor (EF) was calculated for traffic noise level and concentrations of PM2.5 and NO2. The average exceedance factor (AEF) was calculated to determine ATPL of the microenvironments in terms of traffic noise level and air pollutant concentrations. Interseasonal variations between the same variables were assessed with post-monsoon to pre-monsoon (W/S) ratio and correlation analysis. Results: ATPL was 3.35 times higher in the post-monsoon and 1.83 times higher in the pre-monsoon season than the permissible limits prescribed by the central pollution control board of India with respect to traffic noise level and PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations. W/S ratio and interseasonal correlation were 1.03 and 0.95, respectively, for TMV; 1.00 and 0.68 for traffic noise level; 2.40 and -0.11 for PM2.5 concentration; 1.74 and 0.19 for NO2 concentration; and 1.92 and 0.01 for AEF. Conclusions: ATPL was higher in the post-monsoon season. W/S ratio and correlation analysis revealed interseasonal homogeneity of TMV and traffic noise levels and interseasonal heterogeneity of air pollutant concentrations and ATPL in the city microenvironments.
- ItemPredicting Soil Sorption Coefficients of Phenanthrene Using a Neural Network Model(Brieflands, 2016-11-01) Asma Shabani; Ahmad Gholamalizadeh AhangarBackground: Sorption coefficient modeling is an effective technique for investigating fate and behavior of environmental pollutants. As a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), Phenanthrene is an important organic pollutant, mainly due to its health risks for humankind. Objectives: To offer an alternative for laborious and high- priced experimental measurements, this study aimed to introduce an accurate artificial intelligence-based model, using minimum input data, to predict soil sorption coefficients (Koc and Kd) of phenanthrene. Materials and Methods: The required data were derived from previous studies carried out on soil samples taken from an under pasture paddock at Flaxley agriculture centre, mount lofty ranges, South Australia (Ahangar et al., 2008). An eight-fold cross-validation technique was also used to choose the best performance model and to obtain more authentic and precise results. Results: Multilayer perceptron (MLP) artificial neural network (ANN) model with a 1-6-1 structure was chosen which explained 97% and 95% of Kd and Koc variances, respectively. The only input data was soil organic carbon content. Conclusions: Based on this study, the ANN method is a promising alternative for conventional methods in modeling and estimating sorption coefficients in relation to soil organic carbon.
- ItemParticulate Matter Inhalation Exposure Chambers and Parameters Affecting Their Performance: A Systematic Review Study(Brieflands, 2019-10-30) Hassan Rajabi-Vardanjani; Hassan Asilian-Mahabadi; Morteza SedehiExposure to inhalation aerosols and particulate matter (PM) in different concentrations can increase the risk of respiratory, cardiovascular, and other related diseases. The inhalation exposure studies are implemented to assess the biological effects of these hazardous agents in human or animal models, in whole-body (WB) or nose/head-only conditions. Several factors can affect the performance of the inhalation exposure chambers and if left uncontrolled, the results may not be desirable. The current study reviewed the characteristics, structures, and factors affecting the performance of the WB chambers, especially the ones designed for small animal exposure to the PM. At the primary stage, the criteria and the search strategy were determined and the keywords were searched in the scientific electronic databases. Totally, 1051 articles were extracted in the first stage, and finally seven articles were adopted. The technical and design details, materials, coefficient variations (CVs) of concentration, assessment methods, type and number of laboratory animals, procedure, and animals housing conditions were extracted from the selected articles. Then the most desirable WB inhalation exposure chamber was determined based on the criteria for assessing the presented exposure chambers such as the animal housing and least CVs of the concentration in the respiratory zones of the animals under study. It was concluded that the Kimmel design was the best and the most desirable chamber structurally and geometrically, since the concentration of the particle (NaCl) injected into the chamber varied from 3.5% to 5.2%, under standard conditions.
- ItemDesigning an Optimal Model for Development of Neighborhood Health Centers in the City of Yasuj, Iran(Brieflands, 2020-05-31) Amin allah Babouie; Rahim Ostovar; Parviz Aghaei BorzabadHealth is one of the fundamental values and needs of humans. It is an accepted right in international documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the statement of the World Health Organization. The present study aimed to design an optimal model for the development of Neighborhood Health centers in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad Province, Iran, in 2018 - 2019. The research population included 200 residents and 200 health staff and authorities in the city of Yasuj. The instruments and questionnaires for evaluating and surveying the health centers’ duties, people’s attitudes, and center development strategies were provided by the researcher and confirmed in terms of validity and reliability. The midwifery service (m = 37.4) and mental health service (m = 31.8) had the highest and lowest rates of quality score of service. of service, respectively. The mean (standard deviation) scores of people’s and authorities’ attitudes toward the provision of services in health centers were 4.46 (0.6) and 3.9 (0.8), respectively. The attitude of males, physicians, and nurses had a significant effect on the development strategies of health centers (P < 0.05). To achieve better results, neighborhood health centers should respect the principle of equity and equal access, and pay attention to vulnerable classes such as immigrants and low-income populations.
- ItemEvaluating the Healthcare System Responsiveness for COVID-19 Care in Southeast Iran(Brieflands, 2024-08-31) Mohammad Khammarnia; Eshagh Barfar; Jamileh Jafari NezhadBackground: Health system responsiveness is critical in managing infectious disease epidemics. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the responsiveness of the health system during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 350 patients who had been discharged from hospitals after recovering from COVID-19 during 2021 - 2022 in Sistan-Baluchistan province, located in the southeastern region of Iran. Data were collected using the World Health Organization health system responsiveness tool through telephone interviews. Descriptive statistics methods were used to determine the responsiveness score. T-tests and one-way analysis of variance were also used to compare the means between groups. Results: The overall score for health system responsiveness was 110.12 ± 13.12, indicating a moderate level of responsiveness. The communication dimension received the highest mean score (30.12 ± 4.73), while the choice of provider dimension had the lowest mean score (5.65 ± 2.37). Significant relationships were found between health system responsiveness and variables such as place of residence (P = 0.01), city of residence (P = 0.001), and household size (P = 0.05). Conclusions: The study identified areas for improvement in health system responsiveness within Sistan-Baluchistan's hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. To enhance patient care and strengthen the healthcare system's responsiveness, health policymakers should implement measures such as developing responsiveness guidelines, establishing a dedicated responsiveness unit, and providing training programs for healthcare professionals. Regular evaluation of responsiveness in hospitals is also crucial.
- ItemAssociation Between Betaine Homocysteine S-Methyl Transferase (BHMT) rs3797546 Gene Polymorphisms and the Risk of Nonsyndromic Cleft Lip and/or Cleft Palate in South-East Population of Iran(Brieflands, 2012-09-23) Hooshang Rafighdoost; Zahra Rafighdoost; Mohsen TaheriBackground: Nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NS-CL/P) is one of the most common congenital anomalies and has a multifactorial etiology that involves both genetic and environmental factors. Objectives: The present study was aimed to evaluate the possible association between BHMT rs3797546 gene polymorphisms and NS-CL/P in a sample of Iranian population. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was performed on 100 NS-CL/P cases and 100 healthy controls. Tetra amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (T-ARMS-PCR) was used to detect the polymorphism. Analysis of data was done using χ2 test for categorical data, the associations between genotypes and NS-CL/P were estimated by computing the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) from logistic regression analyses. Results: No significant difference was found between the groups regarding BMHT rs3797546 gene polymorphism. The C allele was not associated with NS-CL/P (OR = 1.27, 95% CI = 0.85-2.79, P = 0.690). Conclusions: Our data suggested that BMHT rs3797546 gene polymorphism was not associated with risk/ protection for NS-CL/P in a sample of Iranian population. Larger studies are required to validate our findings.
- ItemIntroducing Economic Evaluation as a Decision Support Tool in Health Care: A Case Review of IR Iran(Brieflands, 2012-11-19) Abdolvahab Baghbanian; Saeed EsmaeiliBackground: Health care is a dominant economic and political issue in many economically developing and even developed nations. Most of these nations have experienced rapid increases in their healthcare spending over recent years. Objectives: This challenge creates a continuing quest for reaching better health system efficiency, equity as well as quality and safety. Materials and Methods: Economic analytic methods have been created to inform decision-makers where the appropriate allocation of scarce resources is significantly more needed. However, through a non-systematic (narrative) review it was found that Iranian decision- or policy-makers may not be well informed and equipped to make complex policy decisions about funding and delivery of health care in order to meet financing needs. Results: It is likely that, to date, little attention has been paid to developing a better conceptual understanding of economic evaluations in decision-making environments at the local level or across the whole healthcare system. Conclusions: This study aims to shed light on different methods of economic evaluations in order to provoke healthcare professionals and researchers to think about different ways in which economic evaluations might be of value to their practices.
- ItemSeat Belt Use and Its Related Factors in Female High School Students in Gorgan, Iran(Brieflands, 2013-11-30) Hashem Heshmati; Sahar Adibmoghaddam; Samane Khajavi; Hamideh MeshkatiThis article does not have an abstract.
- ItemPrevalence of Smoking and the Related Factors Among the Elderly in Kashmar, Iran(Brieflands, 2014-02-24) Hashem Heshmati; Abdurrahman Charkazi; Rasoul Asnaashari; Faramarz KoohsarThis article does not have an abstract.