The requirements of providing health education for rural people through electronic methods: the experiences and perspectives of community health workers.

BACKGROUND: Reliance solely on traditional approaches in health education is no longer considered sufficient, and electronic/digital education can be a complementary approach. Implementing electronic methods in health education requires identifying the requirements from the perspective of the service providers. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the experiences and perspectives of community health workers (Behvarzan) regarding the requirements for providing health education for rural people through electronic/digital means. METHODS: This descriptive qualitative study was conducted in 2022 at Alborz University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 14 Behvarzan from Health Houses (HH) in Karaj City. The data were analyzed using the inductive Elo & Kyngas approach and conventional content analysis facilitated with MAXQDA software. RESULTS: After analyzing the results, we extracted 139 open codes, and by merging them for more precise coding and to facilitate the research process, we formed three main themes and ten subthemes. The themes included Technology (technical infrastructure, content production, content delivery methods, and content delivery channels), Facilities and equipment (communication equipment and electronic content repositories), and Stakeholders (training of providers, motivating providers, persuading learners and target groups, and reference groups). CONCLUSION: From the perspective of rural healthcare workers, the implementation of electronic education requires necessary technology, equipment, facilities, processes, and content should be pursued and provided through specialized working groups, extending from the Ministry of Health and Medical Education to local HHs. These resources should be available to the healthcare workers and their target populations. Concurrently, educational programs and incentives should be defined and offered at the university level and within health networks for rural healthcare workers and their populations.

Protective Effect of Berberine Nanoparticles Against Cardiotoxic Effects of Arsenic Trioxide.

Arsenic trioxide (ATO) is a potent and highly effective chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia. However, the clinical use of ATO is hampered by different cardiopathologic outcomes, such as arrhythmia and heart failure. Berberine has several beneficial effects because of its antioxidant activity; however, the potential cardioprotective function of this alkaloid against arsenic-induced cardiac toxicity has not been fully investigated. In this study, we evaluated the effect of ATO in rat heart tissue and the effect of berberine nanoparticles (NB) on cardiac enzyme levels, oxidative stress (OS) indices, and histopathological changes in heart tissue. Thirty Wistar rats were randomly allocated into five groups (n = 6): (1) Control animals that received 0.5 cc saline via gavage, (2) ATO group (4 mg/kg), (3) ATO + NB (2.5 mg/kg), (4) ATO + NB (5 mg/kg), and (5) ATO + NB (10 mg/kg) groups. Treatments were administered intraperitoneally for 45 days. Cardiac enzymes and OS biomarkers in heart tissue were measured. Histopathological examination of the heart tissue was also conducted at the end of the study. ATO injection significantly increased cardiac enzyme levels and OS biomarkers in rat's heart tissue. It also changed the histological features of the heart. NB administration significantly decreased the serum and tissue levels of cardiac enzyme and OS biomarkers in ATO-exposed animals (p < 0.05) and improved myocardial structural damage. NB, potent antioxidant, can reduce the unfavorable effects of ATO in rat heart tissue by balancing OS markers.

Response to Incremental Replacement of Palm Oil with Fish Oil in Starter Diet on Growth Performance, Plasma Metabolites, Ruminal Fermentation, and Behavior of Dairy Calves.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the incremental levels of n-3 fatty acids (FA) in starter feed (SF) on growth and metabolic performance of milk-fed calves. From day 3 of age, 30 female calves (39.4 ± 3.1 kg of body weight) were randomly assigned to one of three dietary treatments: (1) SF supplemented with 3.3% palm fatty acids (PO), (2) SF supplemented with 1.7% of PO and 1.9% fish oil (PFO), or (3) SF supplemented with 3.9% fish oil (FO). Chopped straw (7.5% of DM) was included in the SF of all treatments as total mixed ration (TMR). Diets had similar energy and protein contents. Total n-3 FA (% of total FA) and n-6/n-3 of PO, PFO, and FO were 1.90, 6.80, and 11.8 and 15.5, 4.50, and 2.70, respectively. The BW was greater for calves receiving FO (60.2 ± 0.3 kg) compared with PFO (58.7 ± 0.3 kg; p = 0.007) and tended to be greater for calves receiving FO vs. PO (59.0 ± 0.3 kg; p = 0.050). Because there was no interaction effect between diet × week of experiment, the greater BW of FO could not be attributed to the dietary treatment. Accordingly, average daily gain, total dry matter intake (DMI), starter DMI, and gain to intake ratio (G:FI) did not differ among dietary treatments during the entire period of the study (p > 0.05). Dietary treatments did not impact body size parameters such as body length, body girth, withers height, heart girth, hip height, and width (p > 0.05). Neither ruminal fermentation parameters nor blood variables were influenced by supplementing the types of oil at different time points. Calves' behavioral parameters, such as standing, lying, eating, and ruminating, were not influenced by different dietary treatments (p > 0.05). The number of days with abnormal fecal score was not different among dietary groups (p > 0.05). Overall, our findings suggest that changing the n-6/n-3 ratio in starter feed by incremental replacement of palm fatty acid with fish oil at a moderate supplemental level of ~3% of DM may not affect the growth and metabolic performance of young calves under non-challenged conditions.

Psychiatric symptoms and pain in maxillofacial injury following motor vehicle accidents: A comparative study.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Post-traumatic stress disorders, depression, and pain are rarely discussed in the literature on maxillofacial injuries, and psychiatric symptoms and pain are not identified and managed in such patients. The aim of this study was to determine the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorders, depression, and pain in people with maxillofacial injuries following motor vehicle accidents. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, people injured in motor vehicle accidents from March to September 2015 who were referred to a medical educational center in the northern part of Iran for treatment follow-up were sampled. The existing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder by PSS, depression by BDI-II, and pain by NRS were assessed. SPSS software version 21 was used for analysis. RESULTS: Maxillofacial injured patients had significant differences in terms of post-traumatic stress disorder (p = .006), depression (p = .001), pain (p = .001), and length of hospital stay (p = .002) than patients without maxillofacial injuries. CONCLUSIONS: Motor vehicle accident victims with maxillofacial injuries suffered significantly more from post-traumatic stress disorders and depression, pain and length of hospital stay than patients with other injuries.