Validity and reliability of Persian version of Low Physical Activity Questionnaire (LoPAQ).

BACKGROUND: The Low Physical Activity Questionnaire (LoPAQ) was specifically developed to measure the low activity level observed in extremely inactive hemodialysis (HD) patients. This study aims to evaluate reliability and validity of Persian version of the LoPAQ. METHODS: This study was a cross sectional study, conducted in three HD centers in Iran. The LoPAQ was translated into Persian. After cultural adaptions, it was filled out by 120 HD patiens. Convergent validity, was evaluated by calculating the correlations among the Persian version of the LoPAQ and Persian version of the Community Healthy Adults Model Program for Seniors (CHAMPS) questionnaire, physical function scale of the SF-36 and physical function (Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) test) using Spearman's correlation coefficients. The test-retest reliability was analyzed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: In total, 109 patients completed all of the questionnaires, took part in physical performance tests and had valid data. Their mean age was 64 ± 11 years, with a dialysis history of 31 ± 10 months. For total calories, there was a strong correlation between the Persian version of the LoPAQ and CHAMPS-measured physical activity (rho = 0.85, p < 0.001). In addition, the higher physical activity level reported by Persian version of the LoPAQ was also correlated with better self-reported physical function (rho = 0.7, p < 0.001) and better physical performance (rho = 0.67, p < 0.001). The ICC ranged from 0.65 to 0.78, indicating strong reliability. CONCLUSION: The assessment of the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the questionnaire confirmed its suitability for evaluating the level of physical activity. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05930964, Registered on 05/07/2023. Registered trial name: Validity and Reliability of Persian Version of Low Physical Activity Questionnaire (LoPAQ).

Identifying the challenges of holding comprehensive exams in the Ph.D. programs of Iranian medical universities: A protocol for qualitative research.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of Ph.D. education is to train students equipped with science in a particular area and familiar with research methods and the most recent foundations of education and research to apply their knowledge, creativity, and innovation in research and scientific areas to meet the needs of the society, extending the frontiers of knowledge in their special field, and reach undetected areas in the world of science, especially health. One component of evaluating Ph.D. students in medical universities is the comprehensive exam that aims to assess Ph.D. students' skills, knowledge, and experiences in both educational and research areas. However, the process sometimes encounters substantial administrative challenges and problems. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study protocol, we will interview. Ph.D. students, members of the examining committees of comprehensive exams, and educational practitioners involved in the administration of the comprehensive exam in District 7 of Iran's medical universities (Isfahan, Kashan, Yazd, and Shaherekord)) as one of the 10 major districts of medical education in the country (Iran). RESULTS: Thus, the present study will identify the challenges of the comprehensive exam to find ways to eliminate them and offer suitable solutions to increase the effectiveness of the exam. CONCLUSION: Indeed, what is expected from this study is to help educational practitioners and policymakers in medical universities detect the strengths and weaknesses of administering the comprehensive exam and help educational practitioners and policymakers detect potential alternatives for the present comprehensive exam.

Social determinants of health: Awareness and attitude of students and professors in medical sciences universities.

BACKGROUND: Considering the obvious and important role of social determinants of health on health outcomes and the mission of medical universities in explaining it, the aim of this study was to determine the awareness and attitude of the medical universities students and professors toward social determinants of health. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive-survey study was conducted on the students and professors of Isfahan and Kashan Universities of Medical Sciences in fields related to social determinants of health and at different educational levels in the years 2020-2021. Data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire of awareness and attitude. Data were reported by descriptive statistics using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 20. RESULTS: The average percentage of correct answers to awareness questions was 44% by professors and 33.3% by students. The overall mean score of professors' attitude toward social determinants of health was 2.48 and students' attitudes were 2.65 out of 5. Professors' awareness about social determinants of health was more than students and their attitude was less positive than students. CONCLUSION: Considering that a significant percentage of effective factors in health outcomes are social determinants of health and bearing in mind that universities, especially medical universities in providing healthcare, maintaining, improving, and promoting the health of the community, and also training the necessary human resources in the health sector to provide services play an important role, officials and decision-makers in the Ministry of Health and universities should decide to define this issue in the educational curriculum as well as holding related workshops.

Facilitating and Inhibiting Factors of Clinical Knowledge Sharing among Medical Specialists in University Hospitals.

Background: Clinical knowledge sharing (CKS) is one of the key points of knowledge management in the field of health and significantly increases the quality of care and patient safety. It also provides the achievement of an efficient system in hospitals and educational and treatment centers involved in clinical processes in order to make the best clinical decisions. The purpose of this research is to identify the factors that facilitate and inhibit CKS among medical specialists in the educational-treatment hospitals in Iran. Methods: This was an applied qualitative study with the conventional content analysis method conducted in 2022. The data collection tool was a semi-structured interview. The participants were 13 medical specialists and sub-specialists working in educational-treatment hospitals of the country, who were selected by purposeful and snowball sampling. The method of data analysis was based on Graneheim and Lundman's five-step method, which was followed by codes, sub-categories, main categories, and classifications. Results: After conducting the interviews and assessing their content, finally, 193 codes were extracted, which were identified in two general classification of facilitating and inhibiting factors with 92 and 101 concepts, respectively. Facilitating factors in the three main categories of "education in the context of culture, society and university", "planning and implementation management", and "behavioral-motivational factors" and inhibiting factors in the four main categories of "infrastructural, policy-making and cultural challenges", "technological and scientific infrastructural challenges", "personality-behavioral challenges", and "financial and non-financial motivations" were classified. Conclusions: The participants of the research pointed out the effective role of CKS in keeping them up-to-date in the use of diagnostic, therapeutic, and even drug prescribing methods. According to their belief, knowledge sharing (KS) in the clinical setting will reduce diagnostic errors and cause the primordial prevention of diseases as well as increase the knowledge and awareness of the society members.

Mobile health applications for pregnancy in Iran: Current state investigation.

BACKGROUND: The expansion of pregnancy-related mobile applications has led to an increase in the usage of these applications by Iranian women, which has the potential to have a long-term impact on women's pregnancy health and, as a result, community health. The goal of this research was to investigate the state of pregnancy-related mobile applications in Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive-applied research approach which was conducted in 2020. One hundred and fifty-seven pregnancy apps from different Iranian mobile app markets were installed and were examined in terms of the resources used and their validity, subject distribution, participation of obstetricians in the app development, apps volume, rank acquired by users and distribution of apps according to the developers. The relationship between the number of resources used and user rankings was also tested. RESULTS: A total of 157 apps were categorized into 12 subject categories based on their content. Only 1.3% of the apps were developed with the participation of obstetricians. Only 5% of the apps had used reliable information resources. Furthermore, the number of resources referenced in the studied apps did not have a significant relationship with star ratings (r = 0.03, P = 0.64), according to the Pearson correlation test. CONCLUSION: Iranian mobile applications in the field of pregnancy have grown significantly in terms of quantity, subject diversity, and user acceptance; however, the credibility of the information in these apps cannot be validated. This serves as a reminder to users to exercise caution while using such apps.

Strategies to increase social capital and interaction of faculty members of medical universities.

BACKGROUND: Social participation and group interaction are the basic and expected indicators of serving in the job of the faculty. Some improvements are needed for universities and professors in this area, which they can be better identified by studying the main beneficiaries. In this regard, this study was aimed to identify strategies to increase social capital and interaction of medical universities' faculty members. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This qualitative study which was a qualitative content analysis type was performed on 22 faculty members of Isfahan, Mashhad, Tabriz, Iran, Army, Shahrekord, Sabzevar, Arak, and Khomein universities through semi-structured interviews and purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: According to finding, in order to improve the social interactions of medical universities' faculty members, there were 2 factors and 8 main categories including organizational factors ("organizational dynamics," "organizational security," "standardization of selection and evaluation," "value creation," and "establishing a compensation system") and individual social factors ("education and social programs," "personal skills and beliefs promotion," and "personality and learning"). CONCLUSIONS: The obtained strategies in this study to improve social capital and group interactions and group participation of medical universities' faculty members can be planned and implemented by managers and can be used for faculty members themselves.

Identifying strategies for dealing with the aging population from the perspective of health system experts: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Given the growing trend of aging and the limited resources of the health system, the lack of long-term prior government planning, and reduced growth of the productive force of society, identifying strategies for planning and action to deal with future aging is very important. In this regard, the study was conducted to identify strategies for dealing with the aging population from the perspective of health system experts. METHODS: The qualitative content analysis study was performed on 29 Iranian male and female experts in the aging and health scope from Isfahan, Tehran, Tabriz, and Babol who purposefully participated in the semi-structured interview. Data were classified by qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Two concepts emerged according to the participated experts' opinions, regarding the strategies of the Iranian health system in dealing with future aging: "executive policy" strategies, including "design, planning and implementation," "evaluation and standardization," "strengthening demand-driven" and "modeling national and international experiences," "preventive policies" strategy, which includes "Focus on prevention," "Focus on values and competencies," "Educational empowerment," "Knowledge-based empowerment," "Empowerment of age-related groups," "Economic empowerment," and "Social support." CONCLUSION: The diversity and breadth of the mentioned strategies indicate the necessity of comprehensive readiness and adaptation of health services to the elderly conditions and characteristics. Purposeful planning and timely implementation of programs and policies to better address the health system with future aging will be possible by using practical strategies.

Identification of the factors related to the clinical knowledge sharing: A protocol for systematic review.

Today, the ability of the organizations to successfully knowledge management and sharing can help them in better performance. Effective knowledge sharing (KS) in the clinical context provides better clinical decisions and improves the quality of care services. This systematic review will be conducted to identify the factors related to the clinical KS (CKS). This systematic literature review will be conducted to search the published documents about the affecting factors on the (clinical) KS. To this end, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, Cochrane, Embase, SID, Magiran, IranDoc, and ISC will be thoroughly assessed with considered keywords and search strategy. No time limit will be considered and all relevant documents published will be evaluated until the start date of the search. To the best of our knowledge, no systematic review study has been conducted on the factors related to CKS and our research will try to comprehensively extract the effective factors in this topic. Identifying the factors affecting CKS will lead to transparency in the exchange and interpretation of clinical knowledge in clinical care delivery and making the best clinical decisions as well as improving the quality of clinical care. It will also provide a condition to facilitate the delivery of more effective clinical education for policymakers in the field of clinical education.

Investigation of the effect of mindfulness on sexual desire and sexual satisfaction in primigravida pregnant women.

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy causes a set of complex physiological and psychological changes that affect marital relationships. Mindfulness is a form of meditation that can promote person's performance and perception of sexual relationships. The present study aimed to determine the effect of mindfulness on sexual desire and sexual satisfaction in primigravida pregnant women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study is a quasi-experimental that has investigated on 72 primigravida pregnant women. The samples were selected randomly and assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received six 90-min sessions of mindfulness intervention, and the control group received the educational pamphlet. The female sexual function index (FSFI) was filled by the subjects of the two groups in three stages of before the intervention, a week, and a month after the intervention. Data analysis was done by SPSS20 (Statistics 20 software; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) at the significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: According to the statistical tests, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic characteristics and pregnancy information. The findings suggest no significant difference between the mean pretest and posttest score of sexual desire in the two groups (P > 0.05). However, the two groups were significantly different in terms of the mean score of sexual satisfaction before and after the intervention (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: By increasing the concentration on the present moment and avoiding judgment, mindfulness can increase sexual satisfaction. However, sexual desire can be affected by various factors such as the cultural context, the quality of marital relationships, and the pregnancy hormonal changes that can influence the sexual response.

Psychometric evaluation of a questionnaire for measuring factors related to mental health of women in an earthquake.

The current study was performed with the aim of the psychometric evaluation of a questionnaire for measuring factors related to women's mental health in an earthquake. This descriptive instrumental study was carried out on a population of 378 women with an earthquake experience in Kerman Province, Iran, in 2017-2018. The formal validity, content validity, criterion validity, factor analysis, and reliability of the questionnaire were measured using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Moreover, descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used to report data. In the content validity stage, 34out of 85 items of the questionnaire were eliminated. In the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) stage, 2 items out of the remaining 51 items were removed due to weak factor loading and 49 items were defined in 6 factors. The convergent and divergent validities of the questionnaire were confirmed in relation to the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) (r = -0.23; P = .030) and World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) (r = 0.32;P = .001). Using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, the reliability of the questionnaire was obtained to be 0.91. The reliability and validity of the study questionnaire were at an appropriate level, and thus, it can be used to perform extensive surveys among women who have experienced earthquake.

Evaluating the responsiveness of higher education system in relation to social determinants of health.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: To answer the society's health-care needs related to social determinants of health (SDH), higher education system must be responsive in training knowledgeable students and faculty members. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the responsiveness of higher education system in relation to the SDH. METHODS: This is a content analysis study carried out using qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were used to gain access to the knowledge of experts in the fields of health care, education, and SDH. Sampling was carried out until data saturation was achieved during which 15 experts were selected using purposeful sampling method with highest possible variety. Data were categorized using qualitative content analysis approach. RESULTS: In total, 11 themes and 43 categories of codes were identified in semi-structured interviews with experts. A total of two approaches were identified for the training of responsive students including educational-research approach and cultural-social approach; five approaches were identified for the development of faculty members including cognitive development, executive development, evaluation, promotion and incentives, and revisions; two approaches were identified for provision of theoretical and practical education including education in a real and active environment and structural education; and finally, two approaches were identified for evaluation of students and faculty members in regard to their responsiveness to society's health needs and SDH including content and operational approaches. CONCLUSION: In general, the results of the current study indicate the need for the higher education system to use educational, research, and society-based approaches in real and social environments along with an incentive system and use of evaluation for responsiveness to society's health needs and SDH. These results can be useful for the health-care system and the higher education system.

Awareness and attitude of students and professors of medical sciences universities toward social determinants of health: Design and preliminary psychometrics of a questionnaire.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Considering the important role of universities in advancing educational, social, cultural, economic, and political affairs and given the significant and effective role of social determinants of health (SDH) in personal and social life, this study aimed to design a preliminary questionnaire to assess the awareness and attitude of students and professors of relevant medical sciences departments toward the SDH. METHODS: This is a descriptive survey study of the instrumentation type and is done on the students and professors of Isfahan and Kashan medical sciences universities in 2019. The content and face validity of the questionnaire were assessed. Cronbach's alpha coefficient and the correlation coefficient for each question as well as the total score of the questionnaire were reported for this attitude measurement questionnaire. The difficulty coefficient, optimum difficulty level, discrimination coefficient, and the relevant variance were calculated for every question in the awareness measurement questionnaire. RESULTS: The internal consistency of the questionnaire for the awareness toward the SDH for 15 questions was 0.742. This consistency was acceptable for 18 questions in the attitude measurement questionnaire after omitting two questions with not appropriate distinguishing ability. The difficulty level of the questions was relatively high. CONCLUSION: Given that no tool was observed in the search strategy to measure the SDH, therefore, the design and psychometrics of such a tool can be used to measure the awareness and attitude of the target audiences; since this tool had an acceptable validity and reliability at its initial stages, researchers are suggested to apply it for standardization in different academic societies.

Psychometric properties of acute stress disorder questionnaire for people exposed to Kerman earthquake.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Some people exposed to disasters will suffer from acute stress disorder (ASD) due to the negative consequences of these disasters. Evaluating this disorder at a large scale requires a credible and standardized tool. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate the psychometric properties of the ASD questionnaire for people exposed to Kerman earthquake. METHODS: This is a descriptive-tooling study, conducted on 435 men and women older than 18 years living in earthquake-affected areas of Kerman Province (Kouh-e-Banan). The study was carried out using the Persian translating of the English version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition ASD questionnaire on accessible individuals living in temporary residence tents in two initial and final stages and different stages of validity and reliability evaluation was carried out. The findings were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: During the evaluation of content validity, no questions were eliminated. To carry out factor analysis, sampling competence, and suitability of sample size were confirmed through Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett's tests. In the factor analysis stage, 14 items in three factors were defined. The factors were included reexperiencing and analysis, arousal (continuous irritability), and avoidance factors which together explained 59.43% of percentage distribution. In the next stage of evaluating divergent validity, the results indicated a significant and inverse correlation between ASD score and quality of life score (r = -0.43, P = 0.002) of the participants, while there was also a positive and significant correlation between ASD score and general health disorder score of the participants (r = 0.47, P < 0.0001). The reliability of the questionnaire was investigated using Cronbach's alpha, and inner class correlation coefficient was calculated to be 0.9. CONCLUSIONS: The tool investigated in this study has suitable validity and reliability and is effective for use by psychologists and relief workers for necessary interventions and prevention of ASD in disasters.

Review process of the health scientific journals according to explanation of experts.

INTRODUCTION: Reviewing articles are one of the most important methods for maintaining and improving the scientific quality of research outputs, especially in the field of health and medicine, and are often accompanied with various challenges. AIM: The current study was carried out to Health Promotion in the Review Process of the Health Scientific Journals according to Explanation of Experts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study has a qualitative approach and was carried out using the content analysis method. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with experts with direct and related experiences with health scientific journals including editors in chief, internal managers, editorial boards, authors' council and members of national journal commission with at least 2 years of continuous related work experience in journals and review of at least 10 articles. Sampling was carried out using purposeful snowball sampling, and data were analyzed using content analysis method. Lincoln and Guba tests were used to determine the validity and reliability of the analysis based on the following four criteria - credibility, transferability, certainty, and verifiability. RESULTS: Experts' opinions were categorized based on criteria for reviewer selection with three dimensions of technical expertise, ethical behavior, and orientation and order; reviewer selection methods including emphasis on others and emphasis on self; and review problems in the Iranian Health Science and Research Journals including incentive system, reviewer characteristics, and structural problems. CONCLUSION: Findings of the current study are usable for all Iranian Health Scientific Journals, editors, editors in chief, and internal managers as well as lawmakers in the area of scientific research.

Prediction of health information-seeking behavior components based on health anxiety among users of public libraries.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to predict health information-seeking behavior (HISB) components based on health anxiety among users of public libraries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This research was a descriptive-correlational study. The statistical population consisted of users of public libraries. Data collection tools included the HISB questionnaire and the Short Form of Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI). RESULTS: The results indicated that health anxiety was a significant predictor of the components of HISB. The illness likelihood had a direct relationship with the components of the need for health information and the purposefulness of health information seeking, and it was inversely related to barriers to obtaining health information. In addition, the preoccupation with illness was directly related to the components of the need for health information, the diversity of health information sources, the time of referring to health information sources, the purposefulness of health information seeking, and evaluation of reasons for referring to the library. CONCLUSION: Among the components of health anxiety, preoccupation to the disease has the highest role in the emergence of users' information-seeking behavior.

Prioritization of factors related to mental health of women during an earthquake: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: According to the fact that women account for the highest rate of victims of mental health loss during disasters, prioritization of their requirements is of remarkable significance. Therefore, the present study was carried out with the aim to prioritize factors related to women's mental health during an earthquake. METHODS: This study was conducted using the Delphi method in 2017. Participants consisted of experts including psychologists, counselors and psychiatrists, social medicine specialists, and psychiatric-mental health nurses with experience in service and disaster awareness, especially earthquake. They were selected using purposive and snowball sampling methods. The Delphi method was used in 2 rounds with 21 components and the final attendance of 19 participants and the collective agreement of 75%. RESULTS: Of the 21 factors related to women's mental health during the earthquake, the following components were, respectively, preferred by the participants: psychological well-being training, group relationships and support of women in emergency situations, fair treatment in the provision of rights and services to women, crisis awareness and management of behavior and difficult conditions, and social security during disasters with the total mean standard deviation (SD) of 13.4 (2.4), 13.0 (2.4), 12.7 (2.5), 12.5 (2.4), and 12.3 (2.2), respectively. CONCLUSION: Training in the field of psychology and disasters, and social and cultural factors were prioritized among factors related to women's mental health during an earthquake. Therefore, the results of this study can be applied by the planners and executives of mental health, women and disasters, and the women's community itself.

The effectiveness of acceptance and commitment group therapy on social anxiety in female dormitory residents in Isfahan university of medical sciences.

AIM AND BACKGROUND: Social anxiety can interfere with performance and academic success in students. One of the third-generation treatments for social anxiety is acceptance and commitment therapy. Therefore, the current study aims to determine the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment group therapy on social anxiety of female dormitory residents of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. METHODS: This was a semiempirical study with pre- and posttest conducted on 71 female students living in the dormitory of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. The study was carried out in five training sessions using the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale and second version of acceptance and commitment scale whose validity and reliability were confirmed. Data were analyzed using Student's t-test. RESULTS: The findings showed that acceptance and commitment group therapy has affected the social anxiety in female dormitory residents of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (P < 0.0001). CONCLUTIONS: The findings of this study can be used by student deputies of universities, consultation centers, as well as counselors and psychologists to improve the conditions for students.

Relation between personality disorders and characteristics of multiple sclerosis patients and their parents.

AIM AND BACKGROUND: Given the fact that immune system is greatly affected by people's emotional characteristics and since these characteristics are mainly formed through interactions with one's parents, this study aims to determine the relation between personality characteristics and disorders of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and their parents. METHODS: This is an applied, descriptive study on 88 MS patients and 63 parents who had visited two physiotherapy clinics in Tehran between January and August 2016. Participants who met the inclusion criteria were selected using convenient sampling method. After acquiring their consent, participants were asked to fill the millon personality questionnaire. Gathered data were analyzed using Pearson and Spearman tests. R statistical software was also used to draw histogram of the data. RESULTS: The most common personality disorder in MS patients includes histrionic personality disorder while the most common problems among their parents included histrionic personality disorder and obsessive character traits. There was also a direct, significant relation between histrionic personality disorder and narcissistic traits in parents and patients. CONCLUSIONS: Due to unknown nature and progress of MS, studying personality characteristics of patients and their parents can help determine better treatment methods along with advances in neurological treatments.