Role playing and interdependence among husbands of Iranian women after a mastectomy.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women. AIM: To investigate the impact of breast cancer on the husbands of Iranian women. METHODS: A content analysis based on a Callista-Roy adaptation model was conducted on 23 patients with breast cancer and their husbands and therapists. After asking questions about coping with cancer through telephone interviews, the following subcategories were obtained: role play and interdependence. Data analysis was completed via the Elo and Kyngas approach. RESULTS: Data analysis led to the production of 51 initial codes from participants' experiences. The category role-playing included three further sub-categories: primary role, secondary role and tertiary role. Independence/dependence problems included seven sub-categories: personal beliefs, love and heartfelt attachment, organised support, non-organised support, support failure, economic problems and dependence problems/independence. CONCLUSIONS: Husbands of women who have had a mastectomy have to take on new roles in their life in order to care for their wife. Also, despite the financial, spiritual, psychological, and medical support that they receive, husbands still felt that the support was insufficient.

The Effects of Vestibular Rehabilitation on Poststroke Fatigue: A Randomized Controlled Trial Study.

Background: A major complication caused by stroke is poststroke fatigue (PSF), and by causing limitations in doing activities of daily living (ADL), it can lower the quality of life. Objective: The present study is an attempt to examine the effects of vestibular rehabilitation on BADL (Basic Activities of Daily Living), fatigue, depression, and Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) in patients with stroke. Method: Patients with a history of stroke took part voluntarily in a single-blind clinical trial. The participants were allocated to control and experimental groups randomly. The experimental group attended 24 sessions of vestibular rehabilitation protocol, while the control group received the standard rehabilitation (including three sessions per week each for around 60 min). To measure fatigue, the Fatigue Impact Scale (FIS) and the Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS) were used. Depression, BADL, and IADL were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Barthel Index (BI), and Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, respectively. All changes were measured from the baseline after the intervention. Results: Significant improvement was found in the experimental group compared to the control group (p < 0.05) in FIS (physical, cognition, and social subscales), FAS, BDI-II, BADL, and IADL. Moreover, the results showed small to medium and large effect sizes for the physical subscale of FIS and FAS scores based on Cohen's d, respectively; however, no significant difference was found in terms of cognition and social subscales of FIS, BDI-II, BADL, and IADL scores. Conclusion: It is possible to improve fatigue, depression, and independence in BADL and IADL using vestibular rehabilitation. Thus, it is an effective intervention in case of stroke, which is also well tolerated.

Experiences of Iranian female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: A qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to explore the perceptions, concerns, expectations, and viewpoints of female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) regarding reproductive health in Iran. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This qualitative research was conducted using 27 semi-structured deep interviews with 19 married female patients (mean age 37.4±7.0 years; range, 15 to 49 years) suffering from SLE selected through purposive sampling in the Rheumatology Center of Shariati Hospital, Tehran, Iran between August 2017 and March 2018. RESULTS: Patients' perceptions were classified into six categories and 14 subcategories: physical suffering (debilitating pain, gradual disability, and apparent transformation), psychological stress (family disturbance and sexual dissatisfaction), challenging fertility (bothersome pregnancy and impaired parenting), adaptation to the disease (self-care and lifestyle modification), need for a supporter (support from the spouse, support from the family and acquaintances, and lack of occupational and social support), and spirituality (forgiveness of sins and resorting to God). CONCLUSION: The findings clearly suggested the negative effects of SLE on the reproductive health of these patients. This study emphasized the importance of care and support for female patients with SLE. We hope that this research enhances the awareness of care providers about physical, sexual, psychological, social, and spiritual factors, since taking care of these patients requires strategic and multidisciplinary management.

Nurse's social responsibility: A hybrid concept analysis in Iran.

Background: Social responsibility in nursing is a complex concept that is completely associated with the context and healthcare system of every society. This study was conducted to analyze the concept of nurse's social responsibility in Iran. Methods: This analysis was done using a hybrid model, which consists of three phases: a literature review in the theoretical phase, semi-structured interviews in the fieldwork phase, and combination of the results of the two previous phases in a final analytical phase. Results: The four main themes extracted in the theoretical phase included: "Multi-dimensional and comprehensive approach", spirituality-based, learner-based and an evolutionary-process. In the fieldwork phase, all the themes obtained in the previous phase were confirmed, and one more theme emerged as "being relative". In the final phase, with the combination of the results of two previous phases, the final definition of the concept was presented. Conclusion: Clarifying the social responsibility of nurses and highlighting it in nursing will definitely lead to satisfaction in patients and clients, professional development and reduction of health care costs. Also, by identifying facilitators, inhibitors and social responsibility concepts, nursing managers and nursing educators will be able to design and implement their management and training activities based on scientific findings based on the findings that are necessary for the correct learning and implementation.

Prevalence of sexual dysfunction in women with systemic lupus erythematosus and its related factors.

OBJECTIVES: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) affects all body organs. This disease has marked physiological, mental, and cognitive effects on the patient and results in sexual dysfunction, depression, and decreased self-confidence. This study was conducted to compare sexual function, depression, anxiety, stress, and the related factors in women suffering from SLE. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 340 women (170 with SLE and 170 healthy) aged 18-49 years were investigated. Convenience sampling was used to select the participants. In this study, a demographic questionnaire, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales - 21 Items (DASS-21), and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) were applied. Data were analyzed with SPSS 16 using Spearman's correlation, χ2, Mann-Whitney, covariance, and multiple regression statistics; p-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: The results showed a significant difference in sexual function between the SLE and healthy groups. According to covariance analysis, the difference remained significant after controlling for confounding factors (stress, depression, anxiety). Moreover, the effect of SLE on the sexual function had a significant correlation with age, life status, number and age of children, economic status, menstruation, duration of marriage, age at diagnosis, disease duration and activity, stress, anxiety, and depression. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that age, disease activity, depression, and life status had the highest correlation with sexual dysfunction in women with SLE. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicated that more attention should be paid to the sexual health of women suffering from SLE as a neglected aspect of their treatment, which requires an interdisciplinary approach to shift the care of these patients from a biomedical model to a biopsychosocial model.