Preventive behaviors against COVID-19 among health care providers in Iran: A cross-sectional study.

Background and Aim: During outbreaks of infectious diseases, if healthcare providers do not follow the principles of prevention, the risk of personal infection increases and they become a source of infection spread. This study aimed to determine the factors related to the preventive health behaviors of COVID-19 among Iranian healthcare providers based on protection motivation theory (PMT). Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study included 346 healthcare providers. Data was collected by an online researcher-made questionnaire based on PMT. To analyze the data, independent T tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Spearman correlation coefficient, multiple linear regression, and SPSS 22 software were used. α was considered as 0.05. Results: 85.3% of the healthcare providers would always wear masks, 80.7% would always refuse to kiss and touch hands with others, and 34.7% sometimes would exercise at home. The preventive behaviors were significantly correlated with protection motivation (r = 0.84), self-efficacy (r = 0.51), response efficiency (r = 0.43), perceived severity (r = 0.41) Fear (r = 0.21), perceived susceptibility (r = 0.11), response cost (r = -0.14), and reward (r = -0.15). PMT constructs were able to predict 77% of the variance of the behaviors and the protection motivation construct was the strongest predictor (ß = 0.806). Income above 300 Dolars per month was significantly related to the decrease in the mean score of preventive behaviors against COVID-19. The female sex and the individual or family history of infectious diseases were significantly related to increasing the mean score of COVID-19 preventive behaviors. Conclusion: Based on the study results, it is suggested that some educational interventions be designed and implemented with a focus on this construct and the perceived severity construct and that more attention be given to the education of health care providers with high-income levels, male providers, and the individuals without a history of corona infection in themselves or their family members.

The Effect of an Educational Intervention Based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) on Nutritional Performance Related to Gastric Cancer in Rural Women in Northern Regions of Iran.

Gastric cancer is a common cause of cancer death in the world. This study examined 120 rural women. The educational program included four sessions for each group based on the health belief model. The mean age of the women was 34.51 ± 9.16. The mean score of the perceived barriers significantly decreased in the experimental group (11.08 ± 0.37) compared to the control group (14.92 ± 0.42) (P < .001), and the mean score of knowledge, performance and HBM constructs, increased significantly 2 months after the education (P < .001).It is recommended that educational interventions be designed by HBM to improve nutritional behaviors related to GC in the female population.

Promoting dairy consumption behavior in the school setting: an experiment based on the transtheoretical model.

BACKGROUND: Nutrition education is a key component of health promotion programs which leads to the improvement of students' nutritional behaviors. The transtheoretical model (TTM) is one of the models extensively used in changing people's behaviors. This study aimed to change the dairy consumption behavior based on the TTM in female students. METHODS: A controlled trial was conducted with 159 female students (intervention group: 56; control group: 103) in the 10-11th grades from two public schools in Soumesara city located in the west of Gilan Province, Iran. Demographic characteristics, knowledge, TTM constructs and stage of change of dairy consumption were collected using a valid and reliable researcher-made questionnaire. Data were gathered before and one month after the educational intervention. Chi-square test, t-test and ANCOVA were used to analyze the data and a p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Fifty-two students from the intervention and 93 from the control group completed the study. Only 15% of the students were in the action or maintenance stages of dairy consumption. After the intervention, mean scores of behavioral processes of change, cognitive processes of change, decisional balance, and self-efficacy improved in the intervention group (P < 0.05 for all). Also, 37% and 16% of the participants in the intervention and control groups, respectively, were in the action or maintenance phase (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that implementing an intervention based on the TTM would positively affect students' dairy consumption behaviors. Also, it is suggested that the TTM be assessed in terms of other daily nutritional needs in students to promote their nutritional behaviors. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) (available online at https://en.irct.ir/trial/50003 ) on April 11, 2020 with the number IRCT20200718048132N1 and was approved by research ethics committee of Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Iran.

The effectiveness of educational program based on health belief model on promotion of puberty health concepts among teen girls: a cross-sectional study in north of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Puberty is a sensitive critical stage of human life. As numerous healthy habits and behaviors are created during adolescence, correct health education during puberty is essential to maintain and improve an individual's physical, emotional, and mental health. The present study aimed to determine the impact of educational intervention based on the predictors of the Health Belief Model (HBM) on female nine-grade students' health behaviors in Rasht, Iran. METHODS: The present randomized controlled trial study examined 110 female nine-grade students. Multi-stage sampling was performed, and the students were randomly divided into two groups of 55 as intervention and control. The data collection tool included a valid and reliable questionnaire with four sections, namely demographic variables, knowledge, HBM constructs, and health behaviors during puberty. The educational program comprised four 45-60-min sessions per group (4 groups of 13) based on HBM. The data were collected two times, before and 1 month after the educational intervention, and were analyzed using the independent t-test, paired t-test, chi-square test, and SPSS 23. RESULTS: The mean age of menarche was 12.26 ± 1.133 in the intervention group and 12.12 ± 1.263 in the control group. The family was a source of information for students and the main cue to action before the intervention. Before the educational intervention, there was no significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of knowledge, HBM constructs, and puberty health behaviors; however, the variables increased significantly in the intervention group after educational intervention (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Given the effectiveness of the HBM in improving the health behavior of adolescent girls, it is recommended that health policymakers should plan and implement educational interventions in this field.

Investigation of factors related to the behavior of reporting clinical errors in nurses working in educational and medical centers in Rasht city, Iran.

BACKGROUND: Report of medical error is one of the effective components in the quality of healthcare services. A significant part of medical errors can be prevented by acting appropriately. The theory of planned behavior offers a framework in which the nurse intention to perform the behavior of error reporting is investigated. This study was conducted to determine the factors related to the behavior of reporting clinical errors in nurses working in educational and medical centers in Rasht based on the theory of planned behavior in 2020. METHODS: In this descriptive-analytical study, 326 nurses in all medical centers in Rasht were selected by the multi-stage random sampling method. Data collection tool was a valid and reliable questionnaire based on the theory of planned behavior. Data analysis was conducted using the SPSS software, analysis of variance, correlation, and linear regression. RESULTS: 39% of nurses reported that they had reported a medical error, and the average number of error reports per nurse during the last 3 months was 1.42 errors. The predictive power of the theory of behavioral intention was 47%, and predictive constructs were attitude (B = .43), perceived behavioral control (B = .33), and subjective norm (B = .04) using linear regression. The predictive power of the theory for nurses' behavior was 3.1%. None of the demographic variables played a role in predicting the behavior of nurses' reporting clinical error, and no behavioral intention predicted the behavior of nurses' reporting clinical errors. CONCLUSION: The theory of planned behavior expresses the factors affecting the behavior intention of nurses' reporting clinical errors satisfactorily. However, it was an inappropriate theory in behavior prediction. It appears that factors, such as fear of consequences of error reporting, social pressures by colleagues and officials, and lack of knowledge and skills required to identify medical errors, are the barriers to conversion of intention to the behavior of reporting clinical errors. It is necessary to provide the ground to increase nurses' report of clinical errors by acting appropriately.

Stages of dairy product consumption among Iranian female high school students based on transtheoretical model: The case of osteoporosis prevention.

Background: As nutritional needs increase in adolescence, dairy consumption can play a key role in health and disease prevention; however, unfortunately, inadequate consumption of milk and dairy products has often been reported in adolescents. Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between decisional balance, self-efficacy, and the processes of change with the stages of change for dairy consumption in female high school students in Shaft county located in the west of Gilan Province, Iran. Methods: A total of 385 female high school students in Shaft County were studied through the census method in 2019. The data collection instrument was a valid and reliable questionnaire consisting of demographic information, stages of change and items of transtheoretical model constructs including the processes of change (cognitive process: consciousness-raising, dramatic relief, self-reevaluation, environmental reevaluation, and social liberation; behavioral process: self-liberation, counter conditioning, reinforcement management, stimulus control and helping relationships), decisional balance and self-efficacy. Data were analyzed using SPSS 21 software. Results: A total of 208 (54%), 53 (13.8%), 56 (14.5%), 32 (8.3%) and 36 (9.4%) students were in the pre-contemplate, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance stages, respectively. As the subjects progressed through the stage of change for dairy consumption, an increase in the mean score of self-efficacy, decisional balance, and processes of change was observed (P < 0.01). Conclusion: The constructs of the transtheoretical model should be considered in designing educational interventions to promote dairy consumption with regard to the stage of change for dairy consumption in the subjects.

The Reasons for Using Smokeless Tobacco: A Review.

BACKGROUND: Smokeless tobacco use is a public health problem in some parts of the world. The major objective of this study was to investigate the reasons and factors of consumption. METHODS: A content analysis was conducted on articles for the past thirty years (1989-2019). We reviewed and selected 400 abstracts of original articles from PubMed databases by the search strategy, and reviewed one by one. Among these, 45 abstracts were selected, in which the patterns of use, the reasons for using, and the determinants and predictors were described. Eleven papers were selected based on the results and related to the research objectives. The results of these articles were evaluated precisely word by word and phrase by phrase with content analysis method and inductive approach. RESULTS: The reasons for the use of smokeless tobacco fell in two main themes: socio-cultural structure; and, beliefs, each contained Sub-themes such as "culture and living conditions", "laws", "family and peer relationships", "beliefs related to psychological" and "beliefs related to physical influences", "beliefs", "The role of harm perceptions ". CONCLUSION: There was a difference between beliefs, cultures and social conditions among the people about using of smokeless tobacco and the association of these factors is investigated in future studies. We also suggest for the prevention and control of smokeless tobacco use, cultural norms and beliefs will need to address adequately.

The role of correlated factors based on Pender health promotion model in brushing behavior in the 13-16 years old students of Guilan, Iran.

BACKGROUND: Tooth decay is one of the diseases that is closely related to people's behaviors and it can have adverse effects on their performance and their success in the future. Brushing twice a day is the simplest and most effective way to reduce tooth decay. The study aim was to determining the roles of correlational factors based on the Pender's health promotion model in brushing behavior of ninth grade students at urban public schools of Guilan province during the academic year 2019. METHODS: The present study was cross-sectional and had a descriptive-analytical type. We performed the multi-stage random sampling on 761 ninth-grade students (374 girls and 387 boys) at urban public schools of six counties (ten cities) of Guilan province in 2019. The primary tool was a questionnaire on oral health behaviors focusing on brushing behavior. In the present study, which was conducted only on brushing behavior, we revised and changed the initial questionnaire during the sessions of the research team, and then confirmed its validity and reliability. The questionnaire consisted of three parts, demographic characteristics, constructs of health promotion model, and brushing behavior. We analyzed data in SPSS 21 using regression models. RESULTS: 20.1% of students brushed their teeth at least twice a day. Optimal behavior had a statistically significant relationship with parents' education level, and gender. Based on the regression model, the health promotion model constructs described 58% of the variance of the commitment to plan of action. Perceived self-efficacy, situational influences, and perceived barriers of action had significantly stronger relationships with commitment to plan of action respectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that one-unit increase in scores of commitment to plan of action and self-efficacy increased the chance of desired behavior by 12 and 14% respectively. CONCLUSION: Due to the low rate of brushing behavior in the students and the predictive power of the health promotion model in brushing behavior, we suggest planning and implementation of educational interventions for this group with an emphasis on influencing the commitment to plan of action, self-efficacy, and also the level of knowledge.

Smokeless Tobacco Use in Iran: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Smokeless tobacco (ST) use is one of the most important public health problems in Southeast Asia. The use of these substances increases the incidence of some cancers and other diseases. The purpose of this review study was to investigate on ST use in Iran. METHODS: A literature search was conducted on PubMed, Google Scholar, and three national databases [Scientific Information Database (SID), IranMedex, and IranDoc] based on the standard search strategy. FINDINGS: Most consumer people lived in Sistan and Baluchestan Province (Zahedan and Chabahar Cities) and Golestan Province, Iran. ST use rates ranged from 11.0% to 45.7% among college students in Sistan and Baluchestan (Zahedan and Chabahar) and Golestan. There are various types of ST consumed in Iran that have been mentioned in various articles, including Pan, Gutka, Nass, Naswar, Biti, and Supari. CONCLUSION: Most studies on ST have been conducted in Sistan and Baluchestan and Golestan Provinces and we need more research for other provinces. Consumption by women is a warning and a threat to women's health in the future. Further studies will be needed to find out more precisely the prevalence of consumption in Iran.

Role of Attitude, Body Image, Satisfaction and Socio-Demographic Variables in Cosmetic Surgeries of Iranian Students.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, cosmetic surgery is one of the most common types of surgeries all around the world including Iran and those demanding such surgeries are also growing in number. The present study is an attempt to determine the factors in the tendency towards cosmetic surgery in Iranian students. METHODS: In a descriptive-analytical study, all students at Guilan University of Medical Sciences related to health issues were enrolled. The participants (n=314) were selected through census sampling. Data was garnered using a multi-section questionnaire including socio-demographic variables, body image, body satisfaction, and cosmetic surgery intention. The questionnaires were completed as self-statement. RESULTS: The age range of the students was 18-55 years and the mean age was 25.07±7.41 years. Body mass index (BMI) of the participants was 23±3.82. Among socio-demographic variables, BMI, gender, family revenue, father's job, marital status, mother's job, and fathers' literacy level were the predictors of intention for cosmetic surgery. In addition, among psychological variables, body satisfaction and image, and attitudes were predictors of intention for cosmetic surgery. CONCLUSION: Educational and psychological interventions are recommended to create body satisfaction, to develop positive attitudes toward one's body, and to develop negative attitudes toward cosmetic surgery and the side effects. Apparently, providing an environment for physical activity and exercise, especially for girls would help the students in losing weight, remaining in shape and attenuating the tendency toward cosmetic surgery.

Evaluating the effect of an educational program on increasing cervical cancer screening behavior among rural women in Guilan, Iran.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is one of the major health problems and the third prevalent cancer in women all around the world. As a simple, inexpensive, and with no side-effects, Pap test is a reliable way to screen cervical cancer. This study aimed to investigate, the effects of educational intervention based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) on doing Pap smear tests among the rural women of the north of Iran. METHODS: In a quasi-experimental study, 160 rural women were randomly divided into control and experimental groups to experience a three-session intervention. The experimental group received the usual educational programs of rural health center and educational programs based on the HBM constructs through personal consultation, asking/answering questions, and an educational pamphlet. The control group, received the usual educational programs of rural health center. The post-test data were collected 2 months after the intervention and analyzed in SPSS-18. RESULTS: Before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the control and experimental groups regarding the mean score of knowledge, performance and constructs of the HBM. After the intervention, however, there was a significant difference in the mean scores of knowledge performance and all constructs of the HBM in two groups (p < 0.001). Rate of doing the Pap smear test in the experimental group increased from 18.7 to 78.7% in the intervention group. CONCLUSION: These findings support the effectiveness of cervical cancer prevention programs based on the HBM. Therefore, conducting similar programs in other regions is recommended.

Prioritization of needs among students of University of Medical Sciences: A needs assessment.

INTRODUCTION: The need assessment is a fundamental part of any planning, and almost by neglecting it, the effectiveness of the programs is impossible. The purpose of this study was the prioritization of needs among students of the Iran University of Medical Sciences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The design study was conducted in two parts; in the first part, the design of the questionnaire was done by qualitative methods. The questionnaires were extracted by interviewing and obtained acceptable validity and reliability. Moreover, the second part created a questionnaire consisting of four categories: education, welfare, economic, and psychological and social. A simple random sampling method was used to select 363 people using the Cochran formula. Finally, 336 people (including 28 people excluded) completed the questionnaire. A questionnaire designed to collect sample data was used and analyzed using version 23 of SPSS. RESULTS: A total of 336 students (26.77 ± 5.45 years) participated in the study. 123 (36.6%) were male and 213 (63.4%) were female. Psychological and social needs of students were prioritized, and educational priorities were ranked second. The findings showed that there was no significant statistical difference between the scores of welfares and psychosocial and educational needs and the gender of the research units (P > 0.05). However, in the mean of economic needs scores, there is a significant statistical difference between the marital status of the research units (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results of our study in the research units showed that the priority of psychosocial needs was more than other needs and the educational priority was the next. According to the results of this study, we suggest that, in future educational and educational planning, policymakers and planners should pay attention to psychological and social issues.

Brushing behavior among young adolescents: does perceived severity matter.

BACKGROUND: Oral health is a basis for general health and well-being and affects physical and psychological aspects of the human life. The aim of this study was to determine the power of the health belief model in general and the role of perceived severity and its components in particular in predicting tooth brushing behavior among young adolescents. METHODS: This was a cross sectional study of a sample of female students grade four in Rasht (a metropolitan in north Iran) in 2012. A systematic random sampling method was applied to recruit students. They were asked to respond to a designed questionnaire containing items on brushing behavior based on the health belief model. In this study for the first time perceived severity and perceived barriers were divided into two parts, perceived subjective and objective severity and perceived physical and psychological barriers and were treated as independent variables. Logistic regression analysis was performed in order to identify the variables that predict the desirable behavior (brushing twice a day or more). RESULTS: In all 265 female students were entered into the study. Of these, only 17.4% reported that they were brushing at least twice a day (desirable behavior). The results obtained from the logistic regression analysis indicated that perceived objective severity (OR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.21- 0.66, P = 0.001) and feeling less perceived psychological barriers (OR = 2.60, 95% CI = 1.50- 4.52, P = 0.001) were the significant predicting factors for brushing twice a day. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that perceived objective severity and perceived psychological barriers play important role in adapting a desirable health behavior among young adolescents.

Mothers' knowledge about acute rheumatic fever.

AIM: Mothers' understanding and co-operation is an important factor supporting primary prevention and secondary prophylaxis for controlling rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. We sought to determine mothers' knowledge about different aspects of rheumatic fever. METHOD: Participation of 500 mothers referred to healthcare centers in Guilan province was sought for the study which used a questionnaire to evaluate their knowledge about five different aspects of rheumatic fever. RESULTS: Among the 443 respondents, good knowledge about treatment was high (86 per cent); fewer mothers had a good level of knowledge about other aspects of treatment: epidemiology 34 per cent, symptoms 4 per cent, route of infection 27 per cent and complications 10.5 per cent. More educated women had significantly better knowledge about rheumatic fever. CONCLUSION: Expanded health education is required to improve knowledge about this condition among the population.