Spatio-temporal analysis of colorectal cancer using a geographic information system in the Iranian military community during the period 2007-2016.

INTRODUCTION: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most prevalent cancers among Iranian people. The study of spatio-temporal distribution of disease has an important role in the design of disease prevention programmes. The purpose of the current study was to describe the spatio-temporal distribution of CRC in the Iranian military community as a sample of the Iranian population. METHODS: In the current ecological study, all registered cancer cases in the Iranian military community during the period 2007-2016 were considered. To identify hotspots, Getis-Ord Gi statistics were used. All analyses were performed using ArcGIS 10.5 and Excel 2010. RESULTS: The highest incidences of CRC in 2007-2008, 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 were recorded in Kermanshah province. The highest incidences of CRC in 2013-2014 were seen in Kermanshah, Ghilan, Tehran and North Khorasan. In 2007-2008 and 2009-2010, hotspots were detected in West Azarbayjan. In 2011-2012, hotspots were detected in Zanjan and Qazvin. In 2013-2014, a hotspot was detected in Qazvin. Finally, West Azerbaijan was the hotspot for CRC in 2015-2016. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of CRC in men was higher than in women. Also it appeared that North and North West Iran were risk areas for this disease, and so these areas should be considered in the design of disease prevention programme for this cancer type. Additionally, the determination of individual risk factors in the aforementioned geographical areas can play an important role in the prevention of this type of cancer.

Assessment of the belief and attitudes of Iranian healthcare personnel's toward the influenza infection and influenza vaccination.

INTRODUCTION: Influenza is one of the main public health problems and health care personnels (HCPs) are one of the at-risk groups for this infection. The goal of the current study was to identify the beliefs and attitudes of the Iranian HCPs about influenza and the influenza vaccine. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed in a general hospital in Tehran, Iran from January to June 2016. A total of 418 questionnaires were distributed among the HCPs. The Chi2 test, linear regression and one-way ANOVA were used for data analysis, α: 0.05 was considered as a statistically significant level. All analyses were performed using the SPSS19 software. RESULTS: The influenza vaccination coverage was 57.7%; the highest vaccine rate belongs to the allied health professionals (68.2%). Two main causes for avoiding the influenza vaccination were; the "fear of vaccine adverse effects" and the "uncertainty about the vaccine effectiveness". The linear regression analysis identified that the physicians had the highest belief score, followed by the nurses and the allied health professionals (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Educational planning on influenza and influenza vaccination is necessary to improve the vaccination coverage and to reduce the influenza mortality and morbidity in susceptible patients.

The prediction incidence of the three most common cancers among Iranian military community during 2007-2019: a time series analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Cancers are one of the most important public health problems in Iran. Because of the importance of cancers, the purpose of the current study was to the prediction of the future incidence of the most common cancers among Iranian military community (MC) by using the time series analysis during 2007 to 2019. METHODS: In the current cross-sectional study, all registered cancers among Iranian MC entered the study. To select the best model of prediction, various methods including autocorrelation function (ACF), partial autocorrelation function (PACF), and Akaike information criterion (AIC) statistics were used. All analysis was performed by using ITSM, stata14, and Excel2010 software. RESULTS: The most prevalent cancers among Iranian MC were breast, prostate, and colon cancers respectively. The time series analysis was shown that the trend of all mentioned cancers in Iranian MC will increase in the coming years. CONCLUSIONS: The trend of most prevalent cancers among Iranian MC was increasing but the different factors like the growth of population size and improving the registration system should be regarded.