Examining the psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: an international cross-sectional study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed people to significant and prolonged stress. The psychosocial impacts of the pandemic have been well recognised and reported in high-income countries (HICs) but it is important to understand the unique challenges posed by COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where limited international comparisons have been undertaken. This protocol was therefore devised to study the psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in seven LMICs using scales that had been designed for or translated for this purpose. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This cross-sectional study uses an online survey to administer a novel COVID Psychosocial Impacts Scale (CPIS) alongside established measures of psychological distress, post-traumatic stress, well-being and post-traumatic growth in the appropriate language. Participants will include adults aged 18 years and above, recruited from Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Somalia and Turkey, with a pragmatic target sample size of 500 in each country.Data will be analysed descriptively on sociodemographic and study variables. In addition, CPIS will be analysed psychometrically (for reliability and validity) to assess the suitability of use in a given context. Finally, within-subjects and between-subjects analyses will be carried out using multi-level mixed-effect models to examine associations between key sociodemographic and study variables. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was granted by the Human Ethics Committee, University of Otago, New Zealand (Ref. No. 21/102). In addition, international collaborators obtained local authorisation or ethical approval in their respective host universities before data collection commenced.Participants will give informed consent before taking part. Data will be collected and stored securely on the University of Otago, New Zealand Qualtrics platform using an auto-generated non-identifiable letter-number string. Data will be available on reasonable request. Findings will be disseminated by publications in scientific journals and/or conference presentations. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05052333.

Child sexual abuse in Iran: a systematic review of the prevalence, risk factors, consequences, interventions and laws.

BACKGROUND: Child sexual abuse is a widespread global problem and a violation of human rights. Although many studies have been conducted in this field in the world, the information and knowledge of child sexual abuse in Iran is still limited. This study aims to review the current knowledge in the area of child sexual abuse in Iran, and the related laws. METHODS: The research systematic review covers the scientific literature and gray literature in Persian and English in Iranian and international databases from the beginning to June 2021 as well as Iranian laws on child protection. RESULTS: Our study shows that in Iran knowledge on child sexual abuse is limited. The prevalence of child sexual abuse is estimated to be 1.5 to 32.5%; the risk factors for child sexual abuse encompass substance abuse, low literacy and education, parents living separately and divorce, poverty and poor socioeconomic status, and living in large families. The consequences of child sexual abuse are anxiety, depression, and social problems. Effective local interventions focused on parents and abused children have been conducted to raise awareness and prevent psychosocial harms as well as reduce aggression and physical and mental problems of children. Existing laws do not specifically address child sexual abuse. CONCLUSIONS: The findings showed that knowledge of child sexual abuse in Iran is limited, scattered and inconsistent and there is no suitable definition and tool for measuring child abuse in Iranian studies. National and effective interventions for the prevention of child sexual abuse have not been performed and the consequences of child sexual abuse have also not been well studied. Thus further studies are required to estimate the prevalence of child sexual abuse at the national level and to assess the factors related to child abuse, its consequences, prevention methods and development of existing laws and policies with a special focus on child sexual abuse.

Coordination, cooperation, and creativity within harm reduction networks in Iran: COVID-19 prevention and control among people who use drugs.

An unprecedented public health crisis confronts the world. Iran is among the hardest-hit countries, where effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are stretched across society and felt by the most marginalised people. Among people who use drugs, a comprehensive response to the crisis calls for broad collaboration, coordination, and creativity involving multiple government and non-government organisations. This commentary provides early insights into an unfolding experience, demonstrating the operational and policy impact of an initiative, bringing together a diverse array of harm reduction stakeholders to address the pandemic. In the context of lived experiences of social and economic marginalization, this initiative intends to lead efforts in developing an equitable response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The role of reflective consequences in developing recovery capital for the recovering substance abuser population of Tehran city.

The aim of this study is to explore the hidden dimensions of recovery capital as utilized among a sample of the recovery population of Tehran city. This qualitative study involved a sample of 27 available people, including different groups of recovering drug users and experts. In the semi-structured face-to-face interview, the focus was on the dimensions of recovery capital and contributing factors to recovery. The criteria proposed by Guba and Lincoln were applied for trustworthiness of the research data. After thematic analysis of the data, a total of 310 codes were identified. The theme extracted is the concept of reflective consequences of recovery capital, which has two main categories of passive (altruism, fear of losing existing possessions, fear of repeating past experiences) and persuasion (internal and external). The reflective consequences are the reproducers of recovery capital and can appear at all three individual, micro and mezo levels.

Group social work intervention enhances the sexual satisfaction of women with Multiple Sclerosis: a randomized controlled trial study.

Sexual problems are among the most common disorders that people with Multiple Sclerosis have to deal with, resulting in decreased sexual satisfaction and quality of life. The study is aimed to investigate the impact of group social work intervention on the sexual satisfaction of women with Multiple Sclerosis. The methodology was a randomized controlled trial and 58 participants recruited (30 for control group and 28 for intervention group). The intervention was based on group social work with an empowerment approach within eight sessions. The average age of the participants was 35.95 ± 6.41 most of whom had high school diploma (62.1%). The findings indicate that, in terms of sexual satisfaction (t = 5.47, Sig = 0.03, df = 56), primary disorders (t = 2.42, Sig = 0.019, df = 56), and tertiary disorders (t = 3.77, Sig = 0.002, df = 56), there is a significant difference between intervention and control groups.

Assessing the anxiety level of Iranian general population during COVID-19 outbreak.

This study is aimed to assess the anxiety level of Iranian general population during COVID-19 outbreak. The online questionnaire surveyed 10,754 individuals from the general population of 31 provinces of Iran who completed the questionnaire on social networks from March 1 to March 9, 2020. The inferential statistics suggests that the level of anxiety was higher among women (95 % CI [0.1, 81.36], p < 0.001), people who more followed corona-related news (p < 0.001) and the age group of 21-40 years (p < 0.001). Ultimately, the level of anxiety was significantly higher among people who had at least one family member, relative, or friend who contracted COVID-19 disease (95 % CI [1.2, 35.03], p < 0.001). The health care system should adopt a package of psychosocial interventions to reduce the anxiety of high risk groups.

Investigation of Relationship between Family Social Support and the Level of Stigma Perceived by PLWHA in Iran.

This study is aimed to investigate the relationship between family social support and the level of stigma perceived by people living with HIV (PLWHA). The methodology is cross-sectional and the sample population includes 163 individuals (54% males, 46% females) who were randomly selected from the counseling centers for behavioral disorders of Medical Sciences of Tehran University. The average age of the sample was 37.48 ± 10.29 years old and the main cause of HIV infection was the sexual intercourse with spouse/non-spouse. The results of this study indicate that there is a significant and inverse relationship between general social stigma with the duration of HIV infection (r = -0.31, P < .05). There is also a positive and significant relationship between the general family social support and its subscales (information support, seeking support, instrumental support) with the duration of the infectious disease (r = +0.20, P < .05), which means that with increasing duration of the disease, the level of family social support increases. The general social stigma score with the general family social support showed a significant correlation (inverse) (r = -0.43, P < .05). It seems that the design and implementation of appropriate psychosocial interventions to increase family social support and reduce social stigma associated with HIV/AIDS are important in Iranian society and societies that are family-oriented and the family institution continues its protective and supportive functions.

The sources of stigma and the impacts on Afghan refugees with substance abuse disorders: A qualitative study in Iran.

Iran is the fourth refugee-hosting country and Afghanistan is the second refugee-source country in the world. This research is qualitative and conducted with content analysis method. Twenty-seven individuals participated in the study. They were recruited from two midterm residential drug treatment centers in Tehran. Afghan refugees who use drugs felt and experienced stigma in five areas: family, friends, workplace, neighborhood, and treatment center. The consequences include frequent treatment failure, family relationship disruption, superficial conformity with the host society, and self-stigma. It is necessary to design interventions to reduce stigma and discrimination attached to refugees.

Psychosocial Stresses and Concerns of People Living in Tehran: A Survey on 6000 Adult Participants.

Objective: Nowadays stress and tensions are among the most important factors affecting health. Identifying the stressors and their determinants provides substantial information for understanding the health of the community. Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on citizens over 18 years who were living in all 22 districts of Tehran in 2017. The participants were selected using multistage cluster sampling method. The research tool was a checklist that evaluated various factors. Different statistical tests, such as descriptive tests and logistic regression, were used for data analysis. Results: Of the participants, 82.7% experienced at least 1severe stress during the past year. In the last year, 45.6% of the participants had at least 1severe economic stress, 32.3% had at least 1severe family-related stress, 28.8% had at least 1severe health-related stress, and 25.7% experienced at least 1severe future-related stress. The most common psychosocial stressors experienced in the last year were concerns about personal/family future (53.7%), concerns about the financial and economic future (47.1%), and the high cost of living (41.7%). However, the most severe stresses were due to the participants' concerns about family health (14.4%), personal/family futures (13.2%), and financial and economic future (12.7%). Furthermore, health status, subjective socio-economic status, and age were the most important predictors of severe stress experiences. Conclusion: It is necessary to take actions to reduce the prevalence of common severe stresses. In addition, psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, and social workers need to provide stress management interventions carefully to their patients.

Effectiveness of social work intervention with a systematic approach to improve general health in opioid addicts in addiction treatment centers.

PURPOSE: This study takes a systematic approach to investigate the effect of social work intervention aimed at increasing general health among opioid addicts in addiction treatment centers. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is an experimental plan (pretest to posttest with a control group); the study sample included 60 patients with drug dependencies undergoing treatment in addiction treatment centers. These patients were randomly assigned as case (30) and control (30) groups. The case group was subjected to intervention over ten sessions, whereas the control group received no intervention. Both groups then passed through a posttest, while a follow-up was conducted after 4 months. Data were obtained via a General Health Questionnaire. RESULTS: A covariance analysis test and independent and dependent t-test results indicated that a social work intervention adopting systematic approach was effective in increasing the general health of drug-addicted patients under treatment. CONCLUSION: Thus, the nature of the presence of social workers in addiction treatment centers has been effective and can have a significant influence by reducing anxiety and insomnia and somatic symptoms, improving patients' self-understanding and self-recognition, and enhancing social functioning.