Effects of multiepisode case-based learning (CBL) on problem-solving ability and learning motivation of nursing students in an emergency care course.

BACKGROUND: Meeting the learning needs and developing the thinking skills of nursing students in caring for injured patients with complex, emergency, and unpredictable conditions is essential. PURPOSE: The present study aimed to compare the effects of case-based learning (CBL) with multi-episode case studies and lecture-based learning (LBL) on the perceived problem-solving ability and learning motivation of undergraduate nursing students in an emergency care course. METHODS: This study was conducted with a quasi-experimental, within-subjects, pretest-posttest design. Forty-three third-year undergraduate nursing students (as a single cohort) enrolled in the fall semester were selected using convenience sampling. The theoretical course of emergency nursing was taught to them using the LBL method (control group) during the first six weeks of the semester and then using the CBL method (intervention group) during the second six weeks of the semester through multi-episode cases in five steps. Outcomes including perceived problem-solving ability and learning motivation were measured using the Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI) and the Instructional Materials Motivation Scale (IMMS). RESULTS: There was a significant difference (P < 0.001) between the changes in the total mean score of perceived problem-solving ability and its subscales on the three measurement points, i.e. before lectures (pre-test), after lectures (mid-term test) and after CBL (final test). There was a significant difference between the LBL and CBL groups in terms of the students' total learning motivation score (t = 16.91, P = 0.000) and all its subscales after the CBL intervention. CONCLUSION: The study suggests that the CBL method applied through multi-episode cases is an effective approach to improving the perceived problem-solving ability and learning motivation of nursing students.

The Perceived Health Needs of Primiparous Mothers Referring to Primary Health Care Centers: A Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: Since the first step in meeting the health needs of primiparous women involves understanding their conditions, the present study aimed to determine the health needs of primiparous women from their own viewpoints. METHODS: This study had a qualitative approach based on the conventional qualitative content analysis method, in which the purposive sampling method was used. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews. Data saturation was achieved by interviewing 12 participants. To ensure the study was rigorous, the four criteria of credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability were taken into account. RESULTS: The findings of this study consisted of 150 codes, 19 subcategories, and 6 categories, as follows: 1) the intense need for social support, 2) the need for prior preparation for pregnancy, 3) fears and worries, 4) the necessity of the availability of the needed infrastructures and requirements in the health center, 5) falling in love with the baby, and 6) seeking information from appropriate sources. CONCLUSION: The present study showed that primiparous women need to receive more social and psychological support from family members and healthcare workers and that it is essential to improve the available infrastructures and services in healthcare centers and to provide the needed counseling to pregnant mothers to enable them to go through the pregnancy period smoothly.

An investigation of the effects of infertility on Women's quality of life: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Human instinctively desire to have offspring. Infertility can cause painful emotional experiences throughout the life mainly known as quality of life impairment. This study aimed to investigate the impact of infertility on a woman's quality of life. METHODS: A number of 180 infertile and 540 fertile women participated in this matched case-control study. The cases were selected through a combination of multistage stratified and cluster sampling methods. For each infertile woman three fertile women were randomly selected. The data gathering instrument consisted of demographic variables and the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. Data collection was conducted through interview with participants. The multivariate marginal model and SPSS software 21 were used for data analyses with a significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: The results of the multivariate modeling show infertility can potentially affect various aspects of women's quality of life such as physical health (p <  0.001), mental health (p <  0.001), social health (p <  0.001) and the total score of quality of life (p <  0.001) significantly. CONCLUSION: An infertile woman practice a relatively lower scores in QOL sub-scales of mental, physical and environmental health; while they experience a higher social health score than a fertile woman.

The effect of glucomannan on pregnancy constipation.

INTRODUCTION: Constipation is a common complication among pregnant women; it refers to hard and infrequent bowel movements where the stools defected from body becomes hard and dry, as well. various medical interventions are nowadays implemented to treat constipation, Some of which are either banned or not willingly implemented by pregnant women; thus, doctors try to avoid such methods. Glucomannan, a combination of a few simple sugars, is an effective substance for treating constipation. According to the results of studies conducted in this area, glucomannan has been greatly welcomed and approved by pregnant women. Thus, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of glucomannan on pregnancy constipation and to compare it with other common treatment methods. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study is a clinical trial in which 64 pregnant women with constipation were investigated in the two groups of intervention and control (32 participants in each group). All participants were in their third trimester of pregnancy. The intervention group was treated with glucomannan, while the control group was treated with magnesium hydroxide. After 1 month, the participants were investigated and the questionnaires were responded to. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS software and Chi-square tests. RESULTS: The post-treatment frequency of bowel repulses increased in both the groups. However, the increase was different in the two groups. About 75% of the participants in the glucomannan group reported having at least 6 times of bowel movements. Moreover, 25% of the participants in the glucomannan group reported having >6 times of bowel movements. Using a Chi-square test, it was found that there is a significant difference between pre- and post-treatment frequency of bowel movements per week (P = 0.002). Moreover, there was a significant difference between the post-intervention frequency of bowel movements in the two groups (P = 0.001). DISCUSSION: In the present study, it was attempted to investigate the effect of glucomannan on pregnancy constipation. The findings indicated that glucomannan is likely to improve constipation symptoms in pregnancy and reduce pregnant women's complaints to a significant level through increasing the frequency of bowel movements and affecting the stool consistency. CONCLUSION: Along with other treatment methods, glucomannan is recommended as a healthy medicinal plant for treating pregnancy constipation.

Seasonal variation in the prevalence of preeclampsia.

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension in pregnancy is one of the three factors of maternal mortality. Etiology of the disease is unknown, but the many factors contributing to the identification and control of it can be taken a step to prevent and reduce the symptoms of the disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of preeclampsia (high-blood pressure) in different seasons of the year. METHODS: The present retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on more than 8,000 pregnant women visiting Assali specialized hospital from 2011 to 2013. Required data was collected through questionnaire checklist. The Chi-square test with multiple comparisons was used to compare the frequencies of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) according to the month of year, and adjustment of multiplicity was conducted using Bonferroni's method. Student's t-test was used to compare the means of PIH prevalence rates. In all analyses, P < 0.05 was taken to indicate statistical significance. RESULTS: In these 8000 woman admitted to labor, overall prevalence of PIH was 3.8 ± 0.6%. The prevalence rate of PIH was highest in the summer (4.5%) and lowest frequent in the winter (2.7%), respectively. In July, the prevalence rate was significantly higher than those for any other month (4.7%), and in March, it was lower prevalence than for any month (2.2%), respectively. Using the Chi-square test, a significant difference between the incidence of disease was observed in summer and winter (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The prevalence rate of PIH was higher for delivery in summer and early spring and lowest for winter delivery among Khorramabad women based on these results; it seems that changes in temperature and humidity in different seasons can affect preeclampsia, and preeclampsia increases with increasing frequency temperature.

Quality assessment of peripartum care.

BACKGROUND: Maternal health improvement is one of the eight goals of the third millennium development, set in 2000. Pregnancy complications are the most important causes of maternal mortality worldwide. Proper and qualified health care access is one the most important factors for reducing maternal and neonatal mortality rates. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine quality of peripartum care in Lorestan province in 2013. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study, in which quality of peripartum care was assessed among 200 women (sample size was determined according to other studies), referred to Lorestan province public hospitals. Quality assessment according to the WHO was used for the framework of structure, process and outcome. Data was collected by a researcher-made checklist, developed based on the administered instructions by Iran Health Ministry. The checklists were filled by observation. The calculated quality scores were expressed as percentage. SPSS version 18 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: The mean percentages of compatibility with desirable situation were 54%, 57% and 66% in first, second and third stage of labor, respectively. The lowest scores were related to: Leopold maneuvers in the first stage, hand washing in the second stage and pulse control in the third stage of labor. CONCLUSIONS: Quality of peripartum care is moderate in Lorestan province, therefore, continuous evaluation of quality of care by administrators and hospital staff is essential to improve this quality and will ultimately result in maternal and neonatal health improvement.