Psychometric Properties Of The Persian Version Of The Memory Impact Questionnaire In Older Adults.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Memory impairment in the elderly has a high prevalence and can affect their performance, interactions and quality of life. A valid and reliable questionnaire is required to investigate the changes in the memory of the elderly. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Memory Impact Questionnaire (MIQ) in the elderly. METHODS: In this methodological study, 361 elderly people (181 people for exploratory factor analysis and 180 people for confirmatory factor analysis) were selected via convenience sampling. This questionnaire was translated based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) guidelines. Construct validities were assessed through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Its reliability was also assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. RESULTS: In the exploratory factor analysis, three factors of lifestyle restrictions, positive coping, and negative emotion were extracted that were able to explain 54.04% of the total variance of the impact of memory change in the elderly. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the goodness of fit of the three-factor model of MIQ (RMSEA: 0.083; GFI: 0.97; NFI: 0.94; IFI: 0.97; PNFI: 0.86; AGFI: 0.75). The reliability of the "lifestyle restrictions", "negative emotion" and "positive coping" factors was found to be 0.89, 0.74, and 0.67, respectively, using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. CONCLUSION: The Persian version of the MIQ is simple and practical and has acceptable reliability and validity that can be used to measure memory changes in the Iranian elderly.

Prevalence of unwanted pregnancy among Iranian women: an updated meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Unwanted pregnancy is a global issue with adverse outcomes for the mother, child, family, and society. Previous studies in Iran have reported different prevalence rates for unwanted pregnancy. This meta-analysis was aimed at estimating the overall prevalence of unwanted pregnancy among Iranian women. METHODS: A total of 20 articles in English or Persian, published between 2012 and December 2018, were collected. The search was conducted in national and international databases, including Scientific Information Database (SID), MagIran, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, using the following keywords: 'Unplanned pregnancy', 'Unintended pregnancy', 'Unwanted pregnancy', and 'Mistimed pregnancy'. The data were analyzed using the meta-analysis method and the random effects model. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed using the I2 statistic. All analyses were performed using Stata, version 12. RESULTS: Analysis of 20 studies with a total sample size of 16,298 showed that the prevalence of unwanted pregnancy among Iranian women was 26% (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 23-28). This prevalence was higher in the regions 5 and 2 of Iran (27%) than the other regions, and had no significant decrease between 2012 and 2018 (p = 0. 937). CONCLUSION: More than one-fourth of pregnancies among Iranian women are unwanted. Providing training programs for couples who do not plan to have children along with the support policies aimed at stimulating population growth, can be an important step in overcoming the issue of unwanted pregnancy and reducing the illegal abortions related to it.

Barriers of medication adherence in patients with type-2 diabetes: a pilot qualitative study.

Background: Patients with type-2 diabetes have poor adherence to the therapeutic regime. It can result in various complications in body systems associated with undesirable metabolic control. Purpose: The present study aimed to explore the inhibitors of medication adherence in patients with type-2 diabetes. Patients and methods: This was a qualitative study using a conventional content analysis method. Participants were 12 patients with type-2 diabetes referred to the diabetes unit in Saghez, Kurdistan Province in 2015. The purposive sampling method was used with a maximum variation in sampling, and data collection was continued until data saturation was achieved. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. Interviews were recorded and immediately transcribed verbatim. Results: Data analysis led to the development of four main categories including disbelief in medical explanatory/prescriptive knowledge, lived experiences of the disease, challenges of everyday life, and interactive/economic challenges. The main inhibitors were the patient's understanding of his/her own physical status and strategies used for maintaining the internal balance. Healthcare providers need to take patients' perceptions into account when they are prescribing medicinal diets. Another inhibitor was the incidents of everyday life, including economic and social challenges, and interactions to receive education and skills for living with the disease. Conclusion: Beliefs of the medical team and patients should be brought closer to each other, and patients' trust in the medical team should be increased. Nurses should consider the unique experience of every patient when giving healthcare recommendations, and try to limit the existing challenges as much as possible.

Prevalence of depression among Iranian patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are prone to depression due to several factors related to their RA, including chronic and persistent pain, functional disability, economic constraints, and the side effects of RA medication. Previous Iranian studies showed conflicting and inconclusive findings regarding the prevalence of depression among RA patients. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the true prevalence of depression in Iranian patients with RA. Search for eligible articles was performed using the keywords of depression, depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, major depressive disorder, RA, and Iran, and their possible combinations in the following databases: Scientific Information Database, MagIran, Web of Science/ISI, PubMed, and Scopus. The search was restricted to articles published in Persian and English languages. The meta-analysis was performed using the random effects model, and the data were analyzed using the STATA software version 12. Overall, six articles were selected; the overall prevalence of depression among the Iranian patients with RA was 65.58% (95% CI: 56.53%-74.62%). There were no significant relationships between the prevalence of depression and articles' methodological quality and year of publication, participants' age, sample size, and duration of disease. More than half of RA patients suffer from depression. The overlap between the physical symptoms of RA and depression in this group of patients makes it difficult to correctly diagnose depression; therefore, initiative and efforts are required to improve the identification of early depression symptoms in RA patients in order to effectively manage their depression.

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women: A systematic review and meta-analysis in Iran.

Metabolic syndrome is a set of cardiovascular risk factors that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mortality. Women are at risk of developing metabolic syndrome as they enter the postmenopausal period. The present systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Iranian postmenopausal women. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, 16 national articles published in Persian and English were gathered without time limit. National databases such as SIDs, IranMedex and MagIran, and international databases such as Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed and Scopus were used to search the relevant studies. We searched for articles using the keywords "menopause", "postmenopausal", "metabolic syndrome", "MetSyn", and their combinations. Data were analyzed using the meta-analysis method and the random effects model. Analysis of 16 selected articles with a sample size of 5893 people showed that the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Iranian postmenopausal women was 51.6% (95% CI: 43-60). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome based on ATP III and IDF criteria was 54% (95% CI: 59-63) and 50% (95% CI: 45-56), respectively. Based on the results of univariate meta-regression analysis, the increase in the mean age of postmenopausal women (p = 0.001) and sample size (p = 0.029), the prevalence of metabolic syndrome increased significantly. More than half of postmenopausal women in Iran suffer from metabolic syndrome. Providing training programs for postmenopausal women to prevent and control cardiovascular disease and its complications seems to be necessary.

Iranian midwives' knowledge of and attitudes toward female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).

INTRODUCTION: Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is globally recognized as a violation of the human rights of females. It has no health benefits and harms those who undergo the procedure. Midwives are therefore expected to be aware of how to manage these consequences and play a key role in the prevention of the practice. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the level of Iranian midwives' knowledge of and attitudes toward FGM/C. METHODS: A total of 168 midwives were enrolled in our descriptive study. The data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by specialists. The data were analyzed by SPSS 21.0 software using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Only 20.23% of participants had good knowledge about FGM/C, and knowledge of 3.58% of participants was weak. There was no correlation between knowledge and demographic characteristics of participants. CONCLUSIONS: The average level of participants' knowledge and mixed attitudes toward FGM/C indicate a need to develop effective strategies to increase knowledge of midwives and improving their attitude toward FGM/C.