Application of community-based nutrition education needs assessment in reviewing the course plan of medical and nursing students.

Background: Training needs assessment is the process of recognizing educational needs. This study aimed to apply a community-based nutrition education needs assessment to revise the nutrition course plan in the curriculum of the doctorate of medicine and that of the baccalaureate of nursing. Methods: The study was designed in 2 phases: (1) nutritional needs assessment; (2) community-based revision of nutrition course plan. In the first phase, 13 nutrition professionals working in the region set out 5 priorities of nutrition-related health problems in the community by a training need assessment based on a survey and scoring system. Then, an expert panel determined the priorities of behavioral and nonbehavioral causes of the nutrition-related health problems by the nominal group technique (NGT). The results of the first phase were used to review the topics of nutrition course plans up to 20%. Results: The priorities identified in Abadan, Khorramshahr, and Shadegan were obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults as well as anemia in pregnant women, respectively. Also, wrong eating habits and insufficient nutrition knowledge were among the most important behavioral causes of nutrition-related health problems in the target community. These results were applied to a community-based review of nutrition course plans for medical and nursing students. Conclusion: The use of nutritional needs assessment approaches by a survey and nominal group technique with a group of professionals provided an opportunity for a community-based review of the nutrition course plan for medical and nursing students as a first phase in the development of a community-based nutrition course plane.

Investigating the effect of multisensory stimulation on depression and anxiety of the elderly nursing home residents: A randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: The aim was to determine the effect of multisensory stimulation (MSS) on the depression and anxiety status among nursing home-dwelling elderly people in Ahvaz, Iran. DESIGN AND METHODS: This clinical trial study conducted on 28 old people living in nursing homes in Ahvaz, who were divided into two groups of intervention and control. The interventions included sensory stimulations of touch, sound, and sight for 4 weeks and 3 sessions weekly and 25 min per each session. FINDINGS: The mean depression and anxiety scores of the intervention group before and after the intervention were 14.5 ± 5.5 and 10.1 ± 5.3 and, 9.6 ± 8.1 and 6.1 ± 6.2, respectively. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: MSS could improve the condition of depression and anxiety in the elderly nursing home residents.

Are growth curves for Iranian school-aged children different from the NCHS standards?

BACKGROUND: Assessment of physical growth in school-aged children is important for the assessment of nutritional status, promotion of health and learning ability of children. Assessment of physical growth is the main purpose of this research. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed on 2615 healthy school-aged children (6-11 years old) in the Autumn of 2006 using two-stage stratified cluster sampling for measurement of weight and height. Sample size calculation was performed using EPI info 6 software. Statistical calculations and calculation of raw growth percentiles were performed using Statistical Package of Social Science program 15.0. RESULTS: The findings showed that boys less than 9.5 years of age were heavier than girls of the same age, while girls were heavier thereafter. Similarly, the average height of boys till 10 years was higher than the girls, but girls surpassed boys after 10 years of age. The fifth centile of boys' height at the ages of 6 and 7 years was higher than the same centile in the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). In all centiles and all ages, the height of Abadanian girls was below the age-matched NCHS centiles. This difference was significant in 6 (P=0.003), 7 (P=0.007), and 11 years (P=0.002). The results showed that at the age of 6 and 8 years, the 50th centile of the weight of Abadanian boys was slightly below the 50th centile of NCHS. At the age of 6 and 7 years, the 50th centile of girls weight was close to the 25th centile of NCHS, and as the age increased, it shifted upward, to come close to the 50th centile of NCHS. This difference between our study and NCHS girls' weight curve during the 6-11 age period was significant (Z-test, P<0.0001). CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: There are some significant differences between the Iranian and NCHS growth parameters. It may be necessary to define new national growth parameters to assess our child health status.