Evaluation of validation characteristics of comprehensive midwifery examination checklists to evaluate the clinical skills of midwifery students: A methodological study.

BACKGROUND: Due to the high percentage of need for clinical techniques in the field of midwifery, evaluation of clinical skills of graduates is necessary. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the validation characteristics of comprehensive examination checklists in midwifery students. DESIGN: The present study was a methodological study in which seven checklists related to important midwifery skills were entered into the psychometric process. SETTING: The study was conducted in the School of Nursing and Midwifery and the Persian Gulf martyrs and Salman Farsi Hospitals, Nabi-e-Akram comprehensive health center in Bushehr city. PARTICIPANTS: Quantitative face validity was performed by examining the item impact score based on the opinions of 10 midwifery graduates. Quantitative content validity was performed by examining the content validity ratio and index based on the opinions of 12 experts. For structural validity as well as reliability assessment, checklists were used for 78 midwifery students who had completed their studies and were about to graduate. To determine the convergent validity, the correlation of the score of each checklist with the mean score of the similar fields of each skill was measured. Divergent validity was assessed by measuring the correlation between the score of each checklist and the score of other checklists and comparing it with the internal consistency of each checklist. Internal consistency and agreement between evaluators were used to assess reliability. Data were analyzed using SPSS19. RESULTS: Content validity index and content validity ratio for each item were more than 0.79 and 0.67, respectively. There was a significant correlation between the score of each skill and the mean score of similar fields of that skill (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: According to the results, it can be concluded that comprehensive midwifery student evaluation checklists are a valid and reliable tool.

Pregnancy; an opportunity to return to a healthy lifestyle: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The lifestyle of the mother during pregnancy can affectthe health of their baby. Since lifestyle change is a sociocultural act and the motivations associated with lifestyle patterns during pregnancy cannot be explained in quantitative studies, a comprehensive study of the lifestyle during pregnancy and factors influencing its patterns was needed to investigate it from different aspects. Thus, the present study aimed to explore 'mothers' perceptions and experiences about lifestyle patterns during and after pregnancy and the reasons for adopting these lifestyles. METHODS: The present study, conducted on 20 pregnant or postpartum women living in Bushehr, Iran, has used a conventional content analysis approach. The purposeful sampling method was used with maximum diversity and continued until data saturation. data were collected through face-to-face, in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Informed consent was obtained from all participants, and assuringthe confidentiality of their information. MAXQDA 10 software was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Four main themes were defined after data analysis; "Being a mother as motivation for adopting a new healthy lifestyle"; "Access to information from media and supports from physicians as facilitators of adopting healthy lifestyle"; "Aspects of lifestyle modifications" and "Durability of healthy lifestyles". When women become pregnant, they feel a responsibility tohave a healthy pregnancy. They care about their fetuses more than themselves, which motivated them to look for the best lifestyle. In this way, access information from mass media and recommendations from professionals (physicians, midwives, and other health care providers) were helpful factors to have a healthy lifestyle, leading to modifying physical, mental, and religious aspects of lifestyle. However, despite reminding the advantages of a healthy lifestyle, these changesshift to a pre-pregnancy lifestyle due to the cessation of support and care provided during pregnancy. CONCLUSION: The study results showed that pregnant women should be motivated to modify their lifestyle andadopt healthy lifestyles. Pregnant women seek to modify their lifestyle because of motherhood responsibility and and having a healthy baby. Access to information and supports from various sources promote a mother's inner decision to change, leading to modifying different aspects of life. However, these modifications often shift to the pre-pregnancy lifestyle due to cessation of supports and care, despite reminding the benefits of the lifestyle change. Health care providers should consider supportive measures during pregnancy and postpartum.

The effect of antidepressant treatment on the HPA axis, changes in depression score and serum levels of TNF-α in depressed infertile women

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to explore the effect of antidepressant treatment on the HPA axis, changes in depression score, and serum levels of TNF-α in depressed infertile women. Methods In this randomized controlled trial research, 60 infertile women who had undergone in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment with depression scores between 16-47 were divided into two groups. The intervention group with fluoxetine capsule was under treatment for two months before the embryo transfer, while the control group was given placebo. Depression score, serum levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) as well as cortisol hormone levels were measured and recorded both before and after the intervention. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 software. Results We analyzed the data related to 55 subjects who had undergone embryo transfer. 7 subjects in the intervention group and 3 in the control group got pregnant. We observed a significant decrease in the depression score (p < 0/001) and serum levels of cortisol (p = 0/001) in the intervention group. There was a significant increase in the serum levels of TNF-α in the intervention group (p < 0/001). There was a significant difference between the two groups in the number of pregnancies (p = 0.04). However, there was no statistical difference between them with regard to the number of harvested oocytes (p = 0.174). Discussion Decrease in depression score and cortisol level, and an increase in the levels of TNF-α in the intervention group caused any changes in the number of oocytes in comparison with the control group. However, the number of pregnancies was larger in the intervention group.