Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances scientific literature review: water exposure, impact on human health, and implications for regulatory reform.

Among other emerging contaminants in water, per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have garnered international attention from the scientific community on a global scale. Some countries, such as the United States, have found that PFASs are present in humans on a wide scale. Although two PFASs have been widely studied-Perfluorooctanoic acid and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid-many more PFASs are being created by industry and are either not known, not studied, or both. The objective of this literature review on PFASs is to give an overview of the information available about PFASs related to human exposure. The information from this literature review on the exposure of humans to PFASs through drinking water and the lack of many conventional drinking water treatment systems' ability to remove PFASs (particularly short-chain PFASs) suggests that current regulatory limits are insufficient to adequately protect humans. This is especially true for particularly vulnerable populations such as infants, young children, and developing children (pubescent). The gaps in the current knowledge and in current regulatory approaches could have long-term effects on human health.

Evaluating the Effect of Slow-Stroke Back Massage on the Anxiety of Candidates for Cataract Surgery.

BACKGROUND: The patients under cataract surgery often experience anxiety not only during the surgery, but also prior to the surgery. PURPOSE: We sought to determine the effects of slow-stroke back massage on anxiety in patients undergoing cataract surgery. SETTING: The study was conducted in the Amiral-momenin Hospital of Zabol city, south-east of Iran. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 60 candidates of cataract surgery participated in the study. RESEARCH DESIGN: The participants were randomly allocated to either control or intervention groups. The intervention group received slow-stroke back massages, while patients in control group received routine interventions. INTERVENTION: The slow-stroke back massage was performed on the patients assigned to the intervention group. The intervention was performed in the morning of the surgery day at 30 minutes before the surgery. The researcher performed each massage session in a sitting position. The duration of each massage session was 15 minutes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Anxiety was assessed in the both groups in the morning of the surgery, before and immediately after the intervention. Independent samples Student's t test, paired samples Student's t test, and chi-squared test were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Anxiety was not significantly different between the two groups before and after the massage (p = .816). On the other hand, paired samples Student's t test showed a significant difference comparing the anxiety scores before (49.7±5.43) and after (45.16±3.89) the massage in the intervention group (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Based on our results, slow-stroke back massage, which is a low-cost and safe method, reduced anxiety in patients who were candidates for cataract surgery.

Evaluating the effect of lifestyle education based on peer model on anxiety in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Background Anxiety in patients with myocardial infarction (MI) which has a very negative effect on the prognosis of their disease and their physical and mental health. We performed this study in order to find the impact of a peer based education (PE) on anxiety in patients with MI. Methods This was a randomized clinical trial study. The study participants included 60 patient with MI, who were randomly divided into two groups. The first group received routine education and the other one received PE. We assessed anxiety before and 30 days after the intervention through a valid questionnaires. Data were analyzed by independent sample t-test, two-way ANOVA and the Bonferroni test. Results The majority of samples were male, married, self-employer, and living in city. After 30 days intervention the anxiety score was significantly lower in the PE group compare to the control group. Conclusion Our findings indicated that the implication of PE as an educational element in decreasing anxiety score and can be considered as a method for continuing of care, and could as well as be a good approach for other patients.

Data based investigation of the peer education methods on self-efficacy in patients with myocardial infarction using a randomized control trial design.

This database aims to show the effects of peer-education (PE) on self-efficacy in patients with MI referring to Zabol Emam Ali Hospital in 2016. The data provided in this paper are for a descriptive-analytical and experimental study which included 70 patients with MI that randomly assigned to PE group (n = 35) and control group (n = 35). We used two tools for data collection in this data article. Patient׳s demographic data questionnaire, consisting of two parts: the first section had questions about general details such as age, education, marital status, while the second section had questions about health status information. Cardiac self-efficacy questionnaire was the second questionnaire. Finally, the data of 30 intervention and 30 control individuals were then analyzed by SPSS software and P value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. The data indicated that PE can be useful for providing a better care in MI patients, thus, it is recommended that it׳s better to use this training method besides the routine training of nurses for MI patients.

Effect of foot reflexology and slow stroke back massage on the severity of fatigue in patients undergoing hemodialysis: A semi-experimental study.

Background Fatigue is one of the most disturbing and the most common symptoms reported by patients dialyzed. There are methods available on complementary and alternative medicine, through which nurses can help patients to promote their health. Reflexology is a treatment which has a long history and is considered as one of the most popular and the most widespread methods of alternative medicine. In this study, the effects of foot reflexology and slow stroke back massage on the severity of fatigue in patients treated with hemodialysis were measured. Methods This is a quasi-experimental study that performed on 52 patients chosen from Imam Khomeini dialysis center in Zabol and divided into control and intervention groups by randomize allocation method. Required information collected from a demographic and fatigue severity questionnaire. After completing questionnaires by the study subjects, foot massage and slow stroke back massage was performed during three weeks, two sessions each week (5 sessions in total). At the end of intervention data of two groups was collected. Data was analyzed using independent sample t-Test, Chi-squared test, Fisher exact test, oneway ANOVA with repeated measures and Bonferroni test by SPSS software version 21. Results The mean [±SD] fatigue in patients with foot reflexology massage and slow stroke back massage reflect on the 53.61[±10.12] and 52.20 [±10.37], and the differences were not significant, but after the intervention, fatigue in the group receiving foot reflexology massage was reduced significantly compared to slow stroke back massage group (p<0.0001). Conclusions The result of this study showed that reflexology massage is a safe and economical nursing intervention for decreasing fatigue in hemodialysis patients.