The effect of in-arms-holding by mothers on sleep-wake states disorders of preterm neonates in neonatal intensive care unit: a pilot study

Mother-infant separation is one of the main causes of sleep-wake states disorders in neonatal intensive care unit [NICU]. The current study was conducted to investigate the effect of in-arms-holding by mothers on sleep-wake states disorders of preterm neonates. In a pilot study, through a semi-experimental pretest-posttest method, 35 preterm neonates with gestational age between 32 and 37 weeks and their mothers were selected from NICU of Valiasr Hospital, Tehran, Iran. Data collection process was carried out using the behavioral states scale of Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program. Sleep-wake states data were collected in three phases: 20 min before intervention, 70 min of intervention [mother holding], and 20 min after intervention. The collected data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance [RM ANOVA] and Bonferroni test in the SPSS for Windows 17.0. About 57% of neonates were male. The results of RM ANOVA showed that there were significant differences between three phases of study in terms of deep sleep [P < 0.001, F = 20.400], light sleep [P < 0.001, F = 167.230], drowsiness [P < 0.001, F = 26.770], quietly awake [P < 0.001, F = 27.380] and crying [P = 0.001, F = 4.370], but there was no significant difference for actively awake. Holding the preterm neonates by their mothers seems to improve their sleep-wake states. Medical and nursing staff in NICUs and nurseries may be recommended to use this kind of care to prevent sleep and wake disorders of neonates

effect of education on nutrition behavioral intention and self-efficacy in women

Maternal nutrition behavior under health education/health promotion programs and optimal control prior to conception, beneficially serves to mothers and their fetuses. In fact adequate micronutrients intake such as iron and folic acid meet the least risk of harm to the unborn child. The present study examines the impact of a pre-pregnancy workshop focused on iron and folic acid intake on behavioral intention and nutrition self-efficacy among women planning pregnancy. In this study, a randomized controlled trial design was used. One hundred and four women were recruited from premarital counseling clinics authorized by Iran University of Medical Sciences and allocated to two groups of experimental and control by blocking randomization. Data collection instrument was a questionnaire. Data analysis were performed by descriptive and inferential statistics. Compared to the control group, the results revealed that there was a significant post-interventional difference in the score of behavioral intention [P < 0.001], whereas no significant difference was found in the scores of nutrition self-efficacy after the intervention. It is concluded that short-term pre-pregnancy health education in the form of a one -day healthy nutrition workshop leads to increase behavioral intention on iron and folic acid intake among women planning pregnancy. However, further studies on strategies of health education might be performed to influence women's nutrition self-efficacy

[Perspectives of nurses on organizational culture]

Hospitals and healthcare centers, like any other organizations, have some common norms and beliefs called as organizational culture. Organizational culture plays a key role in organization's and staffs' performances. Nurses' perspectives on the organizational culture affect the way they play their role in. This study aimed to investigate the role of organizational culture from perspectives of nurses working in selected hospitals at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. In this cross-sectional study, 230 nurses working in different wards of selected hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences were recruited to the study. Data were collected using a demographic characteristics checklist as well as the nurse and organizational culture questionnaire extracted from the Robbins criteria. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistical indexes, independent t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient and regression in the SPSS v.17. Results showed that the existing organizational culture in the selected hospitals was in a moderately good level from nurses' perspectives. From the scores obtained for various dimensions of the organizational culture, the highest and lowest scores were for control [44.2%] and conflict tolerance [31.8%], respectively. The level of the organizational culture from the nurses' perspectives might lead them to decrease the quality of their performance. Optimizing the organizational culture can improve nurses' performance and motivate them to increase their quality of work

[General self-efficacy among family's female caregiver of elderly with Alzheimer's disease]

Caregivers of elderly with Alzheimer's disease, particularly females, encounter challenges. Their different roles in giving care to the patients could result in physical and mental disorders. The self-efficacy seems to be an essential factor in empowering individuals coping with stressful situations and challenging tasks. The aim of this study was to investigate general self-efficacy among women as family caregivers of elderly with Alzheimer's disease. In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 112 women reffered to the Iran Alzheimer Association, Tehran were selected through convenience sampling method. The General Self-Efficacy Scale [GSE-10] was used to collect data. Data were entered into the SPSS-16 and then processed using descriptive statistics and independent t-test, ANOVA and Scheffe. The mean score of the general self-efficacy was 28.24 +/- 6.34 indicating that considerable percentage of the participants had unsatisfactory level of self-efficacy [65.2%]. In addition, there were significant relationships between the women's general self-efficacy with educational and economic statuses [P<0.05]. There were no significant relationships between general self-efficacy with age, marital status, occupational status and duration of caring. According to the findings, a considerable percentage of the participants had unsatisfactory level of self-efficacy. Therefore, it is essential to promote the caregivers self-efficacy in order to give them the ability of better adaptation with the life's challenges. In particular, the self-efficacy promotive programs should be implemented among caregivers with lower educational and economic status

[ effect of problem-based learning on nursing students' learning level]

To offer a better care in complex clinical environments and with rapid changes in technology, nurses need to improve their problem-solving skill. Student-centered and active learning approaches are more effective in this regard. Hence, this study was to determine the effect of Problem-Base Learning [PBL] on nursing students' learning level. This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 32 nursing students [in their fifth semester] who had chosen mental health course in Golestan University of Medical Sciences in 2007. The students were randomly divided into two groups of cases [8 persons] and controls [24 persons]. Having applied PBL and lecture during the course, learning was evaluated via theoretical exams of similar content and cognitive level in two groups, right at the end and two months after the course. Data was analyzed using Mann-Whitney and independent t-Test. The level of significance was 0.05. Most of the students, with a mean [ +/- SD] age of 21.85[ +/- 1.97] years, were single [90.62%], and lived in a dormitory [75%]. Although the mean scores were higher in cases compared to the controls two months after the course, there was no significant difference in both groups regarding overall learning. However, a significant difference was seen in different cognitive levels [P<0.0001]; this implies that lecture based learning students got a better score in knowledge level whereas PBL students received a higher score in tests of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. our results suggest that although both forms of teaching were effective, PBL seemed to be more effective than Lecture Based Learning in improving knowledge level and constant learning