The increasing trend of blood donation in Iran

BACKGROUND: This is the first study on the blood donation trend in Iran at a national level. We report different characteristics of blood donation such as demographic status, donor type, donation trend, and geographical distribution of blood donation in Iran between 2003 and 2017.METHODS: This study used data registered in the donor vigilance part of the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) and ArcMap GIS version 10.2 software. A P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.RESULTS: Based on the study results, blood donation in Iran reached >2 million units in 2017; moreover, it is predicted that Iran will achieve >29 donations per 1,000 population in 2022. The proportion of regular and repeated donors increased from 77% in 2013 to 87% in 2017. The average blood donation rate in seven provinces was higher than the national average, and the average growth rate of their blood donation per population was positive.CONCLUSION: The results of the current study showed that there is a recent increasing trend toward blood donation in Iran. Furthermore, the largest share of donations is related to regular donors. The increasing proportion of regular and repeated donors has led to the improvement in the quality and consequently health level of donated blood.

A review of methods to estimate the visibility factor for bias correction in network scale-up studies / 한국역학회지

Network scale-up is an indirect size estimation method, in which participants are questioned on sensitive behaviors of their social network members. Therefore, the visibility of the behavior affects the replies and estimates. Many attempts to estimate visibility have been made. The aims of this study were to review the main methods used to address visibility and to provide a summary of reported visibility factors (VFs) across populations. We systematically searched relevant databases and Google. In total, 15 studies and reports that calculated VFs were found. VF calculation studies have been applied in 9 countries, mostly in East Asia and Eastern Europe. The methods applied were expert opinion, comparison of NSU with another method, the game of contacts, social respect, and the coming-out rate. The VF has been calculated for heavy drug users, people who inject drugs (PWID), female sex workers (FSWs) and their clients, male who have sex with male (MSM), alcohol and methamphetamine users, and those who have experienced extra-/pre-marital sex and abortion. The VF varied from 1.4% in Japan to 52.0% in China for MSM; from 34.0% in Ukraine to 111.0% in China for FSWs; and from 12.0% among Iranian students to 57.0% in Ukraine for PWID. Our review revealed that VF estimates were heterogeneous, and were not available for most settings, in particular the Middle East and North Africa region, except Iran. More concrete methodologies to estimate the VF are required.

A review of methods to estimate the visibility factor for bias correction in network scale-up studies / 한국역학회지

Network scale-up is an indirect size estimation method, in which participants are questioned on sensitive behaviors of their social network members. Therefore, the visibility of the behavior affects the replies and estimates. Many attempts to estimate visibility have been made. The aims of this study were to review the main methods used to address visibility and to provide a summary of reported visibility factors (VFs) across populations. We systematically searched relevant databases and Google. In total, 15 studies and reports that calculated VFs were found. VF calculation studies have been applied in 9 countries, mostly in East Asia and Eastern Europe. The methods applied were expert opinion, comparison of NSU with another method, the game of contacts, social respect, and the coming-out rate. The VF has been calculated for heavy drug users, people who inject drugs (PWID), female sex workers (FSWs) and their clients, male who have sex with male (MSM), alcohol and methamphetamine users, and those who have experienced extra-/pre-marital sex and abortion. The VF varied from 1.4% in Japan to 52.0% in China for MSM; from 34.0% in Ukraine to 111.0% in China for FSWs; and from 12.0% among Iranian students to 57.0% in Ukraine for PWID. Our review revealed that VF estimates were heterogeneous, and were not available for most settings, in particular the Middle East and North Africa region, except Iran. More concrete methodologies to estimate the VF are required.

A review of methods to estimate the visibility factor for bias correction in network scale-up studies / 한국역학회지

Network scale-up is an indirect size estimation method, in which participants are questioned on sensitive behaviors of their social network members. Therefore, the visibility of the behavior affects the replies and estimates. Many attempts to estimate visibility have been made. The aims of this study were to review the main methods used to address visibility and to provide a summary of reported visibility factors (VFs) across populations. We systematically searched relevant databases and Google. In total, 15 studies and reports that calculated VFs were found. VF calculation studies have been applied in 9 countries, mostly in East Asia and Eastern Europe. The methods applied were expert opinion, comparison of NSU with another method, the game of contacts, social respect, and the coming-out rate. The VF has been calculated for heavy drug users, people who inject drugs (PWID), female sex workers (FSWs) and their clients, male who have sex with male (MSM), alcohol and methamphetamine users, and those who have experienced extra-/pre-marital sex and abortion. The VF varied from 1.4% in Japan to 52.0% in China for MSM; from 34.0% in Ukraine to 111.0% in China for FSWs; and from 12.0% among Iranian students to 57.0% in Ukraine for PWID. Our review revealed that VF estimates were heterogeneous, and were not available for most settings, in particular the Middle East and North Africa region, except Iran. More concrete methodologies to estimate the VF are required.

[Validation of short-form Nepean dyspepsia index in Iranian patients with functional dyspepsia]

Background: studying the validity and reliability of short-form ]SF[-Nepean Dyspepsia Index ]NDI[ in patients with functional dyspepsia ]FD

Materials and Methods: after translating to Persian, the NDI-10 was filled out by 210 patients with FD, whose disease had been diagnosed by a gastroenterologist based on Rome 3 criteria, who admitted to Gastroenterology Clinic of Afzalipour Hospital in 2015. The reliability of the questionnaire was studied by test-retest and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The validity of the questionnaire was evaluated through content-validity and criterion-validity

Results: through analyzing the results of test-retest of the questionnaire, the Pearson coefficient was obtained as 83%, which proves the reliability of the questionnaire. Criterion-validity with the correlation coefficient of 0.56 and content validity both proves the adequacy of questionnaire for measuring the quality of life in patients with FD

Conclusion: generally, Persian translation of this questionnaire has acceptable validity and reliability for measuring the quality of life in patients with FD

[Effective factors on oral health-promoting behaviors among elementary school students based on BASNEF model]

Introduction: Oral diseases are the most common diseases in the world, and among them, tooth decay is the most common problem. The aim of this study was to determine the effective factors on oral health-promoting behaviors among elementary school students of Baft based on BASNEF Model in 2015

Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 200 elementary school students who were selected using multistage random sampling method. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire including 62 questions consisted of two parts: demographic information and constructs of BASNEF model [attitude, subjective norms, behavioral intention, enabling factors, and behaviors]. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16

Results: Score of oral health-promoting behaviors in 74% of the students was moderate and in 20% of the students was good. Statistically significant relationship was observed between oral health-promoting behaviors of the students and class grades [P=0.004], mother's education [P=0.004], father's education [P=0.034], and father's occupation [P=0.007]. Among the constructs of BASNEF model, enabling factors [beta =0.511] and then behavioral intentions [beta =0.426] were the strongest predicting factors of oral health behavior

Conclusion: According to the obtained results, enabling factors were the most effective constructs of oral health-promoting behaviors; therefore, oral health promoters are recommended to focus on this issue

Exploring maternal mortality in relation to socioeconomic factors in Iran

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>Maternal mortality is a tragic death, and is perceived as a sensitive indicator of the socioeconomic status and healthcare services in a given country. In this study, the relationship between maternal deaths and factors such as socioeconomic development and the proportion of medical professionals in Iran was examined.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>This was an ecological study, where three main groups of data based on different provinces were applied. Data included maternal mortality ratio, the proportion of medical professionals and socioeconomic variables, such as urban residency, unemployment and literacy. Data were obtained from various sources, including census returns, the Family Unit at the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran and the Iran Medical Council. Data were analysed using univariate and multivariate methodologies.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Multivariate analysis showed a significant inverse relationship between maternal deaths and variables of male literacy (p < 0.001) and unemployment (p = 0.04). A marginally significant association was also found between maternal deaths and the proportion of midwives (p = 0.09).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Our findings underscore the role of literacy, particularly male literacy, in the prevention of maternal deaths. Iran, as a male-dominated society, could benefit from targeting men for training programmes to enhance the health of their families, and ultimately, that of the society. As economic status does play a role in maternal deaths, there is a need to strengthen the financial situation of families. The number of skilled medical personnel available in a population also plays a key role in reducing maternal deaths.</p>

Estimation of basic reproductive number of flu-like syndrome in a primary school in Iran

Iran, similar to other countries, had faced H1N1 flu outbreak in 2009. In order to assess its transmission dynamic, we estimated its force of infection [beta] and basic reproductive number [R[0]]. Within a middle size primary school in Iran, we actively followed students and detected flu-like syndrome among students and their families in the first three months of academic year; October through December 2009. We estimated the probability of disease transmission within families [beta] fitting random effects Poisson regression model. Moreover, R[0] within the school was computed based on the number of detected cases. In 452 students, 204 influenza-like syndromes were detected. The estimated beta within families was 0.10; increasing one infectious member within each family was associated with 30% increase in this number. The estimated R[0] for the first month was 1.21 [95% C.I.: 0.99, 1.47]; corresponding numbers for the first two and first three months were 1.28 [95% C.I.: 1.05, 1.54] and 1.32 [95% C.I.: 1.11, 1.59], respectively. It seems that the dynamic transmission of H1N1 virus was more or less comparable with that in other seasonal species. Our findings showed that the virus mainly circulated among students within schools. In addition, it seems that the transmission rate within families was relatively high