Effectiveness of spiritual group therapy on quality of life and spiritual well-being among patients with breast cancer

Cancer is deemed the century's major health problem, and its increasing growth during the last decades has made experts concerned more than ever. Of all types of cancer, breast cancer is regarded as the second most common disease among women. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of spiritual group therapy on quality of life and spiritual well-being among patients suffering from breast cancer. The present research was carried out between March and June 2011. The sample consisted of 24 participants randomly assigned to 2 groups: an experimental group [n, 12] and a control group [n, 12]. All the subjects completed questionnaires on quality of life and spiritual well-being in pretest and posttest. The experimental group received 12 sessions of spiritual group therapy. The results demonstrated improvement in quality of life and spiritual well-being in the experimental group. In conclusion, spiritual group therapy can be used to improve quality of life and spiritual well-being [religious health and existential health] among patients with breast cancer

Comparison of predisposing and effective factors on divorce application between men and women

With regard to his human and social nature, sympathy is required that men and women live together in peace and rest. Since that family is manifestation and expression of life and love, divorce is a critical that consequences and undesirable effects on individuals, families and society. The present study based on gender People requesting a divorce in the family courts in Tehran has paid during the years 2006-2007. The sample included 300 people referred from the courts, and cross-sectional study approach, with structured interview was conducted. Causes and reasons for divorce after the interview and identified as economic factors, psychological, cultural - social, sexual problems, physical, addiction, violence and marriage with this classification and statistical methods chi-square, Fisher and Mann - Whitney two groups were compared. Results showed that although most divorce because both gender [84.4% of women and 90% of men] lack of understanding and compromise has been divorce for women, but more influenced by socioeconomic status [P< 0.001], violence [P< 0.001] sexual problems [P= 0.048] and addiction [P= 0.001], while men were more due to cultural problems - social [P= 0.023] had been demanded divorce. The results also suggested the counseling of premarital and to aware in the field of professional advice at the time of the divorce that it can prevent the occurrence divorce

survey of divorce incidence in divorce applicants in Tehran

To study the qualification of divorce main factors so that it would be clarified proper consultation-intervention solutions to decrease it by counseling methods in the courts and counseling clinics. The divorce is categorized as the most tragic of social phenomenon, the damages and problems of which undergone by the couple and their families before and after divorce and the effective factors of this phenomenon incidence have been studied for many years. Divorce has different factors and it can never clarify a specific one as the main factor of divorce. This survey studied the divorce creating factors in divorce applicants in Tehran Family courts [Shahid Mahalati-Vanak] during 2010-2011. The applicants of sampling group were including 300 referred ones from the courts, and the research method was descriptive and cross-sectional accomplishing by structured interview. Findings were shown as frequency and percent. The results showed that the important factors of divorce request are including in order of psychic factors [93.3%], social and cultural factors [87.3%], sexual factors [88%], economical factors [80.3%], and violence [84.3%], and it may be multi-factors as well. In addition to recommendation for more study in these fields, the results of this survey suggest to apply the necessary programming in teaching and counseling before the marriage as well as the necessity of informing the couple in receiving professional consults in time of problem incidence and proceeding for divorce in order to prevent from divorce incidence

[ role of depression, stress, happiness and social support in identifying suicidal thoughts in students]

This study has investigated the predictive value of psychological constructs including stressfulness of life, depression, happiness and social support on the rate of suicidal thoughts in students. The study sample included 1094 boys and girls residing in the Tehran University's student dormitory. The participants completed Suicidal Ideation Scale [SIS], Student Depression Scale [SDS], Student Life Stress Inventory [SLSI], Oxford Happiness Scale [OHS], and Social Support [SS] scale. The statistical data analysis using multiple regression techniques showed that happiness, depression, stress and social support account for 76 percent of the changes in students' suicidal thoughts. In addition, the results showed that depression has the strongest predictive power of suicidal thoughts. Depression and related structural variables could be used for predicting and efficiently identifying students' suicidal thoughts

[Evaluation of mental health program integration into the primary health care system of Iran]

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the integration of mental health program into primary health care system. In a cross-sectional, quantitative and qualitative study, the knowledge, attitude and performance of 1209 individuals of general population, 146 behvarzes, 35 health technicians and 51 general practitioners from rural health centers of Gilan, Tehran, Meshad, Iran, Kerman and Kermanshah universities of medical sciences who were undercoverage and out of coverage of mental health program in the rural areas of selected centers, were selected by randomized cluster sampling. The data was gathered using knowledge, attitude and performance questionnaires of behvarzes, general population and general practitioners toward mental health, behvarzes' performance on training, following up and referral of mentally patients based on primary health care [PHC] program, knowledge and attitude of general population toward mental illnesses, epilepsy, mental retardation, their causes and treatments, general physicians awareness about treatment, referral and integration of mental health program into PHC, general practitioners's performance of health centers and a semi-structured questionnaire for focus group discussion sessions [FGD]. Thirty trained mental health experts from neighborhood of selected provinces, completed questionnaires and analyzed. Descriptive statistics and independent t-test were executed. There was significant difference between behvarzes in areas under coverage and out of coverage in knowledge [p

[Attitude, knowledge, and satisfaction of health personnel and general population about the program of integration of mental health in PHC in Iran: a systematic review]

To systematically review studies on attitude, knowledge, and satisfaction of health personnel and general population about the program of integration of mental health in PHC in the recent 20 years. International and local databases were electronically searched. Hand searching, reviewing reference lists and personal communications were also done. 11 studies on attitude and knowledge and one study on satisfaction were selected after reviewing full texts of the documents. Most studies were on Behvarzes and general population and few studies assessed other groups. Knowledge of the studied groups were higher than average in most studies. The only satisfaction study suggested a medium, high, and low satisfaction of general population from interpersonal and care delivery, time and cost benefit, and treatment outcomes, respectively. Knowledge and attitude of the personnel and general population seems to be average or higher in most studies. This could be partly due to implementation of the integration program. However, more empirical data is needed to evaluate the issues more specifically

[Urban mental health service: primary health care model with community participation]

The aim of the present study was to assess the degree of efficiency of mental health education for non-psychiatrist medical specialists in attracting public cooperation and the provision of mental health in the form of an urban cooperative model. The residents of districts 11, 16, and 18 in municipality area 6 of Tehran were considered as the covered community. 20 volunteers [as mental health contact], three individuals with master degree in clinical psychology or consultation, three psychiatrists, and 15 non-psychiatrist specialists [all from municipality area 6] comprised the subjects of the present study and voluntarily participated in this research. Data were gathered using quantitative [demographic questionnaires, specialists' survey, and mental health contact survey] as well as qualitative [registering observations and experiences] methods. Data analysis was done via SPSS-15 and using dependent t-test. The findings revealed that the scores of the volunteers and specialists changed from pretest to post-test [p

role of demographic and psychological variables in predicting violence in victims of spouse abuse in Tehran

The main objective of this research was to assess the roles of demographic and mental health variables as predictive variables of abuse among individuals referred to police stations and family courts. 450 individuals were selected through stratified convenience sampling from 49 police stations and the family court in the city of Tehran. The subjects were administered a demographics questionnaire, Spouse abuse questionnaire, and the Symptom Checklist -90- Revised [SCL-90-R]. The data were analyzed through multivariate regression analysis and regression variance analysis. The results revealed that the variables like pregnancy, low age and education, high number of children, addiction, spouse unemployment and psychiatric problems could be considered as predictive variables for experience of various types of abuse [physical, sexual, and emotional]. [P<0.01]. In addition, pregnancy, low age and education, wife's unemployment, and high number of children, are predictive variables for severe spouse abuse. Identifying effective factors leading to spouse abuse can be helpful to develop purposeful programs for reducing and preventing spouse abuse

How to run psychiatry OSCE in three days

Objectivity, reliability and validity of examinations in psychiatry have always been one of the major concerns of experts in this discipline. Recently, objective structured clinical examination [OSCE] for its unique approach and by providing the requirements of psychiatric examinations has been a topic of interest. In Iran, an OSCE has been replaced the individual patient assessment [IPA] for examination of the National Board of Psychiatry. Although it is better to provide psychiatry OSCE in an extended time frame, in some cases this examination should be executed in a short period of time. For executing OSCE in psychiatry, especially if it should be performed in a short time, it requires addressing various points. In this article, based upon the previous experiences, we offer a standard format for establishing a practical, reliable and measurable OSCE in psychiatry in three days