[ effect of acupressure at the 3[rd] point of liver channel on quality of life of female students with primary dysmenorrhea in Tehran teacher training center in 2008: a randomize clinical trial]

Dysmenorrhea affects women's quality of life; moreover it results in physical, mental, social and economical problems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of acupressure at the third point of liver channel [liv3] on quality of life in female students of Tehran Teaching Training [Tarbiat Moallem] Center with primary dysmenorrhea. This single-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted on 194 female students of Nasibeh Tarbiat Moallem center in Tehran who had had inclusion criteria. In the first cycle, the severity and duration of pain and quality of life were determined. Therefore, the participants were randomly assigned to either experimental or control group. In the second, third and fourth cycles, acupressure at liv3 and placebo point during 3-7 days before menstruation for 20 minute were carried out. In the fourth cycle, participants completed SF-36 questionnaire after menstruation again. Data-gathering Instruments used in this study included wrong-Baker faces pain scale, Beck-21 questionarre, SF-36 questionnaire, clock, Acuhealth tens pro 900 set, force guage. Data were analyzed with SPSS 16 and x[2] test, Man Whitney U, independent and paired test. P values were set as 0.05 [p<0.05]. There was no significant difference in mean quality of life dimension between two groups in the first cycle [p>0.05] but there was a significant difference in mean quality of life dimension between two groups in the fourth cycle [p<0.05]. The comparison between the first and the fourth cycle in two group showed a significant difference in all dimension [p<0.05] but there was not any significant difference between two cycles in Role Emotional functioning dimension in experimental group [p>0.05]. Moreover, there was no significant difference between two cycles in Role Emotional functioning and social functioning dimensions in experimental group [p>0.05]. with regard to the results of this study, acupressure at liv3 point is suggested as useful, effective, cheap and available treatment for primary dysmenorrheal

Barriers to and factors facilitating breast cancer screening among Iranian women: a qualitative study

This study used qualitative methodology to understand Iranian women's views about barriers to and factors facilitating screening for early detection of breast cancer. Using grounded theory with in-depth interviews of 31 participants, themes emerged from the data in 2 main categories [internal and external] with 3 sub-categories: women's attitudes, feelings and beliefs; women's social network experiences; and accessibility. Facilitating factors for screening were self-care, fear, proactive coping, state of mind and advocacy. Barriers were negligence, cancer-related fear, low self-efficacy, fatalism, misinformation, ineffective health communication and competing priorities