ABSTRACT
Background: The reduction of suicidal attempts as one of the most important goals is improvement of societies' health status. The present study aimed to assess the epidemiologic aspects of suicide cases in Fars province in 2010-2011
Methods: A total of 9714 suicide cases in Fars province, south of Iran, in 2010-2011 were enrolled in this cross-sectional study through census. The study data were collected using suicide registry forms in the health centers affiliated to Fars province department of health services and analyzed using SPSS, version 17
Results: The rate of suicide attempts was 116.5 per 100,000 population in Fars province [93per 100,000 among men and 141.5 per 100,000 among women]. The results showed significant differences between the suicide rates based on sex, age group, place of living, and season of the year [P<0.001]. Most of these cases were female [59.4%], single [52.9%], 15-24 years old [56.4%], had high school education [25.8%], lived in urban areas [69.6%] and were female homemakers [30.3%]. Based on the data, however, the largest number of suicide deaths resulted from self-immolation [56.7%]
Conclusion: The present study findings revealed different rates of suicidal attempts based on sex and age group. Also, the importance of education and mental support, especially among women and singles, and also preventive measures in the context of uncontrolled immigration from the countryside to the large cities seems to essential more than ever. Yet, defects in some findings, particularly information about etiology, suggest that more researches should be conducted and suicide data registry and reporting systems should be improved
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Recognizing the determinants of behavior plays a major role in identification and application of effective strategies for encouraging individuals to follow the intended pattern of behavior. The present study aimed to analyze the university students' behaviors regarding the amenability to dress code, using the theory of reasoned action [TRA]
Methods: In this cross sectional study, 472 students were selected through multi-stage random sampling. The data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by specialists. Besides, its reliability was confirmed by conducting a pilot study revealing Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.93 for attitude, 0.83 for subjective norms, 0.94 for behavioral intention and 0.77 for behavior. The data were entered into the SPSS statistical software and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics [Mann-Whitney, correlation and regression analysis]
Results: Based on the students' self-reports, conformity of clothes to the university's dress code was below the expected level in 28.87% of the female students and 28.55% of the male ones. The mean scores of attitude, subjective norms, and behavioral intention to comply with dress code policy were 28.78 +/- 10.08, 28.51 +/- 8.25 and 11.12 +/- 3.84, respectively. The students of different colleges were different from each other concerning TRA constructs. Yet, subjective norms played a more critical role in explaining the variance of dress code behavior among the students
Conclusion: Theory of reasoned action explained the students' dress code behaviors relatively well. The study results suggest paying attention to appropriate approaches in educational, cultural activities, including promotion of student-teacher communication