ABSTRACT
Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death and disabilities in the world. The purpose of the present study is to determine the perceived barriers and benefits of adopting health-promoting behaviors among individuals at risk of cardiovascular diseases referring to TUMS Teaching Hospitals in 2011. This is a cross-sectional study in which 325 patients at risk of cardiovascular diseases were randomly selected. The data were collected using a self-made questionnaire having three parts: 14 items for demographic and health-related variables, 12 items for perceived barriers, and another 12 items for benefits. For data analysis, SPSS 18 was used. The mean age of patients was 53.56 +/- 11.27; about 47.7% of patients[n=155] were female and 52.3% [n=170] were male. There was a meaningful relationship between the mean of perceived benefits on the one hand and occupation, physical activity, type and frequency of physical activity, smoking and awareness of cardiovascular diseases on the other[p<0.001]. Moreover, the mean of perceived barriers showed a meaningful relationship with occupation, smoking and awareness of cardiovascular diseases[p<0.05]. The findings of the present study revealed that demographic and health-related variables could affect the perception of barriers and benefits of adopting certain behaviors for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, using interventional and educational approaches appropriate for target group features can help us take effective steps towards health promotion
ABSTRACT
Diabetes control should be considered as a chronic illness in many fields. Perceived social support is one of the most important social factors in diabetes control. In this study, we aimed to determine the relation between perceived social support and relevant factors with HbAlC in type 1 diabetic patients. This study was a cross sectional which assessed relation between perceived social support and HbAlC of 113 diabetic patients affiliated to hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences during 6 months in 2011. The instrument for data collection was a multidimensional scale including socio demographic and health status data, perceived social support scale by family members [20 items], perceived social support scale by friends [20 items]. Collected data was analyzed by SPSS software version 11.5 with using nonparametric tests such as Mann-Witney and kruskal-Wallistests., None of variables has statistical association with perceived social support by friends [p> 0.05]. Perceived social support by family members had significant relation with HbAlC among men [p-0.05] and patients with BMI in 26-29.9 ranges [p=0.01. It seems that perceived social support from family members is more important than perceived social support from friends. This finding is highlighted among men and patients with borderline BMI. Other variables such as disease duration, marital status, occupation, and education level had no statistical relation with HbAlC