[ effects of group therapy on mental health condition in mothers of thalassemic patients]

Thalassemia is the most common hereditary chronic anemia in human. It causes terrible effects on psychological health condition of family members, especially mothers. Due to the advantages and a very few side effects of group therapy, the current study aimed at determining the effects of group therapy on mental health condition of the thalassemic patients' mothers. A clinical trial was conducted on 60 mothers of thalassemic patients in Hajar hospital of Shahrekord medical university and Seieed Al Shohada hospital in Farsan. At the beginning of the study all mothers were administered a demographic and mental health questionnaire [GHQ28] and among those who scored higher than 23, were randomly designated to the experimental and control groups. In the treatment period of the study the participants in the experimental group attended 8 weekly sessions of group therapy. Data were analyzed using ANOVA, t-test, paired t-test, and Pearson Correlation. Before the experiment there was no significant difference between the two groups of subjects in both questionnaires in all dimensions [P>0.05]. After the treatment period a significant difference was observed between the two groups in all dimensions of mental health [P<0.05]. The results also showed that there was no correlation between demographic variables and mental health conditions. The results of this study showed that group therapy has a considerable positive effect on recovery and improvement of mental health of mothers of the chronic patients, like thalassemia in all dimensions

Parent's perception of obesity in their 6-12 year old obese child ; can parental education be effective?

Obesity in children is a major health problem and parents can play an important role in its prevention and treatment. However, some parents are unaware of the problem and believing that their obese children are healthy do not participate in any related preventive or educational programs. The aim of this study is to assess parental perception of obesity in children aged 6-12 years and to evaluate the effect of education could have on this. This study has been conducted in two stages [stage 1, descriptive and second stage, experimental]. Weight, length, and body mass index were calculated in children aged 6-12 years. Then 300 children with BMIs higher than those standard for sex and age were selected as obese. Questionnaires for each child were completed by one of the parents. Parents that believed their obese children were not overweight, were divided into two groups, randomly. One group was educated about obesity during four, 2-hour sessions whereas the other group were not. After two months, questionnaires were completed by both groups and compared. Findings of the study showed 41/3% obese children are girls and 58/7% are boys. Among parents of obese children, 23/3% believed that their obese children were not overweight and after education, 94/3% became aware of their child's obesity and overweight. In this study, there was no relationship between the mother's job or the child's sex and the mother's perception. Present beliefs of parents regarding obesity and overweight in children need to be assessed in communities and educational programs conducted if necessary