ABSTRACT
In recent years, special emphasis has been placed on the problems of the parents with disabled children. Hence, this study aimed to evaluate the problems in the families of disabled children. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 352 disabled children residing in rehabilitation centers of Kashan during 2007-8. A census was conducted in families of the children through an interview and a questionnaire. Moreover, some demographic characteristics [e.g. family attitude, and problems related to disabilities] were evaluated and analyzed using the descriptive statistics. Among 352 cases, 234 [66.6%] were male and most of them [36.1%] aged 10-19 years. The mean age of children was 24.2 +/- 18.5 years. Ninety-seven percent of mothers were housewives; 52% mentally disabled; 15.6% physically disabled and the remaining both mentally and physically disabled. Almost one-third of the families had more than one disabled children. The most frequent disabilities were associated with behavioral disorders, facial paralyses, limb deformities, fecal and urinary incontinence, running off at the mouth and convulsion, respectively. Most children were dependent on their adults in feeding, dressing and playing. In addition, the most important problems of the children were fecal and urinary incontinence, impairment in social adaptation with healthy children, verbal communication, recognizing individuals and also financial problems. Moreover, a significant relationship was seen between the severity of physical disability and gender [P=0.001]. Considering that the disabled children face multiple social and physical problems, they require financial, social and familial support to have a near normal life
ABSTRACT
Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women with an estimated new cases amount to 178000 in 2007. Although surgery is the most frequent intervention, patients experience problems both from the disease and from surgery, leading to negative impact on their quality of life [QOL]. Accordingly, such exercises as walking can improve their QOL. The aim of this quasi-experimental one-group study was to assess the effect of walking on QOL of mastectomy patients in 2007. 34 subjects selected by purposive and convenience sampling methods took part in the study. A two-part questionnaire including demographic as well as QOL items and a self-report form were used for data collection. After determining content and face validities, the reliability of the questionnaire was figured by internal consistency [alpha = 0.89] and test-retest [r = 0.91] methods. Walking was performed in a flat area, 3 times a week and each time 30 minutes over 6 weeks. QOL items in the questionnaire were completed 2 times before and after the intervention. Mean scores of physical domain before and after the intervention were% 64.55 +/- 8.10 and 78.89 +/- 5.81, of psychological domain 52.89 +/- 10.74 and 64.92 +/- 8.64, of social domain 64.76 +/- 9.59 and 79.06 +/- 25.62, of economical domain 68.63 +/- 16.29 and 73.28 +/- 15.32 and of spiritual domain 79.96 +/- 12.57 and 82.54 +/- 11.18 respectively. Mean scores of total QOL were 66.16 +/- 6.30 and 75.74 +/- 6.59 before and after the intervention respectively. A significant increase was found in all domains except spiritual. It can be concluded that walking has positive effects on QOL of mastectomy patients to overcome their problems