A systematic review of barriers and motivators to physical activity in elderly adults in Iran and worldwide / 한국역학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to identify and characterize the barriers and motivations to physical activity (PA) for elderly adults in Iran and other countries.METHODS: We searched 6 databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Magiran, and the Scientific Information Database) from 2000 to the November 2017, using “aged 60 and over,” “physical activity” or “exercise,” and “motivator” and “barrier” as keywords. Two reviewers independently performed the search, screening, and quality assessment of the studies.RESULTS: In total, 34 papers were finally included in the study. The most important barriers, based on the frequency of factors, included physical problems, having no companions, and physical barriers to walking. The motivators included improving one's physical condition, being social, and suitability of the physical environment.CONCLUSIONS: Important motivators and barriers to PA were more closely related to intrapersonal factors than to the interpersonal and environmental domains. The barriers and motivators to PA in the elderly were not markedly different between Iran and other countries. Therefore, a general strategy could be designed to improve PA in the elderly.

A systematic review of barriers and motivators to physical activity in elderly adults in Iran and worldwide / 한국역학회지

OBJECTIVES@#This study was conducted to identify and characterize the barriers and motivations to physical activity (PA) for elderly adults in Iran and other countries.@*METHODS@#We searched 6 databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Magiran, and the Scientific Information Database) from 2000 to the November 2017, using “aged 60 and over,”“physical activity” or “exercise,” and “motivator” and “barrier” as keywords. Two reviewers independently performed the search, screening, and quality assessment of the studies.@*RESULTS@#In total, 34 papers were finally included in the study. The most important barriers, based on the frequency of factors, included physical problems, having no companions, and physical barriers to walking. The motivators included improving one's physical condition, being social, and suitability of the physical environment.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Important motivators and barriers to PA were more closely related to intrapersonal factors than to the interpersonal and environmental domains. The barriers and motivators to PA in the elderly were not markedly different between Iran and other countries. Therefore, a general strategy could be designed to improve PA in the elderly.

critical review of studies on health needs assessment of elderly in the world

Introduction: Health improvement, control of communicable diseases and increase in life expectancy among the elderly of developed and developing countries has greatly increased. Since the health care and social needs of older adults differ from that of other adults, it is necessary to identify the needs of the elderly in order to make proper plans that will promote their health. The aim of this paper is to critically review these researches

Methods: A comprehensive literature review on the needs assessment of elderly health was applied searching English and Persian databases in Pub Med, Science Direct, ProQuest, Elsevier, Magiran, ISC and using key words including, Health need, Assessment, Elderly, Aging, Older adults, Aged and Health care needs

Results: Initial search yielded 745 references, considering the inclusion criteria, 21 papers were reviewed. Results revealed that in conducting needs assessment, various methods and procedures in various health dimensions including physical health, mental health, emotional, care, social, cultural, economic, nutritional, service, security, legal and educational needs have been utilized. Some of the dimensions had been more explored and some rarely

Conclusion: Most of the conducted studies had mainly focused on the elderly physical health needs and had neglected to take in to account other needs such as social and health care needs. In order to comprehensively recognize the health needs of the elderly, identifying their health care and care services is also important. Furthermore, in addition to quantitative studies, discovering the older adults' perceptions of their own health needs is also necessary. It seems that the challenge ahead of managers, experts and researchers on elderly health is trying to design comprehensive mechanisms of health need assessment and considering it as a reference for any future planning

Smoking knowledge, attitude and behavior of child labor who live in Tehran during 2013-2014

Children and adolescent smoking is one of the most important health problems in the world. There is a major concern that child labor may generate a pseudo maturity syndrome, including smoking. The current survey focus on smoking behavior, knowledge and attitude of child labor are working in Tehran. The study adopted a cross-sectional design, based on a primary pilot descriptive cross sectional study, using GYTS self-administered questionnaire. 816 child labor, which were student of work labor schools or worked as child labor on Tehran parks and crossing roads, were randomly selected using multi stage cluster sampling. DATA analyzed using SPSS v.22 [IBM statistic] software and chi square test to compare the frequency of variables in different groups. 50.6% of our participants were boy and child laboring age varied from 11 to 17 years old. 18.6% of child labor had smoking experience [Confident Interval 95%=17.3-20.1]. 9.8% of them were current smoker [CI 95%=8.6-10.9] and 1.2% were current regular smoker [CI 95%=0.9-2.1]. Child labor smoking hazard knowledge was evaluated by considering the minimum and maximum score of 10 to 30. Results demonstrated that the mean score of knowledge, attitude and behavior were 17.1 +/- 6.2, 36.5 +/- 16.1 [range 15-45] and 46.1 +/- 3.0 [range 25-75], respectively. Considering to our findings, planning tobacco control program for these specific groups is required, aiming at preventing cigarette smoking by increasing the knowledge and correcting their attitude

Consumption of fruits and vegetables among college students living in dormitory in Shahid Beheshti university of medical sciences

Obesity is rising rapidly in Iran. Nutrition is an important issue of obesity; Fruits and vegetables are among the best food sources of antioxidant vitamins, soluble fibers, phytochemicals, and other nutrient constituents. Further, some of these foods have been shown to be protective related to reduction of chronic disease risk. In this study, consumption of fruits and vegetables and body mass index [BMI] among College Students Living in dormitory at Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences were evaluated. In this descriptive analytic survey, 658 college students whose have being lived in dormitory at Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences were selected by clustering sampling method. Data collected using a food frequency questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS[16] software. Mean age of participants was 21.82 for females and 22.76 years for males. Frequency of fruits consumption was 2.6+/- 0.9 per day in female and 2.3+/-0.7 in male, while frequency of vegetables consumption was 3.2+/-1.00 in female and 2.9+/- 0.9 per day in male students. In general, consumption of fruits [p=0.003] and vegetables [p<0.001] were significantly more in female than males students. BMI in students was normal. Results indicated that students hadn't optimal practice towards fruits and vegetables consumption. Thus, it is essential that authorities pay more attention to this specific problem in training the students, in order to maintain the optimal nutritional status

Knowledge and attitude of dormitory students of Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences about substance abuse in 2013

The increase in substance abuse among youths and its complications form one of the most pressing health problems among students as an important and vulnerable group in society. The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge and attitude of dormitory students of Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences regarding substance abuse in 2013. This is a descriptive-analytic cross sectional study carried out on dormitory students of Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences regarding substance abuse in 2013. 604 male and female students living in the dormitories were selected via random sampling. Data were collected using a questionnaire developed by the researcher based on the questionnaire used by Dehghan, and on a review of relevant literature and expert opinion obtained from professors of the field. Data were analyzed by SPSS16 using descriptive and analytical tests [Pearson correlation, T-test and chi-square]. The mean score of knowledge of dormitory students at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences was 9.86+/-2.13. Most students [65.6%] had moderate knowledge about drugs. The subjects' mean score on attitude was 61.99+/-10.10. Most students [58.3%] had moderate positive attitudes towards drugs. Students are considered as major assets of a country. Therefore, planning and developing intervention strategies to prevent and reduce substance abuse among university students is essential and plays a major role in improving their health

Perceived social support, depression, and perceived stress in university students

Psychological disorders are universally common problems. Social support contributes much to the health of individuals. Focusing upon social support and upon vicissitudes of life can help prevent the depression-induced disorders. The present paper investigated the relationship between perceived social support, depression and perceived stress in university students.The descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 390 students living in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sceince campus, whom were selected based on a simple random selection method. The related questionnaires of multidimensional scales of perceived social support, Beck's depression, and perceived stress then were distributed during midterm among students to collect the necessary data. Data was fed into SPSS 16 and analysed using ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, independent t-test, Chi-square, and Fisher exact test.Our results indicated that 49.7 per cent of students suffered from specific degrees of depression. 30.5 per cent of students had given educational progress and employment as sources of stress in living in the campus. The perceived social support scores were 28.32+/-9.56, depression, 12.10+/-9.02, and for perceived stress was 26.84+/-8.27. A significant relationship was shown to be between perceived social support, depression, and perceived stress [p<0.001] The conclusion made in the paper is that considering depression and stress is crucial to the health of the students. Also, forming workgroups to increase social support for students can help alleviates depression and stress in university students

Study of Knowledge, attitude and practice towards physical activity and its Related Factorsof College Students Living on Campus in Shahid Beheshti University of medical science

Regular physical activity has a positive effect on physical, mental, and social aspects of individual and community health. Regarding prevalence of non-communicable diseases such as primary hypertension, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular diseases that sedentary is responsible for them; health policy makers plan to encourage people to do more physical activity. In this study, knowledge, attitude and practice towards physical activity and its related factors of students living on campus at Shahid Beheshti university of medical science were determined.In this descriptive analytic survey, 665 individuals college students living on campus at Shahid Beheshti university of medical science were selected by clustering sampling method. Data collected using questionnaires and analyzed by SPSS16 software.54.9% of the subjects were female and 45.1% male. Mean age of participants was 21.82 years for female and 22.76 years for male. Mean scores of knowledge was 73+/-1.72 for male and 78.90 +/-1.66 for female. In addition mean scores of attitude was 79.18 for male and 74.33 for female and mean scores of practice was 228.78 minute per week for male and 174.41minute per week for female.Results indicated that students had no optimal practice towards physical activity. Thus, more attention is necessary to be paid by authorities to this specific topic and some measures are essential in training students

Cigarette smoking, knowledge, attitude and prediction of smoking between male students, teachers and clergymen in Tehran, Iran, 2009

Students, clergymen and teachers as role models can be very important in encouragement or prevention of cigarette smoking in young people. The aim of this study was to compare prevalence of smoking in 3 male groups of teachers, clergymen and university students. Also, study their knowledge and attitude towards it and the prediction of their future consumption. In a cross sectional study in 2009 in Tehran, Iran, 1,271 male students, 549 clergymen and 551 teachers were randomly enrolled. Each participant completed the global adult tobacco survey questionnaire. Knowledge, attitude and prediction of smoking for the next 5 years were questioned in these 3 groups. Chi-squared test and logistic regression were used for analysis. P < 0.05 was considered significant. Prevalence of cigarette smoking was 31.1%, 21.9% and 27.2% among students, clergymen and teachers, respectively. Smoking in students was not associated with poor knowledge but were in teachers and clergymen. The odds ratio of smoking in students, clergymen and teachers was higher among those with having inappropriate attitude towards it [OR = 1.6, 6.1 and 4.5]. Those with poor knowledge had an inappropriate attitude and predicted higher chance of cigarette consumption in the next 5 years [P < 0.0001]. Inappropriate attitude in all 3 groups resulted in higher prediction of future smoking [P = 0.008]. This study revealed that the prevalence of smoking among male students and teachers was higher than general population and clergymen who equally smoked. Also, level of knowledge and attitude of students were lower than teachers and clergymen

[ effect of health education based on health belief model (HBM) for promoting preventive behavior of tooth decay among the boy students, who are in five-grade in the primary school]

Objective[s]: To determine the effect of health education based on health belief model [HBM] for promoting preventive behavior of tooth decay among the boy students, who are in five-grade in the primary school in Dezfool in 2009-2010

Methods: In this experimental study, 150 students were randomly allocated in the experimental]n=75] and control groups]n=75]. After need assessment based on health belief model, suitable educational intervention was designed and implemented for the experimental group. The data were collected by the questionnaire. Two groups were followed-up one-month after completion of intervention. Finally, the collected data were analyzed by SPSS software [version 15]

Results: There were no significant differences in demographic factors and constructs of model between the two groups before intervention, self efficacy and preventive behavior of tooth decay [P<0.05] between the two groups after intervention. After intervention, there were no significant differences between the two groups in the other constructs of model [perceived benefits, perceived barriers and cues to action]

Conclusion: Our findings showed that educational intervention based on health belief model may be an effective method for promoting preventive behavior of tooth decay in students

[Female adolescents'health needs: the role of family]

Objective[s]: Adolescents health needs are unique. An understanding of these needs will assist in the development of services, risk-reduction strategies and preventive health activities

Methods: This qualitative study was a part of a mixed method study about female adolescents health needs and conducted in Mazandaran province, a province in the north of Iran.67 female adolescents between 12-19 years of age participated in 8 focus group discussion. Inaddittion, semi structured interviews were done with 11 key informants including: 5 parents, 3 teachers and school counselors, 2 obstetricians and one midwife. Participants were selected based on purposeful sampling and with maximum variety. All tape-recorded data was fully transcribed and thematic analysis was done

Results: Findngs of this research around the role of family in adolescents health needs emphasized on 4 overarching themes including: supportive family relationships, needs for responsible parents, well-informed parents and parental monitoring

Conclusion: In attention to the critical role of family relationships in adolescents health needs, Parents education in order to help them to improve their relationships with their adolescents is necessary

[Female adolescents' reproductive health needs: a qualitative study]

Objective[s]: To explore adolescents and key informants' perception and experiences regarding to RHS needs of adolescents to plan support services

Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in Sari in the North of Iran. Sixty-seven urban and rural female adolescents between 12-18 years of old participated in 8 focus group discussions. In addition, semi structured interviews were done with 11 key informants. Participants were selected based on purposeful sampling and with maximum variety. All tape-recorded data was fully transcribed and thematic analysis was done to identify key themes

Results: Findings of this research around the adolescents' reproductive health services needs emphasized on 5 overarching themes including: general services, exclusive services, reinforcement of facilitators, reduce barriers and appropriate management of services

Conclusion: Provision of comprehensive services for adolescents and appropriate youth-friendly services at all level are needed to promote female adolescents' health and to prevent high risk behaviors

[Effective factors on coping with stress among employed women based on integrated model of planned behavior and self-efficacy]

Objective [s]: Coping with stress is more important than the nature of stress itself. Coping with stress is a health promotion behavior and behavior is influenced by unintelligible factors. Theory of planned behavior makes a useful framework for understanding the health behavior and designing appropriate training. Integrating the theory of planned behavior with self-efficacy will increase the predictive capability of the theory

Methods: This research is a qualitative approach based on the "Integrated Model of Planned Behavior and Self-efficacy". Total 70 women aged between 20-45 works in industrial factories are chosen by purposeful sampling with maximum diversity to participate in focus group discussion. Ten group interviews in the form of seven groups of ten were conducted. After collecting information, analyzing data from the conventional method of content analysis was conducted

Results: Results showed that the majority of women workers have the attitude that stress is the effective factor on body and spirit health and also a cause of job absence and decreased quality of work in work places. Shouting, emptying stress on others, patience and silence, preying, listening to music and walking are the majority of techniques that women workers use to cope with stress. Significance and effects of understanding and social support are subjective norms of women workers. Susceptible morale, lack of job security, weakness, and working with pressure and lack of knowledge and skills of coping with stress are the most important barriers of coping with stress in women workers .results showed that training the methods and skills of coping with stress and increasing supports in work places and home; could empower women to have more self-efficacy and intention to cope with stress

Conclusion: By rehabilitations of regular sessions and consulting and persuasion of women to reflect the problems in workplace; and also by informing and training the methods and skills of coping with stress; we can move toward a way of promoting health in our society

impacts of cigarette packaging pictorial warning labels on smokers in the City of Tehran

Cigarette smoking is considered the first preventable cause of death in the world. Social, familial, and personal factors play an important role in prevention or cessation of smoking. Educating the public in order to enhance their knowledge, change their attitude and improve their habits is also effective in this respect. In 2007, the executive protocol of the Comprehensive Law on Smoking Control was compiled in the Ministry of Health and according to the Article 5 of this law pictorial health warning labels had to be applied on cigarette packaging. This study was designed and conducted in 2 phases of before and 9 months after the implementation of this law and evaluated the effect of it on smokers' knowledge, attitude and pattern of smoking. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted to evaluate the effect of cigarette packs' pictorial health warning labels on the knowledge, attitude and smoking pattern of smokers residing in Tehran. After calculating the size of understudy population and estimation of the exclusions, 1731 subjects were randomly selected using the multiphase cluster method from the 22 districts of Tehran. Data were collected using a questionnaire designed according to the standard questionnaire of the World Health Organization [WHO] and International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease [IUATLD]. Qualitative and quantitative value and reliability of the variables including cigarette consumption, knowledge about the law, and pattern of smoking were evaluated in 2 phases and the quality of pictures and their effects on the mentioned variables were assessed in the 2nd phase. Before adopting the pictorial warning labels in the first phase of the study, 1731 respondents were evaluated out of which 71.8% were males and 28.2% were females. These cases had an average of 17.6 +/- 12.3 years history of smoking. A total of 38% [675 subjects] used Iranian cigarette brands and 39.5% were aware of the implementation of pictorial health warning labels on cigarette packs. In terms of smokers' attitude towards the implementation of this law, they mostly had no opinion about it. A total of 33.3% stated that they may cut down on smoking as the result of this law. Men had a higher percentage of smoking a cigarette first thing in the morning before breakfast and women had a higher rate of consuming foreign cigarette brands [P<0.001]. In the second phase of the study, 1590 cases of the phase 1 subjects participated. Subjects had a significantly higher knowledge about the implementation of pictorial health warning labels on cigarette packs [P<0.001]. Attitude towards this law did not change significantly compared to the first phase although the mean score improved by 0.07%. Enforcement of this law resulted in decreased consumption in 7.6% of the participants. However, the Wilcoxon test did not show any significant difference. In terms of the quality of pictures, 61.6% had no opinion, and 28.7% expressed that the pictures had poor quality. No significant difference was observed between the Iranian or foreign brands in terms of smoking rate after applying the pictorial warning labels. We believed that the smoking rate would decrease after applying the pictorial health warning labels on cigarette packs. However, it did not happen. Also, adopting these labels did not have a significant effect on smokers changing their favorite brand from Iranian to foreign brands or vice versa. Type and quality of pictures require major revision and corrections

[Quality gap in premarital education and consultation program in the health centers of Shahid Beheshti medical university]

Attendance in pre-marital education and counseling program may be the couple's first encounter with the health care system. Their perception and satisfaction of this program would play critical role in further use of health services. The purpose of this study was to identify the quality gap of pre-marital education and counseling program from viewpoint of couples referring to premarital counseling centers of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in 2010. In a descriptive cross-sectional study, a total of 1200 couples attending in premarital counseling centers were selected with non random sampling method and studied using SERVQUAL questionnaire. Data were analyzed with Wilcoxon, independent t-test, analysis of variance, and Turkey tests using SPSS version 18. The mean age of couples was 25.5 +/- 4.8 years, 65.8% of subjects were women and 34.2% were men. 56.5% of the couples had high school diploma or higher. There was negative service quality gap [-0.1] between expected and received services. The most service quality gap was in assurance dimension [-0.23] and the least was in empathy dimension [-0.04]. There was no significant difference between gap score mean, gender, and history of participation in premarital counseling classes, but there was significant difference in gap score between different education levels [p<0.001]. Regarding to negative gap between received and expected service; health care system should consider the couples' expectation to improve the quality of premarital education and counseling program

[ reproductive health status of women with experience of violence in harm reduction centers in Tehran, 2010]

Due to complications and consequences of violence against women and limited information about reproductive health issues in women with experience of violence, this survey was carried out to assess reproductive health status of these women in harm reduction centers in Tehran in 2010. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 69 out of 75 vulnerable women who were clients of harm reduction centers, and experienced at least one type of violence [emotional, physical, and sexual]. Data collection tools were questionnaires and data collection method was structured interview. The questionnaire had five dimensions, demographics, reproductive health, sexual performance, sexual behavior, and violence. Data was analyzed with SPSS 18; descriptive and analytic statistics were applied. Mean age of participants was 34.3[9.6] years and 37.7% of them were divorced. Mean age at first marriage was 16.7 [2.5] years and mean age at first sexual relationship was 16.1 [4.8] years. Illiteracy observed among 17.4% of participants. Among these women, 69.3% reported all three types of violence; furthermore, 85.3%, 86.7%, and 76% reported physical, emotional and sexual violence, respectively. 62.9% had unwanted pregnancy and 51.6% had an abortion. Contraception was completely ignored in 46.5% of participants. Among eligible women, 52.2% never participated in cervical cancer screening examination, 82.4% of them had sexual dysfunction, 39.1% of them had anal sex and 34.8% had oral sex. Despite of access to reproductive health services, many of these women had poor reproductive health conditions. Greater support and proper interventions can lead to better results for these women

Smoking habits of adolescent students in Tehran

Cigarette smoking is among the main preventable causes of untimely death, morbidity and mortality in the world. Various reasons have been suggested for cigarette smoking among students which are mostly related to the culture and customs of a country. This study aimed to evaluate the factors associated with cigarette smoking among students. This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in Tehran in 2008 and used "Global Youth Tobacco Survey" [GYTS] self-administered questionnaire for data collection. A total of 4, 523 students [2, 251 girls and 2, 272 boys] were selected by using randomized multi-stage cluster sampling. SPSS version 16 software, chi-square test and logistic regression test were used for data analysis. A total of 4, 523 students [50.2% boys and 49.8% girls] with a mean age of 14.69 +/- 2.09 yrs were evaluated. The prevalence of smoking experience, current smoking, and current regular smoking among students was 25.5%, 7.4%, and 1.9%, respectively. The score of knowledge was 5.29 +/- 1.29 for all students, 5.34 +/- 1.23 for nonsmoker students, and 4.57 +/- 1.74 for current smokers [P<0.01]. The mean score of attitude towards smoking was 27.29 +/- 7.41 for all students, 27.56 +/- 7.20 for non smokers and 21.10 +/- 7.69 for current smokers. The difference between the scores of current smokers and nonsmokers was statistically significant [P<0.01]. In evaluation of the correlation between cigarette smoking and different variables, several factors were found to increase the likelihood of smoking among students including the male gender, older age, low grades, having smoker friends, pocket money more than 300, 000 Rials [$30.00] per month, exposure to family members' smoking, lack of parental advice, low scores for knowledge, low scores for attitude, passive smoking[exposure to secondhand smoke at home or outside], poor perception of anti-smoking messages broadcasting by the media, watching actors smoking [cigarette or hookah] in movies, and last but not least viewing smoking advertisements and cigarette commercials [OR=1.464-57.707]. Considering our study findings, planning and implementation of educational tobacco control programs are required at schools aiming at preventing cigarette smoking by increasing the knowledge and correcting the attitude of students

[Evaluation of the smoking habit among male students of all faculties of the Shahid Beheshti University and Shahid Beheshti Medical Science University during 2008]

Cigarette smoking and consuming other tobacco products are the behaviors that generally start in adolescence. This study was done to evaluate the prevalence of smoking in male students of Shahid Beheshti University in 2008. This is a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study. The questionnaires were designed in accordance with the WHO and IUATLD questionnaires; validity and reliability of questionnaires were assessed in previous samples. Smoking prevalence and its determinants were evaluated using SPSS software. 1271 students including 765 [60.2%] medical students and 506 [39.8%] non-medical students were included in the study. In this population, 782 [61.5%] students had had smoking experience, among which 395 [31.1% of whole population and 50.5% of experienced smokers] smoked 100 cigarettes or the same amount of nicotine from other tobacco products. This figure increased significantly with an increase in the number of terms the students had attended the university i.e. senior students, [p=0.000]. There was no significant difference between smoking 100 cigarettes in medical and non-medical students, [p=0.08]. Figures for smoking experience and smoking 100 cigarettes were respectively 63.7% and 54.2% among medical students and they were 58.3% and 44.4% among non-medical students. Considering the high rate of smoking experience in this population, it is essential to implement prevention programs before entrance to the universities and the increasing rate of smoking in senior years calls for educational interventions in universities

[Evaluation of knowledge, attitude and practice about smoking among male teachers in Tehran, Iran]

To assess knowledge, attitude and practice about smoking should be evaluated as their cigarette smoking may lead to smoking among teachers in Tehran, Iran. This was a cross sectional study carried out in Tehran, Iran. A random sample of teachers from 50 schools were selected. Data on knowledge, attitude and practice about smoking were recorded using a WHO based questionnaire. In all 551 male teachers were took part in the study. 150 teachers reported that they smoke more then 100 cigarettes of these 80 teachers [14.5%] reported to smoke daily, 40 teachers [7.3%] smoked occasionally and 30 teachers [4.5%] have quit smoking. So their cigarette smoking prevalence was stimated to be 27.2% [CI 95%:23.5%-31.1%]. The prevalence of smoking among teachers was not different in different educational districts [P=0.13]. Also, there was no statistical difference between the prevalence of smoker born in Tehran and elsewhere [P=0.18]. In addition, type of employment and smoking status were not associated [P=0.25]. However, the association between knowledge, attitude and practice and smoking status of teachers were found statistically significant [P<0.0001]. Since, smoking habits among teachers was similar to general population and because the students imitate their teachers, therefore, educational tobacco control programs for teachers should be designed and implemented in order to reduce tobacco smoking in this group and finally among the students

[Does smoking cessation result depend on smoking reason?]

Since the smoking reason for different smokers needs different treatment methods and special advices, it is necessary to specify these reasons. This study designed to know the main smoking causes in Iran, in order to design proper treatment methods and behavioral therapies for smoking cessation. In addition the study thought to evaluate the effects of these reasons on the quit results and the probable circumstances of these effects. This was a cross-sectional study carried out in Tehran, Iran. All people attending to smoking cessation clinics [affillated to Research Institute for Tuberclosis and Lung Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences] were invited to take part in the study in year 2006-2008. Volunteers answered 13 items of the Iranian version of the Modified Reasons for Smoking Scale [MRSS], Fagerstrom test and demographic characteristics. All participants have been assessed by a physician and they participated in a four-session per week program including nicotine replacement and non-nicotinic therapies and behavioral therapy. All participants were followed-up for 6 and 12 months after quiting smoking. In all 822 participants including 590 men [68.7%] with mean age of 43.8 +/- 13.2 years were studied. All analyses were adjusted for sex and Fagerstrom test score. Pleasure to smoke was found as the principle reason for failure to smoking cessation in the end of clinical trial [P=0.004]. In 6 and 12 months follow-up, failed quitting was predicted by pleasure to smoke and hand-mouth activity score [P<0.05]. The study findings suggest that reason for smoking is associated with its quiting