ABSTRACT
Objectives@#Police officers may be at a greater risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) than the general population due to their highstress occupation. This study evaluated how an educational program based on the health belief model (HBM) may protect police officers from developing CVD. @*Methods@#In this single-group experimental study, 58 police officers in Iran participated in a 5-week intervention based on HBM principles. Outcomes included changes in scores on an HBM scale, time spent on moderate to vigorous physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire), body mass index (BMI), blood lipid profile, blood glucose, and blood pressure. The intervention consisted of 5 HBM-based educational sessions. Follow-up was conducted at 3 months post-intervention. The paired t-test was used to examine differences between baseline and follow-up scores. @*Results@#All aspects of the HBM scale improved between baseline and follow-up (p<0.05), except the cues to action subscale. Self-efficacy and preventive behaviors improved the most. BMI decreased from 26.7±2.9 kg/m2 at baseline to 25.8±2.4 kg/m2 at follow-up. All components of the lipid profile, including triglycerides, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein, showed significant improvements post-intervention. Blood glucose and blood pressure also decreased, but not significantly. Nearly 25% of participants who were not physically active at baseline increased their physical activity above or beyond the healthy threshold. @*Conclusions@#A relatively brief educational intervention based on HBM principles led to a significant improvement in CVD risk factors among police officers. Further research is needed to corroborate the effectiveness of this intervention.
ABSTRACT
To evaluate the psychometric properties of the national Eye Institute refractive error correction quality of life questionnaire [NEI-RQL-42] among Iranian patients with refractive errors. Two samples of patients [n1 = 296, n2 = 95] were consecutively selected from the eye clinic of the Boo-Ali Hospital, Qazvin. A forward-backward procedure was conducted to translate and cross-culturally adapt the Iranian version of the NEI-RQL-42. A homogeneity, stability, and reliability test was conducted for the first sample after a two-week interval. Convergent validity was computed using the correlation between the NEI-RQL-42 subscale scores, National Eye Institute-Visual Functioning Questionnaire [NEI-VFQ-25], and the Short Form-36 [SF-36]. Furthermore, Known-group analysis was performed, to determine the discriminant validity between the subgroups of patients with hyperopia, emmetropia, and myopia. Responsiveness to clinical change was tested by administering NEI-RQL-42 on the second sample that was scheduled for surgery. Homogeneity was satisfactory with the Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging between 0.70 and 0.92. The 13 subscales of the NEI-RQL-42 showed a considerable stability in intra-class-correlation [ICC] ranging between 0.70 and 0.89. Positive correlation coefficients were found among all subscales of the NEI-RQL-42 and the other quality-of-life instruments [NEI-VFQ-25 and SF-36]. The NEI-VFQ-25 displayed excellent discriminant validity to differentiate the subgroups of patients, and was found to be responsive to change after the surgical correction at three months. The Iranian version of the NEI-RQL-42 is a valid and reliable instrument to assess refractive error correction quality-of-life in Iranian patients. Moreover this questionnaire can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions in patients with refractive errors
Subject(s)
Humans , Female , Male , Quality of Life , Surveys and Questionnaires , Patient Satisfaction , PsychometricsABSTRACT
The aim of the study was to assess the validity and reliability of the SF-12 questionnaire in a sample of Iranian patients undergoing hemodialysis. One hundred and forty-four hemodialysis patients were included from dialysis centers in Zanjan, Iran, and were asked to complete the SF-12 and SF-36 questionnaires. An initial test-retest reliability evaluation was performed on a sample of 70 patients from the total group, with a retest interval of 14 days. Reliability was estimated by internal consistency and validity was assessed using known-group comparisons and construct validity on the patient group as a whole. A linear regression analysis was used to assess any variation in the physical component summary and mental component summary scores of the SF-36 with the respective component summary scores of the SF-12. In addition, the factor structure of the questionnaire was extracted by performing a confirmatory factor analysis. Cronbach alpha for physical and mental component summaries were 0.89 and 0.90, respectively. The SF-12 showed a good discriminatory ability between subgroups of patients based on demographic and clinical variables. The confirmatory factor analysis for the original two-factor structure showed a good fit index [chi2=23.30, degrees of freedom=13], goodness-of-fit index=0.96, and root mean squared error of approximation=0.079]. In general, the SF-12 has good psychometric properties and can be used as a shorter version of the SF-36 questionnaire in future studies involving Iranian patients undergoing hemodialysis
ABSTRACT
This study evaluated the health-related quality of life [HRQOL] in a sample of Iranian patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. The data were compared with the HRQOL for the Iranian general population. Two-hundred and fifty patients undergoing hemodialysis were included using a convenience sampling approach in a cross-sectional study. Data collection was performed using a Persian translation of the Short Form-36 questionnaire in combination with demographic and clinically related questions. The collected data were analyzed using a logistic regression model with physical and mental summary scales as dependent variables. The patients' mean Short Form-36 scores were significantly lower than those obtained for the general population for all scales. Patients with longer duration of being on hemodialysis, poor adherence to treatment, higher body mass index, and comorbidity diseases suffered from a poorer physical health. Poor mental health was associated with a lower level of education, longer duration of hemodialysis, lower economic status, a lower degree of knowledge on disease, and comorbidity diseases. This study affirms the fact that patients undergoing hemodialysis suffer from poor HRQOL. In comparison with data from other studies from Asian and European countries, this sample of Iranian patients on hemodialysis had a lower HRQOL, a discrepancy that might be due to differences in life style, socioeconomic status, the general level of education of the patients, as well as physician-patient communication