effect of web quest and team-based learning on students' self-regulation

Introduction: In this study, the authors aimed to examine the effects of cooperative learning methods using Web Quest and team-based learning on students' self-direction, self-regulation, and academic achievement

Methods: This is a comparative study of students taking a course in mental health and psychiatric disorders. In two consecutive years, a group of students were trained using the Web Quest approach as a teaching strategy [n=38], while the other group was taught using team-based learning [n=39]. Data gathering was based on Guglielmino's self-directed learning readiness scale [SDLRS] and Buford's self-regulation questionnaire. The data were analyzed by descriptive test using M [IQR], Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and the Mann-Whitney U-test in SPSS software, version 13. p<0.05 was considered as the significance level

Results: The results of the Mann-Whitney U test showed that the participants' self- directed [self-management] and self-regulated learning differed between the two groups [p=0.04 and p=0.01, respectively]. Wilcoxon test revealed that self-directed learning indices [self-control and self-management] were differed between the two strategies before and after the intervention. However, the scores related to learning [students' final scores] were higher in the WebQuest approach than in team-based learning

Conclusion: By employing modern educational approaches, students are not only more successful in their studies but also acquire the necessary professional skills for future performance. Further research to compare the effects of new methods of teaching is required

Attitudes about sexual activity among postmenopausal women in different ethnic groups: a cross-sectional study in Jahrom, Iran

Background: Sexual function is affected by personal and interpersonal factors, familial and social traditions, culture, religion, menopause, and aging. So, ethnicity is a determining factor in sexual function. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of sexual dysfunction and attitudes towards sexuality in postmenopausal women among three different ethnic groups in Iran

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 746 postmenopausal women between 50 and 89 years who referred to Honoree clinic, Jahrom in 2013. Among the study participants, 42.4% were Arab, 33.5% were Persian, and 24.1% were Lor. Data were collected about women's socio-demographic characteristics, attitudes regarding sexuality and sexual function. The descriptive statistics were used for demographic variables. Moreover, ANOVA, post hoc [LSD] was used. Besides, p<0.05 was considered statistically significant

Results: The participants' mean age was 60.10 +/- 6.89 years and the total mean score of Female Sexual Function Index [FSFI] was 19.31 +/- 8.5. In addition, 81.5% of the women had sexual dysfunction [FSFI <26.55] and only 147 women [18.5%] had normal sexual function [FSFI >26.55]. Sexual dysfunction was 75.3% in Arabs, 83.2% in Persians, and 86.1% in Lors. Besides, the most prevalent sexual dysfunction was dyspareunia in Arabs and arousal disorder in Persians and Lors

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that sexual dysfunction is considerable among postmenopausal women. The most prevalent sexual dysfunction was dyspareunia in Arabs and arousal disorder in Persians and Lors

Reflection on the future of medical care: challenges of social accountability from the viewpoints of care providers and patients

Introduction: Clearly, there are some challenges and difficulties in fulfilling social accountability which should be identified and dealt with in order to reach the ultimate goal. The main objective of this study was to identify the challenges associated with social accountability

Methods: In this qualitative study, focus groups and in-depth semi-structured interview were used to obtain the opinions and experiences of 35 people with 4 focus groups of students, faculty members, patients and their companions in Jahrom University of Medical Sciences. Purpose-based sampling was performed. The participants asked "What is social accountability?" And then it continued with the more specific question, i.e. "What factors increase or decrease social accountability?" After identifying the categories and sub-categories, conventional content analysis was used to analyze the data

Results: Overall, 97 codes were extracted from the text and five main categories were revealed: notification, sense of responsibility, practical education, and professional status and ethics

Conclusion: Since there are numerous challenges in the field of social accountability, it is essential that we understand the challenges and barriers and take effective steps to implement reforms

Increasing and decreasing factors of hope in infertile women with failure in infertility treatment: a phenomenology study

Assisted reproductive technology [ART] provide the hope of pregnancy for infertile women, but do not always turn this hope into reality. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of infertile women from increasing and decreasing factors of hope in infertile women with failure in infertility treatment. Using a qualitative research design [Phenomenology study], 23 subjects were selected who had experienced infertility failure visited by gynecologist [Rasekh Infertility center] in 2012. The data were collected through semi structured interviews and analyzed using interpretive research strategies of phenomenology by Collizi's seven-stage method. Totally 96 codes were identified. The data arranged in two categories. The factors decreasing and increasing hope in infertility treatments. Totally 5 themes and 20 sub themes were extracted. The increasing factors which emerged from the data contain "spiritual source", "family interaction and support" and "information through the media", and decreasing factors contain "nature of treatments" and "negatively oriented mind"

Efficacy of spiritual group psychotherapy on the infertility consequences: a randomized clinical trial

Infertility has mental, social, and reproductive consequences. Health professionals need to consider all aspects of holistic care when caring for women with fertility problems. The aim of this study is the unique impact of spiritual group therapy on the infertility consequences. This research is a randomized clinical trial from 800 infertile women who were referring to gynecological clinics of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences. Those who have inclusion criteria selected, then sampling continued by 63 people that randomly divided into two groups of experimental and control groups. The experimental group received 13 sessions of spiritual group psychotherapy. For gathering data used persian version of Depression Anxiety Stress Scale [DASS] to assessed psychological distress and Penn State Worry Questionnaire [PSWQ] in pre- post test. Results showed the severity of psychiatric symptoms in the experimental group was lower than control group. There was significant difference in psychological distress [depression, anxiety, stress and worry] pretest-posttest between and within groups by repeated measure analysis of variance [ANOVA]. Rate of pregnancy in experimental group was 4 [12.9%] and in control group was 1 [3.2%], but there wasn't significant difference between them. The findings indicated that the spiritual group therapy could decrease psychological severity symptoms. It seems to be, psychological interventions as a group education is a good choice for improved mental health among infertile women

holistic approach to psychological sexual problems in women with diabetic husbands

One of negative and influential factor to chronic diseases is creation of sexual problems in the couple's sexual relationship. Sexual health is one of the most important factor in Sexual and marital satisfaction. This study aims to compare the relationship between couple burnout, sexual assertiveness, and sexual dysfunctional beliefs in women with diabetic and non-diabetic husbands. This cross sectional descriptive study was a causal comparative one. The research plan was derived from the master's dissertation for family counseling in Shahid Beheshti University which was done during 2011-2012 in Tehran, Iran. Totally 200 participants were included in this study; 100 participants were women with diabetic husbands and the others were women with non-diabetic husbands. These participants were selected by purposeful sampling method. Data were collected using personality traits and demographic characteristics' questionnaire, couple burnout Measure, Hulbert index of sexual assertiveness and sexual dysfunctional beliefs Questionnaire. Results of the multi-variable analysis of variance indicated that there was a significant difference between couple burnout, sexual assertiveness, and sexual dysfunctional beliefs in women with diabetic and non-diabetic husbands. Women with non-diabetic husbands had a higher mean score in sexual assertiveness factor compared to women with diabetic husbands, whereas in couple burnout and sexual dysfunctional beliefs factors, women with diabetic husbands had a higher mean score. It seems that one of the most important factors which influences and increases couple burnout, increases wrong sexual beliefs regarding sexual function, and decreases sexual assertiveness in women is their husbands' sexual dysfunction. In fact, women whose husbands suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes [which results in sexual dysfunction] have lower sexual assertiveness and higher couple burnout and sexual dysfunctional beliefs compared with other women

Corrigendum: Ethical issue related to "Blood glucose levels, insulin concentrations, and insulin resistance in healthy women and women with premenstrual syndrome: A comparative study" / 대한생식의학회지

This article was published with an incorrect ethical issue.

Blood glucose levels, insulin concentrations, and insulin resistance in healthy women and women with premenstrual syndrome: a comparative study / 대한생식의학회지

OBJECTIVE: To compare the blood glucose levels, insulin concentrations, and insulin resistance during the two phases of the menstrual cycle between healthy women and patients with premenstrual syndrome (PMS). METHODS: From January of 2011 to the August of 2012, a descriptive cross-sectional study was performed among students in the School of Medicine of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences. We included 30 students with the most severe symptoms of PMS and 30 age frequency-matched healthy controls. We analyzed the serum concentrations of glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance by using the glucose oxidase method, radioimmunometric assay, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance equation, respectively. RESULTS: No significant differences between the demographic data of the control and PMS groups were observed. The mean concentrations of glucose of the two study groups were significantly different during the follicular and luteal phases (p=0.011 vs. p<0.0001, respectively). The amounts of homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance of the two study groups were significantly different in the luteal phase (p=0.0005). CONCLUSION: The level of blood glucose and insulin resistance was lower during the two phases of the menstrual cycle of the PMS group than that of the controls.

Sexual dysfunction in Iranian pregnant women

Sexuality is an important part of women's health, quality of life, and general well-being. There are many factors influencing the female sexual function, including psychological, physiological, couple relationship, and socio-cultural factors. Pregnancy plays an important role in the sexual function and behavior of women. This study aims to evaluate the sexual function and determine the prevalence of sexual dysfunction among women during pregnancy. The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 257 healthy pregnant women aging between18-40 years who had attended the antenatal clinic, Paymaneh Hospital, Jahrom, Iran between April and October 2011 Female Sexual Function Index [FSFI] questionnaire was used for assessing the sexual function The mean age of the participants was reported as 26.45 +/- 4.49 years. In addition, 143, 69, and 45 subjects were in their 1[st], 2[nd], and 3[rd] trimesters, respectively. Comparison of the second and the third trimesters revealed a significant difference in the scores of all FSFI domains and the mean total FSFI score was reported as 19.9 +/- 22.45. Among the study subjects, 197 ones [79.1%] had sexual dysfunction [FSFI score <26.5], while only 52 [20.9%] had normal sexual function [FSFI score >/= 26.5]. The sexual dysfunction among pregnant women was rated as 23.4%, 30.5%, and 46.2% in the 1[st], 2[nd], and 3[rd] trimesters, respectively. The prevalence of sexual dysfunction is high during pregnancy and reaches higher levels in the third trimester. Therefore, pregnant women and their partners need counseling about physical and psychological changes in pregnancy

Looking at infertility treatment through the lens of the meaning of life: the effect of group logotherapy on psychological distress in infertile women

Women in particular suffer from psychological stress when diagnosed with infertility. Psychosocial interventions are known to not only prevent and lessen various mental problems, but also to play a positive role in physical health and pregnancy rates. The aim of this study is to determine the unique impact of spiritual psychotherapy on concerns about infertility and their perceived psychological stresses. This study was a randomized clinical trial. The study population included nearly 800 infertile couples who attended the Maternity and Gynecology Clinic of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran. We enrolled 65 people who were randomly divided into two groups, experimental [n=33] and control [n=32]. The experimental group received spiritual group psychotherapy counseling for 12 sessions, 2 hours per week for a 3 months period. The control group did not receive any intervention, but due to ethical considerations, we gave a presentation [one session] about infertility treatment for this group after the research process was completed. We used two questionnaires to obtain data, the Penn State Worry Questionnaire [PSWQ] and Perceived Stress Scale [PSS]. Data analysis was done by descriptive and analytic statistics using SPSS 16 software. Psychological intervention in the treatment group significantly decreased the PSWQ [p=0.004]. There were significant differences in the mean score of the PSWQ in both groups as determined by analysis of covariance [ANCOVA; p=0.009]. Psychological intervention in the treatment group decreased the level of perceived stress, when compared with the control group. According to ANCOVA there were significant differences between the mean PSS scores of both groups [p=0.01]. Logotherapy is related to stress reduction and can decrease psychiatric symptoms of worry and perceived stress. This approach tends to improve an infertile person's ability to deal with their problem of finding the meaning of life. Thus it can be concluded that logotherapy along with other treatment methods, is a useful approach for infertile couples [Registration Number:IRCT201108247407N2]

Looking out for the secret wound: the effect of E-cognitive group therapy with emotional disclosure on the status of mental health in infertile women

Considering the high prevalence of psychiatric disorders among infertile women, it seems that gynecologists, psychiatrists, and psychologists should be more attentive to identify and treat these disorders. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of E-cognitive group therapy with emotional disclosure on mentwal health status of infertile women who are receiving assisted reproduction. In this randomized clinical trial study, 80 infertile women who were receiving hormonal therapy or other assisted reproductive technologies [ART] were randomly allocated to the cognitive-behavioral treatment [CBT] group or the control group. The CBT group had a weekly 12-hour meeting for a period of three months. They also participated in some painting sessions [art therapy] and written and verbal emotional disclosure [both individually and in group presentation]. The Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales [DASS] test and Penn State Worry Questionnaire [PSWQ] were used for data gathering. Results showed the level of psychological distress decreased in the control group, but not significantly. Psychological intervention in the treatment group significantly lowered the level of psychological distress; the mean score of DASS in all aspects was significant. The difference between the mean score of the two groups after intervention was significant [p=0.001] and also according to ANCOVA [p=0.002]. Differences were significant between the mean scores of both groups in the PSWQ [p=0.001], Inventory Test [p=0.001], which was confirmed by ANCOVA [p=0.009]. These finding suggest that CBT with emotional self-disclosure promotes coping strategies among infertile women. Results also show that these approaches develop mental health and decrease stress in infertile women. Using a psychiatric approach in medical settings could help infertile women to promote their adjustment with mental health problems due to of in infertility