Mental health status of infertile couples based on treatment outcome

Infertility is accompanied by numerous psychological and social problems. Infertile couples are more anxious and emotionally distressed than other fertile people. Previous studies suggested that infertility is more stressful for women than men. The purpose of this study was to determine the status of general health of infertile couples. This cross-sectional study evaluated general health of 150 infertile couples attending to Yazd Research and Clinical Center for Infertility that were selected consequently. The data were gathered by the researchers, based on face to face interview before and after three months of treatment by two questionnaires. The first questionnaire had questions on demographic information and the second one was the General Health Questionnaire-28 [GHQ-28]. This questionnaire has four sub- scales areas. All data were transferred directly to SPSS 15 and analyzed. The mean age of women was 28.3 and men were 32.4 years. The scores for all sub- scales of GHQ in women were more than men. There was significant difference between age and general health at physical symptoms scales [p=0.002], anxiety and sleep disorders [p=0.003]. The age group 25-29 years had higher scores [more than 7] than other age groups. There was significant difference between the scale of social dysfunction and results of treatment. Our results, similar to the previous studies have revealed negative social and mental effects of infertility on women is more than men, so there is need that they be educated specially

Application of the health belief model in promotion of self-care in heart failure patients

Heart failure [HF] is a condition due to a problem with the structure or function of the heart impairs its ability to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the body's needs. In developing countries, around 2% of adults suffer from heart failure, but in people over the age of 65, this rate increases to 6-10%. In Iran, around 3.3% of adults suffer from heart failure. The Health Belief Model [HBM] is one of the most widely used models in public health theoretical framework. This was a cohort experimental study, in which education as intervention factor was presented to case group. 180 Heart failure patients were randomly selected from patients who were referred to the Shahid Rajaee center of Heart Research in Tehran and allocated to two groups [90 patients in the case group and 90 in the control group]. HBM was used to compare health behaviors. The questionnaire included 69 questions. All data were collected before and 2 months after intervention. About 38% of participants don't know what, the heart failure is and 43% don't know that using the salt is not suitable for them. More than 40% of participants didn't weigh any time their selves. There was significant differences between the mean grades score of variables [perceived susceptibility, perceived threat, knowledge, Perceived benefits, Perceived severity, self-efficacy Perceived barriers, cues to action, self- behavior] in the case and control groups after intervention that was not significant before it. Based on our study and also many other studies, HBM has the potential to be used as a tool to establish educational programs for individuals and communities. Therefore, this model can be used effectively to prevent different diseases and their complications including heart failure