ABSTRACT
Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of depression symptoms and the effect of various demographic characteristics on its severity in an elderly population in Fars province, southern Iran
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during May and September 2009. A sample of 1461 men and women, aged more than 60 years were selected using a multistage stratified random sampling method. Levels of depression symptoms were measured using the Geriatric Depression Scale [GDS]. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Also, analysis of variance [ANOVA] and correlation analysis were performed to find the correlation between the variables and GDS score
Results: Overall, 1443 people completed the questionnaire. The prevalence of the symptoms mild to moderate depression [GDS: 5-10] was 51.1%, while that of severe depression symptoms [GDS >10] was 19.7%. There were significant relationships between sex, marital status, educational level, occupation, residential place and the GDS scores
Conclusion: The prevalence of depression symptoms was high among the elderly in Fars Province. Therefore, if properly trained, primary care teams could help these patients
ABSTRACT
Osteoporosis is one of the consequences of chronic diseases such as nephrotic syndrome in adolescents, especially in those undergoing glucocorticoid therapies. The present study aimed to determine and compare the effect of education by peers and health personnel on the prevention of Osteoporosis in the adolescents with nephrotic syndrome. The present quasi-experimental study was conducted on 54 adolescents with nephrotic syndrome who were randomly divided into two groups of peers and health personnel. The Osteoporosis education program was based on the health belief model. Two questionnaires were completed by the patients to assess their knowledge and health beliefs regarding Osteoporosis before, immediately after, and 1 month after the educational intervention. The data were analyzed by SPSS-15 using independent and paired t-test and RMANOVA. The mean score of knowledge and health beliefs was significantly increased in both groups immediately after the intervention [P>0.05]. However, the scores declined in both groups with a significant decrease in some parts one month after the intervention. No significant difference was found between the peers and health personnel regarding Osteoporosis knowledge and health beliefs [P>0.05]. The results of the present study revealed the significant effect of education, carried out by both peers and health personnel, on the Osteoporosis knowledge and health beliefs. Also, peer education was a cost- effective and feasible method for increasing the adolescents' Osteoporosis knowledge and health beliefs