Validity and Reliability of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 36-Item Persian Version for Persons with Multiple Sclerosis / 가정의학회지

Background@#No previous studies have assessed the psychometric properties of the 36-item version of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0) in the Persian language of Iran. This study was designed and conducted to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Persian version using a sample of persons with multiple sclerosis in Ahvaz, Iran. @*Methods@#The methodological study was conducted in two stages: First, the 36 items of the original WHODAS 2.0 were translated to create a Persian version, after which the translation validity and psychometric properties were tested. The factor structure of the instrument was also tested using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. @*Results@#The intraclass correlation coefficients were very good to excellent, varying between 0.82 and 0.99 for the six domains, and all domains had Cronbach’s α reliability values of above 0.70. For construct validity, results showed negative and strong correlation between the total score of WHODAS 2.0 and the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54. Exploratory factor analysis divided the Persian version of WHODAS 2.0 into seven factors for multiple sclerosis patients. @*Conclusion@#The results of this study indicate that the Persian version of WHODAS 2.0 is a valid and reliable instrument to study the disabilities of people with multiple sclerosis.

Satisfaction with Hearing Aids among Aged Patients with Different Degrees of Hearing Loss and Length of Daily Use

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The evaluation of subjective benefits and positive effects of hearing aids in daily is important for measuring the treatment outcome. The aim of this project was to investigate the degree of satisfaction of aged users with their hearing aids using the Satisfaction with Amplification in Daily Life (SADL) scale, which emphasizes non-auditory factors contributing to satisfaction as well as benefit. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The Persian version of SADL scale was completed by 40 patients who received monaural hearing aid fitting at south of the Iran from December 2013 and March 2014. SADL subscales of the SADL were evaluated according to the type and degree of hearing loss, the pure tone audiogram pattern and shape and type of the hearing aid. RESULTS: The results associated with the SADL subscales revealed a greater satisfaction associated with the Positive Effect and Service and Costs subscales. Subjects with different degree of hearing loss were very satisfied in terms of positive effect subscale. CONCLUSIONS: Participants reported a considerable level of satisfaction with their hearing aids. Appropriate guidance for using hearing aids and spending more time for counseling can improve the satisfaction level of this age group.

[Utilization of research results at office of deputy minister for management and resources development and identification of obstacles]

The main purpose of this project was exactly identification of the applied researches done by different offices of the Iranian Ministry of Health, Remedies and Medical Education in the deputy between September of 1998 to September of 2003, considering their results and the degree of utilization by the users. This project had 4 steps .The 1[st] step was a questionnaire for identifying some demographic data .Study of research final reports was the 2[nd] step, gathering special goals and tangible products .In the 3[rd] one, an interview was made with the researches main users .The last step was to analyze the findings and to emphasize on systematic obstacles with relevant suggestions. For total of 23 researches, about $ 462000 paid .For 16 researches a public announcement have done, the reminders had restrict announces .Among the researchers, 17 were selected by their proposals, but 6 ones just by their Cerculem Vitaes .Only the degrees of 17 researchers were relevant to the research subjects. The sum of all researches done in this period, the utilization capability was [High], but the utilization indeed was [Low] .About 38%of them were faced with some managerial obstacles and 62%had some kinds of operational ones .According to the results, choosing better subjects, documenting the main goals of the research, selecting the researchers based on their experiences and their proposals, attention to operational agenda, stability of policies, and higher administration commitment are useful suggestions for removing the obstacles