[Effectiveness of psycho-social support intervention in Qazvin earthquake survivors]

Psycho-social consequences and effects of natural disasters are important issues, but it has been paid little attention in our country. This research aims to study the effectiveness of psycho-social support intervention in Qazvin earthquake survivors in 2003. In this research, about 389 of participated in meetings such as children and adults were assessed in order to determine the effectiveness of psycho-social support services for the injured before intervention and a year after providing services by 10 clinical psychologists. The control group was selected from unaffected areas in Qazvin province. The research was done by using different questionnaires such as 28 questions of public health; Rutter behavioral disorder; and questionnaire of stress disorder symptoms of Watson and Yule after disaster. After receiving services, psycho-pathological disorders among people at age 15 or over were 33/5% [45% before intervention] in the experimental group and it was 23/1% [34/1% before intervention] in children [under the age of 15]. Psychological support services could relieve significantly stress disorder symptoms after disasters in two groups. Psycho-social support services to the injured can greatly minimize stress disorder symptoms after stressful disasters and psycho-pathological mental disorders among survivors and also prevent the prevalence of social problems in them

Qualitative analysis of mental hospitals problems from view point of thier managers

This study revealed mental hospitals problems based on view point of their managers and analyzed atiologyand its consequences. Delphi method, which is a mean of systematicall data collecting and refining information provided by a group of selected experts, was conducted. The majority of the problems in the mental hospitals were due to self-management procedure, lack or enough budget and irrational fees. In one hand mental patients and their families don't have sufficient income to pay the expenses of these hospitals and on the other hand facilities for improvement of patients social, occupational and rehabilitation capabilities are inadequate. Coverage of insurance for mental patients is incomplete and lack of proper socio-economic supports due to negative attitudes toward them are a many other problems. There are no administrative structures for standardization of mental hospitals and most of the mental hospitals are dilapiodated and without enough space for patients. Based on complicated problems of mental hospitals and increasing needs of mental patients to health care and treatment services, it is the time to change the structure and budgetary of psychiatric centers in Iran

epidemiological study of psychiatric disorders in Qazvin province [2001]

Planning for providing essential mental health services to the people requires a comprehensive understanding of the present status of psychiatric disorders in the society. To carry out the epidemiological study of the psychiatric disorders among the individuals within the age group of 18 years and above in urban and rural areas of Qazvin. This study was a cross-sectional survey in the year 2001. 354 individuals were selected through randomized systematic and clustered sampling methods from among the existing families of Qazvin province. The Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia [SADS] questionnaires were completed by a clinical psychologist. The diagnosis of the disorders was based on DSM-IV classification criteria. The results of the study showed that the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in the province is 31.61% with a value of 42.23% for women and 20.66% for men. The anxiety and mood disorders with 20.89 and 4.80% respectively, showed a higher prevalence in the province. The prevalence of psychotic disorders in this study was 1.12%, neuro-cognitive disorders 2.54% and dissociative disorders 2.26%. In the group of mood disorders, major depression with 2.82% and in the group of anxiety disorders, phobia with 8.19% showed a higher prevalence. The findings make the responsibility of the health policy makers and programmers, in the fields of prevention, treatment and medical education more than before in relation to preparing both executive and practical plans in Qazvin province for mental health

Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in the Islamic Republic of Iran

A national survey of the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections in the Islamic Republic of Iran was made on a r and om sample of families covered by local health centres affiliated to the medical universities. Out of 53,995 people aged 2+ years, from 12,495 families [0.1% of all families in 1999], 45,128 stool samples were analysed by formalin-ether precipitation. Intestinal parasitic infections were found in 19.3% of the study population [19.7% male, 19.1% female]. Giardia lamblia [10.9%], Ascaris lumbricoides [1.5%], Entamoeba histolytica [1.0%] and Enterobius vermicularis [0.5%] were the most common infections. The infection rate was highest in the 2-14 years age group [25.5%] and in rural residents [23.7%]

[ epidemiological study of psychological disorders in chaharmohal and bakhtiari province, 2001]

The objective of this survey was to carry out the epidemiological study of the psychiatric disorders among over 18 years old individuals in the urban and rural areas of Chaharmohal and Bakhtiari province. The sample consisted of 305 persons selected by randomized clustered and systematic sampling methods from the families of Chaharmohal and Bakhtiari province. For each person the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia [SADS] questionnaire was completed by a clinical psychologist. The diagnosis of the disorders was based on DSM-IV classification criteria. The overall prevalence of psychiatric disorders in the province was 16.42%. It was 20% among women and 13.14% among men. The anxiety and neuro-cognitive disorders with 9.52% and 3.28% respectively were the most prevalent in the province. The prevalence of psychotic disorders in this study was 0.33%, mood disorders 2.63% and dissociative disorders 0.66%. In the group of mood disorders, major depression with 2.30% and in the group of anxiety disorders, phobic disorder with 2.62% had the highest prevalence. We found that 10.49% of the individuals suffered from at least one psychiatric disorder. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders in the province among the age group of 56-65 with 30%, individuals whose spouses had passed away with 25%, urban residents with 15.53%, illiterates with 12.66% and unemployed persons with 21.74% were more than other groups. These findings emphasize the responsibility of the health policy makers for prevention, treatment and medical education for mental health

Mental health in the Islamic Republic of Iran: achievements and areas of need

The development of mental health in the Islamic Republic of Iran is described with particular reference to the integration mental health into the primary health care system. The achievements made so far are outlined and the areas of need discussed