[Investigating the underlying causes of mortality among less than one year old infants in pediatric hospital of Bandar Abbas, Iran]

Providing, maintaining and promoting health of infants as a vulnerable age group is essential in health-care services. The present research sought to investigate the underlying causes of mortality among infants who were below 1 year old in Bandar Abbas pediatric hospital in 2011. In this descriptive-analytic research the medical files of all deceased infants who maximally aged up to 11 months and died in Bandar Abbas pediatric hospital in 2011 comprised the research population. The data were gathered through a pre-designed checklist, phone call and face-to-face meetings [when required]. The data were later analyzed via SPSS 16. In the study period, 223 infants [65.2%], below one year of age, had died within their first month of life and 119 of them [34.85] had died within the next eleven months. The primary reason for the death of the first group was sepsis while for the second group was prematurity. Such variables as birth weight, delivery type, feeding type, birth type, birth age, pregnancy interval, child abnormalities and parents' educational level were found to be significantly correlated with infant mortality [P<0.05]. It appears that careful attention to low-birth weight infants, raising mothers' and families' medical awareness, promotion of family regulation programs as well as offering standard healthcare before and during pregnancy positively affect the reduction of mortality among very young infants

[Prevalence of hypertension and respective risk factors in adults in Bandar Abbas, Iran]

Hypertension is the most common and major important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Rapid socio-economic changes in recent decades has increased the prevalence risk factors of heart diseases - including high blood pressure. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of hypertension and respective risk factors in adults of Bandar Abbas in 2012. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, randomized cluster sampling was performed to select 1531 people over 30 years of Bandar Abbas [639 men, 892 women aged 30-70] we used interview and clinical examination for data collection. The instruments collecting data were standard questionnaire and mercurial pressure gauge and portable digital scale. The data were statistically analyzed by SPSS Software, using Chi-square test, ttest, and ANOVA. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Prevalence of hypertension in the study was 35.3%. This figure for males was 38% and for females was 33%. The statistical results obtained from this study showed that the prevalence of hypertension with increasing BMI also increases, so that 58.1 percent of subjects had BMI>/=25. A significant difference was obtained between proportion of women [34.94%] and men [23.18%] with BMI greater than 25 [P<0.05]. This study showed high prevalence of hypertension in Bandar Abbas. It seems that BMI, age, sex, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, are leading factors in high blood pressure

[Lifestyle of patients with high blood pressure in rural areas of Jahrom, Iran]

Introduction: Choosing the wrong lifestyle could underlie the occurrence of serious diseases including hypertension which is a crucial threat to health. This study examined the lifestyle of patients with hypertension in rural health centers of Jahrom, Iran

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 78 patients with hypertension who were over 30 years old, in Jahrom in 2013. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaire consisted of two parts of demographic characteristics and behavioral questionnaires reflecting the lifestyle of the study population. Data analysis was performed using the statistical software SPSS19

Results: The mean age of participants was 63.02 +/- 14.23 ranging from 30 to 70 years. 30.8% were male and 69.2% female. Average years of living with hypertension was 8.4 +/- 5.8. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients were 128.39 +/- 14.01 and 80.96 +/- 10.44, respectively. The mean BMI of patients was 24.8 +/- 4.6. Blood Pressure of 53.75% of patients was above the defined threshold equal to or greater than patients were smokers and 20.5% of them used hookah. 14.1% of the patients had regular physical activity. The most frequent behaviors were following the physician›s instructions [61.5%] and taking the medicines regularly [70.5%] and the least frequent behaviors were having regular physical activity [14.1%] and avoiding the stress [17.9%]

Conclusion: The results of this study indicated poor lifestyle and behaviors particularly avoiding stress and physical activity. Therefore, education and training is necessary for the studied subjects to adopt healthy lifestyle

[Relationship of exercise benefits/barriers and self efficacy with stages of change for physical activity in Abu Musa Island employees, Iran]

Introduction: Regular physical activity is an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between pros, cons and self-efficacy with stages of change for exercise behavior in employees of Abu Musa Island

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, through cluster sampling,119 employees in of fices on Abu Musa Island were selected. Data of pros, cons and self-efficacy were collected using Physical activity staging, Exercise Benefits/Barriers scale and Exercise self-efficacy scale and were analyzed using the SPSS16

Results: According to the results, 16.8% of employees were in the pre-contemplation stage,10% in the contemplation stage, 31.1% in preparation stage, 13.4% in action stage and 28.7% in the maintenance stage. There was a significant association between pros and cons and regular physical activity [p<0.01]

Conclusion: In order to change physicala ctivity behavior and achieve the stages of action and maintenance; designing and implementation of appropriate training programs about the benefits of exercise and eliminating the barriers is recommended

[Health locus of control and its relation with health-promoting behaviors among people over 15 in Bandar Abbas, Iran]

Introduction: Health locus of control is defined as the extent of one's belief that his/her health is controlled by internal or external factors. The aim of this study was determining the health locus of control and its relation with the health-promoting behaviors among people over 15 in Bandar Abbas, Iran

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2012. To collect data, Form A of Wallston questionnaire and health-promoting lifestyle profile II [HPLP II] were used. Out of 830 questionnaires, 687 were completed. Multiple regression analysis was used to predict health promoting behaviors through health locus of control dimensions

Results: The mean age of participants was 34.3 [SD=12.1] and 49.8% of them were male. There was a significant difference between internal health locus of control, chance, and powerful others [p<0.001]. The Least and the most mean scores belonged to chance [21.35] and both powerful others [30.31] and internal health locus of control [30.32], respectively. Based on regression analysis, internal locus of control [beta =0.23, p<0.001] and powerful others [beta =0.29, p<0.001] significantly predict health-promoting behaviors

Conclusion: The findings suggest that to improve health behaviors of the individuals, internal control and significant others should be focused in educational intervention programs