Educational needs assessment for psychiatry residents to prevent suicide: a qualitative approach

Suicide is a commonly encountered and stressful event in professional life of any psychiatrist. Suicide risk assessment is a major gateway to patient treatment and management. It is a core competency requirement in training of psychiatry. The present study designed to assess educational needs for suicide prevention in residents of psychiatry in two medical schools in Iran, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences [IUMS] and Shahid Beheshti Medical University [SBUMS] inTehran. This was a qualitative triangulation study, conducted in two steps. The first step was based on a phenomenological approach and the second was based on focus groups. The studied population was the psychiatric residents of IUMS and SBUMS. Purposive sampling was implemented until saturation. Interviews were performed. Colaizzi method was used to analyze the data. In the second step, participants attended a session, in which all final codes of the first step were discussed, and regarding the views, educational priorities and needs were listed. A total of 2047 codes, extracted from 31 interviews, analyzed through Colaizzi method, were categorized in three groups: Educational, facilities and processes, human resources. According to defects of current educational program, we suggest regular reevaluations and revisions of clinical training programs according to current needs

[ effect of education on dietary behaviors to prevent cancer in mothers]

Numerous studies show that dietary behavior and the risk of various cancers [30 to 40%] are directly related, so changing dietary behavior could play an important role in preventing different cancers. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the education of cancer preventing nutrition to the mothers of the students. In this quasi- experimental study, samples were 80 mothers of the students from two high schools of Tehran. They were divided into two groups with 40 persons in each group. They were selected by a multistage cluster sampling method. The data were collected in the control and intervention group by a self-administered questionnaire containing demographic and dietary behaviors parts [food frequency, purchasing, preparing and cooking, eating habits, health, and keeping behaviors] at base line [pre-test] and 3 months later. Educational content about dietary behaviors in order to prevent cancer has been presented by three sessions of lecture and question and answers in the intervention group, followed by the distribution of educational booklets and telephone follow up. The data were analyzed using SPSS-11.5. Based on the pretest results, the mean score of cancer preventing dietary behavior was low in both groups. Three months after educational intervention, the mean score of cancer preventing dietary behavior showed a statistically significant increase in the intervention group compared with the control group [P<0.001]. The results showed that education of cancer preventing behavior could be effective in improving mothers' dietary behavior.

educational intervention using health belief model on smoking preventive behavior among female teenagers

Cigarette smoking is a common risky behavior among teenagers. Theories and models of health education aim to design effective educational programs. This study has been conducted to assess the effect of a health education program designed based on the health belief model on preventive smoking behaviors among female teenagers. In this quasi-experimental study, 176 female teenagers from the Educational Cultural Centers of 17 zones of Tehran Municipality were randomly allocated to two equal experiment and control groups [88 girls in each group]. The designed educational program was presented to the experiment group through three lecture and question/answer 45 minute sessions. Data were collected using a questionnaire before and eight weeks after the intervention. Data were analyzed using the SPSS-16. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the characteristics of the participants before the intervention. Comparison of the two experiment and control groups after education showed that the mean score of all studied constructs of the health belief model [i.e., susceptibility, severity, benefits and barriers, cues to action], as well as the preventive behaviors were increased significantly. The results of this study showed that the program seems to be helpful in promoting the smoking preventive behavior among teenagers

Trends in medical education, an example from a developing country

Iran is presently designing a long-term plan for promoting science, technology and innovation in medicine. An important part of this plan will be a strategy for future planning for medical education considering the important trends affecting the future of health status and medical education in Iran. Here, we sought to clarify such trends in Iran and compare them to trends reported for similar developing countries. For this qualitative study, the opinions of stakeholders and experts were obtained during three focus group discussions, each lasting four hours and including 10- 12 participants [132 total man-hours]. Data were collected using audiotapes, which were then transcribed. Interim analysis was used for member checking and triangulated data from other recent studies were used to increase the trustworthiness of findings. Participants identified the following trends as affecting the health system and medical education in Iran: aging of the population; epidemiologic transition; changes in patients' expectations of health services; increases in the popularity of alternative and traditional Iranian medicine; growth in information and communication technologies; changes in the roles of tutors; new emphasis on basic sciences and new and interdisciplinary fields; increases in the emphasis on research and scientific production; loss of educated persons to other countries [e.g., brain drain]; and new advances in diagnostic and therapeutic technologies. The circumstances and future of a given community's health should be kept in mind when policymakers plan for changes in medical education. The present study found that trends affecting healthcare and medical education in Iran are similar to those in other countries [even developed countries], suggesting that Iranian policymakers could potentially adopt the policies and strategies that have proven useful in other countries when planning for medical education

effect of estrogen on wound healing in rats

Cutaneous wound healing involves multiple cooperative molecular processes such as inflammation, angiogenesis, wound contraction, granulation tissue formation, reepithelialization, and matrix deposition. We studied the effects of topical estrogen on wound healing in male rats. This experimental study was done on 40 male rats. A circular wound with a diameter of 2cm was induced on each rats right flank. Twenty rats received topical estrogen [case group]. And twenty other rats received placebo [control group]. After the 5th, 10th, 15th, 30th, 35th, 40th and 45th days, healing process was compared between the two groups. On the 10th and 20th days the total healing surface in the case group was about 89.9% and 100% respectively and 75% and 98,4% [p<0.05 and P>0.05]in the control group. Microscopic views revealed the formation of epithelial layer and hair follicles, progressive angiogenesis without scarring in case group. But neither hair follicles nor complete epithelial layer in the control group Topical estrogen administration results in significant progress of cutaneous wound healing, leaving no scar or crust formation. Topical estrogen administration accelerates healing without changing plasma estrogen level and can minimize the probable wound complications