causes for lack of interest to blood donation in eligible individuals, Mashhad, northeastern Iran

Donor recruitment and retention are significant problems in blood collection agencies around the world. The Aim of this study was to determine the causes of lack of interest to blood donation in eligible individuals in Mashhad, Northeast of Iran. This was a descriptive study. Cases were 1130 non-donor individuals. Participants were selected from eligible individuals in different regions of Mashhad. In this study, surveys included information about age groups, gender, residence area, marriage, education; living situation and job as background variables. Less than 30% of the cases had enough knowledge about blood donation. There was a significant relationship between location, age, education, occupation and social status with knowledge of blood donation, but there was not a correlation between gender and marital status. There are some factors which affect the decision for blood donation. There is a need to change the negative attitude by increasing the knowledge considering the individual and the social status

Effect of massage on reducing pain and anxiety during labour

Labour pain is one of the most severe forms of pain that each women may experience during her life. Severe pain makes stress response with harmful effects on both mother, and her fetus. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of massage therapy on relieving pain and its harmful sequel such as anxiety during labour. This clinical trial was performed on sixty nulliparous women selected randomly who were expected to have a normal childbirth in the Jiroft city hospital. Cases were randomly assigned to experimental [n=30] and control [n=30] groups. The experimental group received massage intervention. The nurse-rated Present Behavioral Intensity [PBI] was used as a measure of labour pain. Anxiety was measured by the Visual Analogue Scale for Anxiety [VASA]. The intensity of pain and anxiety between these two groups were compared in the latent phase [cervix dilated 3-4cm], active phase [cervix dilated 5-7cm] and transitional phase [cervix dilated 8-10cm] of labour. In both groups, there was an increase in pain intensity and anxiety level as labor progressed. Results of T-test analysis demonstrated that the experiment group had significantly lower pain reaction in all three phases [Phase1 P=0.000, Phase2 P=0.002, Phase3 P=0.000] and anxiety levels were significantly different between two groups only in latent phase [P=0.00]. Eighty seven percent [n=26] of cases in experimental group expressed that massage was helpful, provided pain relief and psychological support during labour [P<0.40]. Our findings suggest that massage is a cost effective nursing intervention that can decrease pain and anxiety during labour and nurses intervention to perform massage could have positive effect on delivery experience. It is suggested that massage be used for decreasing pain and anxiety during labour