qualitative study of changes in supplying of illicit drugs in Bam during the first year after the earthquake

The study was designed to assess the changes in supplying of illicit drugs during the first year after Ban earthquake on December 2003. This qualitative research was conducted in Bam and the uillage of Baghchamak. Focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and ethnographic observations were used. The sample included drug dependents, drug sellers, ordinary people, drug treatment providers and others key informants. The majority of respondants believed that opium purity has declined after the quake and its price with initial decrement has remained relatively similar to pre-quake level. They believed it still is easily available as it had been prior to the quake. The majority of respondents believed that the purity of heroin has also declined and its price and availability did not change significant. The solid majority believed that the supply of hashish and alcohol has not been changed. Most respondents believed that the intensity of current drug law enforcement in Bam is similar to pre-quake time. Implementing a unified policy and planning for drug abuse prevention and treatment programmers are suggested. A more serious action against heroin trafficking is also recommended

Status of mental health research concerning women in Iran over the past 3 decades

The purpose of this scientometric study was a quantitative analysis of mental health research concerning women in Iran. All scientific papers published in a 30year- period [1973-2002], in both national as well as international scientific journals, were brought into consideration for this study. Articles are indexed in the "Databank for Iranian Mental Health Researches [Iran Psych]. The articles in which the samples or the main subjects were females, considered as mental health in women. Authors assessed these studies for the following data: year of publication and language, specific fields and subject topics, research design, location of data collection, financial supports, gender and academic degree and the status of collaboration among authors. Out of 3031 articles, 239 [%7.9] were related to mental health in women. Most have been published in general medical journals and the overall trend of publications shows arise. The first authors in two - third of the articles were women and the most common area of research was psychology. The most common research topic was psychological factors affecting medical condition, especially gynecological and obstetrical problems. There were a few articles about old age female mental health or occupational mental health. There were no mental health professionals among the authors of 20% of the articles. It is suggested that collaboration should increase among mental health groups and other clinicians. Subject topics about women in rural area, health service, occupational mental health and elderly female need further research

Baclofen in maintenance treatment of opioid dependence: a randomized double-blind clinical trial with placebo-controlled

This project was aimed to evaluate the efficacy of baclofen in keeping opioid dependents in maintenance treatment and in reduction of their opioid use. It also assessed its superiority over placebo. In this double blind experimental study, 40 patients with the diagnosis of opioid dependence [DSM- IV based criteria] were inserted randomly in two groups following the detoxification phase. In one group, 20 patients took baclofen [60 mg daily in three divided doses] and in the other one, 20 patients took placebo for a total of 12 weeks. The primary measuring factors included retention of patients in maintenance treatment and positive urine analysis. The project's data were analyzed via statistical Mann-Whitney and chi-square tests. The retention of patients in treatment was significantly more in baclofen group than the placebo group. baclofen group patients exhibited less opioid withdrawal and depressive symptoms than the placebo group. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of the rate of positive urine analysis, intensity of craving for opioid use, medication side effects, and the average days of opioid and alcohol consumption during treatment. Baclofen is considerably superior to placebo in keeping the patients in treatment and also in reduction of opioid withdrawal and depressive symptoms