Barriers to pap smear test for the second time in women referring to health care centers in the South of Tehran: a qualitative approach

Background: Cervical cancer is a preventable disease with a regular screening program. Many studies have reported a large number of barriers that women had for the first time, but this study decided to find other barriers for the second time pap smear

Methods: In this qualitative research, data were gathered through in-depth interviews and expressed through conventional content analysis in the form of constant comparison. The participants were 15 women with family profile at 30 health care centers who lived in the south of Tehran and had done Pap smear for one time but didn't do it for the second time

Results: Three main themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews: negative experiences of the first Pap test were as follows: results of the first time test, readiness for performing the test, getting the test itself, and the site of the first Pap test. Personal barriers to getting the second Pap test were: inattention to time, physical barriers to the second Pap test, and inhibitory beliefs. Perceived social barriers to getting the second Pap test with two sub-themes included social supports and abstract norms

Conclusion: This study provided other barriers about Pap smear including lack of the spouse's support, the role of health care providers and physicians in screening program for early diagnosis in women

[ survey of the predictors of amount of aggression in the adolescent users of violent video games in Qom city, 2012, Iran]

Adolescents are the main audiences of video games. Attractive technologies of these games make virtual faces seem real characters to their audiences. There is a high tendency to show violent and deadly scenes. The present study was done with the purpose of determining the predictors of the amount of aggression in the adolescent users of violent video games in Qom city. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 100 adolescent users of violent video game referring to game-nets of Qom city were selected by random sampling method and filled out the questionnaires of demographic information, aggression scale, and attitude toward violence scale [ATVS]. The data were analyzed using correlation, one-way analysis of variance, and regression analysis tests. The significance level was considered p<0.05. The mean age of adolescents was 14.2 +/- 1.6 years. The results showed that three variables of attitudes toward violence, number of hours of playing per week, and the average grade of the last educational level have been able to predict 34% of variance of aggression among the adolescent users of violent video games [r[2]=0.43, f=6.6, p<0.0001]. According to the results of this study, Media educational programs should more focus on changing positive attitudes toward violence and reducing the number of playing hours per week. Also, applying encouraging strategies in order to academic achievement can reduce hours of play with this media

[Assessment of the relationship between psychological factors and impotency with quality of life of male patients following CABG]

Given the increase in prevalence of Coronary Artery Bypass Graft [CABG] surgery and the significant role of psychological factors in prognosis and relapse of cardiac disease, the present study is designed to determine the relationship between psychological factors or impotency and quality of life of male patients following CABG. In this descriptive- analytical study 160 male patients were randomly selected four weeks after heart surgery and were administered DASS-21, IIEF-5 and SF-36 to assess anxiety, depression and stress, impotency and quality of life, respectively. Regression analyses [One-way ANOVA] and Chi-square were performed to analyze the data. Findings showed that the average age of patients was 60 [ +/- 10] years. Among psychological variables the average score for depression was significantly related to the average scores of quality of life [p=0.02]. Furthermore, 62.4% of patients had some degrees of depression; 86.7% had some degrees of stress and 47.3% had anxiety to some degree. Also, 85.5% of patients displayed mild to severe levels of erectile dysfunction which were significantly correlated with scores in anxiety [p=0.03] and depression [p=0.001]. Finally, diabetic patients had higher scores in depression and stress compared to non diabetic patients. The findings are discussed in the context of proposing interventional strategies for improving psychological conditions of CABG patients

[ cause of utilization of shared needle among injecting drug users of Ahwaz city: a qualitative study]

Prevalence of HIV and hepatitis among injecting drug users who use shared needle is greater than those drug users that generally prefer not to use each other's needles. The aim of this study was to explain the cause of utilization of shared needle among injecting drug users of Ahwaz city in 2010. This article was part of a qualitative study which has been performed by the content analysis method and sampling-based target on the injecting drug users of Ahwaz. The data were collected with semi-structured individual depth interviews and analyzed by the constant comparative method of analysis. A total of 39 semi-structured interviews were done with drug injectors. Informed consents were obtained from all of the participants. Participants were asked about the cause of utilization of shared needle, history of imprisonment and disease. After the first interview, continuous analysis of data was implemented and continued until data saturation. After analysis and coding of data the cause of utilization of shared needle for injection among participants were: inaccessibility and limitations for preparing syringe, lack of subjects' awareness of the dangers of shared needle, hopelessness and tending to die through shared needle, self-deception and self-justification. Considering the increasing number of injection drug users and the risk of diseases transmitted through shared needle as well as to control addiction and transmission of blood-borne diseases such as HIV in country it is essential to improve harm reduction programs, provide sterile syringes and injection equipment as well as train injecting drug users and help them to quit addiction

[Students' perspectives in Tehran university of medical sciences about factors affecting smoking hookah]

Smoking hookah is recognized as a growing health problem in Iran and many countries in the world and its harmful outcomes on human health have attracted attention of medical community. This study aimed to determine the factors affecting on hookah smoking in male students who are living in dormitories of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2011. This study was a descriptive analytical. The questionnaire was developed and its validity and reliability was assessed. Then, 162 male students living in dormitories at Tehran University of Medical Sciences were selected in multi-stage sampling and questionnaires were filled out by them. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software and the Chi-Square and Independent sample T tests. The results showed that 29% of subjects had history of smoking hookah. The main factors affecting the use of hookah from subjects point of view, were filling leisure time, cost-effectiveness, anxiety reduction, refreshment and easy access to the hookah. Designing multi-dimensional activities for filling leisure time of college students who living in dormitories [such as promote sports activities], teaching of problem-solving methods for reducing anxiety and fatigue and learning skills to say "NO" against request of friends for smoking hookah, can lead to reduced smoking hookah in this group

[ effect of health education based on health belief model (HBM) for promoting preventive behavior of tooth decay among the boy students, who are in five-grade in the primary school]

Objective[s]: To determine the effect of health education based on health belief model [HBM] for promoting preventive behavior of tooth decay among the boy students, who are in five-grade in the primary school in Dezfool in 2009-2010

Methods: In this experimental study, 150 students were randomly allocated in the experimental]n=75] and control groups]n=75]. After need assessment based on health belief model, suitable educational intervention was designed and implemented for the experimental group. The data were collected by the questionnaire. Two groups were followed-up one-month after completion of intervention. Finally, the collected data were analyzed by SPSS software [version 15]

Results: There were no significant differences in demographic factors and constructs of model between the two groups before intervention, self efficacy and preventive behavior of tooth decay [P<0.05] between the two groups after intervention. After intervention, there were no significant differences between the two groups in the other constructs of model [perceived benefits, perceived barriers and cues to action]

Conclusion: Our findings showed that educational intervention based on health belief model may be an effective method for promoting preventive behavior of tooth decay in students

Survey of parents knowledge about safety of toy and the criteria for it shopping in Tehran

To determine parents' knowledge about safety of toy and the criteria for safe toy shopping in Tehran. This was a descriptive study. A convenience sample of 340 parents attending to health centers in Tehran were selected. Demographic, knowledge about safety of toy and the criteria for safe toy shopping inventories were used to collect data. The results showed that 0.6 percent of parents had knowledge about safety of toy at low level, 93.2 percent at moderate level and 6.2 percent at high level. Also, 0.3 percent of parents knew safe criteria for toy shopping at low level, 22.4 percent at moderate level and 77.4 percent at high level. Knowledge of parents about types of dangerous toys [e.g. toy magnet, small toy in chocolate eggs, squeaky toys] was low. The study findings suggest that safe toy shopping and education for parents and families by various channels of communication seems necessary