The effects of virtual logotherapy on health-promoting lifestyle among single-parent adolescent girls during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: a randomized clinical trial.

Single-parent adolescents are vulnerable individuals and it is necessary to improve their health, particularly during epidemics. This study aimed to investigate the effects of virtual logotherapy (VL) on health-promoting lifestyle (HPL) among single-parent adolescent girls during the COVID-19 pandemic. This single-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted on 88 single-parent adolescent girls recruited from the support organization for vulnerable individuals in Tehran, Iran. They were randomly allocated to a control and an intervention group through block randomization. Participants in the intervention group received VL in three-five person groups in 90 min biweekly sessions. The Adolescent Health Promotion Short-Form was used to assess HPL. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software (v. 26.0) and through the independent-sample t, Chi-square, Fisher's exact, and Mann-Whitney U tests. There was no significant difference between the intervention and the control groups respecting the pretest mean score of HPL (73.58±16.74 vs. 72.80±9.30; P=0.085). However, the posttest mean score of HPL in the intervention group (82 with an interquartile range of 78-90) was significantly more than the control group (71.50 with an interquartile range of 63.25-84.50) (P=0.001). Moreover, after adjusting the effects of the significant between-group differences respecting pretest mean scores, the pretest-posttest differences of the mean scores of HPL and all its dimensions in the intervention group were significantly more than the control group (P<0.05). VL is effective in significantly improving HPL among single-parent adolescent girls. Healthcare authorities are recommended to use VL for health promotion among single-parent adolescents.Trial registrationThis research was registered (17/05/2020) in the www.thaiclinicaltrials.org with registration number: TCTR20200517001.

Validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Short-Form Adolescent Health Promotion scale: Methodological study.

Background and Aim: Assessing health promotion among adolescents is vital to identify healthy and unhealthy behaviors and to evaluate health promotion interventions. This study aimed to determine the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Short-Form Adolescent Health Promotion scale. Methods: Three hundred and twenty-seven adolescents were recruited through a multistage sampling method in this methodological study. The original version of the Adolescent Health Promotion scale was translated from English to Persian using the Backward-Forward translation protocol. Then, the scale's validity and reliability, including the face, content, construct validity, and reliability indices, were evaluated. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software version 24. Results: The mean CVI and CVR were 0.99. The exploratory factor analysis revealed four factors covering 42.57% of the total variance. The factor loading order of the items did not exactly correspond to the order obtained in the English version of the scale's validity and reliability analysis. The obtained factors called included: life appreciation, stress management, nutrition, and health responsibility. In the current study, both Cronbach's ɑ and the intraclass correlation coefficient were calculated at 0.84 and 0.99. Conclusion: The Persian version of the Adolescent Health Promotion scale developed in the present study is acceptable for the validity of the content, face, and reliability. However, the construct validity of this scale should be checked in other samples.

Pharmacological treatments of COVID-19.

The viral infection due to the new coronavirus or coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was reported for the first time in December 2019, was named by the World Health Organization (WHO) as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV2), because of the very similar genome and also its related symptoms to SARS-CoV1. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic with significant mortality, morbidity, and socioeconomic impact is considered by the WHO as a global public health emergency. Since there is no specific treatment available for SARS-CoV2 infection, and or COVID-19, several clinical and sub-clinical studies are currently undertaken to find a gold-standard therapeutic regimen with high efficacy and low side effect. Based on the published scientific evidence published to date, we summarized herein the effects of different potential therapies and up-to-date clinical trials. The review is intended to help readers aware of potentially effective COVID-19 treatment and provide useful references for future studies.

The Experiences of Intensive Care Nurses in Advocacy of COVID-19 Patients.

The lack of face-to-face interactions with families, the increase in the number of patients admitted to the ICU, nursing staff shortages, and inadequate personal protective equipment has created many challenges for nurses in advocacy of the COVID-19 patient with life-threatening conditions. This study aimed to explore the experiences of intensive care nurses in the advocacy of COVID-19 patients. This study was performed using a qualitative content analysis method with Graneheim and Lundman approach, Iran, 2020. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eighteen clinical nurses from the intensive care units of three hospitals. Themes extracted from the nurses' statements were promoting patient safety (informing physicians about the complications and consequences of treatment, preventing medical errors, protecting patients from threats), respecting the patients' values (providing comfort at the end of life, providing a comfortable environment, commitment to confidentiality, cultural observance, respect for individualism, fair care), and informing (clarifying clinical conditions, describing available services, and being the patients' voice). ICU nurses in health crises such as COVID-19 as patient advocates should promote patient safety, respect patients' values, and inform them. The results of this study could help enhance the active role of intensive care nurses in the advocacy of COVID-19 patients.