Predictors of Perceived Stress and Quality of Life among Women during the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-sectional Study from Karaj, Iran

Background: The emergence of the coronavirus disease of the 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Iran has markedly affected lives and taken a toll on Iranians’ mental health, especially in women. The current study investigated factors that contributed to both perceived stress and quality of life (Qol) among women during the COVID-19 pandemic in Karaj, Iran. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey study was conducted between November 30, 2020, and January 30, 2021. A researcher-made questionnaire with 4 subscales, including information seeking, social support, primary appraisal, and secondary appraisal, was used. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) questionnaires were also applied. A total of 581 participants completed the study. The convenience sampling method was used in this study. Multiple mediation analyses were applied using pathway analysis. Results: The mean age ± SD of the participants was 38.57±7.68 years, and 40.8% had a higher education than a high school diploma. Based on the final fitted model, higher perceived stress had a direct impact on mental QoL (β = 0.47). The Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Incremental fit index (IFI), and Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) were calculated as 1, and χ2/df was 4.87. Educational level and social support from both the direct and indirect pathway affected QoL. Social support affected both information-seeking behavior and secondary appraisal (β = 0.50: 95% CI, 0.38-0.59). Furthermore, information-seeking behavior and secondary appraisal affected perceived stress. Perceived stress followed by educational level had the strongest and primary appraisal had the poorest indirect association with mental QoL. Conclusion: In conclusion, primary appraisal, secondary appraisal, social support, educational level, perceived stress, and information-seeking behavior were correlated with higher levels of mental QoL among women. Social support and improving the situation appraisal can provide appreciated support to manage stress induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Further assessment is needed to determine the vulnerable groups such as illiterate people.

Evaluation of the Acceptance Rate of Covid-19 Vaccine and its Associated Factors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Covid-19 has caused various problems in the world in terms of health, economy, social and political therefore, the purpose of the present systematic review and meta-analysis is to determine the acceptance rate of Covid-19 vaccine and its related factors. To find related studies, PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science (WoS) and Google Scholar databases with no time limit until May 2021 using the keywords Related to the purpose of the research and all possible combinations were explored. I2 test was used to calculate the heterogeneity of studies and Begg and Mazumdar rank correlation test was used to investigate publication bias. Finally, 98 articles related to inclusion criteria with a sample size of 660,604 people were included in the study. Overall estimate of the worldwide acceptance of Covid-19 vaccine; 63.9% (95% CI: 59.1-68.4) was obtained, with the highest percentage of acceptance reported in the Australian continent, 76.4% (95% CI: 72.6-79.8). In the majority of studies, vaccine acceptance was significantly more reported in the elderly and the young people, medical staff, employees, higher education level and socioeconomic status, with trust in vaccine and positive vaccination history. The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrate that the acceptance rate of Covid-19 vaccine is higher among young people and the elderly, medical staff, employees, higher education level and socioeconomic status, with trust in vaccine and positive vaccination history, which can be considered by experts and policymakers in this field.

Predictors of Perceived Stress and Quality of Life among Women during the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-sectional Study from Karaj, Iran.

Background: The emergence of the coronavirus disease of the 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Iran has markedly affected lives and taken a toll on Iranians' mental health, especially in women. The current study investigated factors that contributed to both perceived stress and quality of life (Qol) among women during the COVID-19 pandemic in Karaj, Iran. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey study was conducted between November 30, 2020, and January 30, 2021. A researcher-made questionnaire with 4 subscales, including information seeking, social support, primary appraisal, and secondary appraisal, was used. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) questionnaires were also applied. A total of 581 participants completed the study. The convenience sampling method was used in this study. Multiple mediation analyses were applied using pathway analysis. Results: The mean age ± SD of the participants was 38.57±7.68 years, and 40.8% had a higher education than a high school diploma. Based on the final fitted model, higher perceived stress had a direct impact on mental QoL (ß = 0.47). The Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Incremental fit index (IFI), and Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) were calculated as 1, and χ2/df was 4.87. Educational level and social support from both the direct and indirect pathway affected QoL. Social support affected both information-seeking behavior and secondary appraisal (ß = 0.50: 95% CI, 0.38-0.59). Furthermore, information-seeking behavior and secondary appraisal affected perceived stress. Perceived stress followed by educational level had the strongest and primary appraisal had the poorest indirect association with mental QoL. Conclusion: In conclusion, primary appraisal, secondary appraisal, social support, educational level, perceived stress, and information-seeking behavior were correlated with higher levels of mental QoL among women. Social support and improving the situation appraisal can provide appreciated support to manage stress induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Further assessment is needed to determine the vulnerable groups such as illiterate people.

The effect of lavender on stress in individuals: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Lavender is considered as one of the medicinal plants to manage stress. Although many preliminary studies evaluated the effect of lavender on individuals' stress level, to the best of our knowledge, we did not find a study that summarizes the results. Therefore, the present study aimed to estimate the Pooled effect of lavender on the stress level of individuals using systematic review and meta-analysis. METHOD: A systematic literature review based on PRISMA 2020 was performed on the SID, MagIran, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science (WoS) databases, and Google Scholar motor engine using related MeSH/Emtree and Free Text words, including "Lavender*", "Lavandula*", "Stress*", "Stress Disorders, Traumatic", and "Stress, Psychological" with no time limitation until August 2021: We also searched two Iranain free local resourses including MagIran https://www.magiran.com and Scientific Information Database (SID) https://www.sid.ir. The quality assessment of studies was performed using JBI checklist. Heterogeneity among studies was quantified using I2 index and Random Effects model was used to combine the data and perform the meta-analysis. RESULTS: In the initial search, 1520 articles were found. After excluding the irrelevant studies, finally, 21 articles with a sample size of 791 in the intervention group and 804 in the control group were included in the meta-analysis. As a result of combining the studies, stress score after using lavender in the intervention group showed a significant decrease of 0.63 ± 0.13 (95% CI) more than that in the control group (P < 0.001). The results of subgroup analysis demonstrated that the highest standardized mean difference (SMD) before and after the intervention in the intervention group compared to the control group was related to L. angustifolia species with 0.73 ± 0.22, student groups with 2.27 ± 1.34, and diagnostic tool of Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) with 0.82 ± 0.42, indicating that the difference between the groups was statistically significant (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The pooled estimation of this systematic reiew and meta-analysis revealed that lavender significantly reduces individuals' stress. Therefore, it seems that the use of lavender can be considered as a part of a stress management programs, especially in student groups.