Relationship between perceived social stigma and diabetes self-care activities in Iranian participants with type 1 diabetes.

PURPOSE: A large percentage of side effects and problems associated with diabetes including social stigma interfere with health promotion behaviors in people with diabetes, minimize their social interactions, and indeed prevent them from asking for help regarding treatments and follow-up care services. Therefore, the present study was to elucidate the relationship between perceived social stigma (PSS) and diabetes self-care (DSC) activities in Iranian participants with type 1 diabetes (T1D). METHODS: This correlational study was fulfilled on 135 participants with T1D in the city of Tabriz, Iran, selected through the convenience sampling method. The data were collected via the Demographic and Clinical Data Collection Form, the Type 1 Diabetes Stigma Assessment Scale (DSAS-1), and the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Questionnaire (SDSCAQ). The data were analyzed using the SPSS Statistics software (Version 16) incorporating descriptive and analytical statistics. RESULTS: The results revealed that the total score mean of PSS in the study participants was 51.43±12.16, which was at a moderate level. As well, the mean score of the DSC activities was 37.93±11.26. As a whole, no significant relationship was observed between the PSS and the DSC activities. CONCLUSION: According to the study findings, the PSS was not significantly correlated with the DSC activities; however, both variables in most study participants were at moderate levels. Therefore, further studies on the factors associated with the social stigma of diabetes are necessary. Knowing these factors can help treatment team plan to reduce the diabetes stigma and improve people with diabetes' self-care.

Association between Outcome of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury and Demographic, Clinical, Injury-related Variables of Patients.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a main health problem among communities. There exists a variety of effective factors on the outcome of patients with TBI. We describe the demographic, clinical, and injury related variables of the patients with severe TBI, and determine the predictors of outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We did this cross-sectional study on all 267 adult patients with severe TBI admitted to three trauma centers of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (IUMS) from March 20, 2014 to March 19, 2015. Data were extracted from patients' profiles. We considered the patients' outcome as discharged and died. We analyzed the collected data using descriptive (frequency, mean, and standard deviation) and analytical (independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis test and logistic regression) statistics in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 16.0. We considered p < 0.05 as the significance level. RESULTS: The mean (SD) age of patients was 43.86 (18.40) years. The majority of the population was men (87.27%). Road traffic accidents (RTAs) were the most common mechanism of trauma (79.40%). The mean (SD) of Glasgow coma scale (GCS) was 6.03 (3.11). In 50.19% of the patients, the pupillary reflex was absent. One hundred and twenty-four patients (46.44%) died before discharge. We found age, gender, GCS, pupillary reflex, hypernatremia, and increased intracranial pressure (IICP) as the predictors of death in severe TBI. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the mortality rate of patients with severe TBI was high. In addition, some factors were determined as the significant predictors of outcome. The findings can assist in planning to enhance the quality of care and reduce the mortality rate in the patients with severe TBI.

Quality of life of adolescents and young people arrive at an addiction treatment centers upon their admission, and 1, 4 and 8 months after methadone maintenance therapy.

BACKGROUND: Drug abuse influences the quality of life significantly. Thus, the present study is designed to compare the quality of life of adolescents and young adults who have voluntarily referred to addiction treatment centers at different time slots of upon admission, and 1, 4, and 8 months after maintenance therapy. METHODS: The present paper is a longitudinal study on 141 of adolescents and young adults who had referred to various addiction treatment centers throughout Isfahan voluntarily. The population was selected through convenience sampling method and 137 of adolescents and young adults continued the research until the end. The results were analyzed using descriptive and analytic statistics (frequency, mean, standard deviation, repeated measure test, and post-hoc test) in SPSS 17. RESULTS: Results showed that the average of quality of life total score was sequential and not the same in the 4 times slots under study. The total quality of life score upon admission was significantly different from 1, 4, and 8 months after maintenance treatment. However, quality of life at 1-month was not significantly different to that at 4 and 8 months after the treatment; quality of life at 4 months after the treatment was not significantly different to that at 8 months after. DISCUSSION: According to the present study, it can be concluded that the quality of life of adolescents and young adults referring to addiction treatment centers increases 1-month after the treatment; nevertheless, it is worth to note that the degree of quality of life increase in 4 and 8 months after the treatment is not as much as that in 1-month after the treatment.

The effects of enhanced external counterpulsation on health-related quality of life in patients with angina pectoris.

BACKGROUND: The complicated concept of quality of life (QOL) has been considered as an important criterion for health outcomes in chronic diseases, such as heart disease, in recent years. The aim of this study was to evaluate the QOL of patients with angina pectoris after treatment with enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 64 patients with angina pectoris undergoing EECP who came to Shahid Chamran and Sina Hospitals in Isfahan. Sampling was performed by the convenient method. Data were collected using a questionnaire containing socio-demographic and clinical data. A standard questionnaire called 36-item Short-Form Health Survey was also used. Questionnaires were completed through interviews and phone calls in three stages (before, immediately and three months after the treatment). The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, mean, and standard deviation) and analytical statistics (paired t-test and repeated measures test) in SPSS11.5. FINDINGS: The obtained results demonstrated that the majority of patients were men (59.4%) and aged 56-71 years. In addition, 57.8% had hypertension and 56.3% had hyperlipidemia. A history of myocardial infarction was found in 70.3% of the subjects and the familial history of coronary artery disease was detected in73.4%. Although QOL evaluations showed improvements in all subscales immediately and three months after the treatment, the changes were not statistically significant in case of general health, role limitations due to physical problems and role limitations due to mental problems. CONCLUSIONS: Similar to previous research, this study showed QOL to improve in patients who undergo EECP. This improvement will remain stable three months after the treatment in all subscales. Therefore, EECP is an efficient noninvasive method in treating patients with angina pectoris and in developing their QOL.