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Background: The prevalence of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, as one of the biggest global health threats, has had psychological impacts on healthcare workers (HCWs) and all aspects of their mental health, particularly resilience. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between mental health and resilience in prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) practitioners. Methods: This descriptive/analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020 using a web-based questionnaire, wherein the data were collected from a total number of 115 EMS practitioners working in 115 EMS stations in Golestan province, northern Iran, selected using convenience sampling. The data collection tools were also the General Health Questionnaire-28 (score range: 0 - 84) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (score range: 0 - 100). The relationship between both questionnaires was then examined by structural equation modeling via maximum likelihood estimation. In addition, multiple linear regression (MLR) was applied to reflect on the factors affecting the resilience mean score. Results: The mental health and resilience mean scores in the EMS practitioners were 25.73 ± 8.90 and 72.25 ± 12.63, respectively. Furthermore, 43.5% and 49.6% of the subjects had good and mild mental health conditions, respectively. The correlation coefficient between both questionnaires (-0.51) revealed that mental health deterioration diminished resilience in the EMS practitioners. Additionally, the type of employment and mental health mean score had a significant effect on the resilience mean value (R2 in MLR = 0.54). Conclusions: The study results demonstrated that more than half of the EMS practitioners had moderate mental health status, and their resilience mean score was high. Therefore, it is suggested to evaluate the prevalence of other common types of mental problems, such as anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders, in HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic at the national level in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Human immunodeficiency virus infection /acquired immunodeficiency syndrome has grown to be one of the world's most momentous pandemics. The present study aimed to explore the effects of stigma on people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and recommend coping strategies to reduce this phenomenon. Materials and Methods: Using a narrative literature review, the related articles were searched, retrieved, and selected from the databases of Noor Specialized Magazines (Noormags), Elmnet, Scientific Information Database of Academic Center for Education, Culture, and Research (SID), IranMedex, and Magiran via the keywords of "Stigma, Social Stigma, Labeling, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, AIDS, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and HIV" in Persian and in the databases of PubMed and Scopus in English. The same procedure was further performed in Google Scholar in both languages. The inclusion criteria were the full-text articles in Persian and English and the exclusion criteria were no access to the full-text articles, while review articles were removed. Results: Considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria and excluding the duplicate studies, 16 articles were recruited in total for review purposes. The effects of stigma on PLWHA consisted of individual and social consequences. As well, the most appropriate coping strategies to reduce stigma were acknowledged as "providing psychosocial support for infected people", "raising awareness in the public and medical staff", "cultivating spirituality and a close relationship with God", "developing and implementing counseling strategies", and "establishing specialty clinics for PLWHA". Conclusion: Given the study findings, it can be suggested that policy-makers and community healthcare managers pay much more attention to the individual and social consequences of HIV/AIDS and make further efforts to increase awareness in the public and medical staffs, strengthen spirituality in PLWHA, and set up specialty clinics for such individuals to cope with stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The presence of nurses at patients' bedside is regarded as an indication of the quality of care. There is not enough evidence on facilitators of nurses' presence at cancer patients' bedside., Aim: The present study aimed to investigate nurses' experiences of factors facilitating their presence at patients' bedside in oncology ward., Subjects and Methods: In this qualitative study, data were collected using purposeful sampling and semi-structured individual interviews with 25 oncology nurses from two teaching hospitals in Sari, Northern Iran, between 2016 and 2017. Interviews were digitally recorded, handwritten, coded, classified, and analyzed using conventional content analysis approach., Results: Data analysis led to the development of three main categories and seven subcategories. The first category, namely, "leverage spirituality" with two subcategories (motivational beliefs and religious motives). "Being with patient with compassion and commitment" is the second category with two subcategories (sense of altruism and compassionate care and adherence to the profession). The third category is "effective communication" with three subcategories (initial methods being patient, soothing communication, and intimate communication)., Conclusion: The results of this study showed that nurses' spiritual beliefs, kindness, and professional commitment and establishing human-friendly relationships with the patient and family would help the nurses of the oncology unit to have a more effective presence in the patients' bed. It seems that further studies are needed to examine the facilitators of the presence of oncology nurses on patients' bedside based on severity of illness., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

Background: Cancer patients need not only well-planned treatment, but also comprehensive nursing care provided with compassion, competence, and conscience. Nursing presence is an essential part of the care process in all nursing interventions., Aim: This study aimed to identify the barriers to the nursing presence in oncology care units., Materials and Methods: A qualitative content analysis study was carried out with the participation of 27 nurses who were chosen by purposive sampling. The data collection instruments were semi-structured interviews and observation. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, and then coded and analysed by the Graneheim and Lundman's content analysis methodology. The criteria proposed by Guba and Lincoln were used to ensure the validity of the research., Results: From the data analysis, the researchers were able to obtain a primary theme labelled "Rocky road ahead of nursing presence" and two subthemes labelled "Difficult and stressful work environment" and "Dysfunctional rules and regulations" with several subcategories including "exposure to violence", "shortage of nursing staff", "inattention to the needs of nurses", "organizational unfairness", "excessive paperwork", and "need for detailed documentation"., Conclusion: There are numerous challenges ahead of achieving satisfactory nursing presence and quality care in the oncology care units. The findings highlight the key role of organisational conditions in the nursing presence and the dire need to pay further attention to the motivational factors.