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Breast cancer survivors may experience a variety of disabilities that could potentially compromise their independent functioning. This study aimed to examine their perspectives and experts on their functioning and interpret concepts with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) and the Item-Perspective Classification Framework (IPF). Interpretive descriptive methods were used with in-depth interviewing with 16 breast cancer survivors and 22 experts using a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and qualitatively analyzed using thematic analysis. The extracted data were linked to the ICF Core Set for Breast cancer and were interpreted by the IPF. Four main themes emerged to define the functioning of breast cancer survivors: body functioning, physical functioning, social functioning, and mental functioning. Three other factors were also categorized as modifiers of functioning personal, emotional, and environmental. The 592 extracted meaningful concepts were linked to 38 (47%) categories from the ICF: 16 Body Functions, 14 Activities and Participation, and 8 Environmental Factors. The IPF classified all the extracted concepts, and most rational appraisals fell in the biological (B) domain. The concepts that required emotional appraisal were classified in Psychology (P). Psychological and emotional factors were pivotal in defining functioning in patients with BC. Rehabilitation specialists need to consider a holistic approach to breast cancer survivor care that addresses physical functioning and social, emotional, and environmental factors that may affect their overall well-being. The findings suggest that rehabilitation interventions that aim to improve the functioning of breast cancer survivors should target a range of areas, including body functioning, physical functioning, social functioning, and mental functioning. It is important for rehabilitation professionals to consider personal, emotional, and environmental factors that influence the functioning of breast cancer survivors when designing interventions. Using the ICF Core Set for Breast Cancer and the IPF can help rehabilitation specialists better understand the functioning of breast cancer survivors and develop more effective interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Observing patients' rights requires the physicians' awareness of the patient's right charter contents. Current study was designed in order to determine the Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences internship and pre-internship students' awareness of the Patient's Right Charter at 2019-2020. Material and Method: In this descriptive-analytic study, 180 internship and pre-internship medical students were included. Data collection tool consists a questionnaire including 36 questions. The questionnaire included 7 questions about demographic information (age, gender; educational grade, and the total awareness of the Patient's Right Charter and medical morals), 29 four-choice questions about the Patient's Right Charter and 6 survey questions as Yes or No. Results: Students' mean score of awareness was around 17 (maximum score: 29). The level of awareness of the internship students was significantly higher than that of pre-internship students. The awareness of the participants had a significant difference according to the educational grades and the interns were more aware than pre-interns. Although the awareness of female students was higher than that of male students, this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Most of the students were moderately aware of the Patient's Right Charter, so strategies such as improving the quality of medical ethics courses and workshops or training seminars are suggested for enhancing the awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Today, with the increasing prevalence of drug addiction in society, the number of children admitted to pediatric hospitals due to intoxication is increasing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology of children hospitalized with narcotic drug intoxication. Material and methods: It was retrospective study, the records of 300 children under 14 years (including 179 boys and 114 girls) were evaluated who were admitted to Ahvaz Abuzar and Razi hospitals following intoxication with a variety of addictive substances (opium, methadone, heroin, etc.) in 2011-2016. Demographic data, patient records, poisoning information, paraclinical and treatment information and plans were recorded. Results: Most common causes of poisoning were Methadone 40.3%, novan (a type of sleeping Medicin) 32%, and opium 8.7%. The most common symptoms among patients were drowsiness 10.3%, decreased level of consciousness 8.3%, fever, seizures and eloquence 7.3% and patients with asymptomatic were 1.3%. GE infection was the most common underlying disease (1%), and 96% of patients did not have an underlying disease. Percentage of of patients hospitalized were 77% for 1-3 days and 3% were not hospitalized for reasons such as death. Main treatment plans were Ampul Naloxan (Maximim 10 mg) + NG Washing 16.3%, only Ampul Naloxan 9.3% and Charcol + Sorbitol + Ampul Naloxan + NG Washing 8.3%. 61% of patients were discharged with favorable conditions and 30.3% of patients were discharged with personal consent. Conclusions: Finding has shown that children aged 0-2 years were the most exposed to poisoning, and that methadone was the most important drug used. Given the risk of dying in poisoned children, it is necessary to prevent such intoxications, which may be deliberate, by formulating laws, while raising awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A needle stick injury (NSIs) is a percutaneous piercing wound caused by a sharp instrument. In medical centers one of the most important agents that can threated health patients and health care workers (HCWs) are needle stick injuries (NSIs). The purpose of this study was to investigation of the relative frequency of NSIs among health workers in Abadan, Southwest Iran. In this descriptive study, the population under study contains on all HCWs in Abadan teaching Hospitals, during 2016. Data about health worker's age, sex, site of NSIs injury and case of needle stick were collected. In this study, in order to analyze Excel, SPSS 16.0 and descriptive statistical methods were utilized. The results of the present study showed that 62 cases of NSIs found in this hospital during 2016. According result our study, nurses were maximum cases NSIs between HCWs. Based on the findings, recapping the needles was the most risk factor for NSIs. Result our stud showed that frequency of NSIs were very lower in comparison with standard. It should be emphasized that the decrease in consecutive shift works for nurses may have a significant impact on prevention of these injuries in nursing staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ozone is a highly oxidative compound and is one of the important pollutants present in the atmosphere and at ground level. Concentration of ground-level ozone (GLO) pollutant depends on different factors such as the amount of VOC and NOX, heat and location in the atmosphere. Ozone can cause health effects such as problems to breathe deeply and vigorously, inflame and damage the airways, bronchitis, reduced lung function in children and adults, emphysema and increase the frequency of asthma attacks. In this work, we focused on the determination of number of hospital admissions associated with ozone in Ahvaz with population of 1 000 000, during 2013. In this study, ozone data collections were through Iranian Environmental Protection Agency (Iranian EPA) and Meteorological Organization. Ozone data and meteorological parameters were used in Excel software to prepare input file of AirQ model. After running model, outputs presented in term of hospital admissions of ozone exposure were calculated. According to this study, “Havashenasi” and “Naderi” had the lowest and the highest ozone concentrations. Results of this study showed that if ozone concentrations were more than 20 μg/m3, approximately 12% hospital admissions were attributed by this pollutant. The results showed that the concentration of ozone was related to Ahvaz with an annual average of 223 μg/m3. Ozone concentration in Ahvaz was higher than standard. Mitigation measures in industries and transportation system in Ahvaz metropolitan is recommending to reduce the level of ozone in the ambient air. Changing the fuel process and using upgraded vehicles could be possibly very effective to diminish the impact of this pollutants on citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was aimed to determine the effective factors of addiction relapse in Khuzestan province. It was a cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study which has performed on 4,400 addicts from March, 2014 to March, 2015. All subjects have divided in two groups: with history of addiction relapse (Group I) and without history of addiction relapse (Group II). The structure questionnaire was completed in a self-filled manner after obtaining the consent form. Data has analyzed by SPSS v20. Mean and standard deviation were calculated for continuous variables and the frequency and percentage frequency were calculated for nominal and classified variables, and also t-test, chi-square and ANOWA were used to examine the relationships between the variables. The level of significance was set at 0.05. In the first group (addiction relapse), 2844 people (97.6%) of 4,400 participants in this study were male and 70 people (2.4%) were women and in the second group (going for addiction treatment for the first time), 1383 people (97.3%) were men and 39 people (2.7%) were women. The average age in the first group was significantly higher than it in the second group. In terms of marital status, in both groups, the most frequency, that was higher in the addiction relapse group, was for married people. In both groups, the majority of subject were workers and the frequency of unemployment in the addiction relapse group was higher. In the addiction relapse group, the average age of onset of drug consumption was lower. The highest relative frequency of consumables, in both groups, was opium and the consuming of synthetic drugs in addiction relapse group was higher. In both groups, smoking was the dominant mode of drug consumption and also in the addiction relapse group, the number of injections was reported more than it in the other group. Enjoyment and family problems were reported as the primary and secondary motivation of drug consumption respectively. In the first group, the frequency of family problems was higher. In terms of occupation (P=0.002), marital status (P<0.001), average age (P<0.001), and the average age of onset of drug consumption variable (P=0.03), no significant difference was observed between two groups. The results proved that individual, social, economic and psychological factors effect addiction relapse. Recognition of factors associated with addiction relapse can be very helpful to make appropriate decisions in planning and implementation of preventive and treatment programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The maternal mortality rate (MMR) is one of the most important health indicators showing the socio-economic development of countries. Several direct and indirect factors are involved in increasing or decreasing MMR. The present study aimed at reviewing the causes of maternal mortality and avoidable factors in Khuzestan province during 2009-2013. In this descriptive study, 70 maternal mortality cases from March 2009 to March 2013 in Khuzestan province were studied. Data were collected from questionnaires and maternal mortality registration system. The mean age of death was 29.88 ± 6.46 years old. More than half of the mothers lived in urban areas. In 71.4% of cases, the mothers had high-risk pregnancies. Three main causes of maternal mortality were hemorrhage in 22 cases (31.4%), heart disease in 9 patients (12.9%) and unknown causes in 7 cases (10%). Seventy percent of maternal mortality occurred in the postpartum period. Family's delay in referral to health centers, delays in referrals and treatment were respectively observed in 48.6%, 42.9% and 65.7% of deaths. According to the results, hemorrhage was the main cause of maternal mortality. Nowadays, antibiotics, oxytocin and blood transfusion are used to prevent the incidence of such cases. Due to the high-risk pregnancy in the mothers, it is necessary to perform accurate pre-pregnancy care and consultation to delay or even prevent high-risk pregnancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: After unprecedented demand for ethanol in the pandemic, profiteers used methanol for making illegal alcoholic drink., Material and Methods: Final judgements passed by criminal divisions of common courts of law in cases where death or grievous bodily harm was caused by injuries to the facial and cerebral parts of the skull resulting solely from punches to the facial area of the skull. Assessment of individual cases within each group to determine similarities and differences. Comparative analysis of both groups., Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study investigated the effects of methanol poisoning on 400 patients who referred to hospitals affiliated with Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences from March 20 to September 20, 2020., Results: Ninety-eight-point five percent of patients had consumed alcohol for social reasons and only 0.3% had used it as a measure to avoid COVID-19. Eighty-seven percent of the patients used homemade alcohol bought from peddlers. The most common clinical symptom was gastrointestinal disorders (64.8%) and the most common complications were vision problems (12.3%). Ten-point-six percent (42 patients) of the patients died. The most important factors affecting mortality risk were dyspnea, neuropathic problems, abnormal radiological findings, dialysis, abnormal blood pressure, vision problems and dizziness., Conclusions: Informing the public about the risks of using homemade alcoholic beverages is essential if the associated disability and mortality has to be avoided., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work., (Copyright © 2021 by PTMSiK.)

Breast cancer as the most common cancer among women endangers various aspects of their sexual lives and is a major culprit regarding health impairment and low life quality. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a stress management intervention program on sexual functioning and stress reduction in women with breast cancer. This study employed a quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test design which included follow-up checks and a control group. To this end, 104 women with breast cancer referring to Hamadan’s Mahdiyeh MRI Center at the time of data collection were conventionally selected in 2015. Using permuted blocks, they were randomly divided into experimental and control groups (n= 52), only the former receiving stress management counseling for 18 hours. Data were collected through a demographic questionnaire, the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire, and Harry’s stress questionnaire, filled out by patients before and after the intervention. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics and two-way ANOVA were used. The results showed that cognitive - behavioral stress management group therapy improved total sexual functioning and its subscales. After the treatment, there was a significant difference in mean scores between the groups (p=0.01). Moreover, significant differences were observed in the mean scores for stress with improvement in the experimental group in post-test results. Cognitive - behavioral group therapy for stress management was thuis found to improve total sexual functioning and its subscales and reduce the level of stress in the experimental group after the intervention and follow-up period with an interval of two weeks. Therefore, this method can be used as a complementary therapy along with medical treatment in oncology centers., (Creative Commons Attribution License)

Aim of the Study: We aimed to determine the pattern of drug use and the affective demographic factors in addicts in self-referred drug rehabilitation centers in Khuzestan province., Material and Methods: It was a cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study which has done on 4400 addicts in self-referred drug rehabilitation centers in Khuzestan province from March 2014 to March 2015. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS version 22 software. Mean and standard deviation were calculated for continuous variables and the frequency and percentage frequency were calculated for nominal and classified variables, and also t-test, χ2 and ANOVA were used to examine the relationships between variables. The level of significance was considered less than 0.05., Results: Finding has shown that 97.5% were male. The average age of subjects was 38.21 ±10.52. Most consumable drug in these people was opium (50.6%) and the main way of drug use was smoking (69.4%). In terms of motivation of using drug, in men were enjoyment and in women family problems had the highest relative percentage. The majority of subjects (67.2%) had a history of drug abandonment. The reason of referring to rehabilitation centers for treatment, types of using drug and the number of drug using, was significant difference between males and females (p < 0.05)., Conclusions: The results have shown that it is necessary to consider some issues including of provincial drug policy and increasing awareness at different levels of society and making appropriate cultural and sports spaces in order to achieve the primary preventive goals.

Background: We aimed to determine specific formulae by which we are able to estimate the body stature from the length of ulna and tibia calculated from the X-rays in order to be a reference for skeletal remains-based identification in Iranian population., Methods: The length of right ulna and tibia of 49 male and 52 female adults, who were anatomically healthy, were measured on the antero-posterior X-rays. Body height of each subject was also recorded., Results: Mean stature of the male and female adults was reported to be 171 ± 3.6 and 160 ± 3.9 centimeters (cm), respectively. Four single linear regression equations and 2 multiple regression equations were obtained., Conclusions: Lengths of ulna and tibia measured on the X-rays may be useful for estimation of the stature in cases of forensic personal identification., Keywords: stature - length of long bones - ulna - tibia - radiological evaluation - skeletal remains.