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Introduction: Gathering information about quality of life is an essential step in designing more effective treatments and also helps developing better supportive and rehabilitation programs.

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional to investigate the relation between cancer characteristics and quality of life in patients under chemotherapy, 200 patients with different types of cancers were selected by simple sampling method. The data were collected through interview, reviewing patients’ files and patients’ self-reports. The data were collected by a questionnaire consisted of three parts: part one, demographic characteristics part two, questions about cancer type, stage and duration, pain, acceptance or refusal of cancer by patient, decrease or loss of organs’ function and degree of fatigue, and part three, designed to investigate different aspects of quality of life, including questions about general appearance, physical activity, occupational status, social function and sleep. Descriptive and analytic statistics were used.

Results: The results showed that quality of life in majority of the subjects (66%) was moderate. There was a meaningful relationship between some of cancer characteristics like type of cancer (p=0.007), intensity of pain (p=0.007), decrease or loss of organs’ function (p=0.001) and degree of fatigue (p=0.0) with quality of life, but there was no meaningful correlation between acceptance or refusal of disease, duration of disease from diagnosis time and stage of cancer with quality of life.

Conclusion: It seems that there is a relationship between some cancer characteristics and quality of life. Attention must be paid to these aspects to improve quality of life in cancer patients.

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Background & Aim: Despite the advancement of medical science, readmission of the heart failure patient remains a serous problem. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of continuous care and educational intervention on the rate of readmissions, refers to physician, and health costs in patients discharged from hospital.
Methods & Materials: This study was a randomized clinical trial in which 110 patients were studied. The participants were allocated in two experimental and control groups. Data were gathered using questionnaires. Home visits were carried out in the experimental group during six months. At the end of the intervention, the rate of readmissions, referrals, and health care costs were compared in the two groups. Data were analyzed using independent t-test, Fisher&aposs exact test, and Chi-square test.
Results: Results indicated that the rate of readmissions (1.65±1.01 vs. 2.74±1.07, respectively), and refers to physicians (2.73±1.24 vs. 3.32±0.94, respectively) were lower in the experiment group than the control group (P<0.05) after the intervention. The average health care cost in the intervention group (2494000±172150 Rials) did not differ significantly with the control group (2736800±167360 Rials) (P>0.05).
Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that the nursing interventions such as home visits are effective in lowering readmissions and refers to physicians in patients with heart failure. It seems that home visits are necessary in promoting the patients health. 

 

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Background & Aim: Each conceptual model in nursing seeks to explain the fundamental concepts of the discipline based on the culture and values of societies in order to be used more effectively, as a scientific and practical framework. The aim of this study was to design a conceptual model of care during infancy from Islam perspective.
Methods & Materials: The conceptual model used in this study was designed based on the model synthesis process developed by Walker and Avant (2011) in three steps in 2017: Concept development and specifying focal concept, statement synthesis and identifying connections between concepts, systematic organization of connections and building an integrated representation. Qur’an and its interpretation books and Shiite Hadith books were of the resources.
Results: As a result of developing the concept of “care during infancy in terms of Islam”, six concepts were synthesized. “Infant as a person with dignity and potential for excellence” was as the focal concept. Other concepts included “basic principles of nurturing”, “parents as the representatives of God in nurturing infants”, “mother as the symbol of creativity and divinity of God”, “healthy and competent child”, and “God as the merciful nurturer”. After defining connections between the concepts, the structure of conceptual model was presented.
Conclusion: Infant care is nurturing a human being who has dignity, rights and potential for excellence from the time of conception. From Islam perspective, God is the eternal nurturer who nurtures the infant with kindness and dignity, and mother is the manifestation of the creativity and divinity of God. The infant is entrusted to the parents by God, and parents are the agents of God who lay the groundwork for nurturing the infant. In order to have a healthy and competent child, observing the principles of nurturing is important. “Care during infancy from Islam perspective” model is a conceptual model that can be used for the development of applied theories, clinical practice, research, and education of nursing students and the community.
 

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Background & Aim: Designing healthcare spaces and physical facilities requires the identification of the patient's family needs, and it is considered an important component of nursing theories. The aim of this study was to explain the needs of family caregivers of patients undergoing gynecological surgery for physical facilities and equipment in hospital.
Methods & Materials: This study is based on the results of the qualitative part of a large hybrid study on the development and implementation of a need-based service delivery program for the caregivers of patients undergoing gynecological surgery in 2017. The selection of participants was purposefully done with maximum variation. The study data were collected using 31 (16 caregivers, 6 nurses, 4 doctors, 3 patients and 2 service workers) in-depth interviews and observations and analyzed by the conventional qualitative content analysis using the Zhang and Wildemuth approach.
Results: Data analysis led to the development of the theme "need for physical facilities", which fell into two categories "need for proper physical structure in the hospital" with the following subcategories: "need for care facilities behind the operating room door", "need to provide welfare facilities in the hospital for caregivers", "need for welfare facilities in the surgical ward", "necessity of allocating rooms to the similar patients", and category "need for appropriate hospital facilities and equipment" with subcategories "caregiver’s need for facilities and amenities", and "caregiver’s need for facilities and amenities for the comfort of the patient".
Conclusion: The results show the importance of having a physical structure tailored to the needs of family caregivers as well as the availability of appropriate facilities and equipment in hospital. One of the limitations of the study was preventing men from visiting patients in the women’s hospital. It is recommended that the needs of male companions and the necessity of their presence according to the cultural context be studied. Also, a new architectural design is suggested to create a suitable therapeutic environment and positive effect on patients’ improvement and increase patient and family satisfaction.
 

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Background & Aim: Mothers with premature babies are more likely to experience anxiety than mothers with full-term babies. The separation of the mother from the baby disrupts physical contact with the baby, which is the most important component affecting attachment. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a group positive thinking program on anxiety and attachment in mothers with premature infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit.
Methods & Materials: This study is a randomized clinical trial conducted in Kermanshah in 2020. A total of 72 mothers with premature infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Imam Reza and Mohammad Kermanshahi hospitals were randomly assigned into two groups of control and intervention. The Spielberger State Trait Anxiety Inventory and Postpartum Attachment Scale were used to collect the data. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 16 using statistical tests (ANOVA and Chi-Square).
Results: There was no significant difference in the state anxiety levels before (p =0.791) and after the intervention (p =0.373) between the control and intervention groups. Likewise, no statistically significant difference was observed in the latent anxiety levels before (p =0.831) and after the intervention (p =0.093) between the two groups but comparing the amount of changes showed a significant difference (p =0.025). Regarding attachment, none of the attachment subscales had a statistically significant difference between the two groups before the intervention (p>0.05). After the intervention, a significant difference was observed in the scores of the subscales “lack of hostility" and "satisfaction with the interaction" (p<0.05).
Conclusion: According to the findings of the study, the group positive thinking training is recommended to the nurses and managers of neonatal intensive care units as a complementary program, along with the routine care for mothers of premature infants.
Clinical trial registry: IRCT20210108049965N1