---

This was an analytical study that was conducted to determine effective factors on childbirth with an interval of less or more than two years in health clinics of Zahedan in 1997-1998.The samples consisted of 400 women with a childbirth interval of less than two years and 800 women with a childbirth interval of more than two years. The women with the following criteria were surveyed: gestational age at the time of delivery (27 months or more ), no abortion during the interval of two last childbirth and living with their husbands during the investigation period. Moreover, women's demographic data (such as age, education), the quality of their last pregnancies, the role of men in contraception and the contraceptive methods were also analyzed.The results indicated that there was a significant relationship between the follwing variables and establishing an interval of childbirth: maternal delivery age, education, number of male children and the number of the last pregnancy with an interval of childbirth (pRegarding the unwanted pregnancies, the findings revealed that lactation 15.83% and lactation pills 53% were caused childbirth with an interval of less than two years, while, IUD 76.47% caused childbirth with an interval of more than two years and contraceptive injections 46.43% caused an interval of 2-3 years.There was a significant statistically relationship between contraceptive method and childbirth interval (p <0.001 ).The participation of couples in establishing childbirth interval and applying IUD were confident methods in performing a childbirth interval of more than three years.It is recommended that women should be trained enough for the role of lactation as a contraceptive method. They also required training to apply other contraceptive methods coincidental.

---

Urinary incontinence is a common problem in women. It seems to have negative effects on different aspects of the patients' life. This study was undertaken to determine the quality of life in women with urinary incontinence with referred to hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The samples consisted of 263 women all over the age of 18. None of them were pregnant, had not delivered babies last 3 months, had no chronic diseases, were willing to answer questions posed and were also randomly chosen. The samples of the questionnaire about quality of life were collected using I-QOL and variables of type of urinary incontinence, intensity of urinary incontinence, duration of illness, occupation and education were taken into consideration. Analysis of data has been done by using SPSS Statistical tests 2, Pearson and Mantel - Hanzel. Findings of this research indicated that none of the patients led a comfortable life and (45.2%) of them suffered from a quality of life below standard. 51.3% of the women until the time of the study had not visited a physician and 54.8% of them had the impression that the symptoms seemed to be a normal and common problem and that is why they did not seek professional help. The results also indicated that the effect of urinary incontinence was significantly related to the type of urinary incontinence (p<0/0001), duration of the disease (p<0/02) and level of education (p<0/006). In conclusion despite the negative effects of urinary incontinence on the quality of life of women, most of the patients did not seek professional help. It is suggested that the health care providers pay more attention to this issue and utilizing health care centers, train women in the prevention of urinary incontinence.

---

Menopause is a physiological change for women, which occurs between 40-59 years of age and has a great impact on their life quality and its patterns. This is a descriptive and analytic research, which was carried out to assess the impact of menopause and some socio-demographic and medical variables on quality of life and its patterns in Tehran in 2001. Samples were taken at random from 210 healthy women aged between 40 to 60 years and in four groups: pre-menopausal, about menopausal, menopausal and post-menopausal women with duration of less than or more than 5 years. The data was collected via a special questionnaire through interview. Analysis of data has been done by using SPSS Statistical tests 2, Bonferroni and LSD. The findings show that quality of life and its patterns were related to the menopausal stage with the highest percentage related to pre-menopausal women and the lowest to post-menopausal with a duration of 5 five years (p<0/0001). The results of the study were affected by different factors such as menopausal signs, marital situation and the age of the samples but there was no relationship with duration of the menopause, job, education, financial situation of the women, the age of the woman's first menstruation, and the number of children staying with the family. According to the findings, it is suggested that the health program designers and decision makers develop special plans to enhance women's quality of life and patterns, especially women who are about menopausal age (the first five years).

---

Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the world. Women at childbearing age are at particular risk of developing iron deficiency due to the iron losses associated with menstruation and childbirth. Therefore, iron supplements are needed in certain groups, while in particular regions increased dietary intake could be provided through food. This descriptive study attempts to identify practice among university students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in the prevention of iron deficiency anemia due to menstruation in the year 1999. This study includes 257 university students of different majors (such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, obstetrics, nursing, nutrition, health (occupational, Public) laboratory sciences) of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences who were selected through a simple random sampling method. The pattern of study was a questionnaire consisting of 37 questions, in addition to a chart to determine food consumption frequency. The questionnaire was divided into three sections: demographic data, the status of nutrition, and iron supplementation. To analyze the data descriptive statistics and (2) test were used. The results showed that the most of the samples were in the age group of 21 to 25 years and 36.5% of them stayed in dormitories. Most of the subjects of study had moderate nutrition and some of them had good nutrition. The majority of them (92.5%) were not using the iron supplements during the menstruation period and the duration between two subsequent menses. The results of the research show that the function of 35.2 % of the subjects of study in relation to the prevention of iron deficiency was weak, 53.9% of them were moderate and only 10.9% of them were good. The statistical test (2) which was used to analyze the results obtained, showed a significant relationship between the practice of the subjects and their living in a dorms (P<0.001). In conclusion, the application of the results for further researches and also for practical use has been proposed.

---

Introduction: Menopause, the permanent cessation of menstruation, is an important event in the long process of climactrium, signaling a change from the years of fertility to infertility. Postmenopausal women have many physical and mental problems.

Materials and Methods: The objective of this study was to determine the mental problems of menopausal women referred to the health care centers of Ilam University of Medical Sciences in 2003. The research tools in this analytical-descriptive study were a questionnaire, record sheet and standard tests composed of Beck and Cattle scales. The data were collected by interview. The samples consisted of 150 menopausal women who had been selected by random sampling method. The data analysis was done by SPSS software.

Results: The results showed that short-term memory disorder (39.3%), mild depression (32%) and mild anxiety (27.7%) were the most common mental problems. There was a significant relationship between depression and marital status (p=0.029) and having knowledge about menopause (p = 0.04). Anxiety had no relationship with any variables (p>0.05) but there was an association between depression and anxiety (p = 0.002).

Conclusion: The findings show that the menopausal women suffer from mental problems, which influence their quality of life and community health. Thus, planning educational and health care programs to help them overcome these obstacles is essential.

---

Introduction: Surgery is a stressful event and patients undergoing surgery experience anxiety. Any effort to reduce anxiety of surgical patients should be of priority in nursing care of preoperative patients. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of Benson relaxation technique and Zekr (rosary) on anxiety level of patients awaiting abdominal surgery.

Materials and Methods: This research is a quasi-experimental study carried out on patients who were admitted for abdominal surgery in a affiliated hospital to Tehran University of Medical Sciences in the year 2004. A total of 70 patients were chosen and divided randomly into two groups. We used Benson’s relaxation technique in first and Zekr in the second group. The patients were assessed on the day before surgery and on the day of surgery by a questionnaire that included demographic information and Spielberger anxiety tool. Vital signs were also recorded. The data were analyzed by SPSS computer software. The differences between pre and post intervention values were analyzed using paired t test, and between groups using independent t test and 2.

Results: Although there was a significant difference between mean anxiety level before and after intervention in both Zekr (p<0.006) and relaxation group (p<0.02), there was no significant difference between two techniques in reduction of preoperative anxiety (p>0.05). There was also a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure and pulse rate in both groups (p<0.05).

Conclusion: It seems that Zekr is as effective as Benson’s relaxation technique in reducing anxiety level of patients and both can be used to reduce anxiety level of patients awaiting abdominal surgery.

---

Introduction: Level of job satisfaction reflects positive or negative attitude of person toward his/her job and is influenced by many factors. Job satisfaction of nursing personnel directly affects their quality of care. Attention to this issue means attention to community health.

Materials and Methods: This study is a descriptive, cross sectional research, conducted to identify the level of job satisfaction of nursing personnel of health, therapeutic and medical education centers of the entire country in the year 2001. Sample size was 4000 and nurses were selected through random stratified sampling method. Data collection tool was questionnaire of Herzberg job satisfaction which was sent by mail. Job satisfaction was classified into three levels: low (0-33.33%), moderate (33.34-66.67%) and high (66.68-100%).

Results: We received back a total of 3029 questionnaires. Results showed that the majority of nurses had moderate level of job satisfaction in domains of working place situation (62.9%), relationship with colleagues (69.6%), professional situation (74.3%), supervision and administration (57.6%), managerial policies (50%) and personnel life in relation to the job (80.6%). Job satisfaction level was low in domains of job security (63.5%) and salary and benefits (77.3%). 2 test showed a significant relationship between age, job position, level of education, job experience, over time working, type of over time working, type of accommodation and participation in continuing education programs and job satisfaction.

Conclusion: As a whole, the level of job satisfaction of majority of nursing personnel was moderate and the majority of subjects were not satisfied with welfare possibilities of their job. According to the research results it is recommended that the authorities try to increase the salary and financial benefits of nursing personnel and also to develop welfare possibilities of this class of community.

---

Introduction: The delivery of placenta and membranes (third stage of labor) is an important stage of delivery. Complications of this stage can increase maternal mortality rate. There is controversy regarding the routine use of oxytocic drugs in this stage of labor. These drugs may shorten duration of third stage but have side effects. Furthermore, management of delivery in physiologic way causes minimum damage to the mother and newborn.

Materials and Methods: The present research is a clinical trial study. A total of 94 subjects were divided into two groups. All subjects in active group received 10 units of Syntocinon in 500 cc serum. The cord was clamped and cut after cessation of pulsation and the placenta was delivered by Brandt–Andrews maneuver. Women in the physiologic group received 1cc of placebo in 500 cc serum, no clamping of the cord was attempted until pulsation had ceased and the placenta was delivered by minimal traction on the cord and with maternal effort without any maneuver.

Results: Two groups were matched in the subjects’ characteristics. The rate of postpartum hemorrhage in physiologic group (14.58%) was higher than active group (10.64%) but the statistical tests showed no significant differences between two groups (p=0.2945). The mean duration of the third stage of labor in the physiologic group (13 minutes) was longer than active group (9 minutes) but the statistical test showed no significant differences between two groups. The statistical tests also showed no significant differences between rate of retained placenta (p=0.5) or piece of the placenta and membranes (0.2428) in two groups.

Conclusion: Statistical tests showed no significant differences between duration and complications of the third stage of labor in two groups. The routine use of Syntocinon in management of third stage of labor can not be recommended.

---

Background & Aim: Regarding the increase of sexual transmitted disease, high risk behaviour and unwanted pregnancy in one hand, and myth, incorrect believes and low knowledge about sexuality in the other hand, sexual health education is one the basic compartment of health promotion. The pre-marriage counseling is one of the best opportunities to reach our aim.

Methods & Materials: This was a semi-practical study. We had considered 32 case couples and 32 control couples randomly. The couples had been chosen from those, which have been contacted to the clinics of Tehran University of medical sciences. All cases had contributed to three lectures given by the researcher. The lectures were mainly based on the different aspects of sexual health, like: family plain, safe sex, different aspects of sexuality & physiologic different in men's and women’s. On the other hand the control group had taken the normal lectures, which presents in the clinics which were based on the family planning and pre-marriage experiments. Both groups (cases and controls) had been asked to fill a form six months after counseling. In this form, we had included 10 questions of sexual health and 10 demographic questions. We had finally analyzed our data by SPSS software where we had used descriptive and discriminated statistics.

Results: We have obtained a considerable difference in sexual health between the two groups by Man-Whitney test (p=0.000). The majority of case group (96.9%) showed a good sexual health whereas the most procent of control group (59.4%) had a moderate sexual health.

Conclusion: To improve the quality of pre-marriage counseling, the content of usual lectures should be modified in addition to consider more time for these lectures. The results revealed that the pre-marriage counseling enhances the sexual health that lead to marital satisfaction.

---

Background & Aim: Obesity is increasing dramatically world-wide not only in adults, but also in children and adolescents. Nutritional and physical activity behaviors are related to the prevalence of obesity. Determining adolescents&apos behavioral patterns is important in preventing and adjusting this healthy problem. This study was carried out to assess lifestyle behaviors among girl adolescents and to determine the association between these behaviors and perceived parental lifestyle behaviors.

Methods & Materials: In this cross-sectional study, 270 students were selected using multistage random sampling from girls&apos schools in the areas covered by Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Descriptive and analytical tests were used to analyze the data.

Results: Results showed that the mean age was 13.3 (10.7-16) years. Most of the adolescents&apos had normal limits of BMI. Only 9.2% of adolescents had optimal dietary behavior and 4.3% were physically active. There was not significant relationship between their nutritional behavior and their perceptions about parents&apos lifestyle. BMI and parents economic status was related to nutritional behaviors significantly. Physical activity was statistically related to BMI and mothers&apos education.

Conclusion: This study showed that the adolescents&apos nutritional and physical activity behaviors were not healthy. Some factors are related to the adolescents&apos healthy behavior. Teaching healthy behaviors and defining healthy behavioral patterns for adolescent are necessary.

---

Background & Aim: Home care visits have unique advantages in many social problems and health complications such as psychologic complications and adverse birth outcomes. The aim of this study was to identify the effect of postpartum care at home on quality of life among low risk mothers.

Methods & Materials: This interventional study was conducted in Akbarabad health center of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2010. A total of 200 mothers were randomly allocated in two intervention and control groups. Mothers in the control group received two post partum visits in health care center and the intervention group received care at home. Data were collected through a questionnaire including demographic characteristics and the mothers&apos quality of life items along with a growth and development monitoring chart for newborns. For analyzing data, Mann-Withney U, Wilcoxon and Chi-square tests were used.

Results: Most of the mothers aged 20-29 years old. The number of visits were statistically different between the two groups (P=0.00, P=0.01). Dimensions of quality of life in the two groups were not statistically different: (Physical dimension: P=0.052), (Emotional dimension: P=0.775), (Public health dimension: P=0.068), (Social performance dimension: P=0.780) and (Total score: P=0.213).

Conclusion: the results of our study did not show no positive improvements in home postpartum care in comparison with the health care centers care. More studies are recommended.

---

Background & Aim: Motivated faculty promotes nursing students&apos educational level which leads to community health promotion. Attempts should be made to recognize and analyze motivating factors including expectations. This qualitative study attempted to clarify expectations of faculty of Tehran nursing schools on management system.

Methods & Materials: This was a qualitative study. The participants were 14 nursing faculty members of Tehran, Shahid Beheshti, Artesh, Shahed, and Baghiatallah Universities located in Tehran. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the participants. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with the participants. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data.

Results: Expectations of nursing faculty were explained in eight categories: empowerment of the faculty, organizational support, fairness, appropriate performance evaluation, providing appropriate working conditions, applying appropriate management strategies, attention to welfare and financial problems and promoting quality of education and research.

Conclusion: Understanding the expectations of the nursing faculty and trying to meet them can improve performance of the faculty. Meeting these expectations can enhance motivation and job satisfaction among the faculty.

---

Background & Aim: Pregnancy during adolescence is in conflict with the identity structures of adolescents, that can have a negative effect on maternal mental health, and especially cause stress. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of neonatal care education on perceived stress in adolescent mothers.
Methods & Materials: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 116 adolescent pregnant women referred to Zahedan health centers in 2016. Samples were selected by the convenience sampling method and assigned into two groups of 58 people each. The pre-test was performed before the first session using demographic and perceived stress questionnaires. The intervention group received three educational sessions on neonatal care and stress reduction methods. Routine prenatal education was provided to the control group. A post-test was performed at 38 week of pregnancy and 30 days after delivery. The data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney, Monte Carlo and Fisher tests through the SPSS software version 21.
Results: Before the intervention, the stress score for the intervention group was higher than that for the control group (P=0.007), but the mean score of perceived stress for the intervention group significantly decreased at the 38th week of pregnancy and 30 days after delivery, compared to the control group. According to the Mann-Whitney test, the decrease was significant (P˂0.001).
Conclusion: Considering the effect of the neonatal care education on reducing stress in adolescent mothers, it is recommended that this type of educational intervention be integrated into care program for adolescent pregnant mothers.