---

Background & Objective: Assessment of mental health is one of the most important aspects of assessing health status. Entering to the university is a challenging life event for young adults because students encounter with changes in social communication, expectations and roles. As a result, they are susceptible for experiencing stress and anxiety that could affect their functions. The aim of this study was to determine the mental health status and related stressors among Hamadan Medical Sciences University Students.

Methods & Materials: In this cross-sectional study, 180 medical sciences&apos students were selected using stratified sampling method. Data were collected using the Stressor questionnaire and the SCL90. Data were analyzed by SPSS.

Results: The study showed that 57.1 percent of the students were female. The ages ranged 18-22. Most of the students (94.8 percent) were single. Most of the students had no mental disorders (66.1%). Mild and moderate mental disorders were 29.4& and 4.4%, respectively. Mean of mental health score was 72.99 (±46.02). Mental health status was correlated with marital status, concerns about family, changes in religious activities, concerns about the future, working in the hospitals, problems with friends, sexual problems, and the number of experienced stressors (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Experiencing stressors threatens students&apos mental health status and provide a potential cause for mental disorders.

 

---

Background & Aim: Spiritual care along with other nursing interventions balance body and soul. This study aimed to determine the effect of spiritual care on death anxiety in hemodialysis patients with end-stage of renal disease.
Methods & Materials: A clinical trial (IRCT2016308226961N1) was performed in Hamadan’s Shahid Beheshti and Besat hospitals in 2016. A total of 60 hemodialysis patients with end-stage of renal disease were randomly assigned into two groups of intervention (30 patients) and control (30 patients). In the intervention group, the spiritual care program consisted of protective care, supporting the patient’s rituals and using the support systems, was performed in hemodialysis ward at the patient’s bedside. The control group only received routine nursing care. The Templar’s death anxiety questionnaire was completed by both groups before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics using the SPSS software version 16.
Results: The average score for death anxiety before the intervention between the intervention group (8.10±2.26) and control group (8.53±2.47) had not significant difference (P=0.482), while the average score for death anxiety after the intervention had statistically significant difference (P=0.004) between the intervention group with median value of 8.0 (6.00-8.25) and control group with median value of 9.0 (7.00-10.25), and the patients’ death anxiety reduced in the intervention group.
Conclusion: Spiritual care program reduced death anxiety in hemodialysis patients with end-stage of renal disease. Nurses can use spiritual care program to reduce patients’ death anxiety.
 

---

Background & Aim: Increase in gastric residual volume and abdominal distention are important complications in patients with nasogastric tube feeding. This study aimed to determine the effect of local heat therapy on gastric residual volume and abdominal distention in patients with nasogastric tube feeding.
Methods & Materials: In this double-blind clinical trial, 64 patients with nasogastric tube feeding, were selected using the convenience sampling method according to the inclusion criteria and randomly assigned to either the experiment group or control group. For two groups, a hot pack was placed on the anterior abdominal region in two 23-minute sessions, about 1.5 hours after gavage. The temperature of the hot pack was 50°C for the experiment group and it was equal to the ambient temperature for the control group. The levels of patients’ abdominal distention and gastric residual volume were measured and compared half an hour before and 1.5 hours after gavage. Data collection tools were consisted of a demographic questionnaire and a data sheet for recording digestive function. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software version 16 through descriptive and inferential statistical tests. The p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: According to the results, 46.9% of the patients were female and 53.1% were male. The age mean for the experiment and control groups were 12.5±72.5 and 15.3±7.8, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic characteristics and disease-related information. Abdominal distention and gastric residual volume were similar in the two groups before the intervention, but significantly decreased in the experiment group after the intervention (P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the control group.
Conclusion: Local heat therapy reduces gastric residual volume and abdominal distention in patients with nasogastric tube feeding, and its application is suggested in further research.
Clinical trial registry: IRCT2015050822163N1