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Background & Aim: Spiritual well-being harmonizes several dimensions of human's life and is essential for coping with diseases. Chronic illnesses such as cancer cause crisis in physical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of ones life. This study aimed to measure the spiritual well-being in cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy.

Methods & Materials: In this cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational study, Paloutzian & Ellison's Spiritual Well-being Self-report questionnaire was completed by 360 cancer patients. Patients were recruited using sequential sampling method. The inclusion criteria were being more than 20 years old, and being able to read and write. Data were analyzed using chi-square and Pearson tests in SPSS (version 11).

Results: The study findings revealed that the mean scores for spiritual well-being, religious well-being, and existential well-being were (98.35±14.36), (54.67±5.92), (43.67±10.01), respectively. Also, statistically significant relations were found between age, marital status, and educational levels with spiritual well-being (P<0.001).

Conclusion: Findings showed that the level of spiritual well-being was high in cancer patients. Moreover, as it is expected in Iranian culture, the level of religious well-being was more than existential well-being. There were significant relationships between spiritual well-being and personal characteristics. Hence, nurses should consider personal characteristics in their caring programs and choose a comprehensive and holistic approach toward their patients' care.

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Background & Aim: Using illicit drugs such as Ecstasy is a deviant behavior in adolescents. Attitude toward using illicit drugs can predict its usage. This study was carried out in order to determine the adolescents' attitude toward using Ecstasy in 2006.

Methods & Materials: In this cross-sectional study, eight hundred adolescents aged 16-18 years who lived in the west of Tehran recruited from public regions of municipality. Data was gathered using authors-structured questionnaire. After filling in informed consents, the questionnaires were completed by the respondents.

Results: Findings revealed that 78.9 % of the adolescents had negative attitudes and 17.5% had positive attitudes toward using Ecstasy. Boys and girls attitudes were not significantly different.

Conclusion: Regarding relatively high negative attitudes among the adolescents toward Ecstasy using, it seems that investments in health promoting programs were appropriate. Nevertheless, along with these programs, parents and teachers should pay more attention to the issue.

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Background & Objective: Hospitalization of patients in the intensive care unit of open heart surgery (ICUOH) is often stressful for patients&apos family carers. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the informational support on anxiety among families of patients undergone open heart surgery.

Methods & Materials: In this double-group randomized clinical trial, 64 family carers of patients undergone open heart surgery were selected using convenience sampling method and were randomly allocated into two intervention or control groups. The informational support consistedof  holding the ICU orientation tours and educational sessions, and providing educational pamphlets and booklets. The members of the control group received routin information. The anxiety of the family carers was measured using the trait Spielberger anxiety questionnaire before surgery and in the day of discharge from the ICU. Independent and paired t-tests were used to analyze the data.

Results: According to the findings, there were no significant difference between the two groups regarding demographic charachteristics. At the baseline, the mean of anxiety scores were 47.9±11.5 and 49.2±11.5 in the control and intervetion groups, respectively. The anxiety scores diminished in both groups after the surgery, however, the difference was not statistically significant between the two groups (P=0.18).

Conclusion: For effective control of anxiety among family members of patients, both informational support and other supportive techniques such as psychological support and meeting other family needs should be considered.

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Background & Objective: Nursing students usually experience various types of stress. Lack of stress coping strategies result in more stress, incompatibility, manifestation of disorders, and mental health problems. This study carried out to assess the methods of coping with stress among nursing students.

Methods & Materials: In this cross-sectional study, 358 male and female bachelor of nursing students studying at Tehran University of Medical Sciences during the first semester of 2011-2012 were selected. Data were collected using the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situation and a demographic questionnaire. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in the SPSS-14.

Results: There were 66.2% female and 33.8% male students in the study. The age of the students ranged 17-29 years. Most of the students aged 20-22 years (45%), were single (90.8%), were habitants of Tehran (53.1%), had an average economic status (72.1%), and were employed (20.9%). Of all, 19.3% had experienced stressful events in the last three months. A small number of the students (4.7%) suffered from chronic diseases. The nursing students mostly used problem-oriented coping style (56%). The emotion-oriented method was used among 45.99% of the students and the avoidance-oriented style was used among 39.34% of the students. There were no statistically significant relationship between the coping styles and the demographic characteristics.

Conclusion: The problem-oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidance-oriented styles were the most frequent styles used by the students, respectively. The mental health, particularly among nursing students who deal with patients and have important role in the health system, is important and requires special attention. The stress coping styles should be inserted in the educational curriculum of the nursing schools.

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  Background & Aim: The effect of perceived stress on students’ health depends on their coping abilities. Resilience is a coping strategy for dealing with the stress. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the perceived stress with resilience in undergraduate nursing students .

  Methods & Materials: In this cross-sectional study, 309 undergraduate nursing students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences were selected during the first semester of 2012-2013 using the stratified sampling method. Data were collected using the Perceived stress scale and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in the SPSS-14 . 

  Results: Findings revealed that most of the students (99.3%) had a moderate or high perceived stress. There was a statistically significant relationship between the perceived stress with the resilience (P £ 0.001, r=-0.38) .

  Conclusion: The school of nursing should provide facilities and opportunities for students in their 4-year educational program to learn stress management strategies including increasing resilience ability.

  

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  Background & Aim: The nature of clinical practice has altered in recent years. It has been affected by different kinds of problem-solving models' so, the problem-solving skill is necessary in practice for nurse practitioners. Besides assertiveness is a critical element which persuades nurses and nursing students to establish good relationships and use their knowledge and professional skills effectively. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between problem solving and assertiveness skills among undergraduate nursing students .

  Methods & Materials: This was a descriptive correlational study. The study was carried out in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Iran University of Medical Sciences. The study population included all students enrolled in the four-year nursing program in 2009-2010. Data were collected using the Heppner and Petersen’s problem solving inventory and Rathus assertiveness schedule. Data were analyzed using the ANOVA, independent sample t-test and Pearson Correlation Coefficient tests in the SPSS . 

  Results: Three hundred and twenty two students participated in this study. The students' problem-solving skill (mean=89.5) and assertiveness (mean=12.1) were moderate. The study showed that last year students reported higher assertiveness skill than the freshmen (F=2.85 P≤0.037). The level of assertiveness was correlated with the level of problem-solving skill .

  Conclusion: Educational programs should provide opportunities for nursing students to enhance life skills such as problem solving and assertiveness skills. Nursing schools should improve students' skills in clinical approaches to be better care professional .

  

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  Background & Aim: Cancer is the most common childhood chronic medical illnesses that can affect quality of life of the children and their families. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of coping skills training on quality of life among parents of children with leukemia.

  Methods & Materials: This non-randomized clinical trial was conducted from March to June 2013. Ninety eight parents of children with leukemia who were referred to two selected hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences were enrolled to study using convenience sampling method. The participants were allocated to two experimental (n=48) and control (n=50) groups. Data were collected through two questionnaires including demographic characteristics of the parents and children, and the Persian version of the Caregivers Quality Of Life index Cancer. Coping skills training including social communication skills was performed through small group discussion (5-8 members) in four 2-hours sessions for the experimental group. The questionnaires were completed four weeks after the intervention by the parents. Data were analyzed using the independent t-test, paired t-test, Fisher's exact test and Chi-squared test in the SPSS-16. 

  Results: The results showed significant increase in the overall quality of life after the intervention (P<0.001). The quality of life of parents in the experimental group was improved significantly in comparison with the control group (P=0.045). Mental/emotional burden (P<0.001) and lifestyle disruption (P<0.001) decreased significantly after the intervention.

  Conclusion: The coping skills training affected the quality of life among parents of children with leukemia . Effective educational interventions may help to increase the quality of life of parents who have children with Leukemia.

  

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  Background & Aim: Transition from studentship to working life is a stressful and challenging event. The concept of transition is important in nursing education, management, and practice issues. However, despite its supreme importance, there are certain ambiguities about the concept of transition in nursing. The aim of this study was to analyze the concept of transition in the context of nursing in Iran.

  Methods & Materials: We used the three-phase hybrid concept analysis model including the theoretical phase, the fieldwork phase, and the final analytic phase in this study. In the theoretical phase, we conducted an online literature search to find relevant articles published prior to 2012. In the fieldwork phase, five novice nurses, two experienced nurses, and one head-nurse were interviewed. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis approach. During the final analytic phase, we compared the findings of the first two phases to provide a clear and comprehensive definition of the concept of transition . 

  Results: The findings of the theoretical phase revealed that transition was a process phenomenon having defined attributes such as detachment, individual perception, awareness, and human response patterns. According to the findings of the fieldwork phase, transition was an interactive, evolutionary, and time-bound phenomenon that embodies attributes such as socialization, unavoidability, and competence and ability development. In the final analytic phase, a comprehensive definition was provided for the concept of transition in the context of nursing in Iran .

  Conclusion: This study provided a comprehensive understanding of the concept of transition from nursing studentship to working life in Iran. The findings of this study can be used to develop theories, instruments, and criteria for evaluation of novice nurses’ transition to experienced nurses .

  

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Background & Aim: Infant hospitalization in the intensive care unit is stressful for parents so that it affects their parental role. Nurses, due to their special situation, can play an important role in reducing parental stress. This study aimed to determine the effect of parental role training by a nurse on stress in the parents of hospitalized newborns in a neonatal intensive care unit.
Methods & Materials: A quasi-experimental study (IRCT201605131788N17) was conducted on 72 parents (36 couples in the intervention group, 36 couples in the control group) of hospitalized newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit of Ali-Asghar hospital in 2016. The intervention group received the parental role training based on their needs. Their stress level was compared with the control group using the Parental Stress Scale. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, chi-square test, paired t-test, independent t-test and Fisher's exact test using the SPSS software v.16.
Results: Before the education, there was no significant difference in the stress level between the two groups (P>0.05). After the education program, the stress level in the intervention group fell on the tenth day compared to the control group (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Training parents based on their educational needs reduces their stress. By reducing stress and improving the role of parents, it can be assured that the newborn is provided with the quality care at the time of admission.
 

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Background & Aim: Comfort is the ultimate goal in all the nursing processes. The aim of the study is to examine the comfort status of the hospitalized patients with mental disorders.
Methods & Materials: This study is a descriptive, cross-sectional study that was conducted on 275 patients hospitalized in the psychiatric wards of Lavasani hospital in Tehran in 2020. The study subjects were selected using the convenience sampling method. The patients completed a demographic form and the comfort questionnaire of psychiatric patients. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, independent t-test, analysis of variance, and the Scheffe test through the SPSS software version 24 at a significance level of 0.05.
Results: A total of 184 patients (66.9%) were male. The overall comfort score was 128.76, which was more than median based on the score from 38 to 190.
The highest scores in the dimensions of comfort, were respectively sociocultural domain (65.20±91.55), psychospiritual domain (64.19±31.50), physical domain (58.22±37.06), and environmental domain (49.19±22.39). The Scheffe test showed that the comfort score for the patients with sufficient income was significantly higher (P<0.001). Also, the patients who were employees had a higher comfort score compared to others (P=0.017).
Conclusion: The patients gained the least comfort score in the environmental domain, and the most comfort score in the sociocultural domain. Therefore, devising and implementing all nursing interventions are recommended with the aim of maintaining and improving comfort in the environment of psychiatric departments.