Iranian Journal of

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Background and objectives: People with thalessemia and chronic renal failure on maintenance hemodialysis are prone to blood-born infections, especially hepatitis C due to the long-term transfusion. Recently, hepatitis C has been one of the main health concerns in these patients. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of hepatitis C and its risk factors in these groups of patients in Kerman province of Iran.
Methods: HCV RNA in blood sample of 384 patients (203 hemodialysis cases and 181 thalassemia cases) was evaluated.
Results: One hundred thirty (130) out of 384 were infected by HCV. Infected male was predominant (83%).
Conclusions: It seems that the frequency of hepatitis C infection in Kerman is higher than the other provinces of Iran. Therefore more attention should be paid to screen of blood before transfusing for these group of patients.

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Background & Objectives: The experience of patients with breast cancer may vary in different cultures. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of women with breast cancer in Iran.
Methods: Fifty one participants were recruited from a university-affiliated breast clinic in Tehran. In-depth interviews each lasting approximately one hour per participant were scheduled and conducted in a private room. The interviews intended to motivate the participants to reflect on their life experiences since the cancer diagnosis. The interviews were tape-recorded and were transcribed to elucidate the major themes encountered in the interviews.
Results: The mean age of patients was 48.8 years (SD = 10.5), 44 were married, one was single, and six were widowed or divorced. Forty-eight participants underwent radical mastectomy and 13 patients received breast-conserving surgery. Thirty-five (69%) patients received chemotherapy. Overall eight major themes emerged from the analysis. These were: importance of God and spiritual beliefs, importance of family support especially husbands and children during the diagnosis and treatment, difficult times during receiving mammography results, experiencing an ambiguous condition while losing their breasts, fear of recurrence, concerns about children, and chemotherapy as the worst experience during the course of treatment.

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Background and Objectives: Children’s well-being is a multidimensional construct that precedes various aspects of children's lives. This study sought to identify the main areas of children's wellbeing in Iran and their domains, components, and indicators that can be used to measure the well-being of children in Iran.
Methods: In this Delphi study, 30 experts that had educational, research, and executive experiences in various areas of children’s life were consulted. The dimensions, components, and indicators of children’s wellbeing were extracted through a review of the literature and views of the experts and children. The Delphi method was applied in three rounds. The dimensions and components with a higher-than-average score were selected and the percentage of Delphi members’ agreement with related indicators was measured.
Results: Generally, 25 components and 110 indicators related to 7 domains (physical health, safety and risks, economical situation, family, personal and social well-being, education, housing and living conditions) were selected by Delphi members. Consensus on the relevancy of indicators, proportionality, and comprehensiveness was 100%, 95%, and 86%, respectively.
Conclusion: The components and indicators suggested in this study can help to create a composite index for monitoring and comparing the status of the children’s wellbeing between different provinces of Iran in different times. It can also show the strengths and weaknesses of the policies and programs related to children’s wellbeing and help the government to adopt appropriate policies for the whole country as well as each province.