Journal of School of Public Health and

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Background and Aim: There are no occupational health data concerning the prevalence of mental disorders in Iranian hospital nurses. Such information may be a prerequisite for efficient occupational mental health interventions. The aim of this study was to determine mental health status among shift work hospital nurses.

Materials and Methods: This paper reports the findings of a cross-sectional survey that was part of a larger quasi-experimental study. We selected and evaluated 1195 nurses in 12 general hospitals in Shiraz (capital of Fars Province), using the 28-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). We used structured observations in accordance with an occupational health checklist to assess working environment during the work period.

Results: Results indicated that 28.7% of nurses were in poor mental health. Mental disease was more common among females than males (p<0.05). Prevalence rates for anxiety and somatic symptoms were 42.2% and 35.5% respectively. The prevalence of depression was 11.9% and social dysfunction, 79.5%. There was a significant relationship between shift work and anxiety as well as sleep disorders (p< 0.05). Associations were also found between marital status and depression and between gender and social dysfunction (p< 0.001).

Conclusion: Prevalence figures for mental disorders are similar to those from nationwide surveys but it seems that social dysfunction and anxiety disorders are more common in nurses compared to the general population aged 15 and over. More attention must be paid to the health of shift work nurses (especially female staff). This can take the form of shift work health education programs, occupational health counseling, and periodic examinations.

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Background and Aim: Considering that the knowledge of, and attitude towards, sexuality is a key factor influencing sexual behavior, the main objective of this survey was to determine the bases of sexual knowledge and formation of attitude towards sexual script in women of reproductive age in Kashan City, Iran.

Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study including 500 women of reproductive age referring to all health centers in Kashan Iran, selected by simple random sampling,. The data collection tool was the Sexual Knowledge and Attitude Scale (SKAS). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression model.

Results: The age range of the majority of the participants (51.9%) was 26-35 years, and the educational level of 39.9 % of them was high school education. The majority of them had a high level of sexual knowledge and attitude (51.4% and 62.9% respectively). The Pearson correlation test showed a significant positive correlation between knowledge and attitude of the women (p<0.05), and based on the multivariate regression analysis their knowledge score correlated with education and economic status and their sexual attitude scores with age and education.

Conclusion: The participating women were young and educated and their knowledge and attitude scores were high. However, they had erroneous attitudes and ideas, such as a feeling of shame and anxiety at intercourse, considering initiation in sexual relation responsibility of the man, and considering childbearing as the main purpose in sexual relations. It is essential to design and implement appropriate educational programs to help the women change their attitudes and ideas.

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Background and Aim: Considering that a person’s identity in formed during adolescence and that such identity formation is of particular importance in this period and the many factors that play important roles in it, the present study was conducted to determine the factors related with identity formation among high school students in Mazandaran Province, Iran.
Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study. The participants were 394 high school students in Mazandaran Province, Iran selected by random cluster sampling. Data were collected using 3 questionnaires, namely, the Benion and Adams Identity Scale Questionnaire (EOM-EIS-2), the Identification Factors Questionnaire and a Demographic Questionnaire. For data analysis, Wilcoxon, Spearman correlation and linear regression tests were used.
Results: Over half (51.8%) of the participants were girls and 48.2% boys. The results of regression analysis showed that the factors studied (family, personality, school, community and culture and media) could explain 22.7%, 11.2%, 10.5% and 21.2% of the variance in turbulent, early, delayed and advanced self-identification in adolescents, respectively.
Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it is recommended to organize parenting and student training courses and make the school environment more favorable for the students, as well as include extracurricular activities in the school to help students identify themselves more easily.