Journal of School of Public Health and

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Background and Aim: Considering the social and cultural characteristics of Iranian adolescents, none of the quantitative instruments designed so far to assess their health needs is quite appropriate. The purpose of this study was to design a valid and reliable questionnaire to assess the health needs of Iranian adolescent females.

Materials and Methods: Both qualitative and quantitative approaches to instrument development were adopted in this study conducted in the District of Sari in the north of Iran. Sampling was objective-based, with an attempt to have female adolescent sample as varied as possible. In the qualitative phase, a content analysis approach was used to explore the concept of health needs as seen by female adolescents. Data were collected using 8 focus group discussions (FGDs) with the presence 6-10 adolescents 12-18 years old in each FGD, as well as 11 semi-structured interviews, each one involving 11 well-informed individuals. In the quantitative phase, the psychometric properties, including content validity, face validity, construct validity, concurrent validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability, were determined.

Results: Five themes were identified in the qualitative phase of study, including psycho-emotional health, social health, physical health, and educational needs, as well as spiritual beliefs. The mean scale-level content validity index (S-CVI) was found to be 0.92. The factor structure of the instrument was identified by doing a Principal Component Analysis. Five factors were extracted with a total variance account of 45.37%. The reliability and consistency of the instrument were established with the Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.90) for the entire scale and test-retest reliability with a 2 week-interval Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC=0.984, p<0.001).There was a concurrent correlation between the instrument and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL TM 4.0) (r=0.66, p<0.001).

Conclusion: The instrument developed in this study is a valid, reliable and culturally appropriate instrument for assessment of health needs of Iranian adolescent females. 

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Background and Aim: Breast and cervical cancer screening is considered a health promotion behavior, influenced by complex factors. The theory of planned behavior provides a useful framework for predicting and understanding the health behavior and designing appropriate educational interventions. Integrating this theory with self-efficacy will increase its predictive value. The objective of this qualitative research project was to understand the factors influencing the behavior of breast and cervical cancer screening of female-workers as a base for future educational planning.

Materials and Methods: This was a qualitative approach research based on the Integrated Model of Planned Behavior and Self-Efficacy. Seventy 20-45 year-old women working in industrial plants in Abbasabad, Pakdasht, selected by purposeful sampling with maximum diversity participated, in 10 groups of 7 each, in focus-group discussions, in which they discussed their experience regarding factors influencing the behavior of breast and cervical cancer screening. Data were collected and their validity, conformability, transferability and dependability confirmed. For data analysis the conventional method of content analysis was used.

Results: The female workers had a low knowledge and attitude concerning the behavior of breast and cervical cancer screening. Attaching importance to comments given by the family members, especially the husband, and preference of treatment to prevention of disease in the society at large were the subjective norms of the female workers. The most important barriers to participating in screening programs were lack of knowledge, depression, fatigue, embarrassment and fear of examinations, fear of being sick, poor quality of services and lack of attention to privacy in health centers, limited access to health centers, and costs of tests. The female workers had a low self-efficacy for planning and overcoming barriers. Most of them had not had screening tests and had no intention of doing their screening tests in the following three month.

Conclusion: The following measures are recommended: designing and implementing specific educational programs in workplaces for female-workers aiming at increasing their awareness and positive attitudes towards breast and cervical cancer screening designing and implementing educational/training programs for families, employers and planners to increase their knowledge and attitude and facilitating women's access to health centers in industrial estates.

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  Background: Sexually transmitted infections are one of the most prevalent infections all over the world that impose significant morbidity on people. There are an increasing number of sexually transmitted infections in Islamic Republic of Iran during recent years. So developing and implementing programs for STIs prevention and control is considered as a health priority. While the role of gender based power in sexual relationships has in recent years been acknowledged, the understanding has largely lacked practical considerations in the STIs/HIV/AIDS prevention fields. This study aims to explore gender sensitive STIs/HIV/AIDS prevention services concepts and dimensions.

  Method : This study employed content analyzes research design. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 37 expert reproductive health managers and providers that selected purposively and then continued by snow ball method. Data collected by using semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were transcribed and typed. Data was analyzed according to content analysis.

  Results: 2 categories emerged as the result of data content analysis: 1) gender sensitive structure including employers, facilities and management dimensions 2) gender sensitive process including care and educational processes.

  Conclusion: providing gender sensitive STIs/HIV/AIDS prevention services need gender sensitive management, facilities and providers and gender sensitive care and educational design.

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Background and Aim: Health literacy implies the achievement, processing and perception of fundamental information and services required for making appropriate health-related decisions. Due to the high significance of health literacy during pregnancy and its direct effect on fetus, the present research was conducted to investigate the health literacy of pregnant women visiting medical centers in Bandar Abbas, Iran in 2015.
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study conducted on 250 pregnant women visiting the healthcare centers in Bandar Abbas, Iran selected by mixed sampling (both clustering and simple random). The data were collected using an adult health literacy questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 16, the statistical tests being independent-sample t-test, ANOVA, Tukey test and linear regression.
Results: The average age of the pregnant women was 31.61±7.45 years. The proportions of the women with an adequate, borderline and inadequate level of literacy were 52%, 20.8% and 27.2%, respectively. A statistically significant association was found between health literacy and education (p<0.001), age (p<0.001), occupation (p<0.001) and the quality of healthcare provision during pregnancy (p<0.001).
Conclusion: The results reveal that the mothers’ health literacy is inadequate or at borderline. Based on these results the following are recommended in an attempt to promote health literacy of pregnant women: 1. revising/simplifying teaching materials, including both oral and pictorial, in addition to written materials in the form of posters, pamphlets and brochures; 2. promoting communication skills of health workers/mothers.