Journal of School of Public Health and

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Background and Aim: Currently there is no standardized and validated questionnaire for assessing the care of danger signs in children less than 5 years by the mothers based on behavioral patterns. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate psychometrically an instrument for assessment of the care of danger signs in children less than 5 years old by the mothers based on the Health Belief Model.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 350 mothers in the City of Arak, Iran. After reviewing the related literature, an instrument was designed and its content validity ratio (CVR), content validity index (CVI) and face validity were measured. To measure the reliability of the scales, the internal consistency method was used. Data analysis was done using the SPSS software.

Results: The scores of the CVI and CVR of the 81 items were found to be 0.79 and 0.62, respectively, the items being classified into seven categories. Based on the Cronbach's alpha, the overall reliability was 0.86. The reliability of the questionnaire for checklists of performance was 0.99, followed by those of perceived benefits (0.90), severity (0.83), perceived barriers (0.68), knowledge (0.66), perceived susceptibility (0.65), self-efficacy (0.63), and cues to action (0.56). Conclusion: The output of this psychometric process study is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring symptoms of risk behaviors in the care of vulnerable children based on the health belief model constructs, which can be used in health sciences research aiming at helping to protect the health of children.

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Background and Aim: Diabetes mellitus is one of the most prevalent and important health problems in the world.Considering the high prevalence of metabolic syndrome in diabetic patients and the potential effects of its components on HbA1C in these patients, the present study was conducted to determine the effect of metabolic syndrome components on HbA1C in type-2 diabetic patients.
Materials and Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted on 157 diabetic patients regularly referring to the Diabetes Control Center in Qazvin City during 2014, where complete data about theirmetabolic syndrome components, as well as HbA1C levels were available. The data were analyzed using multiple linear regression (α=0.05 for statistical significance).
Results: Based on the regression model, the effects of age, HDL-C and fasting blood glucose on HbA1C were statistically significant; the effects of other variables were nonsignificant. The R²value for the variables entered for prediction of HbA1C was found to be 0.45 (R² = 45%).
Conclusion: Considering the significant relationship between some components of the metabolic syndrome such as HDL-C and fasting blood glucose on HbA1C in diabetic patients, it is essential to design and implement programs to reduce the level of HbA1C in these patients.