Journal of School of Public Health and

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Toxoplasmosis is a common disease caused by the protozoal parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Most human cases occur by 1) eating raw or undercooked meat containing T. gondii tissue cysts. 2) ingestion of oocysts from soil and 3) vertical transmission through the placenta. Immunocompetent adults are usually asymptomatic or present with self-limited fever and lymphadenopathy. Infection acquired during pregnancy can be transmitted to the fetus and may cause mental retardation, blindness, epilepsy, and abortion. In this cross-sectional study we determined the prevalence of toxoplasma infection in residents of Meshkin-Shahr in 2001-2002. We applied a cluster sampling method to family health files in local health centers to recruit a total of 909 individuals for this study. All family members were requested to complete the study&aposs questionnaire. For each individual, two separate blood samples were collected and placed in microhematocrite tubes. Titers of anti-toxoplasma antibodies were measured by IFA with levels in excess of 1/20 taken as positive. Questionnaire information and examination results were analyzed by the SPSS software package using chi-square tests. Results of this survey show the overall prevalence of toxoplasma infection to be around 18.3%. Figures for men and women were 19.7% and 17.2%, respectively but the difference was not statistically significant. Prevalence rates show a significant association with age (greater prevalence in higher age groups) and the type of meat consumed (P<0.05). But there were no significant associations with education level, occupation-keeping cats in the house, ingestion of meat and history of previous abortions. The most frequently occurring antibody titer was 1/20 (6.9%). and frequency decreased with higher antibody titers.
This study shows that toxoplasma infection is not as common in Meshkin-Shahr as in some parts of the country, with more than 80% of individuals being seronegative. Because of the low immunity level and the risk of vertical transmission, educating the public in prevention methods could be very important.

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Background and Aim: In this study, we compared a latex agglutination test (KatexR) with the direct agglutination test (DAT) for the diagnosis of human visceral leishmaniasis (HVL) in an area with a high prevalence of zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (ZVL) in Iran.
Materials and Methods: The validity of the KatexR (Kalon Biological Ltd, England) for detection of urinary Leishmania antigens in HVL was compared with standard direct agglutination test on 92 visceral leishmaniasis patients (29 were acute and 65 were chronic phase) and 90 healthy controls over a period of one year.
Results: We detected a sensitivity of 82.7% and a specificity of 98.9% in the acute phase. As for the chronic phase, the test showed a sensitivity of 6.15% and a specificity of 98.9% at a 1:3200 cut-off titer. Concordance between KatexR and DAT was 94 .9% in the acute phase and 59. 3% in the chronic phase. As the rapid, noninvasive Katex does not require much expertise or elaborate equipment.
Conclusion: It can be used for screening and diagnosis of human visceral leishmaniasis in remote endemic foci.

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  Background and Aim: Human error often plays an important role in accident causation either through direct action or poor design . The focus of this work is was on prediction of human error probabilities during the process of emergency musters on in gas compressor stations . This paper aims to present a brief description of Human Error Probability Index (HEPI) for the on gas compressor station musters process.

  Materials and Methods : Due to a lack of human error databases, and in particular human error data on gas compressor station musters, an expert judgment technique, the Success Likelihood Index Methodology (SLIM), , was adopted as a means to predict human error probabilities Two muster scenarios of varying severity (gas release, fire and explosion) were studied in detail . A total of 34 reference graphs provided data for both the weighting and rating of six performance shaping factors and the data were subsequently processed by means of SLIM to calculate the probability of success for 16 muster actions ranging from point of muster initiator to the final actions in the temporary safe refuge (TSR). The actions were categorized into 4 phases, namely, awareness, evaluation, egress, and recovery phases. The six performance shaping factors considered in this work were stress, complexity , training, experience, event factors, and atmospheric factors .

  Results: Human error probabilities in the egress phase were highest, followed by those in the evaluation phase the lowest were in the awareness phase.

  Conclusion: The HEPI can be applied to limit the chances of human error occurrence and mitigate the consequences of such errors through changes in training, design, safety systems, and procedures, resulting in a more error-tolerant design and operation .

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Background and Aim: Today in many work environments, such as nuclear, military and chemical industries, human errors may result in disasters. Accidents in different parts of the world bear evidence to this examples are the Chernobyl disaster (1986), the Three Mile Island accident (1974), and the Flixborough explosion (1974). Thus, identification of human error, especially in complex and intricate systems, and devising control measures are essential.

Materials and Methods: This project was a case study conducted in Zagross Methanol Company in Asalouye (South Pars), Iran. The walking-talking-through method was used to collect the required data and complete the Systematic Human Error Reductive and Predictive Approach (SHERPA) worksheets. The process experts and control room operators were interviewed and technical documents of the Company examined.

Results: Analysis of the SHERPA worksheets indicated that the majority (48.62%) of the 222 errors identified were action errors, followed by checking errors (31.97%), retrieval errors (6.75%), selection errors (0.9%), and communication errors (11.7%).

Conclusion: The results of this study show that the method can be used effectively in different industries, especially chemical industries, to identify human errors that may potentially lead to dangerous situations and accidents.

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Background and Aim: Today in most of the work environments, such as nuclear, military and chemical industries, human error may result in catastrophic events. A common characteristic of large technological systems is that massive amounts of potentially dangerous materials are kept in one single unit controlled by control room operators. A control room is indeed the heart of a system of this type and any error in task performance by the operators may have undesirable consequences which could never be compensated. In this study we aimed to identify and assess human errors in the control room of the Aromatic Unit of Bouali-Sina Petrochemical Company, Iran using the CREAM method.
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional and analytical-descriptive study carried out in the control room of the Aromatic Unit of Bouali-Sina Petrochemical Company, Iran with 39 operators. After a job analysis by the hierarchical task analysis (HTA), probable control modes and cognitive failure probability were determined for occupational tasks using the basic and the extended CREAM methodologies.
Results: Based on the results of the basic CREAM method, control modes for the tasks of action, Boardman and shift control supervisor were determined as Opportunistic Control mode, while for the task of control room head it was obtained as Tactical control mode. With regard to the error types, the following results were obtained on the basis of the extended method of CREAM: execution failure (51.70%), interpretation failure (19.55%), planning failure (14.94%), and observation failure (13.81%).
Conclusion: The basic CREAM method showed the common performance factors (CPCs) leading to reduced performance reliability to be the number of simultaneous tasks, time of day (circadian rhythm), and adequacy and quality of training and experience. These factors caused the operators to choose an opportunistic control mode. In addition, based on the extended CREAM method results, the most noticeable cognitive failure was execution failure. In addition, the most important cognitive activities related to the control process in the control room were communication, execution, diagnosis, monitoring, and planning. Based on these findings, providing instructions and guidelines for work procedures, holding training courses, shift work scheduling, optimization of the communication systems and modifications in the control software are essential to minimize human errors in the Bouali Sina Petrochemical Company control room.

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Background and Aim: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the interrelationships between health capital and education in Iran during the period 1980-2013.

Materials and Methods:  The econometric vector error correction model was used to obtain patterns, using the Eviews 9 software for data analysis.

Results: The data showed that the coefficient related to the effect of education index on the health index and that related to the effect of health index on the education index were both negative. In other words, improvements in education had led to improvements in health capital and vice-versa.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that improvements in education can reduce child mortality and, consequently, improve health capital. Also, improvements in health capital can lead to improvements in education index. Therefore, it is empirically proven that these two indices are interrelated in Iran. This means that investment in both sectors can accelerate simultaneously improvements in both health capital and education indices. In Article 24 in chapter three of the Fifth National Economic, Social and Cultural Development Plan achieving a human development index (HDI) close to that in countries with high HDIs and coordination with regard to growth of education, occupation and health indices have received particular emphasis. So, considering the emphasis put on the health system in the Fifth Plan, the policy recommendation is that economic policy-makers should pay special attention to allocating financial resources to the health and education sectors in Iran.

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Background and Aim: Considering the lack of information on the occurrence of the epidemic form of Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) and the high prevalence of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) infection among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients (46%), it was decided to estimate the incidence of KS in this group. Based on the fact that active HHV-8 infection leads to KS development, it is essential to first assess the prevalence of active HHV-8 infection in these patients. Most of the Iranian HIV-infected patients are not aware that they are HIV-positive. If the prevalence of HHV-8 infection is high in these patients, they may spread HHV-8 in the community by high-risk sexual behaviors, which would lead to an increase in the incidence of classic Kaposi’s sarcoma. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of HHV-8 among HIV-infected subjects.

Materials and Methods: One-hundred plasma samples from HIV-infected patients were collected. Genome was extracted and assessed by the nested PCR assay with specific primers for ORF26. Positive samples were amplified for the ORF K1 region by nested-PCR. Subsequently their products were sequenced and their phylogenic trees constructed.

Results: HHV-8 was detected in 8 of the patients (8%). No statistically significant associations were found between age and gender on the one hand and HHV-8 infection on the other (p > 0.05). Two genotypes, namely, A and C, were identified, the former in two patients and the latter in one.

Conclusion: Although the prevalence of HHV-8 infection is high among Iranian HIV-infected patients, active HHV-8 infection rate is low among them. Therefore, it seems that the incidence of epidemic KS is likely to be very low in this group. Certainly more research is needed in this area. As regards genotypes, genotypes A and C are found in the samples.

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Background and Aim: Human resources in any organization are its main capital. They are the only unique asset that are not liable to depreciation over time, but they even create more added value. The Social Security Organization (SCO) as a social insurer organization needs urgent assessment of its human resource management. In this regard, it appears that such an essential assessment can be done using the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model.

Materials and Methods: This project was an applied descriptive study conducted at the Social Security General Department in Tehran, Iran. The data collection tool was a standard questionnaire for performance assessment based on the EFQM model, the reliability of which (0.989) was determined by using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient. A total of 388 questionnaires were distributed, of which 311 were completed and returned to the researcher; the response rate was 81%. Analysis of the data was done using the SPSS-16 software.

Results: The human resource managers in the SCO achieved a score of 495.72. The empowerment and results dimensions rated 261.34 and 198.38, respectively. In the empowerment dimension, policy and strategy criteria had the highest score (56.12) and process the lowest (51.28), while in the results dimension, community criteria had the highest (50.27) and the customers criteria the lowest (51.18) score.

Conclusion: Based on the findings it can be concluded that the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model is suitable for assessing both the performance, strengths and weaknesses of the Tehran Security General Department human resources and improving its performance. Certainly better implementation of programs and achieving excellence will be possible through sustainable collaboration.

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Background and Aim: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in Iran. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of existential-humanistic therapy in self-acceptance and marital satisfaction in women with breast cancer.
Materials and Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test, post-test and follow-up design with a control group. The statistical population was the women with breast cancer referring to Shahid-Rahimi Hospital in Khorramabad, Iran in 2020, from among whom two groups (experimental and control) of 15 women each were randomly selected and asked to complete the self-acceptance (USAQ) and marital satisfaction (ENRICH) questionnaires. Then the experimental group attended eight 90-minute intervention sessions. After the intervention, both groups took a post-test and followed up further after two more months. The data were analyzed using the repeated measures ANOVA test.
Results: The repeated measures ANOVA test showed that the interaction between group and time was statistically significant. Therefore, the self-acceptance and marital satisfaction variables increased significantly (F=5/77, P<0/01 and F=13/97, P<0/01, respectively).
Conclusion: According to the results of this study, existential-humanistic therapy has a significant effect on self-acceptance and marital satisfaction in breast cancer patients. It is, therefore, recommended to pay attention, in addition to the physical problems of such patients, also to their psychological problems and, along with pharmacotherapy consider psychotherapy, including existential-humanistic therapy as well.