Journal of Health in the Field

Background and Aims: The right information on current situation such as physical space, equipment and manpower make it possible to assess emergency activities as well as to manage and provide qualified services to patients. The aim of this study was to determine human and physical resources in health houses and health care centers to provide emergency services in Golestan province. Background and Aims: The right information on current situation such as physical space, equipment and manpower make it possible to assess emergency activities as well as to manage and provide qualified services to patients. The aim of this study was to determine human and physical resources in health houses and health care centers to provide
emergency services in Golestan province.
Materials and Methods: The present descriptive cross sectional study was performed in Golestan province in 2012. The study population was health houses and health centers (both rural and urban). A multi-stage sampling method was exploited and required data were collected by check list through interviews and observations. All stages
of this research project were conducted ethically. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics using SPSS 16.
Results: The results of this study show that about 17.9 percent of health houses had no male health workers and a lack of female health workers was noticed in 2.4 percent of them. Similarly, there is not any nurse in 38.9 percent of health care centers. About 94.4 percent of centers suffered from having male nurse’s aid and 97.2 of them had no female nurse’s aid. The results further indicated that most of health houses were in a good level with regard to medical equipments (66.7%) and needed medications (63.6%). The majority of health care centers (63.9%) were indeed at intermediate level considering injection chamber and at very week level (52.4%) from the wound dressing point of view. The studied centers lacked the requisite medications and were at low levels. 74.33 percent of health care centers suffered from an apparent lack of dressing room facilities. About 85.3 percent of health centers showed ambulance deficit.
Conclusion: According to the low levels of personal resources, equipment and physical spaces in studied health care centers, it is necessary to consider appropriate measures in order to improve the situation in these centers. Journal of Health in the Field, Vol.3, No.4, Winter 2016 Keywords: Personal resources, Physical resources, Health house, Health care center, Emergency services in Golestan province.
Materials and Methods: The present descriptive cross sectional study was performed in Golestan province in 2012. The study population was health houses and health centers (both rural and urban). A multi-stage sampling method was exploited and required data were collected by check list through interviews and observations. All stages of this research project were conducted ethically. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics using SPSS 16.
Results: The results of this study show that about 17.9 percent of health houses had no male health workers and a lack of female health workers was noticed in 2.4 percent of them. Similarly, there is not any nurse in 38.9 percent of health care centers. About 94.4 percent of centers suffered from having male nurse’s aid and 97.2 of them had no female nurse’s aid. The results further indicated that most of health houses were in a good level with regard to medical equipments (66.7%) and needed medications (63.6%). The majority of health care centers (63.9%) were indeed at intermediate level considering injection chamber and at very week level (52.4%) from the wound dressing point of view. The studied centers lacked the requisite medications and were at low levels. 74.33 percent of health care centers suffered from an apparent lack of dressing room facilities. About 85.3 percent of health centers showed ambulance deficit.
Conclusion: According to the low levels of personal resources, equipment and physical spaces in studied health care centers, it is necessary to consider appropriate measures in order to improve the situation in these centers.
Journal of Health in the Field, Vol.3, No.4, Winter 2016
Keywords: Personal resources, Physical resources, Health house, Health care center, Emergency

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Background and Aims: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been simultaneously measured at industrial cities and inside the buildings as well. These compounds are concerned for their influences on indoor air quality and
thus on human health. This study was, therefore, aimed to determine the relationship between VOCs concentration in indoor and outdoor environments of two administrative offices in the center of Tehran.
Materials and Methods: In the present work, indoor/outdoor concentrations of VOCs were measured in totally 143 rooms of two Petroleum Industry Health Organization administrative buildings in winter. Ethical issues with regard to obtaining the required permits were considered. First Check (model 6000) was used to measure VOCs concentration. Natural ventilation was calculated using the rate of air changes per hour in the indoor environment. Tables given by authorized organizations were exploited as well.
Results: The results indicated that indoor/outdoor concentration ratios for volatile organic compounds ranged from 1 to 2 for office building No.1. This ratio ranged from 0.5 to 1 for office building No.2. The indoor concentrations of
totally measured VOCs in these two office buildings were 1006.23±179.39 ppb and 645.44±123.42 ppb, respectively.
Conclusions: Indoor concentrations of most studied volatile organic compounds were higher than their corresponding outdoor values. Office building No.1 experienced higher concentrations of measured VOCs as compared with office
building No.2. The measured concentrations were higher in office rooms with 1 air change per hour than rooms having 1.5 air changes per hour.
Keywords: Volatile organic compounds, Natural ventilation, Benzene, Toluene, Tehran

Background and Aims: Scientific research has shown that parents’ education level positively affects health conditions of the child. This study was performed to determine the relationship between mothers' education status and pentavalent vaccine complications.
Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross sectional survey consisting of 676 children vaccinated with pentavalent was performed in health care centers covered by Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences from June to December, 2015. There were examples of both sexes and 2-6 month age groups. A questionnaire was delivered to parents after completing their child profile and all the side effects observed in children were marked and returned to the vaccination center within a week. Data were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics in SPSS software. Ethical issues were all considered.
Results: About 2.4% out of total study group (mothers) were illiterate and 36.4 % were higher educated. Fever, pain, restlessness and induration included the most common side effects. Among the side effects studied, only fever, pain and restlessness were associated with maternal education level. These side effects were significantly lower in children having higher educated mothers.
Conclusion: Considering the fact that the symptoms of fever, pain and restlessness were rarely found in children whose mothers had higher levels of education in this research, it can be concluded that these mothers reported the side effects of vaccine more accurately and reliably.
Keywords: Complications of vaccine, Pentavalent, Mother's education level

Background and Aims: Good nutrition is an important part of a healthy pregnancy. Appropriate nutritional education can have an important role in promoting maternal and child health. This work was performed to assess the effect of education based on Health Belief Model on nutritional behaviors of pregnant women.
Materials and Methods: The current quasi-experimental study was conducted on 200 pregnant women referred to health centers in Torbat Heydarieh city. A two-stage cluster sampling method was used and selected cases were divided into intervention and control groups. A researcher made questionnaire was applied to the collection of
required data and its validity and reliability were evaluated and confirmed in advance. Pre-tests were performed for both groups. Needed assessment was performed based on the pre-test results and educational interventions were implemented on intervention group. Time period of training course was one hour. Post-tests were carried out after one month using the same questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed by the use of SPSS software. Mothers were informed regarding aim of research, freedom to leave the interview and the way that interview contents would be kept private before each intervention.
Results: This study did not detect any evidence for significant difference in the average scores for knowledge, perceived benefits, barriers, susceptibility and severity, as well as self-efficacy between two groups (p>0.05) before intervention. After training, however, scores for all above mentioned variables were significantly increased in intervention group (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The results showed that Health Belief Model-based nutrition education has a positive impact on the nutritional behavior of pregnant women and the perceived sensitivity have the most influence on behavior within the predictor variables.
Keywords: Nutritional behavior; Health Belief Model; Pregnant women The results showed that Health Belief Model-based nutrition education has a positive impact on the nutritional behavior of pregnant women and the perceived sensitivity have the most influence on behavior within the predictor variables.
Keywords: Nutritional behavior; Health Belief Model; Pregnant women

Background and Aims: Skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the world and in Iran as well. The incidence of this disease continues to climb. The present study was therefore aimed to investigate the copping with skin cancer among farmers in Chaldoran County in 2015. Materials and Methods: Totally, 238 farmers from the rural areas of Chaldoran County participated in this analytical-descriptive study. They were selected through a multi-stage random sampling process. A reliable and valid questionnaire used by Tazval et.al was exploited for data collection. The gathered data were analyzed by the
use of descriptive and analytic statistics in SPSS software (v. 21). A statistically significance level of p≤ 0.05 was considered. Ethical issues such as confidentiality of studied community were all considered.
Results: A statistically significant relationship was observed between the education level of participants (p=0. 001) and their income status (p=0. 025). About 12.2% of respondents showed high perceived self-efficacy towards skin cancer protective behaviors. It was further found that response self-efficacy was low among 45.5% of community. The
most of the farmers (61.8%) had moderate response cost towards skin cancer protective behaviors. The assessment of farmers copping status with skin cancer revealed that 182 (76.5%), 8 (3.4%) and 48 (20.1%) respondents have an unacceptable, borderline, and acceptable copping appraisal, respectively.
Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the farmers’ coping appraisal status towards skin cancer was low. Thus, it is necessary to design and implement appropriate interventions in this field. Background and Aims: Skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the world and in Iran as well. The incidence of this disease continues to climb. The present study was therefore aimed to investigate the copping with skin cancer among farmers in Chaldoran County in 2015.
Keywords: Farmers, Protection motivation Theory, Skin cancer, Coping appraisal Farmers, Protection motivation Theory, Skin cancer, Coping appraisal

Background and Aims: Surgery operations cancellation causes problems in operation theatre planning and results in hospital inefficiency as well as resource wastage. In addition, it causes stress for both patients and their relatives.
This study aimed to examine the impact of quality management on surgery operations cancellation in Vali-e-asr hospital’s operating theatre department (Tehran) in 2014-2015.
Materials and Methods: In this participatory action research, the reasons for surgery operations cancellation were identified using a checklist. These reasons were assessed and an action plan was developed for cancellation reduction. The plan was implemented using the action research cycle. SPSS software (version 22) was used for data analysis. Ethical issues such as respect for patients and staff and the confidentiality of information were all considered.
Results: Patients failing to turn up, lack of ICU beds availability, and prolonged previous surgeries were the most common causes of surgery operations cancellation. Surgery operations were increased by 15 percent and surgery operations cancellation was reduced by 14.6 percent through the implementation of quality management strategy. Standardization of processes, proper planning, using HIS based operation list, recruiting more staff and giving more information to patients helped reducing the surgery operations cancellation.
Conclusion: Formation of quality improvement team, using an appropriate quality management model and its appropriate implementation can help enhance hospital departments’ productivity and reduce surgery operations cancellation.
Keywords: Quality management, surgery operations cancellation, hospital, action research