Journal of Behdasht dar Arseh (i.e., Health in the Field)

Background and Aims: Digging and tunneling projects are among the most risky projects due to differences in project implementation conditions and insufficient knowledge of the geological situation of the region. Evaluation and management of occupational hazards in these projects are necessary in order to protect the health of the workforce and to preserve the financial resources of the organization.

Materials and Methods: In this study, the Hazards and Effects Management Process was used to identify, evaluate and control occupational hazards in the water transmission tunnel project in west of Iran in 2018. After identifying the risks of each place and occupation, the ranking of risk levels was performed and corrective measures were taken based on the Hazards and Effects Management Process and then secondary risk assessment was carried out. Ethical considerations were taken into account at all stages.

Results: The tunnel sector with 46% and the office sector with 5% had the highest and lowest occupational hazards, respectively. The general lighting of all stations was less than the standard value with the initial average lighting of 24.5 lux, which was upgraded to 58 lux. Respirable particles in two stations in the first stage were 18.5 and 11.02 mg/m³, which improved to 4.37 and 0.63 mg/m³, respectively. The highest improvements with 39%, 27% and 25% were related to the control indicators of lighting, noise, and chemical factors, respectively.

Conclusion: The results showed that the most dangerous place in the whole project was the tunnel unit and the most important occupational risk factor was H₂S, followed by the noise of the work environment. The results of control indicators showed that the proposed method for managing occupational health risks in the project had an acceptable efficiency and led to proper identification of risks, classification and prioritization of risks and control measures and thus optimal spending of the control budget.

Background and Aims: Bioterrorism is an important health issue worldwide and physicians play an important role in managing victims when such events occur. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the knowledge, attitude, practice and organizational readiness of physicians in dealing with bioterrorism attacks.

Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted among all 50 physicians working in Shemiranat health center in 2020. A researcher-made questionnaire including five sections: demographics, knowledge, attitude, performance, and organizational readiness was used. The validity of questionnaire was confirmed by faculty members of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and its reliability was assessed through Cronbach's alpha test in four areas of knowledge, attitude, performance and organizational readiness. SPSS software version 21 was used for data analysis. Ethical considerations were observed in all stages of the study.

Results: Knowledge of physicians in our study was desirable (94%) (the highest share: scope and nature of bioterrorism 70%). Most physicians showed a good and excellent attitude in dealing with bioterrorism attacks (maximum share: emotional domain 96%), and 94% of them reported good performance and at the same time found the necessary platform to deal with bioterrorism attacks. There was a statistically significant relationship between service performance (p = 0.031) and organizational readiness with age (p = 0.001).

Conclusion: The results of this study can be helpful in managing health managers in educational interventions in order to promote participation, performance and integration of frontline forces against bioterrorism in the community.

Background and Aims: Nanotechnology is a field of applied knowledge. The use of nanotechnology and silver nanoparticles has been studied in recent years to control bacterial diseases. This study aimed to investigate the antibacterial effect of ceramic filter pads containing silver nanoparticles in the control of E. coli.

Materials and Methods: The present work was an experimental study. Silver nanoparticles were synthesized by dissolving silver nitrate (AgNO₃) in ethanol and reducing silver in an alcoholic medium. Characteristics of filters were evaluated using BET, SEM, XRF, and XRD tests. Ethical considerations were observed in all stages of the study.

Results: The results showed that the removal efficiency of E. coli was 36.2-66.7% by conventional filters and reached up 99-100% by ceramic filters coated with silver nanoparticles

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that ceramic filter media containing silver nanoparticles have considerable antimicrobial effects. By generalizing the results of this study, these ceramic filter media can be used in the treatment and filtration of unsafe water and thus control of pathogens in drinking water.

Background and Aims: Excessive exposure to household detergents and cosmetics can have adverse effects on human health and the environment. Understanding the consumption pattern of such products could perform a pivotal role in evaluating the health effects and ultimately controlling the consequences of inappropriate and excessive use of them.

Materials and Methods: Using a standardized questionnaire in this descriptive study, , the consumption patterns of household detergents and cosmetics including 15 household detergents and cleaners, 6 laundry products and 22 personal care products were assessed among the general population of Mazandaran province (N=384; age>18) in 2021,  in order to evaluate how consumers use these products. The results were analyzed using SPSS version 24 and Excel. Ethical considerations were considered in all stages of study.

Results: The results showed that 94% of the studied population used detergents and cosmetics during the past three months. About 35% of the surveyed participants used cleaners other than the appropriate place for the product. 48% of them did not observe the duration of hand washing during the use of detergents and cosmetics. On average, 35% of the subjects have cleaned each part of their home with cleaning products at least once a day.

Conclusion: It is necessary to develop knowledge about the correct patterns of household detergents and cosmetics consumption and to assess the possible risks of personal care products, cleaners, and detergents for human health in Mazandaran province.

Background and Aims: The theory of planned behavior is known to be the most useful theory for better understanding of the predictors of drug abuse. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the factors predicting the intention to drugs abuse based on the theory of planned behavior in couples referring to the premarital counseling center in East Ahvaz Health Center in 2019.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study based on correlational assessment was conducted on among all couples who referred to the counseling center. Totally, 360 couples were randomly selected from the couples' file number. The data collection tool was a questionnaire including drug use and the theory of planned behavior. In order to analyze the data, descriptive statistics and inferential tests such as multiple regression and logistic were used in SPSS version 16. A significance level of 0.05 was also considered. At all stages, ethical considerations were considered.

Results: There observed a significant difference between the average constructs of the theory of planned behavior and demographic variables (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant relationship between behavioral intention and demographic variables of the participants (p>0.05). The results of regression analysis showed that perceived behavioral control and subjective norms together predict approximately 37% of changes in behavioral intention.

Conclusion: The theory of planned behavior is a suitable predictor for drugs abuse. It is suggested to use this theory in educational programs of different levels of drug abuse prevention.

Background and Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the level of noise exposure and its relationship with job stress, changes in blood pressure and heart rate among woodworking workshop workers.

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional-analytical-descriptive study, 140 employees of a lumber workshop in Mazandaran province were selected and divided into case and control groups. Demographic information of employees was collected by questionnaire. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were measured using mercury sphygmomanometer. Heart rate of the case and control groups was measured by Beurer pulse meter. The results were analyzed using SPSS software.

Results: The results of noise measurements showed that the mean noise exposure in workers from 8-hour shifts was 92.11 dB and among non-exposed group was 74.48 dB. The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the control and exposure groups were 124, 126, 80 and 82, respectively. Also, the mean heart rate of the studied groups was 74.9 and 75.83 beats per minute, respectively. There was no significant difference in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate between the two groups, (p> 0.05).

Conclusion: Based on the findings, the rate of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as the heart rate and stress levels were higher in the exposed group as compared with the control group; however, the difference between systolic, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate between the two groups was not statistically significant. There was a significant difference in stress. It was found to be consistent with the results of some previous studies.