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

Background and Aims: One of the air pollutants is Particulate Matter, and the existence of a relationship between Particulate Matter and increased mortality and respiratory diseases related to air pollution in the past decade has been proven by various epidemiological studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk of respiratory tract carcinogenesis by Particulate Matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 microns in different areas of Tehran in the 90’s decade.

Materials and Methods: In this study, information on the concentration of Particulate Matter (PM_2.5) was collected from 24 air quality control stations in Tehran, and information on the incidence of respiratory tract cancer was also extracted from the national report of the National Cancer Registry Program. Population data in 22 districts of Tehran during the studied years were prepared from Iran Statistics Center. Ethical considerations were observed in all stages of the study.

Results: There observed that the average annual concentration of PM_2.5 in 22 areas of Tehran metropolis has exceeded the standards of the World Health Organization as well as the national standard. The highest attributable share of the incidence of respiratory tract cancer due to suspended particles (PM_2.5) is related to 2013 (0.18), and the 19th district of Tehran municipality has the highest mentioned risk among other districts (0.19). In 2016, the highest incidence of respiratory tract cancer attributed to suspended particles (PM_2.5) has been observed in Tehran (152), which most are related to district 4 of Tehran municipality (13).

Conclusion: The results of this research showed that the increase in the concentration of Particulate Matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 microns and the population density in polluted areas increases the risk of respiratory tract cancer.

Background and Aims: Human assets are the most important resources of health systems to achieve universal health coverage. The purpose of this study was to investigate the applicability of the public health bachelor's education program through the eyes of health experts.

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 296 public health experts working at Golestan University of Medical Sciences were included. The data collection tools encompassed demographic characteristics as well as the valid and reliable job description questionnaires, determining the appropriateness of educational program goals with professional needs, and to find out the factors affecting the quality of programs and educational needs. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS (v.23) through descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation for quantitative data and number and percentage for qualitative data). Compliance with ethical considerations was considered in all stages of the study implementation.

Results: From the experts’ point of view, the use of theory courses in professional performance was evaluated as 48.3% moderate, and the use of internship courses in professional performance was 42.6% high. Almost, 93.9% of experts put forward the importance of "experienced professors and trainers" on the quality of educational programs. The courses of biophysics, biochemistry, and principles and basics of sociology were considered the least useful. On the other hand, active and passive immunity, the national program to fight non-communicable diseases, and the national program to fight communicable diseases were seen as the most useful courses from the experts' point of view.

Conclusion: In order to improve the quality of education, it is necessary to reduce less-useful courses and instead prioritize high-useful ones. More emphasis on practical skills and special attention on training in the field can lead to more qualitied training of graduates in accordance with the society needs.

Background and Aims: The release of organics and heavy metals from drinking water distribution pipes can adversely affect consumers' health. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of water quality and pipe diameter on the release of organic compounds and heavy metals in polyethylene pipes.

Materials and Methods: The experiments were performed in three different cycles of 72, 144, and 216 hours. The effect of water temperature, pH, hardness and remaining chlorine concentrations, as well as pipes diameter on the release of organics and some heavy metals were investigated. Ethical considerations were all observed during the study.

Results: The release of TOC increased with increasing the contact time of water to the pipe; however, the concentration of released zinc decreased by increasing time. Concentrations of lead, cadmium, and nickel in all samples were lower than the detection limit (LOD). The odor threshold number in all samples was lower than the allowable limit. The results indicated that increasing pH and hardness resulted in the decreased concentrations of TOC and zinc in water. Additionally, with increasing temperature, the concentration of TOC sharply escalated. Nevertheless, the released amounts of both TOC and zinc decreased by increasing pipe diameter.

Conclusion: The results of the study revealed that the existing pipes do not pose a health threat in terms of the release of heavy metals into water. In relation to the release of TOC in water, although these values are low, thorough research should be conducted to determine their types and subsequently assess the risk of released hydrocarbons on the health of individuals.

Background and Aims: Following the spread of the COVID-19 and the subsequent increased hospital visits, healthcare workers underwent psychological pressure. This situation could have had negative effects on the organization's performance. The present study was, therefore, conducted with the aim of analyzing the general health and work-related quality of life of hospital employees in post-Corona.

Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive correlational study conducted cross-sectionally in 2022. Herein, 344 employees working in hospitals under the auspicious of Zabol University of Medical Sciences were selected through stratified random sampling method. The tools of data collection were demographic information, as well as general health and work life quality questionnaires. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS (v.22). Ethical considerations were observed in all stages of the study.

Results: A statistically significant relationship was observed between the quality of work life and the general health of employees (P=0.0001). The mean score of the general health questionnaire was 1.49±0.62 (that was considered average) and the mean score of the quality of work life questionnaire was 2.49±0.71 (that was seen as relatively average). In the components of the quality of work life, the lowest and highest points were assigned to the component of fair payment (2.19±0.76) and general life environment (3.1±0.7), respectively. Moreover, in the components of general health, the lowest and highest scores were attributed to depression (1.09±0.55) and social functioning (1.76±0.76), respectively.

Conclusion: Considering the relationship between general health and the quality of working life, hospital managers are required to constantly examine these two factors, especially during critical situations and the subsequent periods.

Background and Aims: Food-borne diseases are considered a global concern in the field of public health. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the level of knowledge, attitude and performance towards food safety and hygiene among married housewives and working women in Saveh city in 2021.

Materials and Methods: This research is a cross-sectional analytical study that was conducted randomly. The data collection tool was a questionnaire containing questions about demographic information, awareness, attitude and performance in the field of food safety and hygiene. Statistical analyzes were performed using SPSS (v.19) at a significance level of 95%. Ethical considerations were observed in all stages of the study.

Results: There observed a significant association between the average knowledge score of working women and housewives, so that the respective mean and standard deviation of the knowledge score among working women were 6.07 and 1.76 and 5.14 and 2.22 in housewives. The mean difference between attitude and performance scores in working women was approximately 2 and 3 points higher than housewives, respectively (P<0.05). No significant relationship was found between age and increasing household income level with awareness, attitude and performance (P>0/05).

Conclusion: Regarding the areas of awareness, attitude and performance towards food hygiene and safety, there was a significant difference between working women and married housewives. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the level of awareness and change in their attitudes and actions with the help of relevant organizations and bodies.

Background and Aims: The quality of work life is a sign of an organizational culture based on which employees feel self-sufficiency and self-esteem. Considering that such a study has not been conducted among the operating room staff, the present study aimed to determine the quality of work life among the operating room staff of selected hospitals in Tehran in 2021.

Materials and Methods: The current research is a descriptive-cross-sectional study. Sampling was done as a cluster and the samples were selected from the operating room staff of selected government hospitals in Tehran in 2021. In total, 231 participants answered questions related to demographic information and Walton's quality of work life questionnaire (35 options) in the form of self-report. The data were analyzed with the help of descriptive and inferential statistical methods in SPSS-24 software at a significance level of 0.05.

Results: The participants age averaged (standard deviation) at 31.69 (6.35). The mean (standard deviation) of the quality of work life of operating room workers was 96.04 (18.28), so that 23.8% had low levels of work life quality, 73.2% had average and 3% had high work life quality. The overall work life environment and safe and healthy work environment revealed the lowest and highest scores, respectively.

Conclusion: It seems that the quality of working life of the operating room staff is not at the optimal level. Therefore, the treatment officials should provide the necessary platforms to improve the quality of work of the operating room staff in different areas, so that the staff can serve with more motivation.

Background and Aims: Composting process as a biological method in waste management has many problems including odor emission. Ammonia, volatile organic compounds and hydrogen sulfide are factors that cause odor. The purpose of this study is to review studies on odor emission and strategies of reducing odor emission in the composting process.

Material and Methods: In this study, the keywords including Odor compost, Food waste composting, Odor emission composting process and Odor composting were searched in scientific databases such as Google scholar, Scopus, ScienceDirect, PrpQuest and PupMed. As a result of this search, more than 200 articles were identified and extracted.

Results: The results of the investigated studies showed that the major components of odorous gases in the composting process are ammonia gases, hydrogen sulfide and VOCs. Studies on controlling and reducing the emission of odorous gases from the composting process are included in two groups: improvement of the composting process by adjusting environmental conditions and using additives with the aim of reducing odor production.

Conclusion: The review of studies showed that by adjusting the physical and chemical factors of the composting process, it is only possible to reduce only one of the odorous gases, and due to the composting process is a biochemical procedure and the sensitivity of microorganisms, as well as the production mature fertilizer, the adjustment of the composting conditions is limited and the operable range is very narrow so principally, this method is difficult to control odor in practice. Therefore, the use of additives is suggested as a suitable strategy to control odor emission in the composting process. These additives reduce the odor emission in the composting process by creating porosity, gas absorption, and gas precipitation.