Samaneh Torkian; Vahid Khosravi; Reza Etesami; Zahra Jaafari; Mohammad Ali Morowatisharifabad; Ali Ahmadi; Narges Khanjani
Abstract
Background and aims: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic has far been the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. Protective measures are still one of the most effective methods for controlling COVID-19. Practicing hygiene and control measures are largely influenced by knowledge and attitude ...
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Background and aims: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic has far been the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. Protective measures are still one of the most effective methods for controlling COVID-19. Practicing hygiene and control measures are largely influenced by knowledge and attitude towards COVID-19. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of Iranians towards COVID-19 as well as the demographic factors related to it in April and May, 2020.Methods: The study population in this cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical, and web-based study included 3736 Iranian individuals who were collected via convenience sampling method. A validated Iranian knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) Questionnaire about COVID-19 was used for collecting the required data. Ordinal multivariate generalized estimating equations (GEEs) were applied to analyze data.Results: The majority of participants (88.1%) had considerable knowledge, the right attitude (91%), and good practices (90.3%). In the multivariate models, factors related to greater knowledge were age > 20 years (P < 0.001), living in the urban area (P = 0.030), holding a master’s or doctoral degree (P = 0.044), and a moderate financial status (P = 0.001). Females displayed mor positive attitude (P = 0.035). Variables related to more favorable practices were age > 20 years (P < 0.001), and having a good (P = 0.003) or moderate (P = 0.038) financial status.Conclusion: It was concluded that the participants had good knowledge and a positive attitude, as well as adopted sound practices regarding COVID-19. However, this conclusion might not have been generalizable to entire Iranian community; therefore, it was recommended that preventive measures against COVID-19 should receive continued monitoring and emphasis.
Samaneh Torkian; Ali Ahmadi; Vahid Khosravi; Narges Khanjani; Zahra Jaafari; Mohammad Ali Morowatisharifabad; Neda Malek Mohammadi
Abstract
Background and aims: Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) toward coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are important factors for adherence to protection strategies. The aim of this study was to construct and validate a questionnaire about the KAP of Iranians regarding COVID-19. Methods: Initially, ...
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Background and aims: Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) toward coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are important factors for adherence to protection strategies. The aim of this study was to construct and validate a questionnaire about the KAP of Iranians regarding COVID-19. Methods: Initially, a questionnaire about the KAP with regard to COVID-19 was constructed in this cross-sectional study. The initial questionnaire was prepared based on a review of the extensive research literature and global and national guidelines. This researcher-made questionnaire was developed using the COVID-19-KAP questionnaire, which was originally used in China in 2020, and the influenza epidemic KAP Questionnaire (2015), the MERS KAP Questionnaire (2015), the H1N1 flu KAP questionnaire (2017), and the WHO KAP questionnaire about COVID-19. The applied questionnaire consists of three parts including knowledge- (n = 26), attitude- (n = 8), and practice-related (n = 11) questions, respectively. Then, the face, content, and construct validity and the reliability of the questionnaire was determined, and analyzes were performed using SPSS v. 26 and AMOS v. 24 software. Results: In the face validity stage, 2 questions with an impact score of less than 1.5 were excluded from the questionnaire. In the content validity check, all questions had a content validity index (I-CVI) of more than 0.7. However, the content validity ratio (CVR) for 6 questions was less than 0.51, and these questions were removed accordingly. The compliance of the CVI with the chance agreement was close to one for all questions, indicating the lack of a chance agreement. In the exploratory factor analysis stage, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value of 0.90 was obtained, implying the adequacy of the sample size for factor analysis. The significance of the Bartlett test (chi-square: 5820.06, df: 630, P<0.001) indicated a strong correlation between the questions and the appropriateness of factor analysis. Finally, 34 items in 4 domains remained in the questionnaire. Conclusion: The validity and reliability of this questionnaire were confirmed based on the findings. This Farsi KAP questionnaire can be used to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice of people about COVID-19.
Forouzan Ganji; Ali Ahmadi; Salehe Zare; Jafar Nasiri
Abstract
Background and aims: The aim of the present study was to investigate the pattern of alcohol consumption and its related factors in the patients referring to hospitals.
Methods: A hospital-based case control study was carried out in Shahrekord during 2016-2017. A total of 150 individuals who ...
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Background and aims: The aim of the present study was to investigate the pattern of alcohol consumption and its related factors in the patients referring to hospitals.
Methods: A hospital-based case control study was carried out in Shahrekord during 2016-2017. A total of 150 individuals who had self-report of alcohol consumption and history of alcoholism entered into the case group based on the convenience sampling method. Likewise, 300 individuals who did not have self-report of alcohol consumption entered into the control group. Group matching was performed based on the date of admission to the hospital, type of disease, complications, and duration of the disease. This study explored the pattern of alcohol consumption variables, spiritual health, quality of life, and general health. Odds ratios (ORs) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated as well.
Results: The causes of onset of alcohol consumption were curiosity (41.40%), social class and imitation of others (17.40%), and life problems (15.30%). Further, the causes of continued alcohol consumption were attributed to the interest in taste and smelling (23.30%), emotional problems (20%), as well as loneliness feeling and life problems (12.60%). The mean of general health scores in the case and control groups were 29.8± 5 and 29.3± 4, respectively (P = 0.296). The mean of the quality of life in the case group and control group were 32.13± 7 and 32.11± 5, respectively (P = 0.98). The differences in the scores of spiritual health in two groups were not statistically significant (P = 0.96).
Conclusion: An attempt should be made to improve the strategies to satisfy the emotional sense and health recreations of society.
Maryam Sadat Ghaemfard; Ali Ahmadi; Asieh Mansouri; Soleiman Kheiri
Abstract
Background and aims: Social health refers to the quantity and quality of interaction of an individual with society to promote the well-being of individuals in the society. This interaction promotes social capital and social security, and reduces poverty and injustice. So far, no study has been ever done ...
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Background and aims: Social health refers to the quantity and quality of interaction of an individual with society to promote the well-being of individuals in the society. This interaction promotes social capital and social security, and reduces poverty and injustice. So far, no study has been ever done on the social health situation in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. This study aimed to investigate the social health status in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province in 2019. Methods: In this cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study, the data from the prospective epidemiological study of Shahrekord cohort study in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province in 2019 were used. In order for measuring social health, a valid Iranian social health questionnaire with a score range of 33-165 was used. ANOVA and t test in SPSS version 22 were employed for analyzing the data in order to compare the mean values.Results: By way of explanation, 597 individuals out of 600 samples completed the social health questionnaire (99.5% response rate). The mean ± standard deviation age of participants was 48.54±9.33 years and the mean ± standard deviation score of their social health was 115.71±22.7. This score was higher in men than in women (P = 0.038). Social health score was significantly higher in urban areas than in rural areas (P = 0.001). Social health was highest in civil servants, and lowest in unemployed participants (P = 0.001). Social health score was lower in obese and high body mass index (BMI) individuals than in normal BMI individuals (P = 0.047).Conclusion: Social health in the studied population was moderate and, therefore, deserves the attention of health policy makers and planners. Social health can be improved by holding training classes for villagers and teaching them how to interact with each other – especially with family members, furthering participation of women in social affairs and increasing their social relationships, giving advice on diets and social health to people with non-normal BMI, as well as by holding post-retirement training classes for retirees.
Epidemiology
Saleh Jafarian; Ali Ahmadi; Masoud Amiri; Rahman Biokani; Zohreh Abbaspour; Masoud Mahmoudzadeh
Abstract
Background and aims: Motorcycle accidents are a major concern for countries. One of the most important risk factors for motorcyclists is the lack of helmet use. This study aimed to measure the rate of the helmet use and predictive factors in Shahrekord, Iran.Methods: Using simple random sampling ...
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Background and aims: Motorcycle accidents are a major concern for countries. One of the most important risk factors for motorcyclists is the lack of helmet use. This study aimed to measure the rate of the helmet use and predictive factors in Shahrekord, Iran.Methods: Using simple random sampling method, this cross-sectional study was conducted in 2018 with a sample size of 350 motorcyclists. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data, and the SPSS software version 24 was used to analyze the data.Results: The mean age of participants was 28.8 ± 10.1 years. Out of 350 participants, 15.1% and 1.4% of motorcyclists and their passengers used helmets. The most important predictors of helmet use were age more than 35 years, high education, and having a driving license. The most important reason for using the helmet was protection against injuries in accidents.Conclusion: According to our results, the rate of helmet use was low. Thus, more efforts should be made to intervene and train for the helmet use among community members with an emphasis on younger people, individuals with governmental jobs, and people with lower education level.
Hamid Gheibipour; Ghorbanali Rahimian; Ali Ahmadi
Abstract
Background and aims: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) whichinvolves the rectum and colonic mucosa, and is often constantly expanding. Few data are available onrisk factors in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigatethe ...
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Background and aims: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) whichinvolves the rectum and colonic mucosa, and is often constantly expanding. Few data are available onrisk factors in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigatethe association between potential risk factors and UC in Shahrekord.Methods: A case-control study was conducted on patients diagnosed with UC. Overall, 27 new casesof UC and 54 healthy controls in the age range of 20–80 years were studied. Participants were recruitedfrom Pathologic Centers in Shahrekord in 2018. Chi-square test and t test and were used. Logisticregression model was employed to analyze the association between risk factors and UC disease.Results: The mean age at diagnosis was 41.74 years (SD: 7.16 years) and 44.94 years (SD: 6.67years) for case and control subjects, respectively. Moreover, univariate and multiple odds ratio (OR)showed that there was no significant association between UC and any of the risk factors includinggender, marital status, education, diastolic blood pressure, history of diabetes, history of hypertension,permanent use of piped water, night shift work, history of thyroid diseases, depression, history of fattyliver disease, history of kidney stones, and sleep time and wake-up time in the morning.Conclusion: Generally, no significant association was observed between UC and the variables in thepresent study. Thus, further studies with larger sample size are necessary to better understand the otherrisk factors and environmental determinants of UC.
Fatemeh Salehi; Ali Ahmadi
Abstract
Background and aims: The purpose of this study was to revalidate the Persian version of the WHOquality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) instrument to determine the quality of life status in the ShahrekordCohort Study (SCS) in the southwest of Iran. This study was designed to serve as one of the sources ofthe Prospective ...
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Background and aims: The purpose of this study was to revalidate the Persian version of the WHOquality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) instrument to determine the quality of life status in the ShahrekordCohort Study (SCS) in the southwest of Iran. This study was designed to serve as one of the sources ofthe Prospective Epidemiological Research Studies in Iran.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 2000 people were randomly selected from thestudy population of the SCS. The reliability and internal consistency of the WHOQOL-BREF weremeasured using Cronbach alpha coefficient and Pearson’s correlation. construct validity and factorsmeasured using Pearson’s correlation matrices with each of its domains. To measure the face, content,and construct validities, the views of the panel of experts and exploratory factor analysis were used. Inaddition, the validity of the questionnaire was evaluated using linear regression.Results: All domains of the questionnaire met the minimum reliability standards (Cronbach alphaand intra-class correlation >0.7), except for social relationships. The results of comparison analysisindicated that the questionnaire discriminated well between subgroups of the study samples differingin their health status. Regarding validity, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value was 0.94 and the valueof Bartlett’s test was 1699.01 (P≤0.001).Conclusion: The findings suggested that WHOQOL-BREF is a reliable and valid measure of healthrelatedquality of life among SCS population.
Epidemiology
Narjes Rajaei Behbahani; Koorosh Etemad; Yadollah Mehrabi; Ali Ahmadi; Jalil Hasani
Volume 3, Issue 2 , June 2016, , Pages 106-111
Abstract
Background and aims: Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of mortality among men and women so that the difference in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) symptoms between men and women can affect diagnosis and time of decision making for treatment and consequently disease outcomes. Therefore, knowledge ...
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Background and aims: Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of mortality among men and women so that the difference in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) symptoms between men and women can affect diagnosis and time of decision making for treatment and consequently disease outcomes. Therefore, knowledge of different symptoms affects the prognosis of the disease according to the gender. This study was conducted to determine the difference in clinical manifestations of MI between men and women. Methods: In this cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study all patients with primary diagnosis of AMI (n: 33831) in Iran in 2014-2015 were included. Data analysis was done by Stata. For descriptive data, central indices and distribution were used, and for investigation of the association among the variables, independent t-test and logistic regression were used. Results: Overall, 33831 patients were included in this study, of whom, 24532 (51.72%) were male and the rest were female. Mean age at MI incidence was 80.0 7.59 years in men and 13.66 13.0 in women. Being female increased the likelihood of dyspnea by 3.1 times, vomiting by 31.1 times, and jaw pain by 21.1 times. No significant difference was seen in left arm pain, chest pain, nausea, and sweating between men and women (P>0.05). Conclusion: Atypical symptoms, particularly in women, may cause the delay in referring the patients and also delay in decision making for diagnosis and treatment by the medical team. Hence, staff and patients of ICUs need more special information about AMI symptoms, especially with regard to gender.
Epidemiology
Ali Ahmadi; Mahmoud Mobasheri; Hamid Soori
Volume 1, Issue 1 , December 2014, , Pages 3-8
Abstract
Background and aims: Coronary heart diseases (CHDs) contribute to mortality, morbidity, disability, productivity and quality of life. This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of major risk factors for CHD in the provinces of Iran. Methods: This study reported pre-existing data and was of secondary, ...
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Background and aims: Coronary heart diseases (CHDs) contribute to mortality, morbidity, disability, productivity and quality of life. This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of major risk factors for CHD in the provinces of Iran. Methods: This study reported pre-existing data and was of secondary, descriptive type. Prevalence of non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors was defined for the provinces of Iran. A reliable report of NCD risk factors, the national surveillance program conducted in Iran, such as type II diabetes, hypertension and mean body mass index (BMI), smoking, hookah smoking, high cholesterol and obesity was used. Results: The highest and lowest prevalence of hypertension was obtained in Bushehr (20.85%) and Yazd (12.86%) provinces, respectively. The highest mean BMI was reported from Mazandaran province (26) and the lowest from Sistan and Baluchestan province (22.50). Qom province had the highest prevalence of diabetes (27.65%). The highest prevalence of high cholesterol was obtained in Lorestan province (50.87 %) and the lowest in the Khouzestan province (22.71%). East Azarbaijan province had the highest prevalence of smoking (14.8%) and Kurdistan province the lowest (0.16%). Hookah smoking was most prevalent in Hormozgan province (7.62%). The highest prevalence of physical activities was reported from Sistan and Baluchestan province (47.84%) and the lowest from Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad (22.2%). Conclusion: Prevalence of CHD risk factors is the main priority for the Iranian health system. There is a need for intervention programs in the provinces which are at greater risk as well as for modification of people’s lifestyle.