Iranian Medical Sciences Research Articles

Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Personal Meaning Profile in Iran

The Personal Meaning Profile (PMP) is a widely used instrument to measure people's perceptions of personal meaning in their lives. Thisstudy aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the PMP. First, the researchers developed the Persian version of this scale using the forward-backward procedure. Then, they examined the face and content validities by both qualitative and quantitative approaches. To evaluate the construct validity, researchers administered the instrument to a sample of 482 medical sciences students and performed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The reliability was assessed using loading factors, Cronbach's alpha coefficients, and composite reliability. An average scale-level of content validity index of the PMP with 57 items was 0.80. The findings revealed that the Persian version of the PMP comprises five factors explaining 50.57% of the total variance. The confirmatory factor analysis indices showed a moderate fit for the data. Reliability of the Iranian version of PMP was demonstrated with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.893. Consistency was established with test-retest reliability with an interval of 2weeks (Intracluster Correlation Coefficient = 0.983, p < 0.001). Moreover, the criterion validity demonstrated a significant inverse relationship between the PMP and General Health Questionnaire (r = - 0.34, p < 0.001). This study indicated that the Persian version of the PMP is an acceptable, reliable, and valid measurement to evaluate the meaning in life in Iranian medical sciences students.

Explaining the Status of Clinical Nursing Education: A Qualitative Research in Iran

Background: Challenges and problems of clinical nursing education are the most important factor in determining the quality of nursing students' education. Frequent assessment of the quality of nursing education without considering the existing challenges is an ineffective activity in analyzing the situation of nursing education. Objectives: This study aimed to explain the status of clinical nursing education at Jahrom University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Methods: This qualitative study based on the conventional content analysis approach was conducted at Jahrom University of Medical Sciences in 2018 - 2019. Data were collected through holding 10 semi-structured face-to-face focus group discussions (FGDs) with 110 nurses, head nurses, instructors, and students. Purposeful sampling was used and the interviews were analyzed by Graneheim and Lundman method by MAXQDA Software. Results: We obtained 626 in-vivo codes, 46 primary codes, eight subcategories (lack of attention to the evaluation process, non-participative evaluation, low staff educational cooperation, ineffective instructors, non-educational clinical space, student educational deficits, students' confusion in the clinical setting, and non-participatory planning), and three main categories (planning challenges, implementing challenges, and evaluation challenges). Conclusions: Educational leaders are recommended to shift to three areas, including democratic planning, wise implementation with frequent monitoring, and the use of modern clinical evaluation methods based on the participation of learners and other stakeholders.

Identifying the psychological components in the book buying behavior of students of medical sciences universities during the corona epidemic

Background and Aim: The emerging corona virus has presented new challenges to the printing industry that were unprecedented before, and these challenges include new opportunities and threats. Also, the coincidence of Corona with the paralyzing American sanctions on Iran's economy has caused an unbridled increase in the cost of books and a sharp decrease in the financial capacity of book buyers, which requires a comprehensive research in accordance with the tremendous changes that the simultaneous impact of these two emerging components of Iran's economy (Corona) and the crippling US sanctions) on the pattern of book buying behavior and makes it necessary for the publishing industry. Therefore, this research has identified the psychological components in the book buying behavior of students of medical sciences universities during the corona epidemic as its main goa. Method: The statistical sample was also selected based on the purposeful/judgmental sampling method from among the managers and decision makers of the University of Medical Sciences in Iran, academic professors and prominent organizational consultants. In order to identify the factors affecting the book buying behavior of students of medical sciences universities during the corona epidemic, the qualitative method of data theory of the foundation has been used. Results: Based on the results, social and cultural factors, branding in the field of books, study values, sales promotion and quality of content and structure are the known factors affecting the book buying behavior of students of medical sciences universities during the Corona epidemic. Conclusion: In relation to the social and cultural factor, we find that most people in our country devote limited minutes to study, while in some countries there is an average of 4 hours of study per day. In relation to branding in the field of books, marketing is particularly important, because attracting the satisfaction of the audience and increasing the purchase of books will promote the culture of reading and reading in the country and will bring about the cultural development of the country.

Generation-dependent non-educational characteristics of medical students.

Educational centers accommodate people of varying generations. Indeed, each generation has its specific priorities and values that affect its performance and decisions in various aspects, including educational aspects. Understanding the traits of members of a given generation facilitates understanding how their performance can be improved inside and outside the classroom. So, this study was designed to identify the non-educational characteristics of MD students in the universities of medical sciences in Iran. The present study adopted a qualitative exploratory approach. Data were collected through face-to-face, semi-structured interviews. Participants included general medicine students who had completed at least one semester. Sampling was purposive with maximum variation. Sampling was continued until data saturation, and a total of 32 interviews were conducted. Graneheim and Lundman's content analysis approach was adopted to analyze the data. Lincoln and Guba's reliability criteria were used to achieve the accuracy and reliability of the data. A total of 32 students were interviewed (n = 18 women and n = 14 men; age range: 19-27 years). The participants had completed 2-13 semesters and had between one and six siblings. A total of 10 major categories emerged as the generational traits of students. The main categories included devoted parents, money as the key reference of value, non-sexism, religious perplexity, experiencing oneself with others, my life's address, tunnel vision, evasion from responsibility, winning fame, and I and nothing else. For them, gender and religion have lost their former meaning and they believe in more freedom. They are also one-dimensional people, lethargic and night people, who evade responsibility and have a strong desire to be seen, approved, and respected. They also prioritize themselves and their peace of mind. Since these characteristics can have many direct and indirect effects on various aspects of their lives, including the educational aspect, it can be very beneficial for people interacting with them to identify and consider these characteristics.

Testing adaptation and psychometric properties of survey instrument for students' perspectives on e-professionalism and social media in Iranian students: Corona crisis and medical education.

BACKGROUND:The use of social networks in the field of education has also accelerated and has become a powerful source of learning for transformation and empowerment in various fields. This study aimed to test the adaptation and psychometric properties of an instrument for students' prospective on e-professionalism in the use of social media in Iranian medical science students.MATERIALS AND METHODS:In this questionnaire, with the aim of psychometric properties of the perception toward social media in Iranian students, this survey instrument developed by (Ness et al.) in five fields in 2nd-year pharmacology students in Purdue University The fields include accountability, hiring decisions, profile editing, professionalism, and privacy settings. In this study, first, a cultural adaptation was done by an expert panel. Then, psychometric properties of an instrument by content validity and construct validity using explanatory factor analysis were performed. Reliability was assessed by test–retest and internal consistency of items. The reliability of the survey instrument with three factors was 0.82 using the test–retest, and the internal consistency was good (r = 0.94).RESULTS:The result of psychometric properties using the principal component method extracted three factors (accountability, hiring decision, and professionalism) to assessment of students' attitude to professionalism using social media in Iranian students.CONCLUSION:The adapted and psychometric properties of the instrument developed by Ness et al., 2013, with three dimensions and ten items proved to be a valid, reliable instrument for use for assessing perspectives on e-professionalism and social media in Iranian medical students. This questioner may be suitable for Iranian researches in medical education.

Psychometric Properties of Persian Version of Short Schema Mode Inventory.

To assess the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the short Schema Mode Inventory (SMI). The short SMI was translated into Persian by three clinical psychology professors and then back-translated into English by two professors in English language. Between 2017 and 2018, patients from Iran Psychiatric Hospital and Rasoul Akram Hospital who were diagnosed with personality disorder in Axis II by a psychiatrist and had minimum education of middle school were included. Controls included students and staff of the Iran Medical Sciences University who had minimum education of middle school. All participants were asked to complete the short SMI and the Young Schema Questionnaire - Short Form (YSQ-SF). Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), test-retest reliability, confirmatory factor analysis, internal correlation of schema mode subscales, and correlation between short SMI and YSQ-SF were assessed. Of 406 participants, 205 (50.7%) were patients and 201 (49.3%) were controls. The fitness indices indicated that the 14-factor model was reliable, with χ2 = 12917.97, p < 0.001, df = 5795, χ2/df = 2.23, CFI = 0.96, NNFI = 0.96 SRMR = 0.08, and RMSEA = 0.05. The internal consistency of the short SMI was satisfactory (M = 0.94). Among 34 participants in the control group who completed the short SMI again after 2 weeks, test-retest reliability was high (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.88, p < 0.001). The short SMI and YSQ-SF correlated strongly in terms of the overall scale and most subscales. The patient and control groups differed significantly in most subscales. Psychometric properties of the Persian version of the short SMI showed good validity and reliability. It can be used in clinical and research settings.

The Role of Resilience and Emotion Regulation in Psychological Distress of Hospital Staff During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review Study

Background: During the COVID-2019 pandemic, the hospital staff was among the first to deal with this problem. Because of the high workload, the medical staff may experience psychological distress. In this regard, the present study was conducted to investigate the role of resilience and emotion regulation in managing the psychological distress of hospital staff during the COVID-2019 pandemic. Methods: In the present study, we searched English databases, such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Iranian databases, such as Iranian databases of Scientific Information Database (SID), Iranian Publications (Magiran), and Iranian Medical Sciences Articles from February 2020 to July 2021 with using the keywords of “coronavirus 2019”, “COVID-19”, “depression”, “anxiety”, “stress”, “resilience”, “emotion regulation”, “mental health”, “medical staff”, and “psychological distress”. We also used the PRISMA (The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis) checklist to review and control the quality of the articles. Results: Studies have shown that resilience and emotion regulation strategies positively affect nurses, physicians, hospital staff, and medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Good resilience and using adaptive emotion regulation strategies have reduced their anxiety, depression, insomnia, and fear, which results in increased psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: Based on the reviewed articles, we found that COVID-19 can affect various aspects of the mental health of hospital staff. Given that COVID-19 is still mutating and it is impossible to predict a specific time for the end of this deadly virus, medical staff must receive the necessary training to improve resilience and emotion regulation strategies.

Study of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Women Aged 45-60 Years about Menopausal Health

Study of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Women Aged 45-60 Years about Menopausal Health

The Modified Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) in geriatric hospitalized patients in internal wards: A double-blind randomized control trial

BackgroundHospital Elder Life Program (HELP) provides protocols based on factors for reducing delirium. Due to the lack of geriatric wards and aged care teams in Iran, it seems that some of the original HELP interventions need to be modified through a trial study. Hence, this study was conducted to determine whether the Iranian modified HELP could reduce delirium in geriatric hospitalized patients.MethodsThis double-blind randomized controlled trial was designed and conducted in a hospital at Kashan University of Medical Sciences in Iran. A total of 195 hospitalized patients aged ≥70 years, were 84 in the Intervention Group (IG) and 111 in the Control Group (CG). After assessing delirium risk factors, participants in the IG group received interventions based on the cognitive, vision/hearing, sleep, mobility, feeding, and hydration protocols by nursing students and the CG group received routine care.Delirium incidence was assessed by the Confusion Assessment Method. Delirium incidence, cognitive and functional abilities, frailty, fall, and length of stay were outcomes.ResultsThe mean age of the patients was 78.53(Standard Deviation = 5.87) years. Delirium incidence was higher in the CG comparing to IG (14.71% vs 3.66%).Significant reduction observed in risk incidence of delirium because of interventions [Odds Ratio:0.124, Confidence Interval: 0.03–0.48].ConclusionThe modified HELP effectively reduced delirium rates in geriatric hospitalized patients.Trial registrationThis study was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials IRCT20180910040995N1.

Red Blood Cell Distribution Width (RDW) as a Predictor of In-Hospital Mortality in COVID-19 Patients; a Cross Sectional Study.

Introduction:Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) has been introduced as a predictive factor for mortality in several critical illnesses and infectious diseases. This study aimed to assess the possible relationship between RDW on admission and COVID-19 in-hospital mortality.Method:This cross-sectional study was performed using the Isfahan COVID-19 registry. Adult confirmed cases of COVID-19 admitted to four hospitals affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in Iran were included. Age, sex, O2 saturation, RDW on admission, Intensive Care Unit admission, laboratory data, history of comorbidities, and hospital outcome were extracted from the registry. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to study the independent association of RDW with mortality.Results:4152 patients with the mean age of 61.1 ± 16.97 years were included (56.2% male). 597 (14.4%) cases were admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) and 477 (11.5%) cases died. The mortality rate of patients with normal and elevated RDW was 7.8% and 21.2%, respectively (OR= 3.1, 95%CI: 2.6-3.8), which remained statistically significant after adjusting for age, O2 saturation, comorbidities, and ICU admission (2.03, 95% CI: 1.68-2.44). Moreover, elevated RDW mortality Hazard Ratio in patients who were not admitted to ICU was higher than ICU-admitted patients (3.10, 95% CI: 2.35-4.09 vs. 1.47, 95% CI: 1.15-1.88, respectively). Conclusion:The results support the presence of an association between elevated RDW and mortality in patients with COVID-19, especially those who were not admitted to ICU. It seems that elevated RDW can be used as a predictor of mortality in COVID-19 cases.

Patients and Nursing Students’ Viewpoints on the Importance of Caring Behaviors in a Hospital Affiliated to Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences in Iran

Background: Effective caring depends on the agreement between patients and nurses’ care behaviors. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate patients and nursing students’ viewpoints about the importance of caring behaviors in a hospital affiliated to Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Methods: In this descriptive and analytic study, 50 patients and 50 nurses were selected using the convenience sampling method. Data were collected by the Larson questionnaire. This self-report questionnaire was completed by the patients and students, and then the data were analyzed by descriptive and analytical statistics in SPSS. Results: The patients considered availability, education, and communication as the most important caring behaviors in caring, while the nursing students deemed comfort and convenience, appropriate communication, and monitoring and follow-up as the most significant behaviors in caring. Nursing students and patients’ viewpoints were not in agreement in the most important and relatively most important caring behaviors (P &gt; 0.05). However, their viewpoints concorded regarding insignificant caring behaviors (P &gt; 0.05). Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, further attention should be focused on patient needs in clinical nursing students’ education is necessary.

Factors Affecting the Tendency towards Addiction with an Emphasis on Aggression among Paramedical Students in Iran

Background: Drug abuse has been dramatically increasing in recent years among university students. Aggressive people are more inclined to use drugs and become addicted. Objective: This study was conducted to determine the factors affecting the tendency towards addiction with an emphasis on aggression among paramedical students. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 280 undergraduate students, selected through stratified random sampling, at Guilan University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Data were analysed by using descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: A total of 85.4% were little inclined towards addiction and 67.5% had a low level of aggression. The level of aggression correlated significantly with the tendency towards addiction. Gender (male), field of study (health), parents’ occupation, and history of drug abuse among family and friends correlated significantly with the tendency towards addiction too. Aggression was significantly correlated with the history of drug abuse among family and friends and socialisation with addicts. Conclusion: Aggression is considered a predictor of the tendency towards addiction among university students. University counselling centres should consider organising educational workshops to reduce aggression and help prevent the students’ tendency towards drug abuse and addiction.

The Role of Self-esteem and Field of Study in Predicting Mental Health of Undergraduate Health-professional Students

Background and Objectives Self-esteem is an important psychological factor affecting the health and quality of life of students. This study was an attempt to investigate the predictive role of self-esteem and field of study determinants of mental health status of undergraduate health-professional students in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Methods In this descriptive cross-sectional study, a represented sample of year 1-4 undergraduate students (N=184) were invited to participate in the study students (Nursing, Midwifery, Operating room and Emergency medical students). Psychological health was measured using a standard instrument GHQ-28. CSEI also was applied to measure the students’ self-esteem Results A bout 44% of the students had GHQ scores of 23 and above, indicating an increased likelihood of psychological distress. Depression had the lowest Mean±SD score (3.92±4.2), while social dysfunction had the highest Mean±SD score (8.06±3.9) among the subscales. There was a significantly negative correlation between GHQ score and students’ self-esteem (P= 0.000, r= -0.556). The students with higher self-esteem experienced lower level of psychological distress. According to the regression analysis, 30.9% of the variance in students’ mental health is predicted by self-esteem. Conclusion A high prevalence of emotional disturbance among health care practitioners is likely to compound the existing problems of health care provision and that counseling and other support services should be made available to them.

Information-seeking behavior in the digital age: use by faculty members of the internet, scientific databases and social networks

PurposeThe study aims to survey information-seeking behavior of the Iranian medical faculty members and to identify the reasons and obstacles of their usage via the internet, scientific databases and online social networks.Design/methodology/approachIn this cross-sectional study, a structured questionnaire used to collect data. The research population includes faculty members of four faculties of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in Iran, including health, nursing – midwifery, paramedicine and rehabilitation. SPSS software was used to analyze data in descriptive and analytical levels.FindingsLow internet speed, network traffic and lack of time were the main barriers and difficulties. Gender was significantly related with familiarity with databases, problems and barriers to accessing information, barriers to using social network, as well as purpose and motivation of using social network. Search for educational and research resources and use of social network to increase their general information were the main goals of participants to using the internet and databases. A negative significant relationship was observed between usage of social network with age (r = −0.204, P = 0.047) and experience (r = −0.239, P = 0.019).Originality/valueThe usage of faculty members of various digital resources is growing ever more. This study examines the use of faculty members of the internet, scientific databases and online social networks simultaneously.

Comparison of Melissa with Acyclovir on Recurrent Labial Herpes (A systematic review)

Introduction: Given the indefinite effect of antinucleoside drugs on the improvement of Recurrent Herpes Labialis, plant medicines such as Melissa officinalis have been proposed as a treatment of choice for these lesions. Clinical studies have reported different and conflicting results for the effect of Melissa on herpes. Hence, using a systematic approach, this study aimed to evaluate the clinical studies on the effect of Melissa on recurrent herpes labialis compared to acyclovir or placebo. Description: The English and Persian controlled clinical trials on the effect of Melissa on recurrent herpes labialis compared to acyclovir or placebo were investigated. Persian databases, including SID, Civilica, Medical Library, and Iranian Medical Sciences Theses and English databases content ProQuest, PubMed Google Scholar, were searched from 1990 to 2018 using a pre-designed strategy. Quality assessment of studies performed using the CONSORT-2010 checklist. The exclusion criteria of this study resemble details of both Persian and English searches/ articles, and eliminating one of them, invitro studies, and studies lacking an acceptable score by the CONSORT checklist. Out of 955 reviewed and evaluated articles from the 2010 consort checklist, 3 articles scored above 7.2 Articles were in English and 1 Article was in Persian. The search results were evaluated by the quality assessment of the recruited studies’ results. Compared to acyclovir and placebo, Melissa was more effective in reducing the lesion pain and size but had no significant effect on decreasing inflammation and erythema. The administration of the drugs did not provide any side effects. Conclusion: Melissa was more effective than Acyclovir and placebo in reducing the lesion pain and size but did not significantly decrease inflammation and erythema.

Nurses' attitudes of a web patient portal prior to its implementation in home health care nursing

ObjectivesEffective communication is essential in home health care nursing in order to meet the needs of both the patients and the caregivers. Given the key role of nursing staff inpatient training through the patient portal; nursing staffs' attitudes toward the use of this technology thus need to be further evaluated. The present study evaluated Iranian nurses' attitudes before the web-based patient portal implementation in home health care nursing. MethodsThis study was conducted on 600 nursing staff working in health care organizations affiliated to Semnan University of Medical Sciences in Iran. A questionnaire was used to evaluate the nurses’ attitudes. ResultsThe study subjects' attitudes scores were 3.06±0.71 on "patient education", 3.02±0.78 on "health care plan" and 2.95±0.82 on the cost of nursing services, based on the 5-point Likert scale (1-5: completely disagree to completely agree). There was a statistically significant relationship between nurses' attitudes and computer skill (B=0.07, SE=0.03, P=0.021) and nurses' acceptance of IT (B=0.085, SE=0.039, P=0.030), and sex (B=0.176, SE=0.058, P=0.003). ConclusionThe nurses agreed that the use of this self-management tool can ease patient education, easily implement a health care plan for patients and reduce the cost of nursing services. The nurses also agreed that changes are required at the minor and major levels of in-home health care institutions to support the implementation and meaningful use of this portal for home health care nursing. Public interest (lay) summaryHome health care is one of the alternative solutions to continue hospital care that is performed by nursing staff. The nursing staff in-home care should effectually cooperate to render secure and high-quality patient care. The web-based patient portals have confirmed effectiveness to improve patient gratification, engagement, and health outcomes, improve the quality and efficacy of the healthcare settings, decrease emergency unit appointments and ease patient-centered care. Nurses agree the implementation of the patient portal in home health care nursing depends on organizational and individual preparation in healthcare organizations and this technology should be also adopted by the nursing staff to meaningful use of the patient portal to attain significant improvements in home health care nursing.

Awareness of Iranian Medical Sciences Students Towards Basic Life Support; a Cross-Sectional study.

Introduction:Augmentation of the number of trained basic life support (BLS) providers can remarkably reduce the number of cardiac arrest victims. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of BLS awareness among students of medical sciences in Iran. Methods:This multicenter cross-sectional study was performed on medical students at the 4 major medical schools in Tehran, the capital of Iran, between Jan 2018 and Feb 2019, using convenience sampling method. The level of medical sciences students’ awareness of BLS was measured using an international questionnaire.Results:Finally, 1210 students with the mean age of 21.2 ± 2.3 years completed the survey (79% female). 133 (10.9%) students had CPR experience and none had received any formal training. None of the responders could answer all questions correctly. The mean awareness score of participants was 11.93 ± 2.87 (range: 10.13 -17.25). The awareness score of participants was high in 49 (4.04 %) participants, moderate in 218 (18.01%), and low in 943 (77.93%) of studied cases.Conclusion:Based on the findings of this study, more than 70% of the studied medical sciences students obtained a low score on BLS awareness.

Mental health and its relationship with social support in Iranian students during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundIn addition to physical problems, the COVID-19 crisis continues to impose serious psychological adverse effects on people's mental health, which plays a major role in the efficiency of every community. Students, especially medical sciences students, suffer from more stress as a result of exposure to COVID-induced stressors. It is, therefore, essential to measure mental health and its relationship with social support in medical sciences students during the COVID pandemic. The present study was conducted to determine the mental health status of students and its correlation with social support.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted using random sampling on 280 students of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in Iran in 2020. Socio-demographic profile scale, Mental Health Test (GHQ-28), and the scale of Perceived Social Support (PRQ-85) were used to collect data. Participants completed the questionnaires online.ResultsConsidering the potential confounding variables, a general linear model (GLM) was utilized to determine the relationship between mental health and perceived social support. Mean (± standard deviation) of total mental health score 26.5 (12.5) was in the acceptable range of 0–63., and 56% of students suffered from a mental disorder. Mean (± standard deviation) of social support score 128.2 (21.0) ranged from 25 to175. According to Pearson's correlation coefficient, there was a significant inverse correlation between social support score and total mental health score and all its subscales [p < 0.001; r = − 0.294 to − 0.536]. According to the GLM, mental health score decreased significantly with social support score [p = 0.0001; − 0.32 to − 0.20; CI 95%; B = 0.26].ConclusionsGiven the inverse relationship between social support and mental health, it is suggested to increase the level of social support for students at all times, especially during the stressful COVID-19 pandemic to improve their mental health.

The Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices toward Food Additives in Personnel of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in Iran

Background: Use of additives in food industry is of specific importance. Currently, more than 2,500 additives are added to foods to achieve the desired goals or to extend the product’s shelf life. However, application of these substances has raised concerns about the consumers’ health. Since public information on these substances is inadequate, promoting people’s knowledge can play a key role in this regard. Therefore, knowledge, attitude, and practices of the personnel of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences toward food additives were evaluated. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study included 800 participants selected randomly among the personnel of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in Iran. The participants’ demographic information, knowledge, attitudes, and practices were measured via a self-administered questionnaire. The relationship of participants’ educational level, age, and gender with their knowledge, attitudes, and practices were determined. Results: The participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices average scores were calculated as 30.6±1.3, 32±0.9, and 15±1.5 for food additives, respectively. Conclusion: The participants’ knowledge, attitude, and practices were at a poor level. So, people should receive the necessary education and training in terms of food additives as well as food labels in order to prevent misinterpretations regarding food additives.

Designing, Implementation, and Evaluation of an Online Modular Course on Patient Education and Counseling at the Community Pharmacy

Background: The role of pharmacists has evolved from drug provision to patient care. Considering the Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum in Iran and the small number of programs on pharmaceutical care, Iranian pharmacy graduates may not be able to adjust to their new roles. Methods: A comprehensive online modular course was prepared by a group of well-experienced faculty members of eight universities of medical sciences in Iran. The course included 12 practical and challenging submodules on commonly encountered disorders and commonly used medications in the community pharmacy. Each submodule was followed by an online forum in which the teachers and participants discussed the educational questions. The increase in participants’ knowledge was evaluated using pre-and post-test. The usefulness of submodules and acceptance of the entire course were also evaluated by two specifically designed questionnaires. Results: After the announcement, 154 participants registered in the course. The knowledge of the participants increased significantly in all the 12 submodules. The majority of participants stated that all the submodules were useful. Moreover, the majority of respondents to questionnaires declared that the course has increased their confidence in providing patient counseling in the pharmacy. Conclusion: The comprehensive online course on patient counseling in the community pharmacy increased participants’ knowledge. Besides, the course was useful and well accepted by the participants.