Background: Low back pain causes physical and psychological impacts among nurses. This study aimed to investigate the effects of acupressure on the severity of pain in chronic low back pain in female nurses. Materials and Methods: This study is a single-blinded randomized clinical trial conducted among 50 nurses suffering from chronic low back pain. After simple sampling, participants were randomly assigned into acupressure and sham groups using lottery method (25 patients in each group). In the experimental group, the intervention was performed by the researcher three times a week throughout a 3-week period. The sham group received placebo interventions. Data was collected through VAS questionnaire before, immediately after, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks after performing intervention. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 18 using descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Results: There was no significant difference in the mean pain severity scores in the pre-interventions phase between the groups (P = 0.63), however, a significant difference was observed Immediately, 2 weeks, and 4 weeks after performing intervention. Further, the mean pain severity scores in intervention group significantly decreased compared to the sham group (P = 0.000). Conclusions: Acupressure on specific points was proved to reduce pain. Thus, acupressure can be used as nonmedicament, inexpensive, and without side effects treatment in reducing pain.

Background: Paying attention to sexual dysfunction and its coping strategies is essential owing to its impact on mental health in postmenopausal women and their families. This study aimed to determine the relationship between women coping strategies toward the process of menopause and sexual dysfunction in menopausal women. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study in which 233 married menopausal women were sampled in the first 5 years after cessation of menstrual cycle using health records in the health centers in Isfahan in 2015. The method of data collection was a demographic characteristics form, sexual function questionnaire of Rosen et al., along with a researcher-made coping strategies questionnaire. The validity and reliability of these instruments were assessed, and the resulting data were analyzed utilizing inferential statistical tests (t-test and Chi-square test) and SPSS 16 software. Results: According to the results of this study, the relative frequency of sexual dysfunction in menopausal women is 67.42%. The mean score of the avoidance strategy in people with overall sexual dysfunction was significantly higher than the group without disorder (P < 0.001). The mean of coping strategies of social support seeking (P < 0.001), problem-solving (P = 0.016), and target replacement strategy (P = 0.004) were significantly lower than that in the group without disorder. Conclusions: In line with the findings of this study, problem-oriented strategies such as social support, problem solving, and target replacement are the best strategies for decreasing sexual dysfunction or increasing sexual satisfaction. These results emphasize the reinforcement of health personnel skills in teaching approach of these strategies to this group of women.

Background: Nursing is a demanding profession and nurses face a considerable degree of stress at work that can adversely influence their dietary practices and nutritional status. The current study was designed to conduct a preliminary investigation of the dietary practices and nutritional profile of nurses from government hospitals in Delhi. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out among 80 female nurses aged between 25 and 39 years from government hospitals. Data on demographic profile and dietary practices were gathered using a questionnaire-cum-interview schedule. Nutrient intake of the participants was determined using a 2-day 24-hour diet recall method, and adequacy of intake of nutrients was assessed using the Nutrient Adequacy Ratio approach. Weight, height, and waist circumference were recorded and the body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) were computed. Results: Findings revealed that though majority of nurses were involved in rotating shift duties in their hospitals, more than two-thirds of them had more or less appropriate dietary practices. Intake of most nutrients, except iron, vitamin A, vitamin B₁₂, dietary folate, and riboflavin ranged from fairly adequate to adequate among nearly 85% of the nurses. Approximately 70% of the nurses were categorized as overweight and obese and had a WHtR above 0.52. Conclusions: The study indicated that most female nurses in government hospitals in Delhi had appropriate dietary practices and nutrient intakes but still had high BMI and WHtR, which increased their vulnerability to health problems.

Background: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a series of physical and psychological symptoms before menstruation which its prevalence around the world has been reported to be 80%. Consumption of vitamin B6 is a common treatment for this syndrome, and this study was conducted to compare the effect of auriculotherapy and vitamin B6 on the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. Materials and Methods: This study was a clinical trial. Eighty-four female students who lived at the university dorm were randomly selected and allocated into two groups of 42. The first group received auriculotherapy (10 sessions) for two menstrual cycles and the second group consumed 40 mg of vitamin B6 daily from a week before their menstruation for two menstrual cycles. The severity of symptoms was recorded for both groups during two cycles before the intervention and two cycles after the intervention. Data gathering tool was a 28-question, questionnaire to assess the severity of symptoms of premenstrual syndrome based on DSM-IV. Results: The mean score of symptoms in the auriculotherapy group in the first and second cycles was 26.70 (19.49) and 24.76 (17.07), respectively, and in the vitamin B6 group, was 22.60 (10.87) and 24.17 (14.15), respectively, which showed a significant difference compared to before the intervention (P = 0.001). However, comparing the total score of symptoms in the first and second cycles after the intervention between both groups showed no significant difference. Conclusions: Auriculotherapy, similar to vitamin B6, decreases the severity of PMS symptoms.

Background: Sleep plays an important role in congestive cardiac failure (CCF). Back massage reduces anxiety, discomfort, and physical suffering in CCF patients. Study objective is to assess sleep pattern in CCF patients before and after back massage. Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in Pravara Rural hospital, Loni, India over 4 months in 2016. Thirty CCF patients were included in the study with purposive sampling. Nurse investigator performed 20-min back massage thrice daily, 5 min for each step from the day of admission till discharge. In back massage, effleurage, stroking, kneading, and assessment of effectiveness was recorded using the Pittsburg sleep quality index. Results: Thirty CCF patients were included, out of which individuals aged >65, 56–65, and 35–45 years age group were 40%, 24%, and 13%, respectively. Twenty-four had left and 6 had right heart failure. Distribution of mean and standard deviation of pretest for sleep quality was 9.50 (3.14), indicating poor sleep quality. Posttest, the mean score was 4.47 (0.89), indicating good quality sleep. Eleven patients had >8 h of sleep, 15 patients had 6–8 h of sleep, whereas 4 patients had less than 6 h of sleep pretest. Posttest, 22 patients had >8 h and the remaining had 6–8 h of sleep. Conclusions: Back massage technique is safe and cost-effective in CCF patients, by which the quality and duration of sleep is improved. It can be a part of the standard treatment.

Background: Unconsummated marriage is considered to be one of the complicated sexual issues that lead to multiple complications and problems for couples as well as the society. It is thought that this disorder is more common in traditional cultures and some religions such as Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism. The aim of this study was to determine the relation between women's body image and unconsummated marriage. Materials and Methods: This was a case-control study which was conducted among 50 women who had an unconsummated marriage (case group) and 100 women who had a consummated marriage (control group) in Isfahan, Iran during 2015–2016. Data were collected using the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ). The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tests. Results: The total score of body image and all its components had no significant difference between both the groups of the case and the control (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Considering that no relation was found between body image and unconsummated marriage and the religious culture of the Iranian society with conservative sexual norms, investigating unconsummated marriage with emphasis on cultural factors is recommended. Hence, such sexual disorders would be avoided and the number of affected people and challenges can be decreased.

Background: The birth of a premature infant and her/his hospitalization can cause the parents to experience a variety of needs. Understanding the needs of parents by nurses can lead to provision of high quality care to premature infants. This study aimed to compare the parents' and nurses' viewpoints regarding parents' needs in the neonatal intensive care units (NICU). Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 63 nurses, 120 mothers, and 120 fathers, who met the inclusion criteria, participated. Nurses were selected through a census method and parents through a simple convenience sampling method. Data were gathered using a researcher-made questionnaire and were analyzed using descriptive-analytic statistical methods in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 16. Results: From the viewpoint of mothers, the need for assurance with a mean score of 87.4 was the most important and the need for support with a mean score of 71.37 was the least important need. From the perspective of fathers, the need for assurance with a mean score of 78.5 was the most important and the need for support with a mean score of 51.20 was the least important need. From the viewpoint of the nurses, the need for assurance with a mean score of 77.6 was the most important and the need for support with a mean score of 59.77 was the least important need. The mean scores of the needs of mothers in all subscales were higher than that of the fathers' and nurses' (P < 0.001). Conclusions: From the viewpoint of nurses, the scores of parents' needs were significantly less than that of the parents' for all subscales. It is suggested that appropriate education programs be provided for nurses regarding how they can understand parents' needs to provide high quality care.

Background: One of the goals of nursing is providing safe care, prevention of injury, and health promotion of patients. Patient safety in intensive care units is threatened for various reasons. This study aimed to survey patient safety culture from the perspective of nurses in intensive care units. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016. Sampling was done using the convenience method. The sample consisted of 367 nurses working in intensive care units of teaching hospitals affiliated to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Data collection was performed using a two-part questionnaire that included demographic and hospital survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) questionnaire. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation). Results: Among the 12 dimensions of safety culture, the nurses assigned the highest score to “team work within units” (97.3%) and “Organizational learning-continuous improvement” (84%). They assigned the least score to “handoffs and transitions”(21.1%), “non-punitive response to errors” (24.7%), “Staffing” (35.6%), “Communication openness” (47.5%), and “Teamwork across units” (49.4%). Conclusions: The patient safety culture dimensions have low levels that require adequate attention and essential measures of health care centers including facilitating teamwork, providing adequate staff, and developing a checklist of handoffs and transitions. Furthermore, to increase reporting error and to promote a patient safety culture in intensive care units, some strategies should be adopted including a system-based approach to deal with the error.

Background: In recent years, information technology has been introduced in the nursing departments of many hospitals to support their daily tasks. Nurses are the largest end user group in Hospital Information Systems (HISs). This study was designed to evaluate data processing in the Nursing Information Systems (NISs) utilized in many university hospitals in Iran. Methods and Materials: This was a cross-sectional study. The population comprised all nurse managers and NIS users of the five training hospitals in Khorramabad city (N = 71). The nursing subset of HIS-Monitor questionnaire was used to collect the data. Data were analyzed by the descriptive-analytical method and the inductive content analysis. Results: The results indicated that the nurses participating in the study did not take a desirable advantage of paper (2.02) and computerized (2.34) information processing tools to perform nursing tasks. Moreover, the less work experience nurses have, the further they utilize computer tools for processing patient discharge information. The “readability of patient information” and “repetitive and time-consuming documentation” were stated as the most important expectations and problems regarding the HIS by the participating nurses, respectively. Conclusions: The nurses participating in the present study used to utilize paper and computerized information processing tools together to perform nursing practices. Therefore, it is recommended that the nursing process redesign coincides with NIS implementation in the health care centers.

Background: Long-term delivery is an important significant issue which is associated with mortality and fetal and maternal disorders. Based on the previous studies, consumption of dates affects uterine contractions and duration of delivery processes. This study aimed to study the effect of date consumption in late pregnancy on the duration of delivery processes in nulliparous women in 2013. Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted among 182 nulliparous women 18–35 years who presented to OmAlBanin Hospital in Mashhad in 2013. The comparison has been made between 91 pregnant women who consumed 70–76 g dates daily from the 37th week of pregnancy and 91 pregnant women who did not consume dates. Data collection tool was a questionnaire and a checklist of daily dates' intake. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software and statistical tests – chi-square and Mann–Whitney test, and P value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: The average length of active phase (P = 0.0001), length of second phase (P = 0.0001), and third phase (P = 0.004) in two groups had statistically significant difference. The average length of the second phase (P = 0.03) and the third phase (P = 0.02) in case of spontaneous start of delivery in the intervention group was significantly lower than the control group. Use of oxytocin to accelerate delivery had a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.001). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, consuming dates in late pregnancy was effective in decreasing length of labor processes and reduced the need of oxytocin for labor acceleration. Thus, it is recommended to consume dates in women without contraindications.

Background: Recent researches suggest that preterm infants understand pain and stress. Because of the wide range of effects of pain on infants, the present study was conducted on the effect of environmental and behavioral interventions on pain due to heel-prick blood sampling in preterm infants. Materials and Methods: A clinical trial was conducted among 32 infants with gestational age of 32–37 weeks in the intervention and control groups. The effects of noise reduction by earplugs, light reduction by blindfolds, reduction of nursing manipulation, and creation of intrauterine position for neonates, 30 minutes before taking blood samples until 30 minutes after it, were measured during the intervention stage. Data were collected using the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS) in 5 stages (before intervention, 2 minutes before sampling, during the sampling, and 5 minutes and 30 minutes after the sampling). The data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and paired t-test in SPSS software. Results: The paired t-test results showed no significant differences between the control and intervention stages in terms of pain scores at base time (P = 0.42) and 2 minutes before sampling (P = 0.12). However, at the sampling time (P = 0.0), and 5 minutes (P = 0.001) and 30 minutes after the sampling (P = 0.001), mean pain score in the intervention stage was significantly less than that in the control stage. Conclusions: Based on the findings, environmental and behavioral interventions reduced pain and facilitated heel-prick blood sampling in preterm infants.

Background: The broad concept of maternal well-being includes psychological concepts, social aspects, and aspects of becoming a mother. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of implementing the Alexander technique on enjoying the sense of motherhood. Materials and Methods: This study was a clinical trial conducted in two phases. In the first phase, using the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, 226 mothers were asked to undergo a scale test of enjoying the sense of motherhood after childbirth. In the second phase, 88 pregnant women were divided into two experimental groups. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire about enjoying the sense of motherhood. Independent samples t-test, Mann–Whitney test, Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, analysis of variance test, Box test, and Levine test were used to analyze the data. Results: Results of this study showed that the mean scores of the constructs of enjoying pregnancy (P > 0.001), motherhood, and child care satisfaction (P > 0.001) in the experimental group were significantly higher than the control group. Moreover, the construct of trusting their own abilities to cope with maternal duties (P > 0.01) did not show significant differences between the two groups. Conclusions: The findings indicated that the Alexander technique can promote mothers' psychological well-being and their pleasure of becoming a mother and the related constructs. Results also revealed that using this technique, educating and recommending pregnant women to use this technique will be beneficial.

Background: Job stress is a prevalent and costly problem in different working conditions. Stress can degrade care quality in nurses and elevate their willingness to leave the job. This study aimed to determine the effects of cognitive-behavioral stress management on nurses' job stress. Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental study with a control group, 40 nurses from the educational hospitals in Birjand who had completed a job stress questionnaire with a score of more than 100 were selected and randomly allocated to two groups. The intervention group underwent eight 2-hour sessions training of cognitive-behavioral stress management (one session per week), whereas the control group had no such training. Two months after the training, the two groups completed the hospital job stress questionnaire again. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 19) by Chi-square, Fisher exact test, independent t-test, and paired t-tests at 0.05 significance level. Results: Stress mean score and standard deviation before and after the intervention were 3.48 (0.22) and 2.8 (0.2) in the intervention group and 3.48 (0.21) and 3.56 (0.2) in the control group, respectively. In the intervention group, the overall mean scores of stress and its dimensions significantly decreased after the intervention (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Given the significant decrease in the nurses' stress using cognitive-behavioral stress management, this approach can be suggested to be taught to nurses in hospitals in order to decrease their stress and increase their efficiency.

Background: Premature birth may complicate the development and quality of the mother–infant attachment relationship. Music and kangaroo care are two common complementary cares performed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The present study investigated the effect of kangaroo care combined with music on the mother–premature neonate attachment. Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial, 64 mothers with premature neonates were selected and assigned to the control and study groups through random allocation. In the control group, kangaroo care, and in the study group, kangaroo care combined with music was adopted. The level of mother–premature neonate attachment was measured and compared before and after the intervention in both the groups using Avant's Maternal Attachment Assessment Scale. Results: There was a significant increase in the mean overall score of attachment in the kangaroo care combined with music group (70.72 (11.46)) after the intervention compared to the kangaroo care without music group (53.61 (9.76)). Conclusions: The mean overall score of mother–neonate attachment in the kangaroo care combined with music group was higher than the kangaroo care group. This difference can be related to the effectiveness of music combined with kangaroo care.

Background: Patients' family members often do not receive sufficient information, especially because the reproductive system of women is considered a taboo, providing information becomes problematic. The aim of the current study was to explore the informational-educational needs of companions of the patients who were undergoing gynecological surgery. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted using inductive and conventional content analysis method. For data collection, 34 semi-structured in-depth interviews were performed at a gynecology and obstetrics center with purposeful sampling and maximum variation. The participants included patients' companions, nurses, physicians, patients, and service personnel. Results: Qualitative content analysis extracted 8 categories, 2 main categories of “Informational needs of companions” and “Educational needs of companions” and a final theme of “the need for knowing.” Conclusions: According to the results, “the need for knowing” is one of the most important needs of the patients' companions during hospitalization. Knowing companions' needs in the hospital and understanding its deficiencies would assist health care professionals, especially authorities, in providing high-quality care and developing programs to meet the informational needs of patients' companions.

Background: Evidence underscores that empowerment is central to improve the elderly residents' quality of life. In truth, empowerment is a process through which individuals gain better control over their life. The aim of this study was to explore how perceived empowerment influence on the quality of life among elderly Malay residents. Materials and Methods: A focus ethnographic approach was employed in a Malaysian residential home between May 2011 and January 2012. Data were gathered from participant observations, field notes, in-depth interviews, and exploring related documents. Results: The analysis of the data gathered in the current study resulted in the development of three themes – social life and its requirements, caregivers' skills empowerment, and listening and supporting. Conclusions: Findings of the study provide new insights that are useful in charting new guideline for care providers and policy makers to improve the elderly residents' quality of life.