INTRODUCTION: The Internet has drastically affected human behavior, and it has positive and negative effects; however, its excessive usage exposes users to internet addiction. The diagnosis of students' mental dysfunction is vital to monitor their academic progress and success by preventing this technology through proper handling of the usage addiction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive-analytical study selected 447 students (232 females and 215 males) of the first and second semesters enrolled at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran, in 2018 by using Cochrane's sample size formula and stratified random sampling. The study applied Young's Internet Addiction Test and Goldberg General Health Questionnaire 28 for data collection. The study screened the data received and analyzed valid data set through the t-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient by incorporating SPSS Statistics software version 23.0. RESULTS: The results of the current study specified that the total mean score of the students for internet addiction and mental health was 3.81 ± 0.88 and 2.56 ± 0.33, correspondingly. The results revealed that internet addiction positively correlated with depression and mental health, which indicated a negative relationship (P > 0.001). The multiple regression analysis results showed students' five significant vulnerability predictors toward internet addiction, such as the critical reason for using the Internet, faculty, depression, the central place for using the Internet, and somatic symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings specified that students' excessive internet usage leads to anxiety, depression, and adverse mental health, which affect their academic performance. Monitoring and controlling students' internet addiction through informative sessions on how to use the Internet adequately is useful.

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Type-2 diabetes is a major, non-communicable disease with increasing prevalence at a global level. Type-2 diabetes results when the body does not make enough insulin or the body cannot use the insulin it produces. Type-2 diabetes is the leading cause of premature deaths. Improperly managed, it can lead to a number of health issues, including heart diseases, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, nerve damage, leg and foot amputations, and death. Type-2 diabetes or adult-onset diabetes is most common type of diabetes, usually begins when a person is in his or her mid-50s, but diabetes is not inevitable. Minor changes in your lifestyle can greatly reduce your chances of getting this disease. Therefore, in order to prevent this condition, action should be taken regarding the modifiable factors that influence its development-lifestyle and dietary habits. However, with proper testing, treatment and lifestyle changes, healthy eating as a strategy, promote walking, exercise, and other physical activities have beneficial effects on human health and prevention or treatment of diabetes, promoting adherence to this pattern is of considerable public health importance.

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BACKGROUND AND AIM: Given the prevalence of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the lack of information on coronavirus and pregnancy, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of COVID-19 and perinatal outcomes in pregnant women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the present review article, the search process was conducted on English and Persian scientific databases of PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Magiran, Irandoc, Iranmedx, and SID as well as the websites of international organizations of World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention using the main keywords of “Pregnancy,” “Perinatal outcomes,” “Coronavirus,” “COVID-19,” “MERS-CoV,” “MERS,” “SARS-CoV-2,” and “SARS-CoV-1” and their Persian-equivalent keywords from inception until March 16 2020. RESULTS: The findings of studies on mothers with COVID-19 were limited, and insufficient information is available on the adverse pregnancy outcomes in pregnant women with COVID-19. In cases of infection with other coronaviruses such as Middle East respiratory syndrome and severe acute respiratory syndrome during pregnancy, there have been reports on adverse pregnancy outcomes such as miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm labor, low birth weight, and congenital malformations following high fever in the first trimester. CONCLUSION: Pregnant women may be more susceptible to viral respiratory infections, including COVID-19, due to immunological and physiological changes. Therefore, pregnant women should take routine preventive measures, such as washing their hands frequently and avoiding contact with infected people, to prevent infection.

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CONTEXT: There is limited evidence on the influence of social media among medical students. AIMS: To assess the pattern of social media usage among medical students in eastern part of India and analyze self-perceived impact on academic performance and interpersonal relations. Methods: This cross-sectional study was based on an online survey, taken by 650 medical students at a tertiary medical center in Kolkata. The survey was created using an online tool, Google Forms. It assessed social media usage patterns and students' perspective on how it affects their academic performance and interpersonal relations. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to quantify the association between self-rated academic performance and social and physical well-being, with different variables, assuming linear relationships. P <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The usable responder rate was 55.23%, with majority being undergraduates (57.3%) in the age group of 18–24 years. The proportion who confirmed using social media was 88.58% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 85.29%–91.87%), mainly for academic purposes (82.73%; 95% CI: 78.82%–86.64%). In general, social media usage was more prevalent among medical students compared to paramedical and nursing students (P = 0.009), although the extent of use for an academic purpose was comparable. Nearly two-thirds (60.87%) regarded social networking having a positive (improved) impact on academic performance. However, the perceived impact on interpersonal relations was inconclusive (i.e., was positive and negative in a nearly equal measure; 45% each). CONCLUSIONS: Social media usage for academic purposes is high among medical and paramedical students. Students benefit from social networking and are conscious of its positive as well as negative influence on interpersonal relations.

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Learning theories are the main guide for educational systems planning in the classroom and clinical training included in nursing. The teachers by knowing the general principles of these theories can use their knowledge more effectively according to various learning situations. In this study, Eric, Medline, and Cochrane databases were used for articles in English and for the Persian literature, Magiran, Iran doc, Iran medex, and Sid databases were used with the help of keywords including social cognitive learning, learning theory, behavioral theory, cognitive theory, constructive theory, and nursing education. The search period was considered from 1990 to 2012. Some related books were also studied about each method, its original vision, the founders, practical application of the training theory, especially training of nursing and its strengths and weaknesses. Behaviorists believe that learning is a change in an observable behavior and it happens when the communication occurs between the two events, a stimulus and a response. Among the applications of this approach is the influence on the learner's emotional reactions. Among the theories of this approach, Thorndike and Skinner works are subject to review and critique. Cognitive psychologists unlike the behaviorists believe that learning is an internal process objective and they focus on thinking, understanding, organizing, and consciousness. Fundamentalists believe that learners should be equipped with the skills of inquiry and problem solving in order to learn by the discovery and process of information. Among this group, we will pay attention to analyze Wertheimer, Brunner, Ausubel theories, Ganyeh information processing model, in addition to its applications in nursing education. Humanists in learning pay attention to the feelings and experiences. Carl Rogers support the retention of learning-centered approach and he is believed to a semantic continuum. At the other end of the continuum, experiential learning is located with the meaning and meaningful. It applies the minds and feelings of the person. From this group, the main focus will be on the works of Rogers and Novels. Finally, it could be concluded that the usage of any of these theoriesin its place would be desired and useful.

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BACKGROUND: The current novel coronavirus pandemic started as a simple outbreak in December 2019 from Wuhan, China, and it has now become a global threat. The governments from most of the countries including India have already taken strict precautionary measures to reduce the coronavirus spread such as social distancing, closure of schools, colleges, airports, restaurants, shopping malls, and other places where the people might gather. An increase in the levels of anxiety, aggression, depression, forgetfulness, and hallucinations are possible psychological effects of isolation. Too little is understood of the social impact of the pandemic. AIM: To study the social impact of post-COVID-19 lockdown in Kerala from a community perspective. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional survey was conducted among 700 families (50 families from each district) from all the 14 districts of Kerala from during April-May 2020 using respondent-driven sampling. The data were analyzed and the categorical variables have been presented as percentages and proportions. RESULTS: Anxiety (44%) and fear (44.3%) were reported by many of the study participants. The survey also picked up an increase in the prevalence of domestic violence (13.7%) during the period. The most common social change brought about by the lockdown was an improvement in the hygiene practices among the study population. CONCLUSION: The present study highlights the positive social changes brought about as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown. Further studies need to be conducted on a larger scale to assess the psycho-behavioural impact of COVID-19 on the wider population.

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Background: Most infectious diseases result from a lack of knowledge and poor personal hygiene. Hand hygiene, in particular, is one of the most common means by which pathogens are transmitted. The aim of this study was to determine college student's knowledge and awareness of personal hygiene in Kuwait. Materials and Methods: A multi-dimensional health assessment approach was followed using a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed among students of two colleges (the College of Nursing and the College of Health Sciences). Item analysis was conducted on 33 items of the questionnaire and measure five types of hygiene practices: hand hygiene, body hygiene, special hair application, oral care, and clothes hygiene. The data collected in the questionnaires and results were analyzed using statistical software SPSS version 23. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA and Student's t-test. Internal consistency, reliability was good, with an overall Cronbach's Alpha value of 0.749. Results: Most respondents were female with 64%, while 80% of the college students were in the age of <20-year-old. Twelve items were underhand hygiene practices, and four items under body hygiene. Nine items were under oral care; three, items were under hair application. Three were under clothes hygiene. Conclusions: This study showed that female students had a better knowledge and were more hygienic in hand hygiene, hair application, and body hygiene whereas, male students showed a better oral hygiene practice. Nevertheless, this study shows that the hygiene questionnaire is an acceptable and reliable measure of awareness and practice among college students.

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INTRODUCTION: Novel coronavirus is believed to be tiny enough (0.08–0.14 μm) to penetrate through face mask, thus protection offered by cloth mask may be too low. However, the use of cloth face mask in community has been recommended by the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and regulatory bodies of other countries. There is paucity of literature on efficacy of cloth face mask in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection transmission; thus, this review aims to update the available most recent evidences on efficacy of cloth face masks in prevention of viral infection transmission. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Clinical Trials Register for identifying studies related to this review using free-text terms and MeSH terms. Both experimental and observational studies on efficacy of cloth masks which were published in English language have been included in this review except expert opinions, commentaries, editorials, and review articles. Twelve studies were eligible to be included in review for data extraction and qualitative synthesis was carried out from extracted data but quantitative analysis (meta-analysis) could not be performed because of serious heterogeneity between the studies. RESULTS: Cloth face masks show minimum efficacy in source control than the medical grade mask. The efficacy of cloth face masks filtration varies and depends on the type of material used, number of layers, and degree of moisture in mask and fitting of mask on face. CONCLUSION: Cloth face masks have limited efficacy in combating viral infection transmission. However, it may be used in closed, crowded indoor, and outdoor public spaces involving physical proximity to prevent spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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Introduction: Primary dysmenorrhea without pelvic pathology is one of the most common complaints in women's medicine. Primary dysmenorrhea can affect the quality of life of women. Aerobic exercise is one of the ways to reduce the severity of primary dysmenorrhea. The present study aimed to determine the effect of 8 weeks of aerobic exercise on the severity of primary dysmenorrhea. Methods: This is a clinical trial study performed on 70 students with primary dysmenorrhea in dormitories of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in 2015. Participants were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The instrument was a visual pain questionnaire completed by the two groups in the first 3 days of the menstrual cycle. The exercise protocol included aerobic exercise, which performed the intervention group for 8 weeks, three times a week, and each time for 30 min. Data were analyzed by Fisher and Chi-square tests. Results: The control and intervention groups were homogeneous in terms of demographic characteristics. Results showed that the severity of primary dysmenorrhea at the beginning of the study was not significantly correlated with the two groups. At the end of the 4 weeks after the intervention, the intervention group did not show any significant changes in the control group (P = 0.423) but At the end of 8 weeks after the study, the intervention group showed significant changes compared to the control group (P = 0.041). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that performing aerobic exercise can improve primary dysmenorrhea. Therefore, aerobic exercise can be used to treat primary dysmenorrhea.

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BACKGROUND: Academic burnout is a worldwide problem that troubles students at all academic levels. Despite the significant effects of this problem on students' mental health and academic achievements, yet, it has not been adequately studied in Iranian system of academic education. Therefore, we aimed to explore the incidence of academic burnout status and its associated factors among the students at Guilan University of Medical Sciences. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted over a number of 303 students at Guilan University of Medical Sciences during 2016. Study samples were selected through the stratified random sampling method, and a set of data including sociodemographic information, educational status, study habits, and burnout inventory status was collected for each sample. Items of burnout inventory status were based on the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics including t-test and linear regression. RESULTS: The students in our study reported a mean of 2.53 ± 0.7 for academic burnout score. Along with related factors of academic burnout, marital status (P = 0.029), grade point average (P = 0.002), being interested in field of study (P = 0.000), and study time (P = 0.000) were significantly associated with academic burnout of students. Furthermore, the incidence of academic burnout did not differ between male and female students. CONCLUSIONS: Regarding the considerable prevalence of academic burnout among students of medical sciences, it is needed that policymakers implement more effective educational programs considering the associated factors of academic burnout.

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Disasters and emergencies have been increasing all over the world. Todays, with technological advancement, acquiring knowledge and its application in the realm of action is regarded as the only effective way for prevent disasters or reducing its effects. The present study aimed to review the importance of education and the effect of different methods of education on disaster risk reduction and preparedness in vulnerable people. To this aim, some articles indexed in Database of PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Scopus, Science Direct, and ProQuest were searched. The search was limited to reviewed articles in English published between 1990 and 2017. In addition, the selected articles were reviewed for relevant citations. The conducted studies were reviewed by two researchers independently. The primary search generated 128 relevant references. After eliminating the duplicates and articles which were not related to the review of the abstract, 41 references were identified for inclusion. After reviewing more, 31 references, which failed to meet inclusion index, were excluded from the study. Disaster education aims to provide knowledge among individuals and groups to take actions to reduce their vulnerability to disasters. During the last decades, the issue that trained people can be prepared for disasters and responding well has been extensively investigated. Based on the results, disaster education is a functional, operational, and cost-effective tool for risk management. Based on some evidence, it is important for vulnerable people to learn about disasters. There are different methods to educate vulnerable people, but no method is better than others. Trained people can better protect themselves and others. In this regard, planning and designing comprehensive educational programs are necessary for people to face disasters.

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BACKGROUND: Social media platforms are progressively developing as a rich source of mass communication. Increasing mental health awareness with the help of social media can be a good initiative to reach out to a large number of people in a short time frame. This study was conducted to understand the usefulness of social media platforms for health promotion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It was a qualitative study to evaluate the effectiveness of social media platforms in hosting health promotion campaigns in the field of mental health, which was observed over 5 months from May to September 2019 to reach more people for effective information dissemination. The campaigns were as follows (1) The Buddies for Suicide Prevention: an online campaign to create awareness about suicide prevention. The campaign included script writing, slogan writing, poster making, and short films making, organized for the general public who were interested to take part; (2) The #Iquitobacco was a 21-day campaign with an idea of tobacco cessation in the community, conducted among social media viewers who were willing to participate; and (3) #Migrainethepainfultruth was yet another campaign conducted among the social media viewers who were interested to participate. All the campaigns were conducted using two famous social media platforms commonly used by young adults. Descriptive statistics such as frequency and proportions were computed for the number of likes and shares. RESULTS: The Facebook and Instagram posts concerning all the campaigns brought about a considerable amount of reach to the targeted population. After the campaigns, the page reached to around 10.3 k people (both fans and nonfans). CONCLUSIONS: Use of social media to conduct mental health campaigns is an effective initiative as one can reach out to several people over a short time period. There is an increasing trend in the awareness of mental health with the effective use of digital media as a platform for disseminating information.

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Background: Breast cancer is a leading cause of deaths worldwide. In Pakistan, one in every nine women develops breast cancer some time in her life. This high incidence of breast cancer and the poor socioeconomic conditions of Pakistan make breast self-examination (BSE) the best tool for the prevention and early diagnosis of breast cancer. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of BSE among female college students of Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1000 students from June to December 2016. Data were collected using a pre-piloted questionnaire, and SPSS (version 20) was used for data analysis. Chi-square test was used to determine the significance of the difference in knowledge and attitude among participants who had performed BSE and those who had not. A P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The overall response rate was 90.9%. Although 71.4% of the women knew what BSE was, only 33.1% had performed it. Majority of the participants considered that BSE is important in the early detection of breast cancer. With 59.7% of the population having an adequate amount of knowledge, 87.2% had a positive attitude toward BSE. A medical background was found to be a significant predictor for adequate knowledge and a positive attitude toward BSE. Conclusion: Despite a positive attitude found among the population toward BSE, its knowledge and practice were inadequate. Educational interventions are required in Pakistan to encourage young women to perform BSE regularly so that breast abnormalities can be detected early on and mortalities can be minimized.

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Background: Health literacy is a measure of an individual's ability to read, comprehend, and act on medical instructions. Limited health literacy can reduce the adults' ability to comprehend and use basic health-related materials, such as prescription, food labels, health education pamphlets, articles, appointment slips, and health insurance plans, which can affect their ability to take appropriate and timely health care action. Nowadays, low health literacy is considered a worldwide health threat. So, the purpose of this study was to assess health literacy level in older adults and to investigate the relationships between health literacy and health status, health care utilization, and health preventive behaviors. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 354 older adults was conducted in Isfahan. The method of sampling was clustering. Health literacy was measured using the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA). Data were collected using home interviewing. Health status was measured based on self-rated general health. Health care utilization was measured based on self-reported outpatient clinic visits, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations, and health preventive behaviors were measured based on self-reported preventive health services use. Results: Approximately 79.6% of adults were found to have inadequate health literacy. They tended to be older, had fewer years of schooling, lower household income, and were females. Inadequate health literacy was associated with poorer general health (P < 0.001). Health literacy level was negatively associated with outpatient visits (P = 0.003) and hospitalization (P = 0.01). No significant association was found between health literacy level and emergency room utilization. Self-reported lack of PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) test (P < 0.001) and fecal occult blood test (FOBT; P = 0.003) was higher among individuals with inadequate health literacy than those with adequate health literacy. No significant association was found between health literacy level and mammogram in the last 2 years. Conclusion: Low health literacy is more prevalent in older adults. It indicates the importance of health literacy issue in health promotion. So, with simple educational materials and effective interventions for low health literacy group, we can improve health promotion in the society and mitigate the adverse health effects of low health literacy.

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Introduction: This study was aimed to compare the effect of nutrition educational program based on HBM with traditional education recommended weight gain among pregnant women in Gonabad. Target population was pregnant women who were resided in Gonabad and went to urban health care centers for prenatal cares. Materials and Methods: 110 pregnant women (case group: 54, control group: 56) were selected who had come to this centers in the first stage of prenatal care (6th -10th week of pregnancy) in 1388 and were consequently classified in case and control group. There is no significant difference for age, education, number of parity, history of abortion and job between case and control groups. Results: There was no significant differences in nutritional behavior mean score before intervention in case (74.42 ± 12.78) and control (77.14 ± 15.35) groups (P value = 0.82, independent t- test); but after education, intervention was significant in nutritional behavior between two groups (P value = 0.01, independent t - test); Discussion: after intervention, there also was significant difference in HBM structures mean score in case group compare with control group and the highest rise in score was related to perceived benefits (15.13 increment).

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Background: Clinical learning environment is a complex social entity. This environment is effective on the learning process of nursing students in the clinical area. However, learning in clinical environment has several benefits, but it can be challenging, unpredictable, stressful, and constantly changing. In attention to clinical experiences and factors contributing to the learning of these experiences can waste a great deal of time and energy, impose heavy financial burden on educational systems, cause mental, familial and educational problems for students, and compromise the quality of patient care. Therefore, this study was carried out with the goal of determining the learning challenges of nursing students in clinical environments in Iran. Materials and Methods: In this qualitative study carried out in 2012-2013, 18 undergraduate nursing students were selected by using purposive sampling method from the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery of Tehran and Shahid Beheshti Universities. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The content analysis method was used to determine relevant themes. Results: Two themes were derived from the data analysis, which represented the students' clinical learning challenges. These two themes included insufficient qualification of nursing instructors and unsupportive learning environment. Conclusions: Identification of the students' clinical learning challenges and actions to remove or modify them will create more learning opportunities for the students, improve the achievement of educational goals, provide training to nursing students with the needed competencies to meet the complex demands of caring and for application of theories in practice, and improve the quality of healthcare services.

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Context: Lack of physical activity is a contributor to the obesity epidemic and is speculated to relate to reduced academic performance; however, this link has yet to be examined within the college population. Aims: The purpose of this study in a group of undergraduate students, was to determine if aerobic exercise activity was related to academic performance. Materials and Methods: The participants for this study included 740 students at multiple universities enrolled in nursing and kinesiology studies. The participants completed the Leisure and Physical Activity Questionnaire. Results: Pearson's χ² analysis revealed differences in grade point average with aerobic activity (χ² = 44.29 , P ≤ 0.001) as well as a trend toward differences in grade point average with weightlifting activity (χ² = 22.69, P = 0.61). Conclusions: Based on these findings it can be suggested that college students engage in greater aerobic exercise.

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OBJECTIVE: Self-efficacy is an individual's self-perception of one's ability to perform competently and to achieve a task or goal effectively. In the nursing field, self-efficacy can be useful in predicting performance, job satisfaction, or well-being. Therefore, due to the importance of this issue, this study aimed to determine the effect of educational workshop on nurses' self-efficacy along with follow-up in patient training. METHODS: The study employed a single group quasi-experimental study with a pretest/posttest design and was conducted in one educational hospital supervised by the Kerman University of Medical Sciences in 2016. Nurses' self-efficacy was analyzed through a researcher-made questionnaire prior and after the workshop and along with the follow-up period (n = 20). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics including mean and standard deviation and analytic statistics such as Pearson correlation coefficient, independent t-test, paired t-test, and ANOVA with P ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: This study showed that 1 month after educational workshop, the score of self-efficacy dimensions increased (P < 0.05). Furthermore, results showed that after a 3-month follow-up period, self-efficacy score increased in comparison to preintervention self-efficacy score. Results showed that the total score means of self-efficacy before the workshop was 59.01 ± 14.91 while postworkshop, self-efficacy score means was 79.83 ± 11.90. CONCLUSION: The present research results presented that educational workshop may enhance self-efficacy among nurses. According to the obtained results, it is recommended that the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Training, in cooperation with nursing institutions responsible for nursing and medical in-service education adopt necessary measures to enhance self-efficacy among employees in addition to improving patient training condition at medical processes through similar workshops or conducting related studies.

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Background: A student under optimal stress does bring out his or her best; however, extreme stress can result in mental health problems and deteriorates their academic performance. Students who esteem themselves low are most likely to engage in destructive and self-destructive behaviors. Moreover, excessive stress is harmful to academic performance and may lead to dropping out in student. Can Yoga be of benefit in students for improving their attention and self-esteem (SE)? Objective: To assess attention and SE in girls undergoing Integrated Yoga Module (IYM). Materials and Methods: Sixty low-income high school girls with 15.17 + 0.64 years of mean age participated in this single group pre-post study. The data was collected before and after 5 days of IYM. Statistical Analysis: Means, standard deviations, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used to analyze the data with the help of SPSS 16. Results: The data analysis showed 9.04% increase ( P = 0.001) in SE scores, whereas d2 test for attention revealed 10.12% increase ( P < 0.001) in total number of symbols processed scores and 44.73% decrease ( P < 0.001) in total number of errors. Conclusion: The present study suggests that of IYM can result in improvement of attention and SE among students and thereby enhancing their mental health and can help them in improving their academic achievement. Efforts aimed at reducing mental health problems among students may focus more on implementing effective and culturally acceptable interventions, such as Yoga, counseling, and social support. Additional well-designed studies are needed before a strong recommendation can be made.

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Although telemedicine has been used spottily in Indian health care so far, the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic provided the nation's health systems an unprecedented opportunity to make a concerted effort to increase access and coverage. Health-care providers can incorporate telemedicine systems to reduce doctor-patient visits and help in breaking the chain of transmission of infections. Anticipating the increased need of telemedicine by health-care providers, the Medical Council of India released practice guidelines in March 2020. In this article, the literature pertinent to telemedicine and its applications with special reference to recently released practice guidelines were reviewed and summarized in a historical and current context. Telemedicine is bound to grow and be adopted by more health-care practitioners and patients in a wide variety of forms due to ease and availability. At the same time, it cannot replace in-person consultation or emergency medicine.

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Background: Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by reduction of one mass, deterioration of bone structure, increasing bone fragility, and increasing fracture risk. Prevention of osteoporosis during childhood and adolescence is one of the most important issues in World Health Organization. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Health Belief Model based intervention on promoting nutritional behaviors about preventive osteoporosis among the second grade middle school girl students. Materials and Methods: This was an experimental intervention study, the research population being 130 students who were randomly divided into groups, experimental (66) and control (64). Before the educational program, Health Belief Model based standard questionnaire and Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) questionnaire were filled up by both the groups. The standard questionnaire was completed three times (before, immediately, and 2 months after education) and FFQ questionnaire was completed two times (before and 2 months after education) by the students. After pre-test, four educational session classes in the experimental group were performed. Finally, data collected were analyzed by SPSS 18 computer software. Results: The result of this study showed a significant increase in the mean score of knowledge, perceived susceptibility, seriousness, benefits, barriers, as well as taking health action among girl students in the experimental group. Conclusion: The findings of the present study confirmed the practicability and effectiveness of the Health Belief Model based educational program in promoting nutritional behaviors about prevention of osteoporosis.

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Background: Lifestyle choices and individuals' behaviors have the potential to influence health and improve the quality of life. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop and psychometrically test an instrument for measuring healthy lifestyle in Iranian adolescents. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive literature review related to health-promoting lifestyles was used to identify potential scale items. Data were collected from 797 school students. Construct validity was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to cross-validate. Results: Nine factors emerged that explained 59.8% of the variance in the 43 items. Cronbach's α coefficient Healthy Lifestyle Questionnaire was r=0.82. After the model was modified, the fit indices indicated that the data were an adequate-to-good fit to the proposed models. Conclusions: The current study provides some support to the internal and external validity of the healthy lifestyles questionnaire for Iranian adolescents.

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Background: Appropriate understanding of women that certain physical, mental, social and psychological changes occur during menopause helps them with greater readiness to cope with these changes. In all training programs to identify and analyze perceptions of the subjects is a key component. The purpose of this study was to investigate the knowledge and attitude of women toward the menopause phenomenon. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 healthy and non-menopaused women aged 40-45 years. The stratified sampling method was used and participation in this study was based on obtaining informed consent. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire consisting of three parts: demographic information, questions to assess knowledge and attitude investigation questions. Findings: The results showed that the average knowledge score of subjects was 63.57 ± 10.79, and their average attitude score was 61.21 ± 12.73. In this study, 8% of the subjects had poor knowledge, 68% had moderate knowledge and 38.5% had good knowledge. Meanwhile, 81.5% of the women had a positive attitude toward menopause. The correlation test showed that knowledge and attitude are meaningfully related to economic status and education level. But, the relationship between knowledge and attitudes of women under study was not significant. Conclusion: Identifying the quality of women's subjective perception of menopause has an essential role in the development of accurate and appropriate programs to promote women's health during menopausal years.

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BACKGROUND: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has infected nearly 9.5 million people in 216 countries, areas, or territories in the world. The fight against the COVID-19 has become a very serious international challenge. The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of COVID-19-preventive behaviors using the health belief model (HBM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted with the participation of 558 samples from the adult population of Iran. The online convenience sampling was conducted in this research. The online 68-item questionnaire link was published all over Iran through social networks including Telegram and WhatsApp, which are common in Iran. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 19. Descriptive statistics, bivariate Pearson's correlation test, and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects was 33.3 ± 10.01 years. The participants were often female (61.3%), married (57.9%), and resident of the city (81.0%) with university educational level (78.8%). The results showed that the HBM structures predicted 29.3% of the preventive behaviors of COVID-19 in the subjects. The perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and self-efficacy significantly predicted the preventive behaviors, but the perceived susceptibility and perceived severity were not significant in the regression model. The internet and virtual social networks (49.8%), broadcast (33.5%), and healthcare providers (15.8%) were the most important sources of information related with COVID-19. In response to COVID-19-related internal cues to action, 36.6% did not pay attention and 34.7% tried to self-medicate. Only 28.5% of the subjects referred to the hospital, healthcare center, or physician. CONCLUSION: Self-efficacy, perceived barriers, and perceived benefits were the key determinants of COVID-19-preventive behaviors in the subjects. It can be concluded that the HBM is a good tool to predict COVID-19-preventive behaviors in Iranian population.

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Background: The application of the nursing research findings is one of the most important indicators of development in the nursing profession, which leads to providing efficient and effective patient care and improving the quality of nursing care. According the result of some studies, transferring the evidence-based findings to the nurses' practice and education in the world has been slow and sometimes unsuccessful. This study aimed to investigate the most important barriers to the application of research findings from the nurses' perspective. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted on a sample of 210 nurses in a teaching hospital in Tehran in 2013. The data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire consisted of two parts, including items about nurses' demographic characteristics and 30 items to identify the most important barriers to the application of research findings from the studied nurses' perspective. Results:“The lack of sufficient time for reading the studies,” “the lack of sufficient time to implement the new ideas,” “the lack of adequate facilities to implement the ideas,” “nurses' little interest in conducting studies,” and “the lack of authority to change the methods and patterns of care” with, respectively, 85%, 84.6%, 83.8%, 83.4%, and 80.5% agreement with the existence of barriers were the most barriers to application of research findings from the studied nurses' perspective. Conclusion: The lack of time was the most important barrier to the use of research findings from the perspective of studied nurses. Therefore, some effective strategies should be used by hospital managers and health policy makers to overcome this barrier. Some of these strategies can be employing new personnel and hiring skilled and efficient human resources in order to decrease the workload of nurses, organizing the nurses' work shifts, providing right balance between patients and nurses in the wards, etc.

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