Background:The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) techniques has been growing. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine places therapeutic touch (TT) into the category of bio field energy. This literature review is aimed at critically evaluating the data from clinical trials examining the clinical efficacy of therapeutic touch as a supportive care modality in adult patients with cancer.Methods:Electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Scholar Google, and Science Direct) were searched from the year 1990 to 2015 to locate potentially relevant peer-reviewed articles using the key words therapeutic touch, touch therapy, neoplasm, cancer, and CAM. Additionally, relevant journals and references of all the located articles were manually searched for other potentially relevant studies.Results:The number of 334 articles was found on the basis of the key words, of which 17 articles related to the clinical trial were examined in accordance with the objectives of the study. A total of 6 articles were in the final dataset in which several examples of the positive effects of healing touch on pain, nausea, anxiety and fatigue, and life quality and also on biochemical parameters were observed.Conclusion:Based on the results of this study, an affirmation can be made regarding the use of TT, as a non-invasive intervention for improving the health status in patients with cancer. Moreover, therapeutic touch was proved to be a useful strategy for adult patients with cancer.

The incidence of cancer is continuing to rise in Iran. More people are now surviving cancer. They may require different kinds of care and support from those traditionally available. The expression of needs and how they are met in different cultural contexts can inform local assessment of needs and provide insights for initiatives in holistic cancer care. This study explores Iranian cancer patients' needs from patients' perspective. A qualitative design that consists of interviews, field notes and specified demographic information was used. Thirty participants were interviewed during the summer and autumn of 2009. The study conducted in a cancer research centre (Omid Hospital) in Mashhad, Iran. Interviews were analysed using a content analysis method. The results indicate that Iranian cancer patients are more likely to suffer from the impact of cancer on their daily life than physical symptoms related to the disease and its treatment. Cancer affected several aspects of their daily living, including their financial situation, ability to work and family life. Cost of treatment and psychosocial distress were the two aspects rated by respondents to be the most affected. Iranian cancer patients need holistic care which covers all the influences that affect their personal's life.

Introduction:In patients with cancer, pain may influence their life style, and feeling of satisfaction and comfort, leading to fatigue, and cause impairment of their quality of life, personal relationships, sleep and daily activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of therapeutic touch (TT) on pain related parameters of in patients with cancer.Methods:In a randomized clinical trial a total of 90 male patients referring to Specialized Oncology Hospital in Mashhad, were conveniently selected and randomly divided into three intervention, placebo, and control groups. The intervention consisted of TT in 7 sessions for a 4-week period. The data were collected using a demographic questionnaire along with the Brief Pain Inventory, which were then analyzed and compared using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests.Results:By comparing scores parameters of pain scales (general activity, mood, walking ability, relations with other people and sleep) in the three groups, there was no significant difference at the beginning of the first session. However, a significant difference was observed at the end of TT sessions between the three groups (p= 0.001). Furthermore, the groups were compared two-by-two by using Mann-Whitney test and Bonferroni correction, and the result indicated significant differences between the two intervention and placebo groups as well as between the two intervention and control groups.Conclusion:The results of the study showed that TT had a positive impact on the positive management of pain related parameters in cancer patients. Therefore, TT is suggested to be used by healthcare providers as a complementary method for managing pain and its parameters.

Purpose: This review investigated medical students’ satisfaction level with e-learning during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its related factors.Methods: A comprehensive systematic search was performed of international literature databases, including Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Persian databases such as Iranmedex and Scientific Information Database using keywords extracted from Medical Subject Headings such as “Distance learning,” “Distance education,” “Online learning,” “Online education,” and “COVID-19” from the earliest date to July 10, 2022. The quality of the studies included in this review was evaluated using the appraisal tool for cross-sectional studies (AXIS tool).Results: A total of 15,473 medical science students were enrolled in 24 studies. The level of satisfaction with e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic among medical science students was 51.8%. Factors such as age, gender, clinical year, experience with e-learning before COVID-19, level of study, adaptation content of course materials, interactivity, understanding of the content, active participation of the instructor in the discussion, multimedia use in teaching sessions, adequate time dedicated to the e-learning, stress perception, and convenience had significant relationships with the satisfaction of medical students with e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.Conclusion: Therefore, due to the inevitability of online education and e-learning, it is suggested that educational managers and policymakers choose the best online education method for medical students by examining various studies in this field to increase their satisfaction with e-learning.

Background: Due to the growing prevalence of cancer globally, the disease is considered one of the most important sources of stress, disability, and reduced life satisfaction. Although life satisfaction is supposed to be a relatively stable psychological construct, it may change in response to life events. Life-satisfaction is the assessment of the quality of life according to one’s chosen criteria. Objectives: The purpose of this research is the psychometric evaluation of the Persian version of “Brief Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale” (BMLSS) in Iranian patients with cancer. Methods: The present study was a methodological research, during which the BMLSS was translated and the Farsi version was validated for patients with cancer. Results: The fit indices of confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the dual dimension of the BMLSS. Regarding the convergent validity of the BMLSS, the total score of the instrument had a positive and significant relationship with age and the sense of religiosity. Cronbach's alpha and Intraclass Correlation were calculated. Conclusions: The findings indicated that this Persian version has good validity and reliability and can be used as a comprehensive instrument in Iran.