This study aims to conduct an urban Community Oriented Program for Control Of Rheumatic Diseases (COPCORD) study in Sanandaj (Kurdistan, Iran). Sanandaj with a population of 311,446 (2006 census), Caucasian of Kurdish subgroup, was selected as the field. Sanandaj was divided into 100 clusters and subjects were randomly selected from them (50 subjects from each cluster). The COPCORD study started on July 2011 and ended on June 2012. Of the households, 1,631 was visited and 5,830 persons were interviewed. The male to female ratio was 0.8-1 (44.5% males, 55.5% females). Musculoskeletal complaints during the past 7 days were detected in 42.8% of the interviewed subjects (36.3% males, 48.1% females). The distribution was 16.7% shoulder, 10% wrist, 9.7% hands and fingers, 7.7% hip, 26.3% knee, 9.9% ankle, 6.4% toes, 9.5% cervical spine, and 21.5% dorsal and lumbar spine. Degenerative joint diseases were detected in 19.4% of the subjects: 1.8% neck, 18.9% knee, 3.9% hands, and 0.51% hip. Low back pain was detected in 16.5%, sciatica in 1.2%, cervical nerve root pain in 0.24%, and soft tissue rheumatism in 5.5%. Inflammatory disorders were 0.51% rheumatoid arthritis, 0.22% seronegative spondyloarthropathy, 0.10% ankylosing spondylitis, 0.05% systemic lupus erythematosus, and 0.10% Behcet's disease . Fibromyalgia was detected in 0.62% and gout in 0.12% of the studied population. Disability was reported by 28.3%. It was present at the study time in 21.4%. Comparing the four COPCORD studies of Iran, the figures (numbers) obtained by COPCORD Sanandaj are much the same as the COPCORD study in Tehran. Joint complaints were seen less frequently than in the COPCORD urban study of Zahedan and rural study of Tuyserkan. Osteoarthritis was higher than in Tehran, but the same as the two others. Soft tissue rheumatism was rather the same. Rheumatoid arthritis was higher than Tehran and Tuyserkan, but lower than Zahedan.

The results of this study further emphasize the importance and necessity of educating this at-risk population by planning direct, in-person training, which is an essential step in improving attitudes and preventative practices toward CL and in controlling CL in endemic areas.

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Background and Aim: Physicians' knowledge and capabilities decrease over time; therefore, continuous medical education is important. Flipped class is a blended teaching method that inverts instructional cycle by delivering the educational content by innovative technology out-of-class. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of flipped class on satisfaction, active participation, and learning levels in general practitioners attending continuous medical education courses in the Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences in 2017. Material and Methods: This interventional study included 120 general practitioners in Sanandaj who were attending the continuous medical education courses. They were randomly assigned to intervention (flipped class) and control (traditional class) groups. Data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire in order to evaluate participant satisfaction, and a researcher made checklist for evaluation of active participation and a set of post-test questions for assessment of knowledge. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire and the checklist were assessed by using expert panels and measurement of Cronbach's alpha respectively.Two weeks prior to the designated day, the intervention group started educational activities by finding answers to the questions. The control group did not receive any instruction until the designated day of the classes. On the designated day the control group listened to the lectures in traditional way. The educational content delivered to both groups was identical. Results:The results of the study showed that all the participants were satisfied with the continuous medical education classes. However, the mean satisfaction level of the re-training period was significantly higher in the intervention group (P = 0.001). The mean post-test score in the intervention group (15.50 ± 2.25) was significantly higher than that in the control group (12.85 ± 2.18) (P = 0.0001). Also, the mean score of participation in the intervention group (9.01 ± 1.71) was significantly higher compared to that in the control group (7.60 ± 2.02) (P = 0.0001). Conclusion:The results of this study showed that flipped classroom strategy was an effective way of continuous education programs for general practitioners. This approach not only improved the knowledge of physicians after continuous medical education programs, but also increased their satisfaction by increasing their active participation.