Background The bereaved families of COVID-19 victims are among the most vulnerable social groups in the COVID-19 pandemic. This highly infectious and contagious disease has afflicted these families with numerous psychological crises which have not been studied much yet. The present study is an attempt at investigating the psychological challenges and issues which the families of COVID-19 victims are faced with. The present study aims to identify the Mental Health crises which the families of COVID-19 deceased victims are going through. Methods A qualitative research, the present study uses a conventional content analysis design. The participants were 16 members of the families of COVID-19 victims selected from medical centers in Iran from February to May 2020 via purposeful sampling. Sampling continued to the point of data saturation Data were collected via semi-structured individual interviews conducted online. The collected data were analyzed according to the conventional qualitative content analysis approach. Results Analyses of the data yielded two main themes and seven categories. Emotional shock included (feelings of guilt and rumination, bitter farewell, strange burial and concern about unreligious burial), and fear of the future included (instability in the family, lack of job security and difficult financial conditions, Stigmatization and complications in social interactions). Conclusion The families of COVID-19 deceased victims are affected by various psychological crises which have exposed them to a deep sense of loss and emotional shock. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a cultural context which recognizes and supports all the various aspects of the mental health of these families.

Background:Family caregiving for patients with chronic mental illness is influenced by various factors such as political, socioeconomic, and cultural contexts as well as related policies and health services.Objectives:The purpose of this study was to explore the challenges with which the family caregivers of patients with chronic mental illness have to contend.Materials and Methods:The research design was qualitative with a phenomenological approach. The research population consisted of 16 long-term carers expressing interest in participating in the project. The carers were the family members of mentally ill relatives who collected their monthly medications at Farshchian Psychiatry Hospital in Hamadan in 2012. Purposive sampling was used to draw the sample. Data were collected by individual in-depth semi-structured interviews, which were tape-recorded and analyzed via Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Rigor was assessed regarding credibility, dependability, conformability, and transferability.Results:Our findings highlighted 4 main themes, namely stress and emotional distress, need for education and information, socioeconomic effects and support, and physical strain.Conclusions:Families experience frustrations when providing support and care to their mentally ill relatives. They, therefore, need appropriate support and intervention by mental health services.

BackgroundStigma is one of the most destructive features of mental illnesses that may affect the family caregivers. This study aimed to analyze the effect of training interventions of stigma on family caregivers of the mental illness patients.Materials and methodsThis quasi-experimental pre- and post-test study was performed on a single group of 43 family caregivers of mental illness patients in Hamadan Psychiatric Hospital, Iran, in 2015. The samples were taken through convenience sampling method and the data collection tool was a stigma questionnaire made by the researchers. The questionnaires were filled by the participants within pre-intervention and 1-month post-intervention. All the data were analyzed by SPSS version 16, and the mean and standard deviation by paired t test and Wilcoxon test.ResultsFindings of this study demonstrated that women included 60% of the family caregivers. The average age of caregivers and the duration of caregiving were 41.67 ± 11.62 years and 66.28 ± 7.99 months, respectively. The mean and standard deviation for pre-intervention stigma score were 82.47 ± 12.23 indicating that the family caregivers suffered from some problems arisen from living with mental patients. They include not getting married, unable to find a job, embarrassment, humiliation by others, disgrace, and shame. Our results revealed that the mean and standard deviation of stigma score decreased to 29.28 ± 7.52 after training, and this difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001).ConclusionsAccording to the results of present study, training interventions reduce the issues caused by stigma and help the family members of mental patients to face and cope with the problem.

Background Responsibility for diabetes management tasks must shift from caregivers to adolescents as adolescents grow older. Also, family-centered care is a way to provide efficient care for them at home. This study aimed to identify the effect of family-centered care on management of blood glucose levels in adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Methods This is a Pre-experimental study with a pre- and post-test design. The participants consisted of forty adolescents with T1DM, aged between 10-14 years, with their caregivers who were selected through simple random sampling from Hamadan Diabetes Research Center in Iran in 2013. The sample was divided into four similar groups. Educational sessions were conducted for each group for 30 to 40 minutes. Data collection tools were “Supervisory Behaviors of Caregiver” (SBC), “Management Behaviors of adolescents” (MBA) questionnaires, and the “Blood Glucose Levels Record Sheet”. Data were analyzed using SPSS 19 and based on descriptive statistics, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, paired t-test and Pearson coefficient. Results There was a significant difference between the subjects’ MBA and SBC mean scores before (110.17±26.6) and after (134.6±1.28) intervention in four domains: “blood glucose testing”, “insulin therapy”, “meal plan” and “physical activity” (P<0.001). There were significant differences between the mean levels of recorded blood glucose during a week before and after intervention and between the mean levels of Glycated Hemoglobin level (HbA1c) before (8.4±1.12) and three months after (7.78±1.2) it (P<0.001). Pearson coefficient showed a positive relationship between the supervisory behaviors of caregivers with management behaviors of adolescents before and after the intervention (P<0.001). Conclusion Empowering adolescents with T1DM and their caregivers in home-centered care could improve diabetic adolescents’ management of blood glucose levels and reduce their HbA1Clevels. Therefore, Family-centered care could provide for better regime adherence at home.

Objective:To assess the efficacy of pharmacotherapy (citalopram) and cognitive therapy, alone or in combination for the treatment of major depressive disorder.Methods:This study was a randomised controlled clinical trial. We randomly assigned 120 adults with a major depressive disorder to 8-week treatment with either citalopram, cognitive therapy, or both. Major depressive disorder was diagnosed using DSM-IV criteria. Patients were assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory before and after treatment.Results:Statistical analysis showed that cognitive therapy, pharmacotherapy, and combined therapy were effective in the treatment of depression. There was no significant difference between medication and cognitive therapy. Treatment with the cognitive therapy intervention and citalopram combined yielded better responses than treatment with citalopram or cognitive therapy alone.

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Introduction Emergency medical services (EMS) providers are at continuous exposure to occupational stressors which negatively affect their health and professional practice. This study explored perceived occupational stressors among EMS providers. Methods This qualitative study was conducted from December 2019 to April 2020 using conventional content analysis. Sixteen EMS providers were purposively selected from EMS stations in Hamadan, Iran. Semi-structured interviews (with length of 45–60 min) were held for data collection. Data were analyzed through Graneheim and Lundman’s conventional content analysis approach. Findings Data analysis resulted in the development of two themes, namely critical conditions of EMS provision, and personal and professional conflicts. The six categories of these two themes were complexity of patients’ clinical conditions, interruption of EMS provision, health hazards, interpersonal problems, interprofessional interactions, and legal conflicts. Conclusion Besides the stress associated with emergency patient care, EMS providers face many different occupational stressors. EMS managers can use the findings of the present study to develop strategies for reducing occupational stress among EMS providers and thereby, improve their health and care quality.

Introduction: Attention to caregiving consequences has been mainly restricted to bipolar disorder, although studies suggest that relatives of bipolar patients also experience considerable distress. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of family member caregivers of bipolar disorder patients. Methods: In a qualitative research of phenomenological methodology, family member caregivers of bipolar disorder patients in Farshchian Psychiatric Hospital in Hamedan (Iran) were selected by purposive sampling in the year 2010. By reaching data saturation, the number of participants was 12. Data were gathered through in-depth interviews and analyzed by van Manen method. Results: Analysis of the interviews revealed six major themes: fears and anxiety for the future, psychosomatic impact, feeling isolated and loneliness, financial impact, change in lifestyle and family functioning, and lack of support and knowledge. Discussion: This study highlights the need for family-oriented mental health services to be developed and for further research to identify the specific nursing interventions that are effective in helping to sustain family caregiving.