Background: Despite the increasing demands for blood and its products, some people, especially the youth, have little interest in donating blood. Objective: This study aimed to assess the university students' awareness of and attitude towards blood donation. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a descriptive analytical approach was used to examine awareness of and attitude towards blood donation among students in Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran. The study was performed in 2015-2016. A total of 749 university students participated in this study. A special questionnaire was used to collect demographic information and the participants' awareness of and attitude towards blood donation. Before beginning the main phase of the study, the reliability and validity of the questionnaire were examined and verified. The SPSS software, version 16, was used for statistical analysis. We used descriptive statistics, specifically chi-square and Friedman tests, to analyze the data. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: 63.55% of the participants were female. Only 9.74% of the participants had a history of blood donation. Based on the results, 253 participants (35.33%) had low awareness, 352 participants (49.16%) had moderate awareness, and 111 participants (15.5%) had good awareness of blood donation. In addition, 176 participants (23.59%) had negative attitude, 438 participants (58.71%) had moderate attitude, and only 132 participants (17.69%) had good attitude towards blood donation. Results also showed a statistically significant relationship between gender and awareness of the history of blood donation (p=0.047). However, there was no significant relationship between gender and attitude towards blood donation (p=0.27). When asked about their favorite method of receiving information about blood donation, 376 participants (50.2%) preferred social media. Conclusion: A considerable percentage of students have low awareness of and negative attitude towards blood donation. The low awareness and negative attitude towards blood donation can be considered as important factors contributing to the lack of interest and poor participation in blood donation among this population. Therefore, there is a critical need for training and culture building activities and programs in order to increase university students' awareness and improve their attitude towards blood donation.

Introduction Noise pollution in the operating rooms is one of the remaining challenges. Both patients and physicians are exposed to different sound levels during the operative cases, many of which can last for hours. This study aims to evaluate the noise pollution in the operating rooms during different surgical procedures. Materials and methods In this cross-sectional study, sound level in the operating rooms of Hamadan University-affiliated hospitals (totally 10) in Iran during different surgical procedures was measured using B&K sound meter. The gathered data were compared with national and international standards. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA, t-test, and Pearson’s correlation test. Results Noise pollution level at majority of surgical procedures is higher than national and international documented standards. The highest level of noise pollution is related to orthopedic procedures, and the lowest one related to laparoscopic and heart surgery procedures. The highest and lowest registered sound level during the operation was 93 and 55 dB, respectively. Sound level generated by equipments (69 ± 4.1 dB), trolley movement (66 ± 2.3 dB), and personnel conversations (64 ± 3.9 dB) are the main sources of noise. Conclusion The noise pollution of operating rooms are higher than available standards. The procedure needs to be corrected for achieving the proper conditions.

Introduction:For almost fifteen years, the application of computer in hospitals increasingly has become popular. Nurses’ beliefs and attitudes towards computer is one of the most important indicators of the application of nursing information system. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of nurses on the usefulness of nursing information system for patient care.Methods:Here, a descriptive study was carried out. Sample was consisted of 316 nurses working in teaching hospitals in an urban area of Iran. This study was conducted during 2011 to 2012. A reliable and valid questionnaire was developed as a data collection tool. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.Results:It was not believed that nursing information system was useful for patient care. However, it was mentioned that nursing information system is useful in some aspects of patient care such as expediting care, making early diagnosis and formulating diet plan. A significant association was found between the demographic background of sample and their perceptions of the usefulness of nursing information system (P<0.05).Conclusion:Totally, it can be concluded that nursing information system has a potential for improving patient care in hospital settings. Therefore, policy makers should consider implementing nursing information system in teaching hospitals.

IntroductionThis study was designed to determine self-efficacy and its related factors in patients with hypertension.Materials and methodsThis study is descriptive-sectional from the correlation. A total of 250 patients from a blood pressure clinic of Semnan city (in Iran) completed Medication Understanding and Use Self-Efficacy Scale were randomly selected in 2017. Data were analyzed using variance, Pearson’s Correlation, and χ2 using the LISREL 8.8 software.ResultsThe items 1, 6, 7, and 8 have high correlation (at least higher than 0.60), indicating the possibility of aggregation of these four variables in the first factor (taking medication), and the four items 2, 3, 4, and 5 are highly correlated with each other, which are the second factor (learning about medication). In addition, Cronbach’s α of reliability (taking medication) for the first factor was 0.67 and 0.63 for the second factor (learning about medication) and 0.69 for the whole scale.ConclusionThe effectiveness of blood pressure self-efficacy is an appropriate tool for measure-taking responsibility for the time and taking medications by patients, and researchers can use it as a valid tool in therapeutic, psychological, and health research.