Prostate cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases among men. This study aimed to assess the effect of educational program based on Predisposing, Reinforcing, and Enabling Constructs in Educational/Environmental Diagnosis and Evaluation (PRECEDE) model in promoting prostate cancer screening in a sample of Iranian men. This is a quasi-experimental study carried out on 300 men aged 40 to 70 (the subjects 150 experimental and 150 control groups) in Shiraz City, Fars Province, Iran, in 2016. The participants of the intervention group attended training based on the PRECEDE model. The study compared mean scores of knowledge, attitude, enabling factors, perceived social support, quality of life, general health, self-efficacy, and screening behaviors of the subjects before and 6 months after intervention in experimental and control groups. The mean age of experimental group was 56.45 ± 8.65, and the mean age of the control group was 55.64 ± 8.71 years (P = 0.521). The study showed that there was a significant increase in the mean score of knowledge, attitudes, perceived self-efficacy, enabling factors, perceived social support, quality of life, public health and screening behaviors of the experimental group; however, no significant change was observed in the mean score of knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, quality of life, general health, perceived social support, enabling factors, and screening behaviors of the control group. Our findings showed that the health education programs designed based on PRECEDE could positively affect prostate cancer screening behaviors of individuals by improving their knowledge level and attitude, enabling factors, perceived social support, quality of life, general health, and self-efficacy.

Background Nutritional factors have been identified as preventable risk factors for cardiovascular disease; this study aimed to investigate the application of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in nutritional behaviors related to cardiovascular diseases among the women in Fasa city, Fars province, Iran. Methods The study was conducted in two stages. First, the factors affecting nutritional behaviors associated with cardiovascular disease on 350 women who were referred to Fasa urban health centers were determined based on the TPB. In the second stage, based on the results of a cross-sectional study, quasi-expeimental study was performed on 200 women covered by Fasa health centers. The questionnaire used for the study was a questionnaire based on TPB. The questionnaire was completed by the experimental and control groups before and three months after the intervention. Data were analyzed by SPSS software using logistic regression, paired t-test, independent sample t-test, and chi-square test. The level of significance is considered 0.05. Result The constructs of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC) were predictors of nutritional behaviors associated with cardiovascular disease in women. The constructs predicted 41.6% of the behavior. The results showed that mean scores of attitude, subjective norms, PBC, intention, nutritional performance related to the cardiovascular disease before intervention were, respectively, 24.32, 14.20, 18.10, 13.37 and 16.28, and after the intervention, were, respectively, 42.32, 25.40, 33.72, 30.13 and 41.38. All the constructs except the attitude in the intervention group were significantly higher (p < 0.001) than the control group. Conclusion The results of the present study showed that the educational intervention based on the TPB would be consider an effective educational and promotinal strategy for the nutritional behaviors to prevent cardiovascular disease in women. Considering the role of mothers in providing family food baskets and the effect of their nutritional behaviors on family members, the education of this group can promote healthy eating behaviors in the community and family.

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Pregnant women are one of the vulnerable groups against COVID-19. Understanding the affected population characteristics helps to identify risk factors and set more effective treatment goals; in this regard, the present study tries to review demographic characteristics, clinical signs, radiological and laboratory findings in pregnant women with COVID-19 in southern Iran.Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 30 pregnant women with COVID-19 who were selected from teaching hospitals in Fasa, Jahrom, and Shiraz in Fars province. Sampling was done through the convenience method from March to July 2020. A researcher-made checklist was applied to gather the required data which were analyzed using SPSS 22 software and descriptive statistics. Results:The mean age of patients was 28.30±9.96 years. Of patients, 60% were in the first trimester of pregnancy. The average length of stay in a hospital was 8.47±4.37 days. Fever (46/66 %) was the most common clinical finding, increased C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (50%) was the most common laboratory finding, and Ground Glossy Opacity (GGO) (56/66 %) was the most common radiological finding in both lungs. Of pregnant women, 80% with COVID-19 had an underlying disease. The most common underlying diseases were 36.66% for asthma and 20% for diabetes. Of normal deliveries, 53.33% and 3.33% of neonatal and maternal deaths were reported. Conclusion:The most common time for COVID-19 in pregnant women was reported in the first trimester of pregnancy with clinical signs of fever and a history of asthma and diabetes. Therefore, the findings of this study highlight the importance of paying attention to pregnant women as one of the most at-risk groups in the COVID-19 pandemic. Health policy makers can use the findings of this study and the reported outcomes to develop appropriate health protocols for health care of pregnant women in the COVID-19 pandemic.