Demographic changes in the 21st century, increased population of the elderly and high prevalence of related diseases call for new healthcare strategies that can change the behavior and lifestyle of elderly individuals. Innovative information and communication technology, such as mobile health (mHealth), can play a significant role. The present study was conducted aiming to assess the effectiveness of mHealth in improving health behaviors among an elderly population. This paper presents a systematic review involving a search of PubMed, Web of Science (ISI), Scopus, Science Direct and Embase databases from [2012-2016]. Our search resulted after initial evaluations 12 articles. Inclusion criteria mostly revolved around interventional studies, other studies were excluded because of their methodology, non-elderly target groups and irrelevant to the subject. Findings showed that mHealth can improve care, self-management, self-efficacy, behavior promotion (quality of sleep, diet, physical activity mental health) and medication adherence. The mHealth technology has proven effective for disease prevention, lifestyle changes, management of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and is a suitable tool for elderly people. In conclusion, it seems that mHealth can facilitate behavioral changes; although, further research is necessary in this regard.
The combination of biopolymers and bioactive inorganic particles for bone tissue regeneration has been investigated in the last decades. However, several studies report discordant results on the specific synergistic effect of the compounds. A comparative study on porous scaffolds obtained by the combination of the most promising biopolymers and bioactive inorganic particles is herein reported. Specifically, porous scaffolds have been fabricated by the Thermally Induced Phase Separation method using poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), poly(lactic acid) (PLA), and poly(caprolactone) (PCL) compounded with hydroxyapatite (HAp), calcium silicate (CS), or a Mg- and Sr-rich bioglass (BG) with a nominal composition of 2.3% Na2O, 2.3% K2O, 25.6% CaO, 10.0% MgO, 10.0% SrO, 2.6% P2O5, and 47.2% SiO2. Morphological analyses revealed the formation of highly interconnected and aligned open pores. Both thermal investigations and compressive tests highlight the close similarity between PLA- and PHBV-based scaffolds in terms of the amorphous structure and stiffness when the fillers are added. On the other hand, the addition of amorphous BG in semicrystalline PCL shows a decrease of the crystallinity degree of the polymer and a consequent decrease of the compressive modulus. Preliminary in vitro investigations (direct and indirect contact tests) carried out on the composite systems revealed that all the prepared materials provide an appropriate environment for NIH 3T3 cell adhesion and proliferation, showing a total lack of cytotoxicity. The addition of all the inorganic fillers has an overall positive effect on cell proliferation, viability (Neutral Red uptake), and metabolic activity (MTT test). Interestingly, this effect is particularly evident whenever BG is added. The combination of both amorphous BGs with amorphous polymers, such as PLA and PHBV, seems to be responsible for creating the best microenvironmental cue for NIH 3T3 cell attachment and proliferation.
Urinary tract infection is known as a common infection among women; can be followed several complications. The aim of this study was determine the prevalence and factors influencing prevention of urinary tract infection based on health belief model. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 166 female students in Shadegan city, Iran; which was randomly selected with the proportional to size among different girls high school at Shadegan city for participation in this study. A structured questionnaire was applied for collecting data and data were analyzed by SPSS version 20 using bivariate correlations and logistic regression statistical tests. Almost 22.3% of the participants had history of experience urinary tract infection at last one in lifelong. The best predictor for urinary tract infection was perceived susceptibility with odds ratio estimate of 0.810 [95% CI: 0.664, 0.987]. Based on our result, it seems that designing and implementation of educational programs to increase susceptibility about chance of getting urinary tract infection among the female student may be usefulness of the results in order to prevent of urinary tract infection.
Background and objectives High-risk behaviors are considered to be a serious threat among adolescents. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of unhealthy and high-risk behaviors and their relationship with demographic features in adolescents living in Shiraz, Iran. Materials and methods The present descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted on 483 students in the 10th grade of high school. The data were collected using a demographic information form and a modified adolescents high-risk behaviors questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using the test-retest method. Afterwards, the data were entered into the SPSS statistical software (IBM), version 22 and were analyzed using the chi-square (χ2) test, logistic regression analysis and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results High-risk health behaviors were significantly correlated to adolescents’ gender, parents’ occupations and education levels, length of residency in Shiraz and talking about important things with one’s parents (p < 0.03). Gender predicted 52% of variance of bullying behaviors at school [Exp(B) = 0.502, p < 0.03, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.261–0.996]. In fact, most high-risk behaviors were associated with gender (p < 0.001). Indeed, bullying was mostly reported in boys, while being hopeless or sad, suicide attempts and appropriate weight loss behaviors were mostly reported among girls. Additionally, the frequency of smoking cigarettes and using hookahs was higher among girls compared to boys (23.1% for smoking cigarettes and 39.6% for using hookahs). However, no significant correlation was observed between gender and smoking cigarettes and using hookahs (p > 0.704 for smoking cigarettes and p > 0.118 for using hookahs). The most prevalent high-risk behaviors were physical fighting (51.1%), being sad or hopeless (35.2%), alcohol abuse (26.7%), overweight (14.7%) and obesity (8.1%) in both genders. Based on the results, only 26.5% of the adolescents had sufficient physical activity. Besides, the adolescents’ weight scores were significantly correlated to eating green salads (p < 0.01), which was seen more among overweight adolescents. Conclusion The findings indicated that adolescents’ gender and their parents’ roles should be taken into consideration in designing health promotion programs, such as mental health and its related skills. This would eventually result in the prevention and reduction of unhealthy habits.
Background: Among different crimes, burglary is a common criminal attitude that deranges security in society. Objectives:The aim of present study was investigated factors and incentives resulting in commitment of robbery according to prisoners accused of burglary in central prison of Kermanshah Province. Patients and Methods: In a qualitative research based on contractive content analysis, 19 male convict of burglary were studied. They all stated their satisfaction with attending the study and were selected objectively to gain data saturation in Kermanshah Central Prison. Participants went under deep individual interviews. Semi-structured general questions were designed as interview guide to be answered openly and descriptively and sample answers guided its process. All interviews were tape-recorded and transcripts were made later. Data were analyzed and conscious satisfaction, obscurity, information security, withdrawal from participation on will, and moral commitments were confirmed. Results: Five main themes resulted from interviews. Codes included "personal factors, family attitudes and conditions, others' effects, regulations on burglary punishment, and availability of stolen property". Conclusions:Results from present study introduced several factors in regard of burglary; among these, personal and family factors were the most important. The present study could be a guidance to design proper interventions and introduce efficient measures to prevent burglary commitment among at risk groups.
Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is currently the most common medical complication of pregnancy. Evidence suggests that by lifestyle modifications, especially nutritional behaviors, GDM may be preventable. This study aimed to investigate the Health Action Process Approach in predicting behavior and nutrition style in diabetic pregnant mothers referred to health centers under Abadan University of Medical Sciences (southern Iran). Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study on 82 pregnant women with diabetes referred to an urban health center. The samples were selected using simple random sampling. Data were analyzed using SPSS 25 software through descriptive tests, regression, analysis of variance, and correlation. Results: Most pregnant mothers (41.5 %) were in the 21-30 age group. 4 3.9% of the subjects were at the moderate economic level. Linear regression test showed among demographic variables, the strongest predictor of HAPA model was income (p<0.01, R=19.9, β=-0.299).The result also showed that none of the model constructs alone predicted nutritional behavior in pregnant women. The HAPA model was able to predict 21% of the variance of the nutritional behavior (p<0.001, r=0.210, β=0.458). Conclusion: Positive or negative outcomes, pregnant women's behavioral intent, and planning for healthy eating behaviors are effective in educating pregnant women about the prevention and control of diabetes.
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