Background: Phone interview is a safe way for collecting sensitive data due to no need for direct contact with the interviewees and their privacy. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility and validity of phone interviewing using mobile phones to collect sensitive information related to the participants’ sexual behavior. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on the sexually active population of Marvdasht, Iran, from 2017 - 2018. Results: A total of 5,894 individuals (2,991 from urban and 2,903 from rural areas) from both genders (n = 3,202 males vs. n = 2,692 females) with an age range of 18 - 50 years were included in this study. The participation rate was convincing (92.18%), and the response rate to all questions was also very high (99.1%). According to the results, gender and place of residency had statistically significant associations with the rates of participation and response. Conclusions: The results suggested that a phone interview is a potentially useful method for gathering sensitive information in Iranian population, a community with a religious background.
Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are among the most common infectious diseases and a globally concerning public health issue, especially in developing countries. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the syndrome-based point and lifetime prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in a big Iranian city. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 on a hospital-based random sample of 2107 people (men and women aged 15 - 50) at Marvdasht Central Hospital (Iran). Results: The lifetime prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) was significantly higher in women than in men (81.56% vs. 33.60%, P-value < 0.0001). Also, about 20.7% of men and 48.26% of women had at least one of the STIs-associated syndromes at the time of the interview (instantaneous prevalence) (P-Value = 0.001). Conclusions: The estimated prevalence of syndromes associated with sexually transmitted infections is alarmingly high. The results emphasize the need for further studies on effective health care and health promotion services to reduce STIs (including early detection and treatment of infections and public education).
Background: Prevalence of risky behaviors among various classes of society, especially adolescents and youths, is a major social problem, which inevitably slows down the societal progress. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the mediating role of differentiation of self between parental bonding and risky behavior among adolescents and youths in Shiraz. Methods: This study included 560 adolescents and youths (aged from 15 to 35 years, average = 25.7, SD = 7.1; 67.7% males) with risky behaviors who were attending drop in center and Voluntary Counselling and Testing centers, those incarcerated, and those kept in the correctional and rehabilitation facilities 2013-2014. Questionnaires about parental bonding, self-differentiation, and risky behaviors were completed by the participants on a voluntary and confidential basis. Results: No significant correlation was found between parental bonding and risky behaviors in the adolescents and youths (t = 1.87). There was also no significant correlation between parental bonding and DS (t = 0.68). Moreover, there was no significant correlation between the differentiation of self and risky behaviors (t = 0.77). Conclusions: Differentiation of self hadn't a mediating role between parental bonding and risky behaviors among the adolescents and youths in our study.
Background: Iran should revise some of its current strategies and strengthen others to meet the 95-95-95 targets, focusing on active case-finding (ACF) to combat this epidemic. Objectives: This policy report aimed to shed light on the process of implementing ACF of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among high-risk groups on a nationwide scale. Methods: This policy report is based on the pilot implementation of the first and second phases of optimized HIV case-finding (OCF) program. The first phase was implemented at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran, from March 2018 to September 2019, and the second phase was implemented in eight other Iranian universities of medical sciences from November 2020 to May 2021. Results: OCF program is being implemented successfully as a pilot in eight universities with a combined population of approximately 21 million and a diverse socio-cultural context. During the seven months of OCF program, 536 new venues of female sex workers (FSWs) or injecting drug users (IDUs) were registered, 1282 new cases received the required services, 3256 services were registered, and 2834 barcodes were activated to follow cases actively. Conclusions: Evidently, OCF program requires a multi-strategy approach. The other critical issue is gaining the support and cooperation of stakeholders through a comprehensive advocacy strategy. Additionally, it is recommended to equip voluntary counseling and testing centers (VCTs) and other components of HIV surveillance systems and train their staff to ensure that their services are as efficient as possible.
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