Carpet weaving is a high risk occupation for developing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The objectives of the present study, which was carried out in the Iranian hand-woven carpet industry, were determination of the prevalence of MSD symptoms, identification of major factors associated with MSD symptoms and development of guidelines for workstation design. 1,439 randomly selected weavers participated in this study. A questionnaire was used to collect data on MSD symptoms. The results revealed that the prevalence rates for symptoms in different body regions were high as compared to the general Iranian population (for neck, back and large joints, p <.0001). The results of multivariate analyses showed that major ergonomic factors associated with musculoskeletal symptoms were loom type, working posture, daily working time and seat type. Based on the results, some general guidelines for designing weaving workstations were developed. A prototype test showed that the new workstation was acceptable for subject tests and that it improved working posture.

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BackgroundNatural disasters represent critical threats to the health, safety, and well-being of a community—including reproductive health, which has been neglected in disaster-stricken regions. The current study was undertaken to explore administrative issues related to post-disaster reproductive health systems in Iran.MethodsA qualitative approach using in-depth unstructured interviews was applied to explore the administrative issues of reproductive health systems in the affected regions. A total of 22 participants were interviewed using the purposeful sampling method. Data were collected in three provinces: East Azerbaijan, Bushehr, and Mazandaran. Transcribed interviews were analyzed using the conventional content analysis.ResultsSix categories of management issues of reproductive health in disasters were extracted from data. These categories were: ignoring cultural factors, lack of planning, lack of training, insufficient data collection, ignoring male reproductive health, and lack of monitoring systems.ConclusionDifferent challenges to reproductive health management that emerged from the research should be considered and included in reproductive health plans and policies in disaster-affected regions in Iran. Involving community in all processes of providing reproductive health services, from planning to monitoring, is highly suggested.

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IntroductionNatural disasters have many effects on vulnerable groups, especially infants and children. Protecting breastfeeding in disasters is important, because artificial feeding puts a lot of risk to the child. In disasters, artificial nutrition is dangerous to children and its supplementation requires special equipment. There is little information on the nutritional status of infants after disasters in Iran.ProblemThe purpose of this study was to explore the barriers to appropriate lactation after disasters in Iran.MethodThis was a qualitative study using a content analysis method. A total of 19 midwives with disaster-relief experiences were approached for interview. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was performed using the Graneheim’s approach.ResultsThe categories of maternal factors, neonatal factors, management factors, and context-base factors were extracted from the data.ConclusionThe challenges of social support, mothers’ self-efficacy, educated staff for disasters, and privacy for breastfeeding can be considered as important barriers to breastfeeding in disasters. Training programs, as well as health system support, can help overcome the breastfeeding barriers in disasters.MirMohamadaliIeM, Khani JazaniR, SohrabizadehS, Nikbakht NasrabadiA. Barriers to breastfeeding in disasters in the context of Iran. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2019;34(1):20–24.

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Treatment with a non-thermal plasma (NTP) is a new and effective technology applied recently for conversion of gases for air pollution control. This research was initiated to optimize the efficient application of the NTP process in benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene, and xylene (BTEX) removal. The effects of four variables including temperature, initial BTEX concentration, voltage, and flow rate on the BTEX elimination efficiency were investigated using response surface methodology (RSM). The constructed model was evaluated by analysis of variance (ANOVA). The model goodness-of-fit and statistical significance was assessed using determination coefficients (R and R) and the F-test. The results revealed that the R proportion was greater than 0.96 for BTEX removal efficiency. The statistical analysis demonstrated that the BTEX removal efficiency was significantly correlated with the temperature, BTEX concentration, voltage, and flow rate. Voltage was the most influential variable affecting the dependent variable as it exerted a significant effect (p< 0.0001) on the response variable. According to the achieved results, NTP can be applied as a progressive, cost-effective, and practical process for treatment of airstreams polluted with BTEX in conditions of low residence time and high concentrations of pollutants.

Objective. To take a deep look at the challenges of cooperation between the pre-hospital and in-hospital emergency services in the handover of victims of road traffic accidents. Methods. This is a qualitative study and the method used is of content analysis type. Semistructured interviews were used to collect the data. Through purposive sampling, fifteen employees from ambulance personnel and hospital emergency staff were selected and interviewed. They expressed their experiences of cooperation between these two teams in the handover of traffic accident casualties. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and content analysis method was used to explain and interpret the content of the interviews. Results. Three major categories were derived from the analysis of interviews: Shortage of infrastructure