Background and aimSocial support is an important factor that can affect mental health. In recent decades, many studies have been done on the impact of social support on mental health. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect size of the relationship between social support and mental health in studies in Iran.MethodsThis meta-analysis was carried out in studies that were performed from 1996 through 2015. Databases included SID and Magiran, the comprehensive portal of human sciences, Noor specialized magazine databases, IRANDOC, Proquest, PubMed, Scopus, ERIC, Iranmedex and Google Scholar. The keywords used to search these websites included “mental health or general health,” and “Iran” and “social support.” In total, 64 studies had inclusion criteria meta-analysis. In order to collect data used from a meta-analysis worksheet that was made by the researcher and for data analysis software, CMA-2 was used.ResultsThe mean of effect size of the 64 studies in the fixed-effect model and random-effect model was obtained respectively as 0.356 and 0.330, which indicated the moderate effect size of social support on mental health. The studies did not have publication bias, and enjoyed a heterogeneous effect size. The target population and social support questionnaire were moderator variables, but sex, sampling method, and mental health questionnaire were not moderator variables.ConclusionRegarding relatively high effect size of the correlation between social support and mental health, it is necessary to predispose higher social support, especially for women, the elderly, patients, workers, and students.

We explored the role of religiosity and spirituality on (i) feelings and attitudes about breast cancer, (ii) strategies for coping with breast cancer, and (iii) health care seeking behaviors among breast cancer survivors in Iran. We conducted in-depth semistructured interviews with 39 breast cancer survivors. We found that spirituality is the primary source of psychological support among participants. Almost all participants attributed their cancer to the will of God. Despite this, they actively have been engaged with their medical treatment. This is in surprising contrast to Western cultures in which a belief in an external health locus of control diminishes participation in cancer screening, detection, and treatment. These findings can help researchers to provide a framework for the development of appropriate and effective culturally sensitive health interventions.

Women play the most important role in Iranian families. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to efforts to maintain and promote their health. The diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer have significant physical and psycho-social impacts on patients, families and friends. This qualitative study was designed to analyze the role of several social and cultural factors and their relationship to health-related quality of life among Iranian breast cancer survivors. In-depth semi-structured and unstructured faceto-face interviews were conducted with 39 breast cancer survivors. The results of the present study revealed that most prevalent physical problems that were reported by Iranian breast cancer survivors were fatigue, pain and lymphedema related to the adverse effects of mastectomy. We found that most participants have a strong sense of spirituality and used this as a source of psychological support to help them accept their disease. Spirituality has been found to be a strong source of psychological support among Iranian breast cancer survivors. Religious faith has provided this community the strength and motivation to seek medical treatment and to be patient and relax. These findings can help researchers to provide a framework for the development of appropriate and effective culturally sensitive health interventions.

BackgroundThe self-efficacy of educators plays a crucial role in their professional competence and subsequent provision of care. The present study aims to explain the main sources contributing to the development of self-efficacy beliefs among healthcare providers in delivering health education.MethodsThis qualitative study was conducted from 2015 to 2016 in various settings of Isfahan such as hospitals, doctor’s offices, and healthcare centers. Twenty three health educators with an average of 10-year work experience in healthcare participated in the study. Data were collected using semi-structured in-depth individual interviews and were analyzed through conventional content analysis. Prolonged engagement with the participants, maximum variation in the participants’ characteristics, sampling, and member check were among the factors enriching the research.ResultsThe six main categories extracted during data analysis included: 1) Quantity and quality of their experience; 2) Encountering unexpected events; 3) Client trust; 4) Self-concept; 5) Professional knowledge and skill; 6) Vicarious experiences.ConclusionsThe study results show two new findings, including “encountering unexpected events” and “client trust”, affecting professional self-efficacy beliefs among healthcare providers in the delivery of health education. The other main findings were extremely similar to Bandura’s theory. These results can be used as a basis in planning and implementing health development educational models for human resources.