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Aims: Drug users form the main HIV-affected group in Iran. About two-third of all the individuals affected by HIV in Iran are those who use drug through injection. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of health belief model (HBM) on prevention of HIV transmission among the opiate-dependent population in Zarandieh. Methods and Materials: This is a quasi-experimental intervention study carried out on 49 addicted men in Zarandieh. was collected using a questionnaire, based on HBM and the group completed the questionnaire. According to the pre-test, the educational intervention was designed and implemented. Three months after the intervention, the post-test was performed and analyzed using the primary questionnaire and χ2, T-test. Findings: The findings indicated that the mean scores of HBM Model constructs (self-efficacy, susceptibility, severity and benefit) increased significantly after intervention and the perceived barriers decreased (p< 0.001). Also, the history of HIV testing reported 8%before intervention, while the rate increased to 48.6% after intervention. Conclusions: This finding provides initial support for designing and implementation of health education program, based on the HBM on Preventing HIV transmission among Opiate-dependent population.

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Background: Chronic Low back pain (CLBP) is one of the most prevalent health problems which is affected by psychological disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of psychological intervention on chronic low back pain among a sample of Iranian nurses.
Material and Methods: This is a randomized clinical trial. The participants of this study consisted of 84 nurses suffering from chronic back pain and working in Valiasr hospital, Tehran-Iran. The recruited nurses were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups (42 nurses in each group). The demographic questionnaire and Visual Analog Assessment scales (VAS) and a Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) were used to collect data at the beginning of the study and 3 months following completion of the intervention. Data were analyzed using Chi-square, T-test and paired T-test.
Results: Forty-two nurses, with a mean age of 32 ± 8.2 and 31.5 ± 7.4 years in the intervention group and control group respectively, took part in this study. The two groups were not significantly different at the beginning of the study in terms of demographic data (P > 0.05). At the 3-month follow up, the pain rate in the intervention group was significantly decreased from 4.47 to 4.09 (P < 0.0001). Furthermore in intervention group, the mean scores of anxiety intervention group were decreased from 17.73 to 9.76 (P < 0.0001). Decreased Stress scores decreased from 15.52 to 9.52 (P < 0.0001), and the depression score from 17.66 to 10.45 (P < 0.0001).
Conclusions: The findings of this study showed that psychological interventions reduced stress anxiety, depression as well as low back pain among Iranian nurses. It is recommended that further research with larger sample and longer follow up be conducted to confirm the findings of this study.

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Aim: Benefits of Skin-to-Skin Contact (SSC) between mother and her newborn, specifically when it is conducted immediately after birth, have been recognized for more than 40 years. To determine why SSC is not conducted, the present study considers the opinions of the labor working midwifes about the reinforcing factors in SSC immediately after birth in Tehran's hospitals in 2012-2013. Methods: In this descriptive study, we have employed the reinforcing factors of the phase 3 of PRECEDE-PROCEED model. The samples consisted of 292 midwifes who were responsible for delivery or for newborns immediately after birth in 18 hospitals of Tehran. The sampling was firstly performed using stratified and then simple random manner. They were classified into educational, social security, and private hospitals. Data collection instrument was a self-developed questionnaire consisting of demographic characteristics, social support and midwifes' motivation to conduct the reinforcing factors in the SCC at birth. It was derived from a qualitative study. Internal consistency of the questionnaire was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Data analysis was conducted through applying the SPSS version 18. Findings: The results show that 93.8% of midwifes had a good idea about social support of the midwifes with Cronbach's alpha 0.744 and 96.6% of them believed in the Midwifes ' motivation in skin contact effects with Cronbach's 0.773. Conclusions: The midwives believed in the key role of reinforcing factors such as social support and their own motivation in successful and standard SSC. Therefore, further studies are suggested on exploring the opinions of pediatric, obstetrics and anesthesia specialists, midwives, mothers and their husbands concerning the SSC.

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Background: Chronic pain depends on many physical and psychological factors. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between anxiety and chronic pain in adult referring to health centers in Yazd, Iran.
Methods and Materials: This descriptive study conducted on 397 adults aged between 31 and 87years. The Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) was used to measure depression, anxiety and stress. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to measure pain severity. Six psychologists were employed to collect data. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.
Results: Totally 397 individuals with mean age of 61.52 ± 11.52completed the study. The results showed 74% of participants (N = 295) were suffering from chronic pain. The majority of participants (N = 164, 41.3%) complained from knee pain. This study showed 68.8% of studied adult (N = 277) suffered from mild to severe anxiety. There were positive significant relationship between chronic pain and anxiety.
Conclusion: This study concluded that chronic pain may cause psychological disorders as anxiety. This study recommended that individuals suffering from chronic pain should be assessed in terms of psychological problems. 

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Background: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a major public health problem leading to chronic pain and increased years lived with disability This study aimed to assess lifestyle behavioral management in patients with Knee osteoarthritis among Iranian patients up to 6 months.
Methods and Materials: This study conducted at the Rheumatology Research Center of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) in Tehran, Iran. In this educational controlled trial study, 130 eligible participants took part in control group (n = 66) and received just prescribed medications, or intervention group (n = 64) who received the lifestyle behavioral management plus medication. The program involved three two-hour and two one-hour group sessions over a one-week period. Data based on demographic characteristics and risky behaviors questionnaire as well as Functional Knee Assessment Test (FKAT) were collected at initial, 3-, and 6-month follow ups and analyzed by using SPSS₁₈.
Results: Of 130 participants, five individuals from intervention and eight individuals from control group were excluded over 6 months. Totally, 117 eligible participants in two groups of intervention (n = 59), and control (n = 58) completed the study. The mean age of participants in intervention and control group at base line was 59. 03 ± 6. 13 and 57. 85 ± 9. 31 years respectively. Despite being the same at initial time (P > 0. 05), Repeated Measure ANOVA test showed Significantly better improved disability in intervention group over time (P < 0. 001). Compared with control group, preventive behaviors were improved significantly in intervention group (P < 0. 05)
Conclusions: This study revealed that the multidisciplinary program could significantly reduce risky behaviors and disability up to six months in intervention group. Thus, due to lack of lifestyle behavioral management in health care system of Iran, to embedding this program into clinical practice for managing knee OA pain is recommended.

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Aim: Oral health is one of the most important parts of public health which significantly affects on quality of life. The purpose of this study is to assess the socio-economic statues as well as oral health behaviors among a sample of Iranian students studying in elementary level. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study which was conducted from April 2012 to November 2012. Data obtained from a face-to-face interviews with students studying in elementary schools of Chahbahar, Iran. Considering inclusion criteria, 300 eligible students were selected through a two - stage random cluster sampling. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics using SPSS version 11.5. Finding: Totally 300 students who studying in grade four or five of elementary schools took part in the study. The mean age of subjects was (11± 2.81). Of all students, 11/7% (n = 35) never brush their teeth, 18% (n=54) never floss and 20% (n= 62) never used mouth wash. Furthermore, 94 students (31%) of students had no dental visits regularly. As the results showed, there were significant relationship between lower parents’ educational level (P=0.02), not to access to dental caries services (P=0.04) and lower income (P=0.03) and reasons for not doing oral health behaviour. Conclusion: According the results of this study the students who were in lower socio economic levels, doing less dental healthy behaviors.

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Background: Back injury in nurses is one of the most common health problems. The chronic low back pain leads to several problems including disability, daily activities, physical and emotional problems and decreasing quality of life. The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of life of nursing staff with chronic nonspecific low back pain in Yazd, Iran. Materials and Methods: This study was a descriptive-analytic study. A total of 119 nurses were selected with nonrandom purposive sampling method. Health-related quality of life of the participants was assessed using the 36-item short-form health survey questionnaire (SF-36) and analyzed through SPSS software version 20 by appropriate statistical tests. Results: This study showed that there were significant differences between the quality of life of nursing staff with chronic low back pain and Iranian normal population in all aspects (P < .0001). It was revealed that only in the area of physical function there was a significant relationship between age and the quality of life (P < .0001). Conclusion: The results confirmed the effect of income on dimensions such as physical role, bodily pain, mental health, and social function.

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Background: This study is an extended follow up of the original trial study (NCT00600197) that has been published in the clinical journal of pain. This trial aimed to explore if the proposed multidisciplinary program could improve quality of life and disability of the patients suffering from chronic low back up to 36 months. Methods and Material: In this Clinical Randomized trial seventy percent (139 of 197) of the participants who had taken part in the original study including 66 patients in intervention group and 73 patients in control group were followed up to 36 months after intervention. The intervention group continued receiving monthly motivational consultation and booster classes plus oral medication but the other group received just medication. Data on measures of Short Form 36 (SF-36) Quebec Disability Scale (QDS) and Ronald Morris Disability (RDQ) were collected at 3-6-12-18-24-30- and 36-month follow ups and analyzed through RMANOVA. Results: The 2 groups were comparable regarding all baseline characteristics (P > 0.05) except for education level that was better in intervention group (P = 0.01). Two groups were improved regarding all studied variables over time up to 36 month (P < 0.001) Moreover the intervention group in comparison with the control group had consistently better outcomes regarding all variables. There were no significant differences within each group by time in terms of all variables (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The proposed multidisciplinary program could reduce low back pain and improve quality of life and disability up to 36 months in chronic low back pain patients.

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Background: Today, chronic low back pain is one of the growing worldwide problems, which caused in the reduction of individuals’ physical, mental, and social functions. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of training programs on functional disability in female patients with low back pain after 6month follow-up of the training intervention strategies.
Methods and Materials: This quasi-experimental study was carried out in rheumatology research center of Tehran University of Medical Science. A total of 27 female patients suffering from low back pain participated in this study. All the participants were divided into groups of 6 to 8 members and provided with a 4-hour training session of physiotherapy and psychology, followed by telephone counseling after one and two months. In order to collect required data and evaluate females’ functional disability, two questionnaires were employed: Roland-Morris Disability Assessment Questionnaire (RDQ) and Quebec Back Pain Disability Questionnaire (QDS). The questionnaires were completed at the beginning of the study-as the pretest, and 6-month follow up as the posttest. Data were analyzed through paired samples t-test using SPSS software version 16. A significant level of P< .05 was considered to compare the information.
Results: The results of the current study show that during the 6 months intervention program, the physical disability was significantly improved in terms of two aforementioned scales.
Conclusion: It seems that training intervention program along with the follow-up and phone counseling have significant effects on improving physical function of patients with chronic low back pain.

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Background: Socio demographic characteristics of nurses who work in hospitals may impact on their quality of life. This study aimed to assess the relationship between quality of life of nursing staff with chronic nonspecific low back and their socio demographic characteristics. Materials and Methods: This study was a cross section study. A total of 119 nurses were participated in this study. The 36-item short-form health survey questionnaire (SF-36) was used to assess Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) of the participants. SPSS software version18 was applied to analyze data by appropriate statistical tests. Results: Totally 119 nurses including 93 female (78.1%) were participated in the study. The study showed that there was a significant relationship between age and physical function (P < 0.0001). Also there was significant relationship between income and physical role (P < 0.0001) as well as bodily pain (P = 0.015), mental health (P = 0.015), and social function (P = 0.03. ( Conclusions: The socio demographic characteristics of nurses could be considered while their QOL are assessed.

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Aims: Nowadays, one of the most frequent problems that international students face is homesickness. The purpose of this study was investigation of homesickness and coping strategies among the University Technology Malaysia) UTM (international students and finding new research topics for future educational planning research. Methods: This descriptive study was done in August 2010 among the students studying in University Technology Malaysia (UTM). The respondents were international students from different courses in UTM. Fifty questionnaires were randomly distributed among the students at various faculties and residential colleges of the university. The questionnaire included 11 questions, which was developed by the researcher through literature review. Findings: Totally, 50 international students including 24 (48%) female and 26 (52%) male students took part in the study. There were different reported causes of homesickness by the respondents that were classified into four aspects: "social", "psychological", "physical" and "academic”. The findings showed the most important reason for homesickness has been cultural differences between the countries. Accordingly, 75% of the respondents (n=38) reported social customs as the first reason for international students' homesickness. Conclusion: The research results indicated that missing family was the most important factor that influenced international students to feel homesick. According to this study, the best and effective way to manage homesickness was to call family and friend(s).

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Since back pain is the most common pregnancy-related symptom, this study aimed to determine the effect of exercise training on disability due to low back pain in pregnant women.
In this interventional study 120 pregnant women referring to the health centers in Karaj, were randomly assigned into two intervention (n = 60) and control (n = 60) groups, respectively. The demographic questions and standardized Quebec questionnaire were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using SPSS software ver. 21 and appropriate statistical tests.
Totally 120 pregnant women (60 participants in each group) took part in this study. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of disability due to low back pain before the intervention (P > 05). However, after intervention, the disability score in intervention group was less than the control group significantly (1.4 ± 0.86 in intervention group compared to 2.23 ± 1.12 in control group with P < 0.0001).

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The most common type of muscular-skeletal disorders among health care worker is low back pain (LBP). This study aimed to investigate the effects of an educational program based on the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) on low back pain severity in healthcare workers in hospitals located in Qom, Iran. In this interventional research study, 125 nursing aides were divided into two experimental and control groups. Data gathering instruments were a demographic questionnaire and a questionnaire based on the predictor constructs of SCT. For the intervention group, training was administered by health education specialist in four 2-hour sessions In each session discussion regarding self-efficacy, self-control, outcome reinforcement, and emotional coping were taken into account carefully, respectively. Data were analyzed SPSS version18.0, IBM Corp.

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Background: Exercise behavior is associated with decreased risks of mortality resulted from all causes. While people suffer from inactivity, doing stretching exercise as an important daily activity increases joints and muscles full range of motion and flexibility. This study aimed to assess the status of tension exercise behavior among Iranian office workers based on Trans-Theoretical Model (TTM).
Methods and Materials: In this cross sectional study, 420 office workers were selected randomly. The A self-reported questionnaire based on TTM and tension exercise behavior were used to collect data through self-reporting and analyzed by SPSS software version 16.
Results: Totally 420 office workers withmean age 37.12 ± 8.031 years were assessed. The results found that 11.7 % of the participants (N = 49) were in pre-contemplation stage, 32.9% (N = 138) in contemplation, 10 % (N = 42) in preparation stage, 24.5% (N = 103) in action stage and % 21 of participants (N = 88) were in maintenance stage. There were significant relationship between stages of TTM and tension exercise behavior.
Conclusions: This study indicated that about the majority of office workers were in contemplation and pre-contemplation stag regarding tension exercise. Therefore, designing proper educational intervention is strongly recommended

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Aim: The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between chronic mechanical low back pain and work-related risky behaviors of nurses at hospitals in Tehran.
Methods: In order to determine the relationship between chronic mechanical low back pain and work-related risky behaviors of nurses, a cross-sectional was conducted among nurses in general hospitals in Tehran- Iran from April 17, 2014 to July 16, 2014. Five hundred eligible nurses, who were working in the different wards of under study hospitals, were included in this study. A researcher- designed 50 - item questionnaire was used to collect data. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (alpha=0.91), and test-retest evaluation (ICC=0.94) of the scale confirmed reliability of the questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS.v16 through descriptive and analytic tests.  P-value < 0.05 was considered significant in both analyses. Findings: In total, five hundred nurses with mean age of 37.71+ 6.75 years took part in the study. 168 nurses (33.6%) were male and 332 nurses were (64.4%) female. The majority of nurses who were working more than 15 years (75%) were suffering from low back pain. Low back pain was more prevalent among female nurses (68%) compared to male nurses (32%). Most participants believed that excessive physical tension and hard work at their worksite were the causes of their chronic low back pain. There were no significant differences between two genders in this regard (P>0.5). In contrast with men, the majority of females (N= 222, 66.8%) believed that psychological tensions at work have been the reasons for their chronic low back pain.
Conclusion: Iranian nurses believed that work – related physical and psychosocial factors could result in low back pain.

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Background: Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSD) is one of most prevalent health problems among individuals with limited physical activity. This study aimed to assess this problem among office workers in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran. Methods and Material: Totally, 42 eligible office workers from three health centers related to ShahidBeheshti University of Medical Sciences(SBUMS) between May, 2016-September, 2016 were recruited in this cross-sectional study. Of all these individuals, 420 office workers (response rate 99.2%) were satisfied to participate in this study. In Standard Nordic questionnaire were used to collect data. Collected data were entered into SPSS 16 and analyzed through descriptive and analytical tests. Results: Totally, 420 office workers with a mean age of37.1 ± 8.03 were examined in this study.The most prevalent WMSPD waslower back pain (N = 56, 13.3%) followed by neck pain (N = 46, 11.0%), wrist pain (N = 43, 10.2%), hip pain (N = 6, 1.4%) and pain in heel of foot (N = 17, 4%). The variables such as age (χ² = 24.99: P = 0.003); gender (χ² = 0.544; P = 0.028); employment status (χ² = 9.837: P = 0.007); duration of pain (χ² = 1.55l P = 0.001) and duration of treatment (χ² = 1.006; P=0.001) were significantly related to WMSD. Conclusions: Since the WMSD are prevalent among office workers of SBUMS, designing proper interventional studies are recommended. However, doing more researches to confirm the results of this study is guaranteed.

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Background: Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is an essential nutrient in the body. It is present in both D2 and D3. Vitamin D deficiency as a major public health problem is known over the world. Considering the importance of vitamin D in the body, especially in middle-aged women.
Methods and Materials: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency in 240 middle-aged women (40-60 years old) in late April 2017 in Karaj. Sampling was done randomly from Blood tests were performed among the patients.
Results: The results showed that the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency was 95-90%, and the incidence was more pronounced between the ages of 30 and 30 years. The mean serum level of vitamin D showed a positive significant difference in different decades of age (P < 0.0001). The relationship between mean serum level with the type of house was not significant (P = 0.142), but there was negative and significant (P < 0.001) relationship with the house direction. The relationship of mean serum level with the number of pregnancies and the number of children was not significant (P = 0.159). The correlation of the mean serum level of vitamin D with Body Mass Index (BMI) was not significant (P = 0.567).
Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency was prevalent in studied population, especially among youth comparing to elderly participants. Due to this research, enrichment and fortified dairy and some food with vitamin D is recommended.

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Background: Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and is essential nutrient for metabolic and physiological processes in the human body. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of educational program regarding vitamin D deficiency preventive behaviors and vitamin D supplement amongmiddle-aged women living in Karaj, Iran.
Methods and Materials: Two hundred forty middle-aged women (30-60 years old) with vitamin D deficiency were randomly selected from referrers to comprehensive health centers after blood test. The selected individuals were randomly divided into three equal interventional groups of preventive behaviors education, supplemental consumption, combination of preventive behavior education and supplemental vitamin D consumption, and one control group with sample size of 60 individuals in each group. Six months after intervention, the level of vitamin D in serum of all subjects was measured and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was used to determine the subjects' general health.
Results: The results showed that the group which were educated to improve preventive behaviors and also were prescribed supplemental vitamin D was significantly better than the other groups regarding vitamin D deficiency improvement and general health score (P < 0.05). Combination of complementary and education was more effective than the other methods and significantly improved the general health (PV < 0.0001)
Conclusion: This study showed the simultaneous supplementary prescription and preventive behavior education was the most effective to prevent vitamin D deficiency.

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Background: Low level Physical Activity (PA) among Chronic Low Back Pain for (CLBP) has been reported in many studies. The aim of this study was to predicting factors for physical activity behavior among CLBP patients referred to pain clinic in Yazd, Iran.
Methods and Materials: This cross sectional study was conducted on 182 eligible patients with CLBP who referred to pain clinic in Yazd, Iran from October to December 2016. A socio-demographic questionnaire as well as a 14-item researcher-made questionnaire regarding physical activity predictors based on Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) were used to collect data. Data were inserted into SPSS v.23 and AMOS v. 23 and analyzed using descriptive/analytical tests including linear regression analysis.
Results: Totally 182 individuals with mean age of 42.18 ± 13.12 completed the study. The results showed behavioral beliefs and evaluation of behavioral outcome of PA were predictors of patients' attitudes towards PA (P < 0.001). Normative beliefs and motivation to comply were also predictors of subjective norm (P < 0.001). Subjective norm was predictor for intention to perform the PA behavior (P < 0.001) that in turn was predictor for PA behavior (P < 0.001). However, attitudes towards PA was not predictor for intention to do PA (P = 0.085).
Conclusion: This study showed the individuals who had positive beliefs and evaluation regarding outcomes of PA were more likely to do this behavior.

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Aim: This is a cross- sectional study to assess low back pain preventive behaviors among Iranians nursing aides who provide direct patient care in hospitals. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) comprise significant occupational injuries and disabilities within the nursing profession. Studies show that implementing a safe patient handling can prevent low back pain among nursing aides. Methods: This study was conducted in Qom (Iran) in 2015 with a sample of 452 eligible nursing aides working in six educational hospitals affiliated with Qom University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected by a researcher-developed questionnaire with 29 questions in two sections of demographic questions (17 items), and low back pain preventive behaviors were adopted from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines for nurses (12 items). Findings: Totally, 452 nursing aides suffering from chronic low back pain participated in the study, which included 289 males (63.9%) and 163 females (36.6%) with mean age of 37.71 (SD = 8.3) years. The mean score of applying low back pain preventive behaviors was 32.9 ± 7.7. Fifty nine participants (13.1%) had poor behavior scores, 251 participants (55.5 %) obtained average scores, and 142 participants (31.4 %) achieved acceptable scores due to their preventive behaviors. The majority of the studied nursing aides (68.6%) did not consistently perform safe patient handling. Conclusion: This study showed that most nursing aides had low preventive behaviors regarding maintaining their body mechanics. Thus, evaluating the causes of failing to do safe behaviors /safe patient handling  is strongly recommended in Iran.