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Background & Objective: Standard treatment in renal colic is established with narcotics. NSAIDS are alternative choices. Several studies are done on various treatments. This study was done to evaluate the effect of intranasal Desmopressin alone and in combination with parenteral Pethidine in relief of renal colic pain. Materials & Methods: In this clinical trial study, 150 patients with renal colic were recruited in: Group one received 40 micrograms intranasal desmopressin, group two 25 miligrams intravenous pethidine and in group 3 both drugs were administered. VAS method was used to measure the intensity of pain in first minute and at 10, 20 and 30 minutes after administration. Kruskal-Walis and ANOVA were used to compare the pain severity between groups. Results: Pain intensity had significant decrease after 10, 20 and 30 minutes in all groups (P<0.05). Group 3 showed maximum decrease after 30 minutes. Conclusion: This study determined that combined administration of desmopressin and pethidine can significantly decrease in renal colic intensity. We suggest the use of desmopressin, in combination with other medicines as a supportive and effective treatment in renal colic patients.

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Background and Objective: Hemodialysis is one of the common therapulic proceduce for terminal renal failure. Insufficient and low efficient hemodialysis increases the mortality rate, therefore the assessment of hemodialysis efficacy is important. This study was done to determine the hemodialysis efficacy based on urea reduction ratio (URR) model and kt/v (Clearance Time Volume) criteria in Gorgan, Northern Iran. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive and analytical study 113 heomdilysis patients were selected prior to hemodilysis and five minutes after pump stopping, arterial blood urea nitrogen (BUN) was measured and then kt/v and URR were calculated. Also kt/v relations with weight, gender, educational level, length of hemodialysis session, blood flow rate, TMP (Terans Membran Presure), filter Ku/f (Clearance Ultrafiltration), preliminary disease, time of hemodialysis per week and the type of vessel access were determined. Data analyzed using SPSS-13 and independent t-test, chi-square, fisher exact test and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: The mean of hemodilysis history was 37 months and mean of Patient's ages were 51.6 years. 77.9% of subjects had hemodialysis efficacy according to Kt/v and URR critrial. There was a statistical significant correlation between hemodialysis efficacy and time of hemodialysis session, blood flow rate, time of hemodialysis per week and type of vessels access (P<0.05), but there was not any significant correlation between hemodialysis efficacy and weight, gender, education, TMP, filter Ku/f and preliminary disease. Conclusion: This study suggested that hemodialysis efficacy in this center was better that other studies in Iran.

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Background and Objective: Improvement in self-care and self-efficacy behaviors has proved to be a vital factor in a successful management of asthma. This study was carried out to determine the relationship of patients self-efficacy with control of asthma symptoms. Materials and Methods: This correlation study was carried out on 257 asthmatic patients (133 men and 124 women) aged 18-35, who referred to Sheykholrayis clinic of Tabriz, Iran, during 2011. Data collection tools included a questionnaire of social-personal specifications, asthma self-efficacy scale questionnaire and asthma control questionnaire as well as patients’ spirometer parameters. Data were analyzed using SPSS-17 and Pearson Correlation Coefficient test. Results: Among aspects of self efficacy, the regular use of medicine and patient relation with physician were demonstrated to be 4±0.6 and 2.7±0.7, respectively. Among aspects of asthma control, the level of activity restriction resulted by the disease during the past week and the number of spray puffs used during past week were 3±1.1 and 1.5±1.2, respectively. There was a significant relation between self-efficacy and asthma control (P<0.001, r= -0.378). Conclusion: This study showed that in asthmatic patients, self confidence is an effective factor in the control of asthmatic symptoms.

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Background and Objective: Parents of children with cancer are more susceptible to psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, stress, and generally, mental health risks. This study was done to determine the effectiveness of group acceptance and commitment therapy on self-efficacy among mothers of children with cancer.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 30 mothers of children with cancer referring to Children’s Medical Center in Tehran, Iran during 2017. Mothers were non-randomly assigned into intervention and control groups. For gathering the data, the parental self agency measure of Dumka and colleagues (PSAM; 1996) was used. The group acceptance and commitment therapy was offered to subjects in the interventional group for 2-hour in 10 sessions, but the control group's mothers did not receive any intervention.
Results: Mean scores of self-efficacy among mothers of children with cancer were 31.40±6.40 and 53.87±13.35 in pre-test and post-test, respectively (P<0.05). Mean scores of self-efficacies among mothers in the control group were 30.07±5.73 and 29±7.58 in pre-test and post-test, respectively. This difference was not significant.
Conclusion: Acceptance and commitment therapy significantly improves parental self-efficacy among mothers of children with cancer.

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Background and Objective: Vaginal delivery is a natural physiological process that can be a critical experience for women. One of the factors involved in avoiding vaginal delivery is childbirth self-efficacy. Self-efficacy affects all aspects of behavior and emotional activities, including attachment. This study aimed to determine the relationship between childbirth self-efficacy and maternal attachment to the fetus in nulliparous pregnant women.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 323 nulliparous pregnant women who attended health centers in Zahedan city from 2020-2021. Data were collected using participants’ demographic questionnaire, Lowe’s childbirth self-efficacy questionnaire, and Cranely’s maternal attachment to the fetus questionnaire.
Results: Maternal attachment style to the fetus showed a significant direct correlation with childbirth self-efficacy. Maternal attachment style to the fetus predicted childbirth self-efficacy (P=0.003, r=0.16), explaining 2.7% of the variance of childbirth self-efficacy.
Conclusion: The results suggest that helping mothers accept their motherly role and improving maternal attachment to the fetus can increase childbirth self-efficacy. Educational programs during pregnancy should include training related to strengthening maternal attachment to the fetus. As women with high childbirth self-efficacy have a greater ability to perform vaginal delivery, it may increase their desire for vaginal delivery.
 

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Background and Objective: Family-centered empowerment involves engaging clients and their families in decision-making processes to improve health outcomes, thereby enabling them to exert control over their health status through informed choices. Self-efficacy is considered the most crucial component of empowerment and holds significant importance in the management of chronic diseases and the enhancement of self-efficacy. This study was conducted to compare the effects of patient-centered and family-centered empowerment model-based training on perceived self-efficacy and fasting blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 120 patients with type 2 diabetes who attended rural comprehensive health centers in Gorgan, Iran, during 2023. Patients were enrolled in the study using a multi-stage cluster sampling method and were divided into three groups of 40: A control group, a family-centered empowerment group, and a patient-centered empowerment group. The interventions in the patient-centered and family-centered groups were delivered in 6-8 people groups based on a four-stage model. These stages included threat perception, problem-solving, educational participation, and evaluation. Patients in the control group received only the routine health center training. Data collection instruments included the standard Perceived Self-Efficacy Questionnaire in middle-aged diabetic patients and a checklist for recording clinical characteristics.
Results: The fasting blood glucose levels decreased in all three groups after the intervention; however, this difference was not statistically significant among the groups in either the pre-test or the post-test. In the post-test, a statistically significant increase in perceived self-efficacy was observed between the patient-centered group and the family-centered group, as well as between the patient-centered group and the control group (P<0.05).
Conclusion: The patient-centered and family-centered empowerment model-based training on patients’ perceived self-efficacy was evaluated as effective; however, it had no effect on the fasting blood glucose levels of patients with type 2 diabetes.