PURPOSE: Fatigue affects the quality of life. Evidence shows that the phenomenon of fatigue is experienced differently depending on the type of disease and its consequences. The aim of the study was to explicate the meanings of the experience of living with fatigue in chemically injured veterans. METHODS: The hermeneutic phenomenology approach was used in this study, with an emphasis on Van Mennen's viewpoint and approach. According to Van Mennen, six overlapping dynamic activities are recommended to conduct a phenomenological study. During unstructured interviews, the participants were asked to describe their daily living experiences with fatigue. The participants were individuals who were chemically injured due to exposure to mustard gas. After examining every statement in the interview text, extractions of the meaning units, clustering, and themes were performed. RESULTS: The data explication was based on the third to sixth stages of Van Mennen's approach. The experience living with fatigue was classified into four essential themes: fatigue as a chronic condition, as an unstable and affected situation, as a physical condition of the entire individual, and as a mental condition of the entire individual. CONCLUSION: Due to unique social interactions and pathogenicity, victims of mustard gas experience fatigue differently than patients with other chronic diseases.
Chronic Disease ; Fatigue ; Humans ; Interpersonal Relations ; Mustard Gas ; Qualitative Research ; Quality of Life ; Sulfur ; Veterans

Education is considered to be a cultural and value-driven matter where any intervention in this field requires certain tools in order to describe the status quo. The current study, while taking into account the contextual texts related to Islamic mentoring, seeks to develop a tool to quantify this concept, as well as introduce the respective psychometric properties. A 113 items questionnaire was designed after reviewing the literature, the recommended guidelines concerning Islamic mentor and mentee, and reviewing available international tools. Content validity of the questionnaire was evaluated based on several criteria of clarity, fitness, and comprehensiveness by a survey of 10 experts and the necessary corrections were made. In the primary phase of this study, the psychometric properties of this questionnaire were evaluated by collecting the data from a random sample of 213 Iranian Ph.D. students in Tehran Universities of Medical Sciences. The factors analysis results show that 70 items, in the form of nine factors, construct the Islamic monitoring. Furthermore, The Cronbach's α coefficient was determined for each factor and the entire questionnaire. Total reliability of the scale was obtained at 0.97. Considering the confirmed validity and reliability of the questionnaire, this tool can be highly beneficial for the experts and education professionals, particularly in the field of medicine, for the assessment and establishment of mentoring.
Education ; Education, Medical ; Humans ; Iran ; Islam ; Mentors ; Psychometrics ; Reproducibility of Results

Education is considered to be a cultural and value-driven matter where any intervention in this field requires certain tools in order to describe the status quo. The current study, while taking into account the contextual texts related to Islamic mentoring, seeks to develop a tool to quantify this concept, as well as introduce the respective psychometric properties. A 113 items questionnaire was designed after reviewing the literature, the recommended guidelines concerning Islamic mentor and mentee, and reviewing available international tools. Content validity of the questionnaire was evaluated based on several criteria of clarity, fitness, and comprehensiveness by a survey of 10 experts and the necessary corrections were made. In the primary phase of this study, the psychometric properties of this questionnaire were evaluated by collecting the data from a random sample of 213 Iranian Ph.D. students in Tehran Universities of Medical Sciences. The factors analysis results show that 70 items, in the form of nine factors, construct the Islamic monitoring. Furthermore, The Cronbach's α coefficient was determined for each factor and the entire questionnaire. Total reliability of the scale was obtained at 0.97. Considering the confirmed validity and reliability of the questionnaire, this tool can be highly beneficial for the experts and education professionals, particularly in the field of medicine, for the assessment and establishment of mentoring.

PURPOSE: Firefighters are exposed to high levels of occupational risk factors, such as safety risks, chemical, ergonomic, and physical hazards that may jeopardize their lives. To overcome these hazards, firefighters must be physically, mentally, and personally fit to work. This study aimed to explore the criteria and factors affecting firefighters' resilience based on stakeholders' experiences. METHODS: This qualitative study was carried out using conventional content analysis. In total, 21 face-to-face interviews were conducted by firefighters who were experienced in the field. The interviews were carried out from July 2019 to January 2020. The data were collected using 3 unstructured interviews and then resumed by 18 semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was done using Graneheim method. RESULTS: The participants had more than 5 years of experience in the field of search and rescue. The extracted codes through data analysis were classified into 3 main categories (individual, organizational, and social factors), 9 sub-categories (mental, physical, occupational, managerial, colleagues-related, equipment-related, environmental, community-related, and family-related factors), as well as 19 sub-sub-categories and 570 codes. CONCLUSION Firefighters' personality, physical condition, behavior and psychological characteristics can affect their resilience along with organizational and management factors that play significant role in people's safety. Developing a tool for assessing resilience can help decision makers to have a real depict of firefighters' job qualifications.
Firefighters/psychology* ; Humans ; Qualitative Research