Background: Intimate partner violence is a severe life-threatening criminal and public health problem affecting the well-being of individuals, families, and society. Planning interventions to reduce the burden of this persistent and criminal violence should be relevant culturally and socially. Methods: In this randomized control trial, 150 pregnant women residing in slum areas of Hamadan were randomly assigned to two groups (intervention group: n=50 and control group: n=100). Interventional strategies included educating the victims based on local cultural norms, culturally sensitive individual and group counseling, and educating health care providers. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews at baseline and again at 3 months after the intervention. We used a paired t-test to evaluate the effect of the intervention by comparing changes in the outcomes measured. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups at baseline in terms of sociodemographic characteristics. Post-test scores of knowledge (7.50±2.65 vs. 5.14±3.51, P=0.001), communication skills (18.38±4.25 vs. 16.2±3.83, P=0.04), and family support and social expectation of obedience (15.79±4.45 vs. 13.40±4.57, P=0.005) of the victims were statistically significantly higher in the experimental group compared to the control group. Moreover, physical (0.74±2.28 vs. 1.20±2.60, P=0.06), psychological (2.80±4.10 vs. 4.52±5.43, P=0.06), and sexual (0.11±0.58 vs. 0.61±1.22, P=0.04) violence reduced in the experimental group compared to the control group. Conclusion Culturally relevant interventions can reduce intimate partner violence.

Background: Childbearing is the most important determinant of population fluctuations, and its study is more important than other population phenomena. Owing to the lack of a valid questionnaire based on the extended theory of planned behavior, this mixed-method study was conducted to determine the validity and reliability of a questionnaire designed to examine related belief-based factors on the intention to bear children in Iranian society. Methods: This study was conducted in two phases in Hamadan city, western Iran, in 2021. Phase 1 consisted of an extensive literature review and a qualitative study using a directed content analysis approach to generate an item pool. Psychometrics were measured in phase 2, including content, face, and construct validity. Reliability was assessed based on internal consistency and stability. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS and AMOS ver. 24.0. Results: Mean content validity ratio and content validity index were 0.7 and 0.85, respectively. Exploratory factor analysis of the 32 items identified an eight-factor solution. These factors jointly accounted for 79.1% of the observed variance in the outcome variables. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit for the data. The internal consistency based on Cronbach’s α was 0.85 (0.71–0.93). In addition, stability was confirmed using the test-retest method and intraclass correlation coefficient (0.74–0.94). Conclusion The designed questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument for evaluating related belief-based factors on the intention and behavior of childbearing among married men and women in Iran.

BACKGROUND: Although the role of unintentional injuries as a cause of death in adults is known, there is limited knowledge about such adults’ behaviors. This study aims to investigate the frequency of and factors affecting unintentional injuries among the elderly living in rural areas and their related behaviors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the rural areas of Hamadan County, Iran, in 2016. The sample consists of randomly selected 445 adults aged 60–75 years. Data collection was conducted through face-to-face interviews, using questionnaires. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-three participants (34.7%) experienced 166 injury occurrences. The injuries occurred more in females than in males. There were more mild and severe injuries (48.2% and 31.3%, respectively) than moderate ones (20.5%). The most frequent mechanism of injuries was accidental falls (64.5%). There was a significant relationship between using aid devices and injuries (P=0.001). Among the most applied injury preventive measures as reported by the elderly, crossing streets safely and the use of proper lighting at night had the highest percentages (81.5% and 69.7%, respectively). However, the use of protective handles and plastic flooring in bathrooms in order to prevent slipping had the lowest percentages (less than 1.0%). CONCLUSION: The injuries among the elderly in this study were important health concerns. Injury-related factors should be considered in the development of injury prevention programs.
Accidental Falls ; Adult ; Aged ; Cause of Death ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Data Collection ; Female ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Iran ; Male ; Plastics

BACKGROUND: Elderly people's life is affected by multiple factors including social support, which is of the utmost importance. This study aimed to explore the association between social support and happiness as well as the impact of types of social support on happiness among elders. METHODS: This descriptive and analytical study was carried out on 411 elderly men and women referred to the retirement, cultural, and rehabilitation centers in Hamadan, west of Iran. Participants were selected by a multi-stage random sampling method. The research instrument included a questionnaire consisting of three parts: demographic information, the Oxford Argyle Happiness Inventory, and a Questionnaire derived from Social Support Theory. The questionnaire was completed through a self-report study. The collected data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients, multiple linear regression, independent t-tests, and one-way analysis of variance in IBM SPSS Software ver. 22.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). RESULTS: The mean for happiness was reported as 41.17±15.2. The values given for social support were 29.40±11.95 and for its dimensions were 7.53±3.89 and 13.70±4.90 for informational support and emotional support, respectively. Moreover, the mean value for appraisal support was 3.48±2.37 and was 4.70±2.56 for instrumental support. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that social support and demographic variables could account for approximately 25% (R2=0.25) of changes in the variable of happiness. CONCLUSION: High social support could increase happiness among elders. The quality and quantity of social support can be taken into account as proper determinants and predictors of happiness among elders.
Aged* ; Female ; Happiness* ; Humans ; Iran* ; Linear Models ; Male ; Methods ; Rehabilitation Centers ; Retirement