Occupational stress is one of the major health hazards among blue and white-collar workers. However there is no data on occupational stress among white-collar workers in Iran. Aim of this study was to investigate occupational stress among white collar employees in Esfahan Steel Company organization (ESCO), Iran. A cross– sectional survey was conducted through face to face interview using validated standardized questionnaire on occupational stress among 200 white-collar workers from ESCO who agreed to participate in the study, the response rate of participation was 100%. The logistic regression test was used to determine significant associated factors of occupational stress among the study sample.. It is found that among the six items measuring source of stress, the highest source of stress related to economic problem, 117 (59.7%). The statistical analysis showed sources of stress such as task type (p=0.0001), economic problem (p=0.0001), work environment (p=0.0001) and children problem (p=0.05) were significantly associated with having stress among the workers. We found that around half of the white collar workers were under stress at ESCO. Main sources of the occupational stress of white colour workers related to their work environment, economic problem; task type, and related their children.
Stress, Psychological ; Occupational Health

The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of breast cancer among health science students in Shahrekord city, Iran. A cross- sectional study was conducted in 2017-2018 academic year among 334 health science students in Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences. Data was collected using self-administered structured questionnaire. The total score for knowledge was 18. Any respondent who had more than 9 was considered as having good knowledge and below 9 as having poor knowledge. The total score for attitude was 7. Any score more than 4 was considered as good attitude and score less than 4 was considered as bad attitude. The mean age of the respondents was 21.21± 1.19 years. Most of the respondents aged 18 to 21 years. The knowledge level was significantly different by age group (P=0.002), department (P=0.000) and those who attended training course (P=0.000). Those who perform BSE (Breast Self-Examination) had higher knowledge score about breast cancer than those who do not perform BSE (P=0.000). The participants’ attitude was not significantly different by age group, department, family history of cancer and attending of training courses (p > 0.05). The breast self-examination practice was significantly different by age group (P=0.002), department (P=0.000) and those who attended training course (P=0.000). About half of the respondents had good knowledge on breast cancer. However, more than half of the participants had negative attitude towards breast cancer. For example, less than half of the respondents performed BSE and none of the respondents has performed CBE (Clinical Breast Examination) or mammogram before.

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is the most common cause of community-acquired pneumonia, meningitis, and bacteremia in children and adults, including the elderly, and is responsible for high rates of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Aim of this paper to review published articles on incidence of pneumococcal meningitis in children less than 5 years of age in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, and compare the incidence of pneumococcal meningitis among the children in the three courtiers. Literature searches were conducted using google scholar, PubMed, the World Health Organization (WHO) website of the Weekly Epidemiological Record, and the countries’ Ministry of Health (MOH) website, and were limited to articles written in English. All relevant publications/abstracts published/presented during the period December 2000 through March 2014. Searches were conducted from April 1, 2014, till July 11, 2014 using various combinations of the following search terms “ Pneumococcal diseases” OR “meningococcal” OR “pneumococcal meningitis” OR “meningococcus”. A total of five articles and abstracts described the incidence of pneumococcal meningitis among children 5 years old. These five documents include two conference abstracts from Malaysia, one published paper from Singapore and two published papers from Thailand. The Malaysian, Singaporean and Thai pneumococcal meningitis incidence rate was 3.8-8.6, 2.3 and 0.10-1.8 per 100,000 children respectively. Our review confirmed that the incidence rate of pneumococcal meningitis was vary among the countries. The highest incidence rate of pneumococcal meningitis was found in Malaysia followed by Singapore and Thailand.
Meningitis, Pneumococcal ; Child

PURPOSE: The efficacy of antibiotic therapy for acute sinusitis is controversial. This study aimed to compare the efficacies of amoxicillin with nasal irrigation and nasal irrigation alone for acute sinusitis in children. METHODS: This randomized, double-blind, controlled study included 80 children aged 4-15 years with a clinical presentation of acute sinusitis. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either amoxicillin (80 mg/kg/day) in 3 divided doses orally for 14 days with saline nasal irrigation (for 5 days) and 0.25% phenylephrine (for 2 days) or the same treatment without amoxicillin. Clinical improvements in their initial symptoms were assessed on days 3, 14, 21, and 28. RESULTS: On day 3, patients in the amoxicillin with nasal irrigation group showed significant clinical improvement (P=0.001), but there was no significant difference in the degree of improvement between the amoxicillin with nasal irrigation and nasal irrigation alone groups during follow-up (P>0.05). In addition, no significant differences were seen in age, sex, and degree of improvement between groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: High-dose amoxicillin with saline nasal irrigation relieved acute sinusitis symptoms faster and more often than saline nasal irrigation alone. However, antibiotic treatment for acute sinusitis confers only a small therapeutic benefit over nasal irrigation.
Amoxicillin* ; Child* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Nasal Lavage* ; Phenylephrine ; Sinusitis*