Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Abstract BACKGROUND: The use of personal protective equipment (especially face masks) has increased in
different communities amid the COVID‑19 pandemic. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess
knowledge and performance of Iranian general population in wearing face masks.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study is a cross‑sectional study conducted using a valid
and reliable questionnaire on 1843 eligible individuals. The questionnaires were shared by Link (www.
porsall.com) in groups and social networks. Data were analyzed using SPSS (Version 24.0, SPSS
Inc., Chicago, IL).
RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 42.84 years (standard deviation: 16.84). The
majority had inadequate and low knowledge of masks (69.2%), nearly 30% had moderate (30.1%),
and few had adequate and high knowledge of masks. The individuals’ knowledge on when to wear
a mask was also assessed and the results showed poor and low in 42.2%, 46.9% moderate and
high performance in 10.7%. The participants’ performance on how to properly wear a mask was also
assessed and 12% showed poor, 69.3% showed moderate, and 18.7% showed high performance.
Safe removal of masks was also assessed, and the results showed 52% low and poor, 27.6%
moderate, and 20.3% high performance. A significant and direct correlation was found between the
overall score knowledge and performance regarding use of masks (P < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: The results showed poor to moderate knowledge and performance of majority of
Iranian general population regarding the masks. Therefore, further effective training courses and
action plans are needed in Iran given the importance of masks for the prevention of COVID‑19,
especially in public places. Educational package about how to use the mask and its benefits, through
the media and health centers is recommended.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Coronavirus (COVID‑19) is an infectious respiratory disease. Quarantine is often
accompanied by unpleasant experiences for those who go through it. The aim of this study was to
determine the mental health status of people during quarantine in northern Iran.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross‑sectional study was conducted during the quarantine
period of coronavirus. Conventional sampling was done from March 6 to April 6. Six hundred and
forty‑two individuals were included. Inclusion criteria were living in Sari and being home quarantined
during the corona outbreak. Exclusion criteria included hospitalization history due to corona and
unwillingness to participate in the study. In this study, the General Health Questionnaire‑28 was used
online to collect the required data. To analyze the data, descriptive and inferential statistics (t‑test,
analysis of variance, and correlation coefficient) were used.
RESULTS: In this study, individuals were included in the investigation with a mean age of
38.74 ± 11.89 (ranged from 15 to 73). Most of the participants were female (72.85%) and
married (71.34%). According to the results, 21.5% of the participants had poor mental health.
Mean mental health scores have a statistically significant relationship with gender, marital status,
education, occupation, quarantine period, patients with corona, and exposure to a patient with
corona (P ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, a negative correlation coefficient was observed between age and
mental health score (correlation coefficient = −0.31, significance >0.001).
CONCLUSION: The average score of mental health has a significant relationship with gender, marital
status, education, occupation, quarantine period, corona, and exposure to a patient with corona.
Given the high prevalence of mental disorders in people during the COVID‑19 epidemic, educating
people and planning to reduce the psychological effects of the epidemic can be helpful.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 is a new viral outbreak in the world. Dentists and
their assistants are at greatest risk of exposure to the virus, due to close contact with patients and
dealing with aerosols. Hence, the aim of this study was to compare the use of personal protective
equipment (PPE) and supplementary protective equipment (SPE) and observance of the principles
of infection control (PIC) in dentists and their assistants before and after the corona crisis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross‑sectional study was conducted using an online survey
from May 6 to 20, 2020. Convenience sampling was used to select individuals. The questionnaire,
consisting of four general categories about the use of PPE and SPE and the observance of PIC
by dentists and their assistants before and after corona crisis, was registered at Porsline website
(https://survey.porsline.ir/s/KUt7VQB). Frequencies in each subcategory were calculated and
comparisons were done using Chi‑square test, Fisher’s exact test, and paired sample t‑test. A P < 0.05
was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS: There were significant differences in the frequency of use of PPE by dentists before and
after corona crisis for oral and dental examination and also dental procedures (P < 0.001). There
were significant differences in the frequency of use of SPE and observance of PIC before and after
corona crisis, except for different types of suction types (P = 0.22), dental handpiece (P = 0.66),
and dental unit (P = 1). There were significant differences in the frequency of use of PPE by dental
assistants before and after corona crisis (P < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Although the frequency of use of PPE and observance of PIC increased among
dentists and their assistants, this increase is not sufficient, especially for dental assistants, and a
higher level of use of PPE and PIC observance in face of highly contagious and life‑threatening
viruses such as corona is required.

Abstract AIM: This study aimed to investigate the effect of school‑based interventions on mental health among
adolescents in the southeast of Iran.
METHODS: This interventional quasi‑experimental study included a total of 420 adolescent girls
studying 10th grade in the public schools of Zahedan, Iran. Data were collected using general health
questionnaire‑28 questionnaire. After pretest, multidimensional interventions (individual education,
group education, individual consultations, modern education, and parents’ educational packages)
were given to the intervention group from October 2015 to June 2016. After a 3‑month interval, the
posttest was conducted in October 2016. Data were analyzed by covariance analysis.
RESULTS: There was a significant statistical difference between the changes in the mental
health scores after the intervention among the two study groups (P < 0.05). Furthermore, after the
intervention, moderate‑to‑severe mental health problems decreased considerably among the students
in the intervention group compared to controls. The greatest impact was on individual psychological
counseling.
CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study showed that by applying group training and individual
counseling in the schools improves mental health. Therefore, identifying student problems and
parent–teacher cooperation as well as consulting with specialist counselors can be effective in
providing practical and effective solutions in this regard. Therefore, findings suggest that prioritizing
mental health and taking action on the field are of utmost importance.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Due to increasing number of the world population, elderly individual’s quality of
life (QOL) is a matter of concern and marital status as one of the objective measures of QOL is of
paramount importance. This study was done to compare the QOL between single and remarried
elderly.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This case–control study was conducted on 200 elderly people in
Qaen (Southern Khorasan province), Iran. The research sample consisted of two groups of single
and remarried elderly, 100 in each group. A demographic and LEIPAD (an acronym deriving from
the name of Leiden and Padua universities) QOL questionnaires were completed by the participants
via interview.
RESULTS: There was a significant difference between single and remarried elderly groups
in the QOL (P < 0.001). Linear regression showed that marital status (P < 0.000), economic
situation (P < 001), primary education (P < 0.0002), and diploma (P < 0.030) opposed to the illiterate
were significantly related to the QOL. In other words, being married and higher economic situation and
education increase the QOL. There was a significant negative correlation between the age (P < 0.000)
and QOL. The strongest factor was age.
CONCLUSIONS: Marital status, income, and education play an important role in all aspects of QOL in
older adults. Thus, being married can be a protective factor against physical, psychological, and social
problems in old age. Realizing this issue in consultation process of elderly peoples is recommended.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: The hospitals are a stressful environment for employees, especially nurses. Stress
and other health problems may lead to occupational burnout and reduction of nurses’ efficiency.
The aim of the current study is to investigate the effect of emotional intelligence training on health
promotion of nurses in Sabzevar Hospitals.
METHODOLOGY: The current study is a field trial with a random control group. The sample
group was 135 nurses of Sabzevar Hospitals. They were then divided randomly into experimental
and control groups. First, all of the samples answered the questionnaire of personal information,
Bar‑On Emotional Intelligence, and General Health Questionnaire. The first group (intervention)
was trained by giving the speech, and the second group (control) did not receive any intervention
about the subject of the study. The experimental group was then trained for the components
of emotional intelligence and answered the questionnaire again. The significance level was
considered as P < 0.05.
RESULTS: The results showed that the distribution of qualitative variables in the study was similar
and also the scores of emotional intelligence and the dependent variables after intervention in the
intervention group had a significant and inverse relationship, meaning that the score of emotional
intelligence decreased with the score of general health score. This could be significant in comparison
to the two groups. Findings showed that emotional intelligence at the beginning of the study in
the intervention and control groups were 35.03 ± 32 and 30.89 ± 33, respectively, and after the
intervention, it was 29.68 ± 35 and 42.89 ± 34, respectively. Total general health was 19.76 ± 84 and
18.77 ± 77 in the case group before intervention and 14.55 ± 56 in the case group and 17.68 ± 52
in the control group, respectively (P < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: Findings indicated the significant mutual effect of emotional intelligence changes
and general health variables. It means as the score of emotional intelligence gets more, health score
decreases and the rate of general health increases.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Educational justice is one of the fundamental dimensions of social justice, and the
progress of each society depends on its realization. Since students are engaged in the educational
process, recognizing their viewpoints can provide useful guidance to correct existing problems. The
purpose of this study is to investigate the observance of educational justice from the viewpoint of
medical students in southeastern Iran.
METHODOLOGY: This cross‑sectional study was carried out on 200 students of Zahedan University
of Medical Sciences, southeastern Iran, in 2017 by stratified sampling. The tool for measuring
organizational justice was a questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by
content validity method, and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach’s alpha (0.8). Descriptive
statistics (frequency and percentage), Chi‑square test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) test were
used to analyze data.
RESULTS: The mean age of students was 21.7 ± 2.91 years. Fifty percent of students assessed
the educational justice as good to excellent, and based on a general score, educational justice was
observed in 73.2% of cases. The one‑way ANOVA showed a significant difference between the scores
of educational justice from the viewpoints of students in different faculties of Zahedan University of
Medical Sciences (P < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: According to the results, students’ needs for achieving educational justice have
been identified in this study. This study can provide useful guidance to correct existing problems and
help policymakers in Zahedan University of Medical Sciences to achieve a full educational justice.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: One of the main criteria for students’ merit in their study process and reaching the
graduation step, is academic success. Therefore, identifying related factors can help the improvement
of academic success rate. The aim of this study was to examine the academic success and related
factors among the students of University of Tehran.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross‑sectional study was done on 384 students of Tehran
University of Medical Sciences. Samples were selected through stratified sampling method. Data
were collected through questionnaires of academic success scale 39 that reliability and validity of
that were confirmed. Data analysis was done through SPSS18 software. Descriptive statistics and
independent t‑test, and correlation coefficient were performed at significance level of 0.05.
RESULTS: The mean academic success was 108.87(standard deviation[SD] =10.63) (69.78% of total score).
The mean academic success in male was 110.04 (SD = 11.75) and in female was 108.20 (SD = 9.91).
Independent t‑test results indicate that there is a significant statistical relationship between marital status and
the academic success (P< 0.05). The Pearson correlation test results showed that there was a statistically
significant relationship between average with academic success (r = 0.17, P = 0.001).
CONCLUSION: Considering the effect of demographic variables on the academic success rate,
academic success rate can be improved by planning to improve these factors.

Abstract BACKGROUND: The aim of this qualitative study was to explore if the presence of a child in the
family was an opportunity or threat to the marital life.
METHODS: In this common qualitative content analysis, semi‑structured interviews with 20
participants were conducted. All of the interviews were recorded and then transcribed. The data
were categorized, and the main themes and sub‑themes were extracted.
RESULTS: Twenty transcription were analysed. The data analysis led to the development of the first
theme of “feeling evolution” with the category of “flourishing the motherhood sense,” and the second
theme of “strengthening the marital life” with the two categories of “the marital life stabilization” and
“efforts for a common goal.”
CONCLUSIONS: The presence of the child can lead to the feeling of development and stabilizing
the marital life. Furthermore, the presence of the child can facilitate or hinder marital satisfaction.
Given the challenges due to a lack of preparation of parents for childbirth, consultation and support
by family members or the society can help with adaptation with this life period and increasing the
positive effects of the presence of the child on parents’ relationships and marital satisfaction.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral
therapies (CBTs) for anxiety, hardiness, and self‑efficacy in female students of Birjand University
of Medical Sciences.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was an interventional study. A sample of 30 participants were
selected through the available sampling method and randomly assigned into experimental (CBT)
and control groups (each group, 15 female student). The data collection instrument was the Beck
Depression Inventory questionnaire. The questionnaires of Beck Anxiety Inventory, Ahvaz Hardiness
Inventory, and Schwartz’s General Self‑Efficacy Scale were completed by all participants in two
stages (pretest and posttest). A 6‑session protocol of cognitive behavioral group therapy was
performed only on the experimental group. The data were analyzed using Kolmogorov–Smirnov,
Levene’s F, Mbox, analysis of variance, and multivariate analysis of variance tests.
RESULTS: The intervention group showed that the mean of anxiety decreased, whereas (P< 0.001) the
means of hardiness and self‑efficacy increased in the posttest for the experimental group (P < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that CBT is an effective treatment
for anxiety, hardiness, and self‑efficacy. Therefore, through managing anxiety, the levels of hardiness
and self‑efficacy can be increased in students of university to be able to cope with the different
challenges in their life.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Self‑confidence means recognizing your abilities, self‑interest, and being aware
of your feelings. Risk‑taking is one of the personality traits that may be affected by confidence. It
can be defined as behavior that increases the probability of negative consequences. Considering
the importance of students’ self‑confidence and its relation with risk‑taking, the aim of this study is to
study the relation between self‑confidence and risk‑taking among the students of Tehran University
of Medical Sciences in 2017.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross‑sectional study was done on 363 students of TUMS by
stratified sampling. The tool for collecting data is based on a self-confidence questionnaire and a
risk-taking questionnaire developed by Moradi et al. Data analysis was performed using Pearson’s
correlation coefficient.
RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 21.86 years and 54.5% of participants were girls and
the rest were boys. No significant correlation was observed between risk‑taking and self-confidence
in students according to the Pearson’s coefficient test (r = 0.05, P = 0.29).
CONCLUSION: The results indicated that there is no relation between self‑confidence and
risk‑taking among students, and students who have higher self‑confidence are not exposed
to high risks. Therefore, we need more studies in different age groups to validate this exact
relationship.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Self‑regulation and educational performance are among the most important topics
to be discussed in schools and universities. The present study aimed to the relationship between
self‑regulation and educational performance among daughter students of police officers in Birjand
City, Iran (public and Payame Noor) in 2017.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This research is a correlational cross‑sectional study. In total,
200 female students were selected using random sampling method. The Ryan and Connell’s
Self‑Regulation Questionnaire and Durtaj’s educational performance scale were used to collect data.
The data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient.
RESULTS: The results showed that there is a significant correlation between self‑regulation and
educational performance among students of Payame Noor University, whereas it is not significant
for public university students.
CONCLUSION: We can provide students with effective and useful tips to improve their academic
achievement and performance by teaching them self‑regulation skills. Therefore, the cornerstone
of educational achievement in students should be in that way to achieve the desired educational
performance and also increase their self‑regulation.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Academic self‑efficacy is the learners’ belief in their abilities in academic process.
Perception of the educational‑research environment is one of the effective factors on academic
self‑efficacy. The aim of this study was to examine the perception of educational‑research environment
and academic self‑efficacy in students of the University of Tehran in 2016.
METHODS: This cross‑sectional study was done on 385 students of Tehran University of Medical
Sciences. Samples were selected through stratified sampling method. Data were collected through
questionnaires of perception of educational‑research environment scale 24 and of academic
self‑efficacy scale 32 that reliability and validity of that were confirmed. Data analysis was performed
using Pearson’s correlation coefficient.
RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 25.31 (standard deviation [SD] = 3.94), and 56.1% of
them were female and the rest were male. The mean perception of educational‑research environment
was 65.79 (SD = 13.13), and the mean academic self‑efficacy was 107.44 (15.92). The Pearson’s
correlation test results showed that there was a statistically significant relationship between perception
of educational‑research environment with academic self‑efficacy (P = 0.001, r = 0.180).
CONCLUSION: There was a significant statistical relationship between perception of
educational‑research environment and academic self‑efficacy. Students who have high perception
of educational‑research environment are high academic self‑efficacy. Academic self‑efficacy can be
improved by improving perception of the educational‑research environment.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Research self‑efficacy is one of the main factors influencing the successful
conduction of research and following it in students. This study was performed with the aim of
determining the research self‑efficacy and its relationship with academic performance in postgraduate
students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) in 2016.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross‑sectional study was performed on 320 postgraduate
students of TUMS in 2016. Proportional stratified sampling was done with simple random sampling
from each school. The data were gathered with Phillips and Russell’s research self‑efficacy
questionnaire, demographic questions, and grade point average (GPA) and were analyzed with
independent t‑tests, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation, and multiple linear regressions in SPSS 18.
RESULTS: Out of 320 students participating in this study, 152 patients (47.5%) were male and
168 (52.5%) were female with the mean age of 27.83 ± 4.3 years. The mean of research self‑efficacy
score was 186.18 ± 59.5 which was significant depended on college degrees and was significantly
higher in doctorate students (P = 0.0001). However, no significant difference was seen in research
self‑efficacy score of students due to gender (P = 0.754) and school (P = 0.364). There was a significant
direct relationship between students’ GPA and research self‑efficacy score (r = 0.393, P = 0.0001).
CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study showed that the research self‑efficacy score of TUMS
postgraduate students is at an acceptable level, except the quantitative and computer skills that
need appropriate educational interventions. As a direct and significant relationship existed between
research self‑efficacy score and student’s academic performance, improving the research self‑efficacy
will also increase students’ academic performance.