Robab Sahaf

Time Use in Mothers of Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Comparison Study

Objectives The main goal of this study was to measure time spent in different activities by mothers who have children with cerebral palsy (CP), in comparison to mothers of healthy children. Methods This study features a descriptive, cross-sectional and matched case control design. Sixty-seven mothers aged between 25 and 50 years based on inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected. The prototype of the Farsi translation of the Mothers’ Time Use Questionnaire was used to measure the time allocations for different activities in both groups. Results Mothers of children with CP spent more time in childcare activities and had a lower level of “satisfaction” in comparison with mothers who have healthy children (p < .05). There were no significant differences in other subtype activities between both groups, namely, paid work, leisure, household chores, and sleeping/resting (p > .05). Conclusion There was an imbalance over time use between childcare activities and other subtype activities in mothers who have children with CP as compared to mothers with healthy children. Mothers with children who have CP require more attention, support, and special assistance from the government to meet their specific roles as mothers.

The relationship between gross motor function ability and time use in mothers of children with cerebral palsy

Introduction According to the World Health Organization, the balanced usage of time contributes to the health and welfare of individuals. Caring for a child with cerebral palsy imposes an extra pressure on parents, especially mothers as the main caregiver. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship between gross motor function ability of children with cerebral palsy and time use of their mothers. Method Sixty mothers of children with cerebral palsy, sampled conveniently, participated in this cross-sectional study. Children aged between 6 and 11 years with a mean age of 9.04 years old (SD = 2.8). The Farsi version of Mothers’ Time Use Questionnaire and the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) were utilized to collect data. The Spearman correlation coefficient was calculated. Results The results demonstrated that the allocated time for childcare (rs = 0.44) and leisure (rs = −0.37) activities in mothers have significant correlations with gross motor function abilities of their children (P < 0.05). Conclusion Mothers who have children with higher scores according to the GMFCS, had to invest more time to meet needs of childcare activities. Consequently, they were not able to follow their interests and they felt an imbalanced use of time in their life.

Activities of daily living independence in Iranian blind war survivors: A cross sectional study, 2008

Assessment of activities of daily living (ADL) can be helpful for designing individualized rehabilitation programs for disabled individuals. Measuring and comparing the basic ADL (BADL) and instrumental ADL (IADL) independence between middle aged and senior Iranian blind war survivors (IBWS) was the aim of this study.

Health Needs of Older Adults After Natural Disasters: A Systematic Literature Review

Background: Older adults are disproportionately affected by natural disasters. The literature on the health needs of older adults after natural disasters is limited. Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the existing evidence on the health needs of older adults after disasters. This systematic review of the literature was conducted to provide an overview of what is known about the needs of older adults after natural disasters. Methods: An electronic search of the following databases was conducted: PubMed, Cochrane, ProQuest, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and HelpAge International. The final review included 27 articles that were analyzed using qualitative content analysis to identify the health needs of older adults after natural disasters. Results: Limited and sparse literature exists pertaining to the health needs of older adults after natural disasters. In this study, six themes or features of health needs emerged: medical needs, psychosocial needs, assistance in activities of daily living, resources, informational needs, and protective needs. Furthermore, four categories including personal, organizational, socio-cultural, and disaster-related factors could affect the health needs of older adults after natural disasters. Conclusions: Planning for older adults with diverse and special needs in disasters is very important. Health care providers should consider the older adult’s health needs and capacities in the disaster recovery

Urinary incontinence and sleep complaints in community dwelling older adults

Background Sleep disorder is associated with poor quality of life in old age. Therefore, it is imperative to identify contributing factors leading to sleep disorder. The current study aimed to examine the impact of urinary incontinence on sleep complaint after controlling for potential sociodemographic and health covariates. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 184 community dwelling older adults 60 years and older in Yazd, Iran, 2016. In order to obtain the sample a multistage proportional random sampling technique was employed. Sociodemographic characteristics, sleep complaint, and urinary incontinence were collected from medical records. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 24. A multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine the impact of urinary incontinence on sleep complaint after controlling for potential covariates. Findings: A total of 184 respondents with a mean age of 68.48±6.65 years (age range, 60-87 years) were included in the study. About 70% of the respondents were women, 72.8% were married, 68.5% were not formally educated, and 21.7% were living alone. The prevalence of sleep complaint and urinary incontinence were 27.2% (95% CI: 21-34) and 22.3% (95% CI: 17-29), respectively. The results of the multiple logistic regression analysis revealed respondents with urinary incontinence were four times more likely to suffer from sleep complaint than those without urinary incontinence after adjusting for potential covariates (AOR=4.04, 95% CI: 1.74-9.35, p<0.001). Conclusion: Based on the results of this present study, which showed that urinary incontinence independently contributed to sleep complaint among older adults, it is necessary to employ effective interventions for controlling urinary incontinence to reduce sleep complaints.

Emergency room (ER) referrals and health insurance in the United States.

This article aims to determine how various health insurance policies affect the rate of emergency room (ER) referrals in the United States. The secondary data, gathered in National Health Measurement Study (NHMS) in 2008 and 2010, was used. The authors identify the relationships between health insurance and ER referrals by using zero-inflated binomial and zero-inflated Poisson regression. About 17% (2008) and 20% (2010) of the respondents had one or more ER referrals in the 2 years; those who were under coverage of governmental health insurance are more likely to refer ER than uninsured group. The differences in ER referrals that ended with hospital admission across different insurance policies are not significant. Health insurance is a remarkable factor in ER referrals; the coverage of health insurance plans can affect consuming the services provided in ER. Governmental insurance plans can increase ER referrals.