Iraqi National Journal of Nursing Specialties

Objective(s): This study aims to assess the health behaviors among secondary school students and their associated age and socio-economic status in Baquba City / Diyala.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted during the period from October 1st, 2022 to March 5th, 2023. The study sample consisted of 400 high school students who were selected on a simple random sample. The study instrument, a 49-item questionnaire was designed and adopted to assess health behaviors; and validated by experts and its reliability was achieved by a pilot study. Data were collected through interviews and analyzed by applying descriptive and inferential statistical analysis.

Results: The results indicate that the health behavior profiles of high school students show several worrisome trends. Notably, 43% reported acceptable physical care behaviors, while 63.8% showed poor exercise habits. Sleep and rest were acceptable for 34.8% of students, and eating habits were acceptable for 44.3%. Additionally, 69% had poor medication management behaviors, and 71% reported poor smoking behaviors. Psychosocial health was acceptable for 44% of students. The study also identified age and family socioeconomic status as significant predictors of students’ health behaviors (p = 0.001).

Conclusion: The study results indicate that health behaviors among secondary school students in Baquba City are below the ideal level, and that the students' ages and economic status were predictors of improving their health behaviors.

Recommendations: The study adds knowledge related to health education for all segments of society towards healthy behavior. Further studies are needed to explore strategies for adopting healthy behaviors among different school stages like school health policies and practices study, guide to community preventive services and striving to reduce youth violence everywhere.

Objective(s): The current study aims to determine the effectiveness of the self-care program on asthma patients' knowledge and to find out the relationship between the patients' knowledge and their socio-demographic characteristics

Methods: A pre-experimental study at Allergy and Asthma Center in Al-Diwaniyah Teaching Hospital was conducted from 30th October 2022 to 2nd, May 2023. The study included 85 patients with asthma who were selected by using a non-probability purposive method. The researchers used a patients' knowledge of self-care questionnaire to measure patients' knowledge. The data were analyzed statistically using SPSS version 24.

Results: The study reveals that patients' knowledge in all domains concerning asthma self-care was at a poor level in the pre-test. A dramatic change in patients' knowledge occurred after conducting the self-care program, with highly significant statistical differences (p-value <0.001) recorded between the pre-test and the post-test. The post-test had been done after 3 weeks of the program with remarkable positive improvement in the self-care knowledge of patients with asthma.

Conclusion: The self-care management program was effective in enhancing knowledge of patients regarding self-care management.

Recommendation: Based on the study result, the researchers recommend applying self-care guidelines in allergy and asthma centers of the Ministry of Health in the governorates. Booklets should be designed and distributed to patients regarding self-care management

Objective(s): To examine the association between alarm fatigue and burnout among nurses working in adult critical care units.

Methods: A descriptive-correlational study design was used targeting 377 nurses practicing in critical care units within 13 hospitals in Iraq. Data gathering extended for the period from January 6th, 2024 to March 7th 2024, by investigating sociodemographic, professional characteristics of nurses, and alarm fatigue questionnaire, and the Burnout Assessment Tool.

Results: Overall, 240 out of 377 nurses in critical care units showed a moderate degree of alarm fatigue, with a percentage of 63.7%. Of equal importance, the majority of nurses suffered from high levels of burnout, with a mean score of 2.53. The Pearson correlation (r =.441 at p = 0.01) also showed a positive association between alarm fatigue and burnout among nurses in critical care units.

Conclusion: This study illuminated the statistically significant positive correlations between nurse’s alarm fatigue and each dimension of burnout (exhaustion, mental distance, cognitive impairment, emotional impairment, psychological complaints, psychosomatic complaints, secondary symptoms, and overall burnout).

Recommendations: The provision of training sessions on stress management, building resilience strategies, and coping techniques provide nurses with the necessary tools to more effectively navigate the challenges of their profession. Furthermore, it is crucial to replicate this study in critical care units in other governorates of Iraq to compare and improve the generalization of the findings.

Objective(s): To determine barriers for delivering nursing care for children at Intensive Care Units.

Methods: A mixed method research, employing (convergent parallel design) was used in this study. A non-probability (purposive) sampling of 60 nurses were employed, 15 of them were included in the qualitative part of the study. The data were collected from three different intensive care units from January 3rd to February 20th, 2024, using the performance obstacles assessment questionnaire for the quantitative part of the study. An official permission to use the study questionnaire was obtained from the corresponding author. A semi-structured interview technique was used to collect the data. It took about 45-60 minutes for each participant to complete interview and record their responses. Quantitative data analysis has been established by using SPSS version 23, and the qualitative data analysis have been established based on thematic analysis.

Results: Quantitative results presented barriers including all domains (environmental barriers, organization barriers, technological barriers, task barriers, and family barriers) in which the mean of all domains was 2.61 and higher. In addition, qualitative results showed that nurses who work at children intensive care unit were faced by several barriers during care delivery for children such as environmental barrier, technological barrier, task barrier, organizational barrier, and family barrier.

Conclusions: Pediatric nurses were confronting barriers during delivering care to children due to lack of family awareness about care, lack of appropriate resources and devices, nursing shortage, and absence of clear protocol.

Recommendations: Efforts should be prioritized toward finding solutions for all the barriers faced by pediatric nurses to ensure better quality of healthcare services.

Objective(s): To assess of mothers' knowledge of using nebulizer therapy for their children with asthma, and to find out the relationship between the mother knowledge and their socio-demographic characteristics.

Methods: Descriptive study design was conducted at Ibn- Albaladi Hospital for Maternity and Child. Data were collected from October 10th, 2022 to January 10th, 2023. Purposive non-probability sample consisting of 50 mothers of children with asthma was admitted to the hospital. Data were collected through the interview technique using questionnaire consisting of: 11 items regarding mothers sociodemographic characteristics; and 19 items related to the use of nebulizer therapy for their asthmatic children. Data was analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistical.

Result: The results showed that most mothers had moderate level knowledge toward using of nebulizer therapy for their children with asthma with (58%) of them, with arithmetic mean of (M±SD= 2.19±0.305). There was no significant correlation between mothers’ age, marital status, family income, and their level of knowledge at (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The study concludes that mothers’ level of knowledge regarding the using of nebulizer therapy was at moderate level.

Recommendations: This study emphases applying and distributing of instructional pamphlets among mother of children with asthma regarding using nebulizer therapy and enhancing their knowledge through social media to improve their practice.معارف الامهات حول استخدام المرذذ لاطفالهن المصابين بالربو

Objective(s): This study aimed to assess quality of life among elderly in geriatric homes and its influencing factors.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in a geriatric home in Baghdad for the period from November 1st, 2022 to March 1st, 2023, on a sample of (139) elderly people. A validated WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was used with a total number of 28 items for quality-of-life assessment. Data were collected using interviews and analyzed by applying descriptive and inferential statistical analysis.

Results: The results indicate that the average age of the participants was 72.15 (± 2.39) years, more than half of the participants were males (58.3%), the monthly income was less than 300 thousand Iraqi dinars (45.3%), more than half of them have sons (59.7%). The results showed that (55.4%) of the elderly expressed a low quality of life. The study indicated that participants age, sex, marital status, monthly income, educational level, who have sons, length of stay in a geriatric home, and associated chronic diseases are all factors that predict quality of life among the elderly (p<0.05).

Conclusion: The level of quality of life among the elderly was poor due to many influential socio-demographic characteristics such as age, gender, marital status, monthly income, education, occupation, length of stay in the geriatric home, and comorbid chronic diseases that are factors that predict the quality of life among the elderly.

Recommendations: The study boosts an understanding on how elderly sociodemographic characteristics predicts their quality of life in geriatric homes. More research is required to exploring geriatric demands and the standard of services offered.

Objective(s): To determine the effectiveness of the educational program on university collegians’ perceptions of healthy dietary patterns, and to determine the relationship between these perceptions and students’ socio-demographic characteristics such as age, sex, marital status, monthly family income, place of residence, and level of education.

Methods: A quasi-experimental investigation was performed on students in the University of Mosul to assess the dietary pattern from November 9th of 2022 up to January 2nd of 2023. Non-probability sampling for a sample of (60) students divided into two groups, (study and control groups). Determine the validity of the questionnaire content by presenting it to the experts and using the half-division technique and calculating the Pearson correlation coefficient to determine its validity. A questionnaire has been constructed through extensive review of related literatures to accomplish the study's aims and objectives.

Results: The results of data showed that all (60) students in the study sample did not have an adequate level of perception of healthy dietary pattern in pre-test, 12.53 (±3.72). while the results of the post-test after implementing the program results showed that there is an improvement in their perceptions of the healthy dietary pattern in the study group only, 19.43 (±3.98).

Conclusion: The study showed that there was an improvement in perceptions of a healthy lifestyle related to dietary pattern in study group compared to those in the control group.

Recommendations: The study recommended the need to develop educational programs, lectures, courses and seminars on the benefits of a healthy dietary pattern that university students must follow to increase their perceptions that lead to changing their lifestyle and getting rid of wrong behaviors and habits.

Objective(s): The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of aromatherapy in reducing nausea and vomiting in adult patients receiving chemotherapy.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted on 66 patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy at the Oncology Centre in Al-Kut City, Iraq, from November 7th, 2023, to June 13th, 2024. Patients were selected conveniently and randomly based on the inclusion criteria, and they were randomly assigned into two groups: the inhalation aromatherapy group and the control group. The first group inhaled peppermint oil for 20 minutes, while the control group did not receive any intervention and underwent only routine treatment. The Rhodes Index Scale was used to assess nausea and vomiting. Used SPSS version 26 to analyze the data, applying both descriptive and inferential analysis, and a one-way ANOVA test was used to determine the statistically significant difference between the two trial groups.

Results: The findings revealed that there was a significant difference in the severity of nausea and vomiting in the aromatherapy groups compared to the control group, according to the mean of the aromatherapy group, which was 12.63, with a P value of 0.001.

Conclusion: The Aromatherapy was found to be effective in reducing nausea and vomiting levels when compared to the control group. Therefore, inhalation of aromatherapy is recommended as an effective non pharmacological intervention to reduce nausea and vomiting related to chemotherapy.

Recommendations: The study recommends healthcare professionals, particularly nurses to utilize nonpharmacological techniques such as aromatherapy that have been validated as effective more often for alleviating nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy.

Objective(s): To evaluate the knowledge and attitude towards diabetes and their association with age, marital status, education level, and monthly income among seniors with diabetes mellitus.

Methods: A cross- sectional descriptive study was carried out among 69 seniors with diabetes mellitus who were attending the Center for Endocrinology and Diabetes in AL-Muthanna Governorate. Data were collected using two scales; one for knowledge (DKN) and the other for attitudes through self-reporting. Data were analysed using IBM-SPSS.

Results: The study indicated that the knowledge of senior patients was very poor in all items of the DKN scale and, only 6 (8.7%) had acceptable knowledge, while 63 (91.3%) of them lack information about diabetes mellitus type2. As well as, their attitude was negative in most items of attitude scale, with a mean total of 2.43 ± 0.584. In addition, there is a statistically significant association between patients’ knowledge and monthly income at the level of 0.05.

Conclusion: The seniors had a poor knowledge with negative attitudes toward diabetes.

Recommendations: Significant efforts are required to enhance seniors\\' understanding and attitudes toward effectively managing their health and illnesses

Objective(s): To explore patients’ perceptions regarding warning signs of heart attacks.

Methods: A descriptive phenomenological design explored 10 perceptions of patients with ischemic heart disease toward warning signs of heart attack by non-probability (purposive) sampling at cardiac care units at Baquba Teaching Hospital and AlKhalis General Hospital For the period from 21st of December, 2023 to 24th of February, 2024. A 7-item semi-structured interview guide was developed. Qualitative analysis (thematic analysis) was used in the data analysis. This process involved transcribing and translating quotes from Arabic to English for better comprehension. The data analysis procedure consisted of several steps, including first-cycle coding, second-cycle, and analytical notes

Results: Six themes and sub-themes emerged. These themes include suspicious recognition, imagination, fear, family roles, experience (experience with heart attack and psychological experience), religious aspects, and repercussions. The themes that emerged included all aspects of the condition that the patient went through during the heart attack from a physical, psychological, and spiritual perspective, which expressed the depths of his sense and cognition.

Conclusion: The level of participants\\' perception is closely linked to their personal experience with heart attack (Whether the sample had heart attack in the present or past). Knowledge alone cannot form perception unless it reaches the individual\\'s psychological aspects, which are shaped through experience.

Recommendations: Conducting qualitative research is recommended at a national level and to the whole community to increase the generalizability of the results.

Objective(s): The present study aimed to test the effect of cooling face therapy on recovery from pain for patients after rhinoplasty.

Methods: a randomized clinical trial was conducted in AL-Kindi teaching hospital and AL-Wasiti teaching hospital from 22 November ,2023 to 5 June, 2024. After the sample was selected, 53 patients were divided into two groups, an experimental group with 26 patients, and a control group with 27 patients. To achieve the purpose of study in the experimental group, a cold gel mask. pain was assessed using a Numerical Pain Scale, the interview method was chosen for data collection.

Results: The data analysis showed all patients had pain in the pre-test, while the results showed that the average pain scale post-test for the intervention group with the cold gel mask was 50% with no pain, while in the traditional care group the pain intensity was 37% with moderate pain. so, there was a highly significant difference in pain levels between the experimental and control groups at p-value < .001).

Conclusion: It is concluded from the results of the study that applying a cold gel mask is effective in reducing pain after rhinoplasty compared to traditional ice compresses.
Recommendations: The study recommends the use of a cold gel mask after rhinoplasty to reduce pain after rhinoplasty.

Objective(s): to determine the effectiveness of nursing rehabilitation program on patients' pain after lumbar vertebral discectomy based on Analog pain scale.

Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted on patients after lumbar vertebral discectomy surgery. They have been selected and divided into two groups (study and control) with the application of the pre-test and post-test approach to the both groups after applying the nursing rehabilitation program. The validity, reliability, and interval scale of APS have been established. Data were collected in four phases: first baseline data (before any intervention presented to the study group) and then after each phase of the rehabilitation program. The study period was from January31st, 2022, to June30th, 2023. Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 23.

Results: The results of this study showed that there was a significant difference between the baseline time and after phase three in pain scales at P value lower than .005. the mean of APS for the study group was dropped from 6.24 at baseline evaluation to 0.76 after phase 3 of the program.

Conclusion: The study concluded that nursing rehabilitation program has a significant improvement on patients’ outcomes concerning back pain.

Recommendations: The study recommended that the current nursing rehabilitation program applied for all eligible patients after lumbar vertebral discectomy. Nurses and rehabilitation teams encouraged and motivated to participate in training programs concerning rehabilitation processes. Establishing advanced guidelines and recommendations of post spinal surgeries rehabilitation.