Background and Aim: Medical research institute is the main basis for knowledge production through conducting research, and paying attention to the research is one of the most important things in the scientific communities. At present, there is a large gap between knowledge production in Iran compared to that in other countries. This study aimed to identify the challenge of research system in a research institute of medical sciences in Iran. Matherials and Methods: This was a descriptive and qualitative study conducted in the first 6 months of 2013. A qualitative content analysis was conducted on 16 heads of research centers in a research institute of medical sciences. The required data were gathered using semi-structured interviews. The collected data were analyzed using MAXQDA 10.0 software. Results: Six themes identified as challenges of research system. The themes included barriers related to the design and development, and approval of research projects, the implementation of research projects, the administrative and managerial issues in the field of research, the personal problems, publishing articles, and guidelines and recommendations. Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, the following suggestions can be offered: pushing the research towards solving the problems of society, employing the strong executive and scientific reseach directors in the field of research, providing training courses for researchers on how to write proposals, implementing administrative reforms in the Deputy of Research and Technology, accelerating the approval of the projects through automating the administrative and peer-reviewing processes.

Background: Novel coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) was declared as a global pandemic in 2020. With the spread of the disease, a better understanding of patient outcomes associated with their symptoms in diverse geographic levels is vital. This study aimed to evaluate clinical outcomes of COVID-19 patients by disease symptoms in Ilam province, Iran.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Data were collected from integrated health system records for all hospitals affiliated with the Ilam University of Medical Sciences between 26-Jan-2020 and 02-May-2020. All patients with a confirmed positive test were included in this study. Descriptive analyses, chi-square test, and binary logistic regression model were performed by using SPSS version 22.Results: The mean age of participants was 46.47 ± 18.24 years. Of the 3608 patients, 3477 (96.1%) were discharged, and 129 (3.9%) died. 54.2% of the patients were male and were in the age group of 30–40 years. Cough, sore throat, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, and fever or chills were the most common symptoms. Patients with symptoms of shortness of breath, abnormal radiographic findings of the chest, and chest pain and pressure were relatively more likely to die. According to binary logistic regression results, the probability of death in patients with shortness of breath, abnormal chest radiographic findings, and chest pain was 1.34, 1.24, and 1.32 times higher, respectively, than for those without.Conclusion: Our study provides evidence that the presentation of some symptoms significantly impacts outcomes of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. Early detection of symptoms and proper management of outcomes can reduce mortality in patients with COVID-19.

Objectives: Health literacy is one of the most important social determinants of elderly health. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of the educational intervention on knowledge, attitude, and nutritional behaviors of the elderly with adequate health literacy and inadequate health literacy. Methods & Materials: An experimental study was conducted with 192 people 60 years and older in Ilam Province, Iran, from May to September 2016. The elderly were assigned into four groups (48 subjects in each group), including two intervention groups with adequate and inadequate health literacy and two control groups with sufficient and insufficient health literacy. The elderly nutrition education program consisted of four lecture sessions with questions and answers, along with an elderly nutrition manual for the intervention group. The level of health literacy among the elderly was assessed using functional health literacy in adults. The level of knowledge, attitude, and nutritional behaviors was assessed using a researcher-made questionnaire in two stages before and two months after the educational intervention. The SPSS V. 21 was used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics and the Chi-square, paired t test, and Fisher exact test were used for data analysis. Results: The Mean±SD age of the men was 61.24±2.38 years, and the mean±SD age of women was 61.35±2.45 years. The majority of men with adequate health literacy were men (84.37%), while the proportion of men and women in those with inadequate health literacy was almost the same. All participants with adequate health literacy and 89.58% of those with inadequate health literacy were married. After the educational intervention, the mean scores of knowledge, attitude, and behavior in the intervention group with adequate health literacy increased significantly (P≤0.013, P≤0.015, and P0.05). Conclusion: According to the study Results, the effectiveness of the educational intervention in relation to nutrition of the elderly is significantly influenced by the level of health literacy.

Background: Nowadays, the medical tourist industry is one of the most profitable industries around the world. Countries try to attract more medical tourists to take advantage of its benefits. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perspective of tourists (patients and attendants) regarding services provided by hospitals of Lorestan University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using content analysis approach to explore the determinants of medical tourists’ satisfaction in Lorestan, Iran. First, data were analyzed and studied extensively. Next, breaking down the analyzed texts into smaller chunks, the contents and themes, as the smallest units, were extracted, coded, and categorized. In some cases, quotations from participants were brought for basic and minor themes of the study. Extracting basic, internal themes as well as categories were done by 2 researchers, independently. Results: The most important quoted problems at the provincial level in hospitals included personnel, equipment, and medical and welfare facilities’ shortage, personnel improper behavior with patients and attendants, inadequate skills of the medical staff, unavailability of personnel, lack of suitable general sanitation, mismanagement and problems of admission and discharge. Conclusions: Attracting tourist’s satisfaction could bring major financial resources, consequently helping to reinforce economical aspect in the provincial scale. Doubtlessly, planning in line with solving existing problems is one of the most important and basic procedures in order to attract health tourists. Keywords: Satisfaction; Medical Tourist; Hospital; Iran

Background COVID-19, which emerged in December 2019, is the largest pandemic ever to occur. During the early phase, little was known about public awareness relating to Coronavirus disease. This study was designed to determine knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) among the Iranian public towards COVID-19. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was carried out in Iran from 2 March to 8 April 2020 using a self-administered questionnaire on 1,480 people. COVID-19-related KAP questions were adapted from other internationally validated questionnaires specific to infectious diseases. Results All participants were aware of COVID-19. When asked unprompted, 80% of respondents could correctly cite fever, difficulty breathing and cough as signs/symptoms of COVID-19. Most of our sample population knew that by staying at home and staying isolated (95.3%, 95 % CI: 94.2-96.3) as well as constant hand washing and using disinfectants (92.5%, 95 % CI: 91.1-93.8) could prevent COVID-19. However, there was also widespread misconceptions such as the belief that COVID-19 can be transmitted by wild animals (58%, 95 % CI: 55.5-60.5) and by air (48.3%, 95 % CI: 45.7-50.8). Unprompted, self-reported actions taken to avoid COVID-19 infection included hand washing with soap and water (95.4%, 95 % CI: 94.3-96.4), avoiding crowded places (93%, 95 % CI: 91.7-94.3), cleaning hands with other disinfectants (80.9 %, 95 % CI: 78.9-82.9), and covering mouths and noses when coughing and sneezing (76.1 %, 95 % CI: 73.9-78.2). The internet and social media (94.5%, 95 % CI: 93.3-95.6) were the main Coronavirus information sources. However, the most trusted information sources on Coronavirus were health and medical professionals (79.3%, 95 % CI: 77.2-81.3). The majority of participants (77.0%, 95 % CI: 74.8-79.1) wanted more information about Coronavirus to be available. Conclusion Our findings suggest that people’s knowledge and attitude towards COVID-19 at the time of its outbreak was of a high level. Therefore, health systems should use multiple ways, such as mass media, phone applications, electronic, print, and tele-education to increase KAP related to COVID-19.

Introduction: Stoicism is a way of life that brings peace and happiness to humans as it shifts individuals’ perspectives on existence. From the Stoics’ perspective, suffering originates from beliefs, desires, and emotions, and can be reduced by managing them. This study aimed to systematically collect and analyze Stoic-related research in nursing care and allied health, to further the understanding of its practical applications in clinical settings. Method: This scoping review was conducted using the PRISMA-ScR checklist and the following five stages were followed: (1) Identifying the research question; (2) Identifying relevant studies; (3) Selecting studies; (4) Charting the data; (5) Collecting, summarizing, and reporting the results. Five main databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched up to February 2025. Articles published from the year 2000 and onward were considered if they met the eligibility criteria. The data charted based on the type of studies, publication year, and population under the studies. Also, the researchers conducted a content analysis to synthesize the results. Results: Twenty-eight studies were included in the final analysis. These included theoretical (42.85%), interventional (7.14%), cross-sectional (25%), longitudinal (3.57%), mixed-methods (10.71%), and qualitative studies (10.71%). Based on the content analysis six main themes emerged, including stoicism and its applications, philosophy of nursing and ethics, mental health and psychological stress, healthcare worker and patient interactions, cultural and gender influences, evolutionary biology and sexual selection. Conclusion: Stoicism is influenced by culture, gender, economic, and social status. Since Stoic teachings appear to improve the psychological indicators of healthcare professionals, chronic patients, and students, it is recommended that more evidence-based interventional studies be conducted in this field rather than relying solely on theoretical studies based on historical reports. This would enable health policymakers to prioritize the inclusion of these teachings in educational and training programs, especially for students and frontline healthcare staff.