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Background Lifelong provision of care to chronically ill patients increase the risk of physical and mental diseases in informal caregivers and adversely affects their quality of life. The present study examined the correlation between caregiver burden, depression, and quality of life among the informal caregivers of thalassemia and hemodialysis patients during the COVID-19 pandemic in southeastern Iran. Methods This cross-sectional correlational study used convenience sampling to select 200 informal caregivers involved in providing direct care for patients undergoing hemodialysis (n = 70) and patients with thalassemia (130) for at least 6 months. A demographic questionnaire, Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI), the Quality-Of-Life Questionnaire (SF-36), and the Zarit Burden Interview were used to collect data in 2021. The data were analyzed with SPSS software (version 19) using frequency, percentage, independent samples t-test, ANOVA, and multivariate regression analysis. Results Most of the informal caregivers of the thalassemia and hemodialysis patients (58% and 43%) reported moderate levels of caregiver burden. There were significant correlations between the caregiver burden and depression (P < 0.0001) and between the caregiver burden and the quality of life (P < 0.009). The level of depression in informal caregivers of patients undergoing hemodialysis was higher than that of the informal caregivers of patients with thalassemia, but the quality of life in the informal caregivers of the patient’s undergoing hemodialysis was higher than that of the informal caregivers of the patients with thalassemia. Conclusion Considering the significant correlations between caregiver burden, depression, and quality of life in this study, healthcare providers are recommended to develop educational and supportive interventions to meet informal caregivers’ needs, mitigate their emotional distress, fears, and concerns, and prevent caregiver burden in times of greater uncertainty.

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BACKGROUND: Professional ethics is a set of principles and standards of human behavior that affect individual behavior and leads to improve care that provided by medical staff. The present study examined the knowledge and attitude of medical and nursing students toward professional ethics in Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive-analytic study was carried out on 176 medical and nursing students in Bam University of Medical Science, Iran in 2019. In this study, students were selected by census sampling. Data collected using two researcher-made questionnaires related to knowledge and attitude toward professional ethics. Data were analyzed in SPSS software. RESULTS: The mean scores of knowledge among nursing and medical students were 86.56 (8.76) and 85.10 (12.19), respectively. The mean score of attitude among nursing and medical students was 127.06 (12.45) and 129.9 (11.88), respectively. Results of the Pearson correlation test showed a positive and significant associated between the score of knowledge and attitude nursing and medical students' (P < 0.001), (r = 0.76) (r = 0.66). Among the demographics characteristics, student age was associated to their attitude and knowledge significantly (P = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Iranian nursing and medical students have a positive attitude and a high level of knowledge about professional ethics. A high level of knowledge was related to the most positive attitude.