Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women. Screening behavior rates are low in the world. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to investigate breast self-examination (BSE) rate and the relationships of Health Belief Model (HBM) constructs for predicting BSE. Path analysis was used to examine both one-way direct and indirect effects of HBM factors on BSE in this population (N = 382). Data were collected by a part of Champion's HBM Scale (CHBMS) and a self-administered questionnaire. The results showed that 7.6% of the participants reported performing BSE regularly. The final model provided a good fit to the data, with 13 variables explaining 62% of the variance in BSE. Perceived self-efficacy was intermediate construct between modifying factors and HBM constructs. Also, perceived self-efficacy and perceived benefits were the most highly related to BSE. The results suggest that HBM is a useful framework for identifying factors influencing the use of BSE in Iranian women.

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PurposeThe main objective of the Bushehr Elderly Health Programme, in its first phase, is to investigate the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and their association with major adverse cardiovascular events.ParticipantsBetween March 2013 and October 2014, a total of 3000 men and women aged ≥60 years, residing in Bushehr, Iran, participated in this prospective cohort study (participation rate=90.2%).Findings to dateBaseline data on risk factors, including demographic and socioeconomic status, smoking and medical history, were collected through a modified WHO MONICA questionnaire. Vital signs and anthropometric measures, including systolic and diastolic blood pressure, weight, height, and waist and hip circumference, were also measured. 12-lead electrocardiography and echocardiography were conducted on all participants, and total of 10 cc venous blood was taken, and sera was separated and stored at –80°C for possible future use. Preliminary data analyses showed a noticeably higher prevalence of risk factors among older women compared to that in men.Future plansRisk factor assessments will be repeated every 5 years, and the participants will be followed during the study to measure the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events. Moreover, the second phase, which includes investigation of bone health and cognition in the elderly, was started in September 2015. Data are available at the Persian Gulf Biomedical Research Institute, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran, for any collaboration.

Background: An understanding of the relationships between mental health literacy and health promotion behaviours is essential for the development of community-based interventions in the prevention of mental disorder. Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between mental health literacy and health-promoting behaviours and to assess the contributions of mental health literacy through mediation to demographic characteristic in healthpromoting behaviours. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 378 participants by convenience method in public places of Bushehr city from January to March 2016. The data collection tool included demographic variables section, mental health literacy scale, and health-promoting lifestyle profile. Assessment of the potential mediation effect of MHL was assessed using the three criteria. The association of the demographic characteristic with the MHL must be significant, the association of the demographic characteristic with health-promoting behaviours must be significant, and MHL must be significantly associated with the health-promoting behaviours controlling the demographic characteristics. The analysis was done by SPSS software version 20.0. Results: Findings indicated that there is a significant association between the education level (P < 0.001) and history of mental disorder (P = 0.004) with MHL score. There is a significant association between education (P < 0.001), employment status (P = 0.028), marital status (P = 0.013), and history of mental disorder (P = 0.035) with HPLP score. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that the education tended to have both direct and indirect effect in HPLP. Conclusions: MHL is a significant predictor and mediator to all the health-promoting behaviours. MHL is predictor of healthrelated behaviours, and, it also mediates the effect of the academic education on these behaviours.

Background: Maternal mental health including postpartum mental health is essential to women's health. This study aimed to develop a specific measure for assessing postpartum depression literacy and consequently evaluate its psychometric properties among a sample of perinatal women. Methods: This investigation was composed of two studies: developing the measure, and evaluating of psychometric properties of the developed questionnaire. In development stage an item pool was created. Then, based on definition of mental health literacy and preliminary screening, an initial questionnaire was developed. The content and face validity of the questionnaire were then assessed. In the second study psychometric properties of the questionnaire were examined. Overall 692 perinatal women with the mean age of 27.63 years (ranging from 17 to 43) participated in the study. Results: In all an item pool of 86 items was generated. Of these, 31 items were removed and the remaining 55 items subjected to content and face validity and further 16 items removed. In the second stage a 39-item questionnaire namely the Postpartum Depression Literacy Scale (PoDLis) was evaluated. In principal component factor analysis, 31 items were loaded indicating a 7-factor solution for the questionnaire. The factors designated the following constructs: ability to recognize postpartum depression, knowledge of risk factors and causes, knowledge and belief of self-care activities, knowledge about professional help available, beliefs about professional help available, attitudes which facilitate recognition of postpartum depression and appropriate help-seeking, and knowledge of how to seek information related to postpartum depression. Finally performing the confirmatory factor analysis, the Postpartum Depression Literacy Scale with 31 items was supported for the structures suggested by theoretical model and findings from the exploratory factor analysis. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the scale was .78 and it ranged from .70 to .83 for each factor lending support to the internal consistency of the questionnaire. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the Postpartum Depression Literacy Scale (PoDLiS) is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring the postpartum depression literacy and now can be used in studies of mental health literacy in women.