The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) epidemic is associated with impaired sleep quality in nurses for several reasons. The present study aimed to determine the effect of an online mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program on improving the sleep quality of nurses working in the COVID-19 care units. In this randomized controlled clinical trial study, all nurses in the 2 COVID-19 patient care units were randomly assigned to the control and intervention groups. The MBSR program was implemented online for 7 weeks for the intervention group by a trainer. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was completed online by the participants in both groups before and after the intervention. The results of the data analysis indicated that the intervention improved the scores of subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, and sleep efficiency in the intervention group. In the control group, there was a significant increase in the scores of subjective sleep quality, daily performance, and the total index score in the posttest. Besides, there was a significant difference between the 2 groups in only 2 components of sleep latency and subjective sleep quality. The MBSR program can be an effective intervention to improve the sleep quality of nurses working in COVID-19 intensive care units who are at risk of sleep quality disorders in stressful situations.

BackgroundResilience is one of the main factors affecting human health, and perceiving its meaning for high-risk adolescents is of particular importance in initiating preventive measures and providing resilience care.ObjectivesThis qualitative study was conducted to explain the meaning of resilience in the lived experiences of Iranian adolescents living in governmental residential care facilities.Materials and methodsThis study was conducted using the hermeneutic phenomenological method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight adolescents aged 13–17 living in governmental residential care facilities of Tehran province affiliated to the Welfare Organization of Iran who articulated their experiences of resilience. Sampling lasted from May 2014 to July 2015 and continued until new themes were no longer emerging. The researchers analyzed the verbatim transcripts using Van Manen's six-step method of phenomenology.ResultsThe themes obtained in this study included “going through life's hardships,” “aspiring for achievement,” “self-protection,” “self-reliance,” and “spirituality.”ConclusionOur study indicates that the meaning of resilience coexists with self-reliance in adolescents’ lived experiences. Adolescents look forward to a better future. They always trust God in the face of difficulties and experience resilience by keeping themselves physically and mentally away from difficulties. Adverse and bitter experiences of the past positively affected their positive view on life and its difficulties and also their resilience. The five themes that emerged from the findings describe the results in detail. The findings of this study enable nurses, health administrators, and healthcare providers working with adolescents to help this vulnerable group cope better with their stressful life conditions and improve their health through increasing their capacity for resilience.

BackgroundThe outcomes of hospitalization anxiety are mental health disorders. One of the methods of anxiety reduction is massage, which can cause reduction of pain and changes in physiological parameters.ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the effects of slow-stroke back massage (SSBM) on hospitalization anxiety and physiological parameters in school-age children.MethodsThis clinical trial study included 80 school-aged children from Ali Ebne Abi Taleb hospital, located in Zahedan, who were selected using sequential sampling and randomly divided into two groups: a massage group (40) and a control group (40). Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and the state-trait anxiety inventory for children (STAIC). Subjects in the massage group received SSBM, using sesame oil, for 3 days. Massage was given three times a day, and each massage session lasted for 15 - 20 minutes. Physiological parameters and hospitalization anxiety were determined from the second to fifth days. T-test and Chi-square were used for analysis data.ResultsThere was a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05) between the mean of systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressures (DBP), and pulse rate (PR) in the massage group prior to intervention (97.05 ± 20.7, 60.35 ± 16.69 and 95.45 ± 13.02 respectively) and on the fifth day (88.32 ± 16.58, 55.95 ± 12.7 and 90.45 ± 15.1 respectively). However, no difference was observed in mean respiratory rate (RR) in the massage group from the second day (17.55 ± 3.6) to fifth day (17.62 ± 3.27) (P = 0.096). The mean of state of anxiety, which was 36.4 ± 5.1 before intervention, was reduced by the fifth day to 31.2 ± 5.1 in the massage group (P < 0.0001, t = 5.2).ConclusionsThe results suggest that massage reduced hospitalization anxiety, PR, and BP. Therefore, we propose that nurses can use massage to reduce anxiety in school-age children in hospital. This method has no side-effects and is easily applicable.

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Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected disease. Our retrospective study describes 38 clinical and epidemiological characteristics of VL in patients admitted to a paediatric hospital in Tehran, Iran, who came from different geographical regions, indicating that the disease has spread to most parts of the country. Some 76.3% of the children documented suffered with symptoms of the disease for two months before admission.