BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of crowded places such as universities and replaced face-to-face learning with virtual education. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the challenges of virtual learning from the students' perspectives. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This qualitative descriptive study was conducted on students of Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences. Purposeful sampling was performed by semi-structured group interviews on the Internet in the WhatsApp social network. Fifty-two nursing, midwifery, hygiene, and paramedical students were interviewed. Every interview was started by asking the question “what is your experience about virtual teaching?” The data were analyzed using MAXQDA software version 2020. According to the steps of qualitative content analysis, content analysis was performed and the themes were extracted. RESULTS: Fifty-two students were interviewed in eight group sessions. Qualitative data analysis leads to the extraction of 23 codes, 7 categories, and the 2 main themes; dissatisfaction with virtual education with 4 categories (lack of feedback, communication channel problems, the unpreparedness of the message receiver, and weakness in educational content) and solutions to the modification of virtual teaching with three categories (possibility of receiving feedback, channel improvement, and strengthening educational content) were extracted. The highest frequency of code was related to the dissatisfaction with the uploaded contents. CONCLUSIONS: Virtual education has created a negative experience among students for various reasons, including the lack of distance learning infrastructure and the lack of a standard for preparing quality content. Therefore, it is necessary for the officials of the Education Development Center to supervise the prepared contents and improve distance learning infrastructure.

Background and Objectives:The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its related factors in the survivors of Covid-19. Materials and Methods:In this descriptive study 413 patients who had a history of hospitalization due to covid-19 disease were selected using the convenience sampling method. Data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed by binary logistic regression.Results: Out of 402 participants, 148 participants (36.8%) had PTSD. In addition, suffering from coronary heart disease (OR=1.80, p<0.001) and adverse mental health status (OR=1.21, p<0.001) increased the odds ratio of PTSD by 80% and 21%, respectively. Conclusion:This study showed that more than one-third of the survivors of Covid-19 have PTSD. Therefore, it is recommended mental health status screening be integrated into the discharge plans of these patients.

INTRODUCTION: In the COVID-19 crisis, nurses are directly involved in patient care, so they face many challenges. This study was performed to determine the challenges faced by nurses while caring for COVID-19 patients in Iran in 2020. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This qualitative, content analysis was conducted in Iran on ten nurses directly involved in the fight against the corona epidemic, selected through a purposeful sampling strategy. Data were collected through deep interviews consisting of open questions. All the interviews were recorded, and immediately after each interview, it was transcribed into written form. The data were analyzed using MAXQDA software. RESULTS: All the challenges could be classified into three main categories and 17 subcategories. The main categories were miss-management in controlling corona conditions, mental and physical complications and challenges in corona work conditions, and lack of sufficient workforce. CONCLUSION: Hospital managers and authorities play a significant role in meeting the financial needs and requirements of nurses, and can minimize the job discrimination prevalent at medical centers through providing financial and nonfinancial incentives for nurses. Moreover, the findings of the present study can help hospital managers and authorities to gain a better understanding of the experiences of nurses, and to take the necessary measures to obviate the challenges faced by nurses in public health emergencies.

Introduction/Aim: Hypertension is a common disorder of old age, which could be prevented by medicinal herbs. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of lavender extract on prehypertension in the retired population. Methods: This triple-blind clinical trial was conducted on 60 retired men and women who were divided into two groups of lavender extract and placebo using the permuted block technique. Lavender extract (originating from flower part) and placebo were used twice a day (3 grams is equivalent to 3 cc each time) for two weeks. Blood pressure was measured before use, in the first and second week after use, and one week after the discontinuation of the medication to evaluate the stability of the drug effects. Data analysis was performed in STATA software version 14 at the significance level of p < 0.05. Results: Before the intervention, the mean systolic blood pressure in the lavender extract and placebo groups was 133.9 ± 9.3 mmHg and 127.3 ± 6.3 mmHg, respectively. After a one-week intervention, the mean blood pressure of the groups was 123.1 ± 12.6 mmHg and 125.8± 7.2 mmHg, respectively, while it was 120.8 ± 10.7 mmHg and 127.9 ± 2 mmHg after two weeks. One week after drug discontinuation, these levels were estimated at 123.7 ± 10.7 mmHg and 129.2 ± 10.10 mmHg, respectively. The results of repeated measures ANOVA indicated that lavender extract had significant effects on systolic and diastolic blood pressure in the intervention group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: According to the results, lavender extract was effective in prehypertension control in the retired subjects.