Dyspnea and decreased O2 saturation are the most common causes of hospitalization in noncritical covid-19 patients. Breathing exercises and chest physiotherapy are used for managing the patients. These treatments are however not well supported by scientific evidence. In a randomized controlled trial, 80 patients were randomly assigned to planned breathing-exercise (n=40) and control groups (n=40). The participants in the intervention group were instructed to blow into a balloon five times a day while lying down. Other therapies were similar in both groups. The severity of dyspnea at rest/after activity and peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) with/without O2 therapy were compared between the two groups on the first, second, and third days. The study findings showed no statistically significant difference in SpO2 with/without O2 therapy on the first, second, and third days between the two groups. Although the severity of dyspnea showed no significant difference between the two groups, the mean score of dyspnea at rest (2.72+-2.25 vs. 1.6+-1.21, p=0.007) and after activity (4.53+-2.04 vs. 3.52+-1.66, P=0.017) improved in the intervention group on the third day. Balloon-blowing exercise improves dyspnea in noncritical Covid-19 patients, but it does not significantly improve oxygenation. Keywords: breathing exercises, balloon-blowing, BBE, chest physiotherapy, covid-19, dyspnea, oxygenation, pulmonary rehabilitation.

Background Pre-hospital emergency staffs as the frontline forces fighting against COVID -19 have been affected by this pandemic. Today, the occupational and mental health of these individuals is particularly important to the health care system. Death anxiety is one of the inevitable things in this job, and not paying attention to it can cause unwanted effects such as changing the level of job satisfaction of the personnel. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of predictive death anxiety in the job satisfaction of pre-hospital emergency personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among pre-hospital emergency staffs in Qazvin Province, Iran in 2021–2022. Among the bases chosen by the census method, 198 samples were included in the study by the available method. Data collection tools included the Demographic Checklist, Templer's Death Anxiety scale, and the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire. The data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics and SPSS 20 software. Results The mean age of the samples was (33.14 ± 6.77). 167 persons were male and the others were female. The average job satisfaction and death anxiety of the personnel were 55.07 ± 11.50 and 8.18 ± 1.96, respectively. Pearson's correlation coefficient between the two variables was r = -0.126 And a null correlation coefficient hypothesis has been confirmed with p-value = 0.077. Conclusions The results showed a high level of death anxiety and average job satisfaction. Although these two variables do not have a significant relationship with each other, considering that they do not have the appropriate level, it needs more investigation and consideration.

Background: The demand for home care services has increased not only due to the increase in the elderly population but also due to consumer preference and technological advances that allow for the provision of sophisticated home care. Home healthcare services aim to help people improve their performance, live a more independent life, improve their well-being, and help them stay at home, and avoid hospitalization. Objective: This study was conducted to compare the quality of life (QoL) of COVID-19 patients under home care at a hospital in Qazvin City, Iran. Methods: his study was a cohort study. The samples included two groups of patients, hospitalized patients due to COVID-19 and patients with COVID-19 who received medical and nursing care at home. Patients were matched for age, underlying disease, and severity of the COVID-19 disease. In this study, a 3-month follow-up on changes in QoL compared to before hospitalization and receiving care at home was performed using a QoL questionnaire (SF-12). Findings: The mean score of QoL in the home care group was 32.36±2.15 and in the hospitalized group, it was 29.70±2.94, which shows a statistically significant difference, and the quality of home care patients reported to be higher than hospitalized patients (P<0.001, t=7.20) Conclusion: Receiving hospital care at home increases the QoL for patients with COVID-19. This finding can be generalized during different epidemics, and home care can be an excellent alternative to hospitalization for some patients.