BACKGROUND: Many measures have been taken so far to minimize the outbreak of COVID-19, but it is still unclear to what extent people have understood the risk. Public participation plays a vital role in better and effective control of the coronavirus, and the importance of risk perception is effective in their preventive behavior. The aim of this study was to investigate the pandemic risk perception of coronavirus disease after began of pandemic in Iranian society. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Iran in spring 2020. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. The questions were extracted through interviews with experts and summarizing the opinions of public interviews, etc., The questionnaire was made available to the public through social media. The information was collected within 3 months. Quantitative data were reported as mean ± standard deviation and the qualitative data were reported as number and percent. Multiple linear regression and cross were also used to examine the demographic factors associated with risk perception. Data Analysis was performed using the SPSS version 21 statistical software. RESULTS: In this study, 402 individuals from 28 provinces (Azarbaijan Gharbi, Azarbaijan Sharghi, Alborz, Ardabil, Bushehr, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Ghazvin, Gilan, Golestan, Hamedan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan Razavi, Khorasan Shomali, Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad, Kurdistan, Lorestan, Mazandaran, Semnan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, and Zanjan) of Iran participated. The risk perception score obtained from the sum of the scores of the questions was classified into quartiles. Accordingly, the risk perception score of (22.9) 92 people was very low, (26.6) 107 people low, (26.9) 108 people moderate, and (23.6) 95 people high. The results of multiple linear regression showed that the variables of gender (P = 0.008) and occupation (P = 0.013) had a significant relationship with risk perception. There was no significant relationship between risk perception and variables of age, marital status, and level of education (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The study showed that the risk perception of the people is more in categories of moderate to high. Assessing the risk perception of a pandemic can be helpful for preventive measurements and planning, and also, according to the results of the research, can be done appropriate educational interventions. Given that 47.5% of respondents were employees, of course, it should be noted that in sending a questionnaire virtually, there is usually a lot of loss and this is a limitation of the research. The results of this study can be useful in making prevention decisions and maintaining safety and health in the workplace.

Background: Despite the mass vaccination of people in countries, preventive health guidelines of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are still one of the most critical factors for pandemic control. The objectives of this study were to assess the overall use of face masks and investigate the diverse kinds of face masks used among pedestrians in northeast Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was designed in Torbat Heydariyeh, northeastern Iran, from February 19 to May 13, 2020. A total of 223 848 pedestrians were selected from 25 points of the city, using a multistage sampling method in 10 stages. Descriptive statistics were presented with frequencies and percentages. Chi-square test and Fisher exact test were used to assess the association between two categorical variables. Results: The overall percent of face mask usage was 78.68%. Women used face masks considerably higher than men (88.32% vs. 69.02%, P<0.001). Among the male and female pedestrians who used the mask, 6.27% and 2.04% wore face mask incorrectly, respectively. Surgical masks (73.7%) were the most common face masks worn by pedestrians. Overall, the face mask usage was significantly lower during a.m. (88.34%) compared to p.m. (78.52%) (P<0.001). Also, the face mask usage was significantly higher in the center sections of the city (86.49%) compared to the outskirts (43.67%) (P<0.001). Conclusion: Women use face masks significantly more than men. Using educational programs and establishing laws and regulations to prevent pandemics in cities is considered as a key factor.

Background and objectives: Leukemia is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide. The relapse of the disease mitigates patient survival time. The convenience of explaining the results obtained from analyzing tree models have encouraged doctors and paramedics to employ them in their research. The current study is an attempt to determine the fiveyear survival time and factors influencing it in children suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia based on tree survival model in the presence of competing risks. Methods: The required data were collected from 255 children younger than 15, who suffered from acute lymphoblastic leukemia and referred to Dr. Sheikh Hospital in Mashhad, Iran during the years 2007-2015. Afterwards, the survival of the patient until the end of March 2015 was scrutinized. In this regard, various variables like sex, age, treatment period, white blood cells count, hemoglobin, platelet count, LDH level, CNS involvement, mediastan mass, rheumatologic symptoms, etc. were also considered. The relapse of the disease was considered the desired event, whereas the relapse-free death is called competing event. The survival time of the patients from diagnosis date to the date of event (censoring) was calculated on a monthly basis. The fitting of the model is implemented according to maximum within-node homogeneity, which, in turn, is based on the partition function of sum of squares of Event-Specific Martingale Residual changes. Results: The estimated mean survival time during the relapse and relapse-free death periods as well as in the presence of either events was obtained 55.51, 47.53 and 44.20 months, respectively, implying a decrease in the mean survival time in the presence of competing risks. White blood cell count and platelet count were considered the most influential factors contributing to the relapse or survival. Three subgroups of patients at risk were identified, and those with white blood cells ≥ 50000 were recognized as the ones with the least mean survival time. Conclusion: The factors affecting the survival rate of patients and their spots in the model can be employed in making clinical decisions and proposing therapeutic protocols. Identification of subgroups with identical mean survival rate is the most salient capabilities of the research model.

Background: Evaluation is an essential and integral part of medical education. Based on the evidence, the current common methods are less effective due to the lack of accurate assessment of students' clinical skills. Clinical evaluation of students in the form of direct observation in practical situations will increase their ability to deal with clinical events in specific patient situations. Objectives: In this study, the effectiveness of the direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS) method was compared with the common method in the clinical performance of operating room students. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was performed on 30 final-year operating room students in 2019 who had an internship course. Students were randomly assigned to two groups of control (n = 15) and intervention (n = 15). The evaluation of clinical skills was done by the traditional method in the control group and the DOPS method in the intervention group. Data collection was performed by a researcher-made checklist whose validity and reliability were confirmed. Statistical analysis of data was performed by SPSS-20 software using descriptive statistics and chi-square test, independent t-test, and Mann-Whitney test. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic characteristics including age, internship score, and gender (P > 0.05). Based on the results of the Mann-Whitney test, the mean rank of procedural techniques and clinical performance score was higher in the intervention group than in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The DOPS method can be more effective than routine methods for improving the clinical performance of operating room students. Therefore, it is suggested that the DOPS method be used as an alternative to traditional methods or even as a complementary method for evaluating the clinical performance of operating room students.

The prevalence of nosocomial infections (NIs) is a significant health issue in developing countries, and the increased incidence rate of these infections results in longer hospital stays, more mental pressures, increased treatment costs, and higher antibiotic resistance. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of NIs in two hospitals from 2011-2018. In total, 1123 patients with a history of NIs, as reported in the NIs surveillance systems of the hospitals, were included in the study. Data analysis was carried out by SPSS version 16 using Chi-square tests to evaluate the relationship between hospital wards, age, and gender. The prevalence of NIs was higher in the training hospital than in the social security hospital. Also, the prevalence of NIs decreased from 2011-2017 but has increased since 2018. The highest prevalence of NIs was related to E. coli (9.35%), with gram-negative bacteria having the highest frequency (36.2%). In addition, the most common location of NIs was the ICU (23.95%). In terms of the site of infection, postoperative infections had the highest prevalence (38.91%). The results were indicative of a significant relationship between mean age and various hospital wards. In addition, there was a significant relationship between the hospitalisation ward and gender. Meanwhile, no significant association was found between age and hospitalisation ward (P<0.05). There is a need for periodic training for all hospital-based agents to reduce NIs, especially in wards where invasive measures are used for treatment.