Journal of community health research

197-199

Authors: Masoud Keikha

Letter to the Editor

207-215

Authors: Mohammad Pourshams, Hasan JanFada

Introduction: It is obvious that driving without laws and regulations is a threat to every society's order and safety ultimately leading to accidents and loss of life. Several factors play a role in observance of traffic laws and regulations. The main purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of religious beliefs on compliance with traffic laws and regulations that could lead to improvement of order, safety, and reduction of casualties and accidents in Yazd City. Methods: This was a descriptive study which conducted in 2017 on 384 citizens of Yazd province aged over 18 years with a driver's license and ownership of a car or motorcycle which were randomly selected. The data collection tool were two questionnaires, (Golak and Stark religiosity) and a questionnaire complying with the traffic rules and regulations. Data analysis was performed by Structural Equation Modeling, partial least squares and PLS software to test the assumptions and accuracy of the model. Results: The findings showed that the effect of the lateral dimension of religious beliefs on compliance with traffic rules and regulations among drivers in Yazd was0.518. Besides, the effect of the emotional dimension of religious beliefs on compliance with the rules and regulations among the drivers was 0.270, and the effect of the religious beliefs on the observance of the rules and regulations among the drivers of Yazd was 0.05. There was thus a significant relationship between the variables of religious beliefs and the observance of traffic laws and regulations (adherence to the rules influenced by Religious Beliefs). Conclusion: In general, the results of this research showed that religious beliefs included in this research can increase the observance of traffic rules and regulations and consequently with its continuation over time may result in reduction of accidents and consequent losses.

223-228

Authors: Marjan Mohammadzadeh, Hamidin Awang, Suriani Ismail, Hayati Kadir Shahar

Introduction: The current study as a part of our investigation on improving emotional and behavioural health in Malaysian orphanages was aimed to establish Content Validity Index (CVI) as well as Face Validity of a new life skill-based module for improving emotional health and coping mechanisms in Malaysian Institutionalised Adolescents of 2 different orphanages. Methods: In order to assess the content validity we used a 16-item questionnaire. The initial version of the module was reviewed by 9 experts in the area. Then, the face validity of the module was assessed among 30 adolescents aged 14-17 from 2 different orphanages. By Using Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS21) and Brief COPE scale as the study instruments, the emotional heath and coping mechanisms among the participants were investigated before and after a life skills workshop (pre- and post-test). The activities in the workshop were randomly selected from the module activities. Results: The Results of the first part of the study showed that the minimum Value of the Item-level Content Validity Index and the computed sum of items (S-CVI) for the study module were 0.78 and 0.93 respectively. The results of the second part of the study showed that the selected activities from module significantly change the coping mechanisms expect substance use, behavior disengagement, venting, humor and religion (p > 0.05). Furthermore, the mean score of anxiety (t = 5.39, P < 0.001) and stress (t = 3.90, P < 0.001) significantly decreased among the participants in post-test but there was no significant change on the mean score of depression (t = 0.50, P = 0.59). Conclusion: both contend and face validity of the developed module were approved.

240-247

Authors: Adewale Ismahil Badru, Kehinde Kazeem Kanmodi

Introduction: There is little public awareness on the anaesthesiology profession among the Nigerian population. This study aims to determine the level of anaesthesiology profession awareness among tertiary school students population, academic and non-academic staff members who were attending the South-western Nigerian zonal conference. Methods: Data obtained from a cross-section of 2,748 students, academic and non-academic staff members of various tertiary institutions in South-western Nigeria were used in this study. Thestudy tool was a self-administered anonymous questionnaire which obtained information on the participants’ demographic profile and knowledge of the anaesthesiology profession. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 16 software. Results: The mean age of 2,748 respondents was 22.6 years. Roughly half (48.4%) of them were males, 95.0% were singles, 85.7% were from the Yoruba tribe, and 69.1% were students. Only 32.8% of respondents had already heard about anaesthesiology profession, most of which (35.0%) were aware of the profession through reading books. Furthermore, the most popular anaesthesiologist’s service known by them (i.e. those that were aware of the profession) was intraoperative analgesia (61.6%), while palliative care service was the least known (13.1%). Doctors found how to create underlying sources of information about this profession. Conclusion: The anaesthesiology profession is poorly known among literate Nigerians; therefore, a serious public education is needed in this regard. If people are not well-informed about this profession, they will be at risk of falling into hands of doctors who do not have enough expertise when they are in need of an anaesthesiologist. Furthermore, doctors need to pay more attention on making the public aware of various medical specialties.