Iranian hospital efficiency: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose The purpose of this paper (systematic review and meta-analysis) is to synthesize and analyze studies that assessed Iranian hospital efficiency. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature search was conducted using both international (the Institute for Scientific Information, Scopus and PubMed) and Iranian scientific (Magiran, IranMedex and Scientific Information Database) databases. The review included original studies that used the Pabon Lasso Model to examine Iranian hospital performance, published in Persian or English. A self-administered checklist was used to collect data. In total, 12 questions were used for quality assessment. Findings In total, 34 studies met our inclusion criteria. The fixed-effects meta-analysis indicated that 19.2 percent (95% confidence interval (CI): 15.6–23.2 percent) of hospitals were in Zone 1 (poor performance: low bed turnover rate (BTR) and bed occupancy rate (BOR) and high average hospital stay (ALoS)), 23.7 percent (95% CI: 20.1–27.8 percent) were in Zone 2, 31.7 percent (95% CI: 27.7–36 percent) in Zone 3 (good performance: high BTR and BOR and low ALoS) and 25.4 percent (95% CI: 21.7–29.5 percent) in Zone 4. Practical implications Results help Iranian health policymakers to understand hospital performance, which, in turn, may lead to promoting greater awareness and policy attention to improve Iranian hospital efficiency. Originality/value This study indicated that most Iranian hospitals had sub-optimal performance. Further studies are required to understand factors that explain the country’s hospital inefficiency.

Download Full-text

The Prevalence of Unsafe Behaviors in Iranian Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Iranian Journal of Public Health ◽

10.18502/ijph.v50i2.5338 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mahdi MALAKOUTIKHAH ◽

Hadiseh RABIEI ◽

Soheil HASSANIPOUR ◽

Mehdi JAHANGIRI

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Random Effect ◽

Random Effect Model ◽

Work Experiences ◽

Inappropriate Use ◽

Effect Model ◽

Unsafe Behaviors ◽

Information Database

Background: Unsafe behaviors are the cause of 80% of accidents. However, there has also been no worldwide review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of workers’ unsafe behaviors. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate and estimate the prevalence of unsafe behaviors among Iranian workers using a systematic review and meta-analysis study. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted from Nov to Dec 2018. The researchers searched Medline/PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Science Direct, and Google Scholar for international articles and four Iranian databases (Scientific Information Database, MagIran, IranMedex, and IranDoc) for Persian articles. The method of reporting this study was based on the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) checklist. Results: Overall, 235 articles from databases were imported to EndNote library. Final screening of the included studies produced a total of 38 studies. Based on the random-effect model, the prevalence of total unsafe behaviors, nonuse or inappropriate use of personal protective equipment, and inappropriate work posture was 40.37% (CI 95% = 35.8-44.9), 27.79% (CI 95% = 21.2-34.3), and 14.87% (CI 95% = 10.7-18.9). There was no statistically significant relationship between unsafe behaviors and mean age, mean of work experiences, and year of study. Conclusion: The prevalence of unsafe behaviors among Iranian workers was relatively high and the most common behaviors were non-use or inappropriate use of PPE; one of the most important causes for this behavior is lack of training, inappropriate working conditions, and lack of positive attitude towards safety. Therefore, further studied are required to investigate the causes of these unsafe behaviors.

Download Full-text

Effects of cranberry consumption on features of the metabolic syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized control trials

Nutrition & Food Science ◽

10.1108/nfs-09-2020-0359 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Razie Hormoznejad ◽

Anahita Mansoori ◽

Seyed Ahmad Hosseini ◽

Marzie Zilaee ◽

Maryam Asadi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Fasting Blood Glucose ◽

Density Lipoprotein ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Content Type ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

The Metabolic Syndrome

Purpose The purpose of this paper with meta-analysis is to clarify the effects of cranberry consumption on features of the metabolic syndrome of interest of all relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature search was conducted on ISI web of science, PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane library and Google Scholar databases, to include trials published up to March 2019. Weighted mean differences (WMD) were calculated from a random or fixed-effects models. Between‐study heterogeneity was assessed by Cochrane’s test and I2 index. Findings Ten RCTs were included in this review which involving a total of 371 subjects. Our meta-analysis showed that cranberry consumption had beneficial effects on waist circumference (WMD −0.49, 95% CI −0.96 to −0.036; p = 0.034). No significant effect of cranberry consumption on fasting blood glucose, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure was found in this meta-analysis. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic review with meta-analysis of RCTs that investigate the effect of cranberry consumption on features of the metabolic syndrome.

Download Full-text

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in cardiovascular patients in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome ◽

10.1186/s13098-020-00605-4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Nader Salari ◽

Peyman Kaikhosro Doulatyari ◽

Alireza Daneshkhah ◽

Aliakbar Vaisi-Raygani ◽

Rostam Jalali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Sample Size ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Scientific Information ◽

The Metabolic Syndrome ◽

Cardiovascular Patients ◽

The Stability ◽

Information Database

Abstract Background Cardiovascular disease is the cause of more than 50% of mortalities globally, and this rate has grown by 8.6% since the 60 s. One of the risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease and its resulting mortality rate is the metabolic syndrome. Different studies have reported inconsistent rates for the metabolic syndrome. However, no comprehensive study has been conducted to combine the results of existing studies. Thus, the present study was performed with the aim of determining the prevalence of metabolic syndrome among cardiovascular patients in Iran through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Method : In this review study, the Scientific Information Database, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science (ISI), databases were searched from January 2005 and until May 2020, to identify and extract related articles. To conduct the analysis, a random effects model was used, and the heterogeneity of the studies was examined using the I2 index. Data analysis was performed within Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (version 2) software. Results The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in cardiovascular patients in Iran in the 27 papers examined with a sample size of 44,735 patients was 34.2% (95% CI: 26.8–42.6%). A sensitivity analysis was performed to ensure the stability of the results, these results show that by omitting the prevalence from each study, the overall prevalence (34.2%) does not change significantly. the highest prevalence of metabolic syndrome in studies conducted in the period between 2015 and 2020, and this was reported as 55.3 (95% CI: 47.9–62.3) and the highest prevalence of metabolic syndrome in studies conducted in the methods of diagnosis IDF, and the rate was reported as 48 (95% CI: 36.5–59.8). based on meta-regression as the year of research increased, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in cardiovascular patients in Iran also increased. However, with the increase in sample size, this prevalence decreased (p < 0.05). Conclusions The results of this study indicate that metabolic syndrome is high in cardiovascular patients in Iran. Accordingly, by understanding its etiology and supervision at all levels, suitable solutions could be offered by providing feedback to hospitals.

Download Full-text

The Seroprevalence of Human Cystic Echinococcosis in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Study

Journal of Parasitology Research ◽

10.1155/2016/1425147 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Reza Shafiei ◽

Saeed Hosseini Teshnizi ◽

Kurosh Kalantar ◽

Maryam Gholami ◽

Golnush Mirzaee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Random Effects ◽

Cystic Echinococcosis ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

High Effect ◽

Using Data ◽

Information Database ◽

Human Cystic Echinococcosis

Human cystic echinococcosis (HCE), a zoonotic infection of the larval stage ofEchinococcus granulosus, has high effect on public health in human population all around the world. Iran is one of the most important endemic areas in the Middle East. This systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the seroprevalence of HCE in Iranian population. An electronic search for articles from 1985 until April 2015 was performed using data bases PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Magiran, IranMedex, Iran Doc, and Scientific Information Database (SID) both in English and in Persian. A random-effects meta-analysis was used to combine results from individual studies. The information was analyzed by STATA version 11.1. A total of 33 articles met our eligibility criteria and were included in a meta-analysis. The pooled estimate of the prevalence of HCE based on random-effects model was estimated 6.0% (95% CI: 4.0%, 7.0%). The prevalence of the disease significantly increased with age and prevalence rate in males was significantly lower than females (p<0.001). The using of CIE or CCIEP method was also significantly greater than the other methods (p<0.001). There was a publication bias in prevalence of studies. HCE is highly prevalent in Iran. Public education for preventive strategies and finally reducing transmission of the parasite and infection in population is needed.

Download Full-text

Systematic review and meta-analysis of the most common processed/ultraprocessed foods consumed by Iranian children

Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal ◽

10.26719/emhj.21.032 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mina Babashahi ◽

Nasrin Omidvar ◽

Bahareh Yazdizadeh ◽

Motahar Heidari-Beni ◽

Hassan Joulaei ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Grey Literature ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Processed Foods ◽

Research Information ◽

Research Information System ◽

Iranian Children ◽

Information Database

Background: The trend of increasing overweight and obesity among children is a huge burden on health systems. In this regard, the growing availability of processed foods, often energy dense and nutrient poor, has become a major concern. Changing this trend will require evidence-based policies. Aims: This systematic review aimed to identify the most common processed/ultraprocessed foods consumed by 4–12-year-old Iranian children. Methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus and Web of science, as well as Persian scientific search engines, including Iran Research Information System, Scientific Information Database and Mag-Iran. We also assessed grey literature, that is, national studies and papers presented at relevant Iranian congresses. All data collected from studies were converted to daily servings (S/D). Mean and standard deviations of the included results were combined by performing meta-analysis with a random effects model. The I2 test was used to compute heterogeneity. Egger’s test was used to assess publication bias. Results: Ten studies with 67 093 children were included in this review. The meta-analysis demonstrated that the highest consumption of processed foods belonged to the sugars and sweets group with 8.01 S/D, followed by oils, and biscuits and cakes with 5.58 S/D and 3.33 S/D, respectively. Conclusion: Given the high consumption of less healthy processed foods, robust policies to support healthy eating and help improve Iranian children’s food environment are recommended.

Download Full-text

The effect of the herbal medicine on severity of cyclic mastalgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine ◽

10.1515/jcim-2020-0531 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Shirin Osouli Tabrizi ◽

Shahla Meedya ◽

Nafiseh Ghassab-Abdollahia ◽

Zahra Ghorbani ◽

Leila Jahangiry ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Side Effects ◽

Herbal Medicine ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Herbal Medicines ◽

Reproductive Age ◽

Dichotomous Data ◽

Drug Treatments ◽

Information Database

Abstract Cyclic mastalgia is one of the most prevalent problems in women of reproductive age and sometimes it is so severe that it influences their activities and requires treatment. The available drug treatments for mastalgia are not satisfactory and most patients have inclined towards complementary and alternative medicine including herbal medicines. Therefore, in order to evaluate the effectiveness and side effects of herbal medicines conducting systematic review studies and meta-analysis seems essential, thus this systematic review was conducted with the aim of determining the effect of herbal medicines on cyclic mastalgia and its probable side effects. The databases of Pubmed, Medline, Embase, ProQuest, Scopus, Web of science, Complementary Medicine Database, SID (Scientific information database), Magiran and Iranmedex were searched from 1997 to 2020 and limited only for English and Persian languages. The studies were appraised according to the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool. Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan software. Standardized mean difference (SMD) was calculated to assess an overall estimate of effectiveness for the continuous data. Odds ratio (OR) was calculated for dichotomous data. Thirty papers were included in the study. Meta-analysis of data demonstrated that herbal medicine was an effective method in reducing the severity of mastalgia compared to the placebo (SMD: −3.26, 95% CI: −5.05 to −1.46, p=0.00004). Subanalysis of data showed no difference between the effectiveness of herbal medicine on the severity of mastalgia compared to the pharmacologic treatment. This research demonstrated efficacy of herbal medicines in alleviating cyclic mastalgia. Therefore, these herbal medicines can be regarded as an alternative treatment for women suffering from cyclic mastalgia. However, due to the limited number of studies in relation to each specific herbal treatment, conducting further studies in this area is recommended.

Download Full-text

Effect of interventions based on educational technologies on the prevention of sexually transmitted infections in incarcerated women: protocol of a systematic review and meta-analysis

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043373 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. e043373

Author(s):

Isaiane da Silva Carvalho ◽

Ryanne Carolynne Marques Gomes Mendes ◽

Priscila de Oliveira Cabral Melo ◽

Caroline Ferraz Simões ◽

Luciana Pedrosa Leal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Health Education ◽

Sexually Transmitted Infections ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Incarcerated Women ◽

Mean Difference ◽

World Health ◽

Educational Technologies ◽

Sexually Transmitted

IntroductionPrisons are places with high vulnerability and high risk for the development of sexually transmitted infections. World Health Agencies recommend establishing intervention measures, such as information and education, on the prevention of diseases. Thus, technologies as tools for health education have been used to reduce sexually transmitted infections. However, no systematic review has investigated the effectiveness of these interventions. Therefore, this review’s objective is to examine the effect of educational technologies used for preventing sexually transmitted infections in incarcerated women.Methods and analysisPreferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines will be strictly followed. The following electronic databases will be searched: Scopus; Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health, Education Resources Information Center, Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed/Medline, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Randomised clinical trials of interventions that used educational technologies to prevent sexually transmitted infections in incarcerated women will be searched in the databases from the beginning of 2020 until December by two researchers independently. A narrative synthesis will be constructed for all included studies, and if there are sufficient data, a meta-analysis will be performed using the Review Manager software (V.5.3). Continuous results will be presented as the weighted mean difference or the standardised mean difference with 95% CIs. Under the heterogeneity of the included studies, a random-effects or fixed-effects model will be used. The studies’ heterogeneity will be assessed by the I2 method. The sensitivity analysis will be carried out to examine the magnitude of each study’s influence on the general results. A significance level of p≤0.05 will be adopted.Ethics and disclosureEthical approval is not required because no primary data will be collected. The results will be published in journals reviewed by peers.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020163820.

Download Full-text

Influenza-associated disease burden in mainland China: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-82161-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jing Li ◽

Yinzi Chen ◽

Xiling Wang ◽

Hongjie Yu

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Publication Bias ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Disease Burden ◽

Outpatient Visit ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Age Groups ◽

Mainland China ◽

Mortality And Morbidity ◽

All Cause Mortality

AbstractInfluenza causes substantial morbidity and mortality. Many original studies have been carried out to estimate disease burden of influenza in mainland China, while the full disease burden has not yet been systematically reviewed. We did a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the burden of influenza-associated mortality, hospitalization, and outpatient visit in mainland China. We searched 3 English and 4 Chinese databases with studies published from 2005 to 2019. Studies reporting population-based rates of mortality, hospitalization, or outpatient visit attributed to seasonal influenza were included in the analysis. Fixed-effects or random-effects model was used to calculate pooled estimates of influenza-associated mortality depending on the degree of heterogeneity. Meta-regression was applied to explore the sources of heterogeneity. Publication bias was assessed by funnel plots and Egger’s test. We identified 30 studies eligible for inclusion with 17, 8, 5 studies reporting mortality, hospitalization, and outpatient visit associated with influenza, respectively. The pooled influenza-associated all-cause mortality rates were 14.33 and 122.79 per 100,000 persons for all ages and ≥ 65 years age groups, respectively. Studies were highly heterogeneous in aspects of age group, cause of death, statistical model, geographic location, and study period, and these factors could explain 60.14% of the heterogeneity in influenza-associated mortality. No significant publication bias existed in estimates of influenza-associated all-cause mortality. Children aged < 5 years were observed with the highest rates of influenza-associated hospitalizations and ILI outpatient visits. People aged ≥ 65 years and < 5 years contribute mostly to mortality and morbidity burden due to influenza, which calls for targeted vaccination policy for older adults and younger children in mainland China.

Download Full-text

Impact of Use of Gastric-Acid Suppressants and Oral Anti-Cancer Agents on Survival Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Cancers ◽

10.3390/cancers12040998 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 998 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alice Indini ◽

Fausto Petrelli ◽

Gianluca Tomasello ◽

Erika Rijavec ◽

Antonio Facciorusso ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Gastric Acid ◽

Solid Tumors ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Soft Tissue Sarcomas ◽

Oral Chemotherapy ◽

Survival Outcomes ◽

Anti Cancer

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the role of gastric acid suppressant use on outcomes of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and oral chemotherapy. We identified all research evaluating the effect of GAS (gastric acid suppressants) use on patients receiving oral chemotherapy or TKIs for solid tumors. The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were calculated with a fixed-effects or a random effects model. The study population included n = 16 retrospective studies and 372,418 patients. The series concerned gastrointestinal tract tumors (n = 5 studies), renal cell carcinomas (RCC, n = 3 studies), non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC, n = 5 studies), and soft tissue sarcomas or mixed histologies solid tumors in n = 3 studies. The pooled HRs for OS and PFS were 1.31 (95%CI: 1.20–1.43; p < 0.01) and 1.3 (95%CI 1.07–1.57; p < 0.01) for GAS and no GAS users, respectively. Only studies of EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) mutated NSCLC patients receiving TKIs and those with colorectal cancer receiving oral chemotherapy showed a significant correlation between GAS and poor survival. Our study supports the evidence of a possible negative impact of concomitant GAS therapy on survival outcomes of patients receiving oral anti-cancer drugs.

Download Full-text

Impact of economic and financial crimes on economic growth in emerging and developing countries

Journal of Financial Crime ◽

10.1108/jfc-10-2018-0112 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 910-920 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sani Abubakar Saddiq ◽

Abu Sufian Abu Bakar

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Developing Countries ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Eligibility Criteria ◽

Content Type ◽

Research Reporting ◽

Financial Crimes ◽

Emerging And Developing Countries ◽

The Impact

Purpose The purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of economic and financial crimes on the economies of emerging and developing countries. Design/methodology/approach Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines and meta-analysis of economics research reporting guidelines were used to conduct a quantitative synthesis of empirical evidence on the impact of economic and financial crimes in developing and emerging countries. Findings A total of 103 studies were searched, out of which 6 met the selection/eligibility criteria of this systematic review. The six selected studies indicated that economic and financial crimes have a negative impact in emerging and developing countries. Originality/value To the best knowledge of the authors, no published systematic review of the impact of economic and financial crimes in developing countries has been conducted to date.

Download Full-text