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Background and Aims: Brucellosis is one of the zoonotic diseases that endanger the health of the population, particularly in developing countries. This study aimed to assess risk perception and behaviors of livestock farmers on brucellosis based on PRECEDE model in a rural area in the northwest of Iran. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted with 365 livestock farmers in rural areas of Germi, Iran. Participants were selected random sampling method. Data were gathered using a PRECEDE model based questionnaire consisted of five sections including demographic characteristics, predisposing factors (knowledge and attitudes), reinforcing factors, enabling factors, and brucellosis preventive behaviors. Results: The mean ± SD of age of participants was 47.1 ± 14.7 years. The state of knowledge about preventive behaviors and ways of disease transmission was evaluated as appropriate (with 87% and 81% of the maximum score, respectively). Three aspects of attitude in participants were desirable. Predisposing factors including knowledge of prevention ways, knowledge of transmission ways, and attitudes toward prevention, reinforcing factors, as well as education were significant predictors of brucellosis preventive behaviors. R 2 and adjusted R 2 were 0.312 and 0.310, respectively, according to which, about 31% of the changes in the brucellosis preventive behaviors explained by significant dependent variables. Conclusions: Given that farmers are at particular high risk of exposing brucellosis, improving their knowledge and desirable attitudes of brucellosis is crucial to increasing control the disease.
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Background: There is controversy about the efficacy of 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors in COVID-19 patients. Some assumed that finasteride might be a risk factor for deterioration and others proposed it as a possible adjunct treatment for moderate to severe COVID-19 infection in the elderly. Methods: We performed a randomized controlled clinical trial (registration ID IRCT20200505047318N1) on 80 hospitalized male patients aged ≥50 years diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia in a tertiary hospital in Qazvin (Iran) from April to July 2020. The patients were randomized into one of the 2 treatment groups using simple randomization. Treatment group patients underwent routine drug therapy and 5 mg finasteride once daily for 7 days. The primary endpoint was mortality rate and length of hospital stay (LOS), and secondary endpoints were peripheral capillary oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, and inflammatory markers changes. The study protocol was approved by the medical ethics committee of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences (registration ID IR.QUMS.REC.1399.080). Data were analyzed by statistical tests and SPSS version 25. Also, p<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: We found a significant difference on O2 saturation among the 2 study groups on fifth day compared with the admission time (p= 0.018). The results did not show significant differences in mortality rate (2.5% vs 10%; p= 0.166) and LOS (p= 0.866) between patients in the finasteride and the control group. Conclusion: A short course of finasteride administration partially improves O2 saturation but does not influence other outcomes in hospitalized male patients aged ≥50 years with COVID-19 pneumonia. Further research in a large scale with longer follow-up is required to help clarify the role of finasteride in this setting.