The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D and its risk factors in pregnant women and their newborns in the Middle East: A systematic review.

Background: Pregnant women and newborns are at risk for vitamin D deficiency (VDD). Also, poor health outcomes for pregnant women with VDD are reported in the published literature.

Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to estimate the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D and the associated risk factors for hypovitaminosis D in Middle Eastern pregnant women and their newborns.

Effects of recruiting midwives into family physician program on the percentage of low birth weight (LBW) infants in rural areas of Kurdistan.

LBW is an important factor that can affect infant mortality and represents an index of economic and social development. It is expected that an increase in the density of midwives attending family physician programs will lead to a decrease in LBW in health centers. This study aimed to compare the percentage of LBW infants before and after the implementation of the family physician program in health centers with and without an increase in midwives density.

Effects of Recruiting Midwives into a Family Physician Program on Women's Awareness and Preference for Mode of Delivery and Caesarean Section Rates in Rural Areas of Kurdistan.

Background: The accepted rate rate of caesarean section is 15%. It is expected that an increase in the density of midwives in the family physician program lead to a decrease in this indicator. This study aimed to compare the rates of caesarean section and women's awareness and preference for mode of delivery before and after the implementation of the family physician program in health centres with and without an increase in midwives density.

Sexual and reproductive health needs of HIV-positive people in Tehran, Iran: a mixed-method descriptive study.

Background: People Living with HIV (PLHIV) are highly stigmatized and consequently hard-to-access by researchers and importantly, public health outreach in Iran, possibly due to the existing socio-cultural situation in this country. The present study aimed to evaluate the sexual and reproductive health needs of PLHIV in Tehran, the capital of Iran.

Methods: As a mixed-method descriptive study, this project was conducted in 2012 in Tehran, Iran.

The trend of national and subnational burden of maternal conditions in Iran from 1990 to 2013: the study protocol.

Background: It is widely accepted that maternal mortality is a proxy for maternal health status. Maternal deaths only represent the top of the iceberg; morbidity due to maternal causes apart from maternal mortality, poses a huge burden on women's families. There is an excessive need to widen the research on maternal morbidity.

National and sub-national burden of infectious diseases in Iran, 1990 to 2013: the study protocol.

Background: To assess the burden of infectious diseases, it is necessary to utilize a systematic approach for data collection and deploying the sophisticated methods to estimate the burden of infectious diseases for health policy making at national level. The present study protocol is aimed to provide a comprehensive explanation of the general structure and method used in the national and sub-national burden of selected infectious diseases study in Iran from 1990 to 2013.

Methods: The trend, burden, and geographical inequality pattern of infectious diseases will be estimated through a comprehensive review of published and unpublished data.