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Article History

Received: 30 May 2023

Accepted: 10 October 2023

First Online: 13 October 2023

Declarations

:

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: Ethics approval and consent to participate The Ethics Committee of Bushehr University of Medical Sciences granted ethical permission for this study (Ethical Code: IR.BPUMS.REC.1401.173) in compliance with the Helsinki Declaration and national guidelines for research ethics. The interviewers diligently apprised all participants of the study’s procedures and methodologies, subsequently procuring written informed consent from each individual. In instances where a participant was unable to execute the consent due to specific circumstances, either legal guardianship facilitated the authorization process and provided the informed consent; or the individual was excluded from participation in the study. Participation remained voluntary, with each contributor retaining the privilege to withdraw their agreement at any juncture without encountering consequences, or opt not to continue with the study.

: The BEH program protocols have confirmed that the human research participants provided written informed consent for the usage of their data for further and secondary analysis. If a participant was unable to give their consent due to specific circumstances, either their legal guardian facilitated the authorization process and provided informed consent, or the individual was excluded from the study. The participants were assured that any use of their data would be non-identifiable, and neither the authors nor the readers would have access to any identifiable personal information. Moreover, any data that could potentially identify individuals would never be published anywhere.