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Article History

Received: 20 April 2024

Accepted: 6 June 2024

First Online: 18 June 2024

Declarations

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: The recruitment of participants was conducted in a manner that upheld ethical standards of autonomy and respect. Potential participants were approached via purposeful sampling. Individuals who expressed interest were provided with comprehensive information about the study objectives, the nature of their participation, and their right to withdraw at any time without any penalty, which was delineated in an informed consent form. An opportunity to ask questions was afforded before participants made the decision to consent, ensuring their agreement was informed and voluntary. All participants provided a signed copy of the informed consent form before their inclusion in the study. We maintained confidentiality by assigning unique identifiers to replace personal information in study records. Anonymity was ensured by excluding names and other personal identifiers from the transcripts and publications resulting from the study. Strategies implemented to protect privacy included conducting interviews in private settings and safeguarding digital data with encryption. All stages of this study, from the design to data collection, analysis, and reporting, were conducted in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki, national ethical guidelines for research, and the policies enacted by Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of Golestan University of Medical Sciences (IR.GOUMS.REC.1399.245). These include but are not limited to the ethical handling of participant information, obtaining informed consent, and ensuring the right to non-participation without any adverse consequences.Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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: The authors declare no competing interests.