The Evaluation of Sexual Problems and Influencing Factors in Behçet’s Disease

Objectives: The prevalence of sexual dysfunction in Behcet patients, patients' practices toward sexual problems, pre-disease sexual life and distribution of post-disease sexual problems were evaluated. Patients and Methods: Sexually active 96 patients were included to the study. The data were collected with the "Sexual Problems in Behcet Patients Data Collection Form" and "Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASES)". The scale's score interval is 5-30; 11-above scores indicate sexual dysfunction. Results: Of the patients, 51 (53.1%) were 40-year-old and above, 49 (51%) were women; the most frequent symptoms were oral aphtosis (58.3%), genital ulcers (31.2%), and erythema nodosum (28.1%). Mean ASES score was 14.2+/-5.8 66 patients (68.7%) had sexual dysfunction. The most prevalent problems were decreased frequency of intercourse (n=32, 86.5%), painful sexual relation (n=18, 48.6%) and unwillingness (n=9, 24.3%). Most of the patients (n=15, 40.5%) who expressed sexual problems were not using any practice for the solution. None of the patients received any information about sexual problem and the most preferenced source of information would be the doctors (n=83, 86.4%) in case having this opportunity. Female gender and the belief about the impact of Behcet's disease on sexual life determined ASES score (43%). Conclusion: Sexual dysfunction in Behcet's disease was seen in a significant proportion.WoSScopu

Use of Simulation in Nursing Education : Initial Experiences on a European Union Lifelong Learning Programme - Leonardo da Vinci Project

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 LicenseAim: The aim of this paper is to share the initial experiences on a European Union (EU) Lifelong Learning Programme Leonardo Da Vinci Transfer of Innovation Project related to the use of simulation-based learning with nursing students from Turkey. The project started at the end of the 2010 involving 7 partners from 3 different countries including Turkey, England, and Italy. Methods: This project is divided into 7 work packages (WP). In this paper, experiences from the first three WPs (WP1: Preparation and dissemination of the project. WP2: Regulation of the project management. WP3: Development of the evaluation tools used to evaluate the impact of the innovative practice within the coordinating partner's institution) are shared. Results: In the WP1 and WP2: the kick-off meeting was organized in Turkey, the coordinating partner’s country. During the meeting project-related events were planned and the steering committee of the project was formed. A strong team spirit within the partnership was established. For the dissemination of the project, a poster and flier of the project were prepared and placed on corporate boards visible to students and teaching staff and put on the partners’ institutional websites. Regular bulletins of the project were also prepared and posted on the project website. In the WP3, student data sheet, items for students’ satisfaction questionnaire and confidence scale were created based on the literature. Trauma patient scenarios (abdominal trauma, thoracic trauma, pelvic fracture and traumatic amputation) were created to test the target group's knowledge. Ethical approval was obtained from the coordinating partner institution. A pilot study to test the cases was conducted. Following the pilot study, the final version of the student data sheet and scenario cases was created. The second meeting was organized in Italy. In this meeting, the results of the pilot study, the scenario cases, and the Patient Intervention Self Confidence /Competence Scale were evaluated. Conclusion: The work on this EU project is still in progress. Considering that learning from experience is an important part of nursing education, sharing experiences on such a project related to using simulation as an innovative teaching strategy in nursing education in Turkey should provide an example to others who want to develop other EU projects in nursing education.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Cross-Cultural Adaptation And Psychometric Assessment Of The Turkish Version Of The Vulnerability To Abuse Screening Scale

Background/aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Vulnerability to Abuse Screening Scale (VASS). Materials and methods: This was a methodological study. The sample included 140 elderly individuals. Data were collected by using a questionnaire form, the VASS, and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). The Cronbach alpha value was calculated and test-retest reliability was tested for the reliability analyses. Results: The Cronbach alpha value calculated for the VASS (12 items) was 0.819. There was no difference between test and retest mean scores of the VASS. A statistically significantly positive and strong relationship was found between the test and retest scores of the individuals. A statistically significantly positive and moderate relationship was found between the VASS and GDS scores. Factor analysis revealed that a total of four factors accounted for 63.66% of the total variance with an eigenvalue of >1. These results show that the Turkish version of the VASS is a valid and reliable scale. Conclusion: This study showed that the adoption of the translated VASS in Turkey is reliable and valid to evaluate the risk of abuse in adults over the age of 65.WoSScopu

The use of complementary and alternative medicine by the stem cell transplantation patients

Çalışma 2006 yılında 32. Ulusal Türk Hematoloji Kongresi’ nde sözel bildiri olarak sunulmuş olup, ‘Genç Katılımcı Ödülü’ almıştır.Bu çalışma kök hücre nakli yapılan hastaların nakil öncesi ya da nakil sonrası TAT uygulamalarının değerlendirilmesi amacıyla tanımlayıcı olarak yapılmıştır. Veriler Ankara’da bulunan 5 hastanede tedavi gören 153 hastadan toplanmıştır. Veri toplama formu sosyo-demografik özellikler ve geçen ve bir önceki yıllardaki ilik nakillerinde TAT kullanımına ilişkin bilgileri kapsamaktadır. Hastaların TAT rak %48.4’ünün şifalı bitkisel ürünleri, %28.1’inin dini aktiviteleri (dualar) kullandığı belirlenmiştir. Hastaların sıklıkla bitkisel ürün olarak ısırgan otunu (%69.0) ,hayvansal ürün olarak ise kaplumbağa kanını kullandığı saptandı. Hastalar çoğunlukla tedavi edici, gevşetici ve manevi güç olarak TAT kullandığını belirtmiştir. Hastaların %79.0’u doktorları ile TAT kullanımlarına ilişkin tartışmadıklarını/danışmadıklarını belirtmiştir. Bu çalışmanın bulgularının diğer çalışmalardakilerle benzer olduğu saptanmıştır.The aim of this descriptive study was to investigate the types and prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among patients with malignancy who have undergone bone marrow transplantation (before and after). A demographic questionnaire was completed with 153 patients at five hospitals located in Ankara. Data has been collected from a face-to-face interview performed by a nurse. The most common types of CAM used were herbs (%48.4) and pray (%28.1). The most frequently used herb was stinging nettle (%69.0) and animal product was blood of turtle. Common reasons for using CAM were that it is “curative", it gives "relaxation" and evokes "spiritual wellbeing”. Majority of the patients using CAM (%79.0) did not discuss the use of these therapies with their primary physicians. This study revealed that most findings in this study are similar to the results of other studies

Use of simulation in nursing education : Initial experiences on a European Union Lifelong Learning Programme

AIM: The European Union(EU) Lifelong Learning Programme Leonardo Da Vinci Transfer of Innovation Project started in 2010 and involved 7 partners from 3 different countries including Turkey, England and Italy. The aim of this paper is to share initial experiences and learning on this project. METHODS: The project is divided into 7 work packages(WP). In this paper, experiences of the first three WPs(WP1: Preparation and dissemination of the project. WP2: Regulation of the project’s management. WP3: Development of the tools used to evaluate the impact of the innovative practice within the coordinating partner’s institution) are shared. RESULTS: For WP1 and WP2:the kick-off meeting was organized in the coordinating partner’s country. During the meeting, events were planned and the steering committee for the project was formed. A strong team spirit within the partnership was established. For the dissemination, a poster was prepared and put on each partners’ institutional website. In the WP3:student data sheets, items for measuring students’ satisfaction and confidence, and scenario cases about trauma patients were created to measure the target group’s knowledge. Ethical approval was obtained. A pilot study to test the cases was conducted. Following the pilot study, a revised version of student data sheet and cases was created. A two-day meeting was organized in Italy. At this meeting the participants discussed and evaluated the results of the pilot study including cases and the student satisfaction and self confidence questions, all in an effort to identify educational needs of the participating students. CONCLUSION: This is an ongoing project. Considering that learning from experience is an important part of nursing education, it is critical to share experiences on this EU project related to using simulation. It is an innovative teaching strategy in nursing education, one which should provide an example for the others who want to develop EU projects in nursing education.Non peer reviewe

The prevalence of childhood psychopathology in Turkey: a cross-sectional multicenter nationwide study (EPICPAT-T)

Conclusion: This is the largest and most comprehensive epidemiological study to determine the prevalence of psychopathologies in children and adolescents in Turkey. Our results partly higher than, and partly comparable to previous national and international studies. It also contributes to the literature by determining the independent predictors of psychopathologies in this age group