Determination of nurses’ tendency to medical error and the factors affecting this in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Objectives: To determine nurses’ tendency towards malpractice and the factors affecting such a behaviour. Method: The descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in October 2018 at four public-sector hospitals in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and comprised nurses. Data were collected using the Malpractise Trend Scale in Nursing. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. Results: Of the 236 woman nuses with mean age 39.22±8.32 years, 166(70.3%) were married; 95(40.3%) had bachelor’s degrees; 124(52.5%) worked in internal medicine clinics; 75(31.8%) had been working for >20 years; 86(36.4%) had been working in the same clinics for 1-5 years; and 108(45.7.0%) were working in shifts. The mean Malpractise Trend Scale in Nursing score was 64.62±19.86, indicating low level of tendency. Age, duration of work and shifts had significant association with scale scores (p<0.05) Conclusion: The tendency towards malpractice was found to be low among the nurses in the study, and age, duration of work and shifts were significant factors affecting the tendency. Key Words: Medical error, Malpractise, Nurse, Health safety

The prevalence and risk factors of dementia in the elderly population in a low socio-economic region of Izmir, Turkey

The aim of this Study is to determine the prevalence of and risk factors of dementia in the elderly with a low socio-economical status. The study is a cross-sectional and analytic study. Two hundred and four persons aged 65 years and above were selected by using the cluster sampling method. The presence of dementia was determined by Standardized Mini Mental State Examination (SMMSE). Twenty-three and 18 cut-off points were accepted as the existence of dementia in educated and uneducated older individuals, respectively. Chi-square test. Student's t-test. and logistic regression analysis were used for data analysis. The mean age of older Subjects was 70.8 +/- 6.45 (S.D.): 71.5 +/- 5.9 in males and 70.3 +/- 6.8 in females (p = 0.19). Ninety-one percent of older people had never attended school, 54.6% were living below the poverty level. and 97% of the residences were in squatter settlements. Dementia was determined in 46 older subjects (22.9%). Dementia was found significantly higher in females, in elderly subjects aged 80 years and above. in older subjects who were in a bad or very bad self-health status and in those who had it chronic disease. did not have any occupation, had a lower monthly income, and with a depressive score eight and above (p < 0.05). In our study, the prevalence of dementia in older people was higher. in agreement with many reported studies. We assumed that this was due to the fact that the ratio of the uneducated, poor, and advanced aged subjects in this study was considerably higher. The different prevalence rates in studies demonstrate that the adoption of SMMSE for the study population, the validity-reliability analyses of tests and the standardization of diagnostic criteria are necessary. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Elder abuse and neglect in two different socioeconomic districts in Izmir, Turkey

Objective: To determine and compare the prevalence and risk factors of elder abuse in elderly population in two different districts in Izmir, Turkey

Home accidents in the community-dwelling elderly in Izmir, Turkey: how do prevalence and risk factors differ between high and low socioeconomic districts?

Objective: To determine and compare the prevalence of and risk factors for home accidents in the elderly in two different districts. Method: This cross-sectional study involves 497 older participants ages 65 and older. Sociodemographic characteristics of the elderly and characteristics of the houses in two different regions are evaluated. Data are analyzed by chisquare and t test. Results: The prevalence of home accidents was 39.3% in the low socioeconomic region and 13.1% in the high socioeconomic region within the past 6 months (p =.000). The most common type of home accident was fall (61.8%), followed by cut or piercing (22.0%). Home accidents are associated with being female and increasing age in the higher socioeconomic region, whereas being female, being unmarried, and living in a squatter house are associated with home accidents in the low socioeconomic region. Discussion: The prevalence of home accidents in the elderly population who live in low socioeconomic region was higher

Perinatal outcomes and risk factors of Turkish adolescent mothers

Study Objective: Adolescent pregnancy is considered a high risk for both the mother and infant. The aim of this study was to determine obstetric and neonatal outcomes and risk factors in adolescent pregnant women and to compare perinatal outcomes among the teen age groups and between adolescent and adult women

Smoking Prevalence Among High School Students in zmir and Influences of Social Learning on Smoking Behaviour

To determine the smoking prevalence among students and the effects of social learning on smoking behaviour. A cross-sectional study was performed among students in Inonu High School and Balcova Trade High School in Izmir. The minimum sample size was 410 students with 15% of a possible smoking prevalence and 3% of deviation at 95% confidence interval. A cluster sampling selection (571) was performed in Inonu while all students (273) in Balcova included in the study. The participation rates were 91.4% and 93.8%, respectively. Data were obtained by the self-administered questionnaire. The prevalence of current smokers was 14.6% among students in Inonu and 18.6% in Balcova. The most important factor of smoking initiation was stress. The other smokers in the home, friends' smoking, having knowledges about smoking habits of teachers and popular stars and alcohol consumption were significantly associated with increasing rate of smoking prevalence(p=0.000). The smoking prevalence of the students showed a positive association with age and mother's occupation(p=0.005, p=0.008). It was also determined according to logistic regression analysis that all factors except age increased significantly smoking prevalence. The smoking prevalence was high among students in Izmir. It was observed that the social learning factors had an important influence on smoking. It is needed to decreasing smoking prevalence among high school students that antismoking education should be reevaluated, that antismoking campaign should be administered in schools and community, that parents, teachers and school managers should be integrated into preventive programmes and prevention efforts must start early stage