Evaluation of a dental health education program for midwives

WOS: 000186988900008PubMed ID: 14682651Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a dental health program for the midwives in primary health care services in Izmir, Turkey. Methods: One hundred sixty-four midwives participated in the pilot project. The program was evaluated by quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative method assessed the improvement of the dental knowledge level, whereas the qualitative method was conducted to determine the assessments of the participants. Results: The percentages of correct responses given to knowledge items were higher after the program. The midwives defined their role as an important first step for dental services. Education atmosphere was the best characteristic of the program, whereas lack of a written document was an important limitation. Conclusion: Despite some limitations, the program was an effective way of improving the oral health knowledge of the midwives and their motivation for dental services

Student evaluation of an integrated, spiral model of epidemiology education at the Ege University

PubMed ID: 19039744Objectives: The Ege University Faculty of Medicine (EUMF) introduced a community-oriented undergraduate curriculum in 2001. In developing the epidemiology portion of the new curriculum, learning objectives were written for their relevance to different learner stages within the general curriculum and to Turkey's public health problems. Key learning objectives were that students should be able to comprehend the moral values of scientific research, principles of study design and evidence appraisal, and the role of epidemiology in clinical practice. The curriculum included didactic lectures and group activities. The aim of the present study was to explore third-year students' perceptions of the epidemiology curriculum. Methods: The program was evaluated at the end of our students' third year through written evaluations using quantitative and qualitative methods. Two hundred fifty-five students (92.7%) of all third-year medical students participated in the evaluation. Quantitative methods were based on student ratings, whereas qualitative method assessments involved content analysis of the students' open-ended statements. Findings: Based on responses to fixed response items, more than seven out of every 10 students appreciated the value of epidemiology to the work of physicians. More than six out of 10 students evaluated the curriculum favorably, but only a third indicated that they became more interested in epidemiology with time, and one-quarter found epidemiology challenging. In students' open-ended responses, the most frequent positive statements referred to students' heightened interest in research and appreciation of the curriculum's interactive teaching. Some students criticized the content as difficult and felt that there were too many didactic lectures. Conclusion: Based on their evaluations, students found our new epidemiology curriculum acceptable, and regarded it as relevant and valuable to their future practice. © ZA Ocek, S Taner Gursoy, M Ciceklioglu, F Aksu, Turk Soyer M, 2008

Tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 6 productions in response to platelet-activating factor in chronic hepatitis B virus infection

WOS: 000223490600007PubMed ID: 15316260Objective: The aim of this study was to determine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) release in response to platelet-activating factor (PAF) induction in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers. Methods: Subjects were grouped into three subgroups. The mean age was 37+/-10 years. Group A (n=15), group B (n=10) and group C (n=9) subjects were HBV serology-negative, had natural immunity after recovery from an acute HBV infection, and were chronic HBV carriers, respectively. Results: Compared with group A, PBMCs from naturally immune subjects and chronic HBV carriers produced significantly higher amounts of TNF-alpha and IL-6 in response to PAF. In chronic HBV carriers, TNF-alpha (1,633.3+/-793.7) and IL-6 (2,533.3+/-466.3) production was statistically lower than TNF-alpha (2,630.0+/-727.3) and IL-6 (3,870.0+/-728.4) obtained from naturally immune subjects to HBV. Conclusion: Differences of TNF-alpha levels between chronic HBV carriers and naturally immune subjects suggest that TNF-alpha may be a critical mediator of HBV clearance. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel