Counselling and knowledge about contraceptive mode of action among married women; a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Family planning counselling which covers knowledge transfer about contraceptive mode of action, by enabling informed choice, improves compliance to and efficiency of contraceptive methods. The objective of this study was to investigate associations between family planning counselling, counsellor and correct knowledge about mode of action of modern contraceptive methods among married women. METHODS: For this cross-sectional study, stratified (according to current modern contraceptive method in use) random sampling was performed from the registries of two primary health care centres. Main outcomes were; prevalence of family planning counselling, professional background of the counsellor and correct knowledge about mode of action. A semi-structured questionnaire developed by the researchers was applied via face-to-face interview. The answers about mode of action were categorized as correct vs. incorrect by consensus rating. RESULTS: Prevalence of counselling and correct knowledge about mode of action was 49.0% and 39.3%, respectively. Higher educated women were significantly more likely to know the mode of action (p < 0.001). Being counselled by a physician (54.1%, n = 120) was not associated with correct knowledge about mode of action (p = 0.79). Non-barrier method users were less educated (p = 0.001), more often counselled (60.8% vs. 8.0%) and less knowledgeable (p < 0.001) about mode of action of their contraceptive method, compared to condom users. Nevertheless, counselled non-barrier method users were significantly more likely to know the correct mode of action of their chosen method (p = 0.021) than counselled condom users. CONCLUSION: The beneficial effect of counselling on knowledge about mode of action of the more complicated, medical (non-barrier) contraceptive methods suggests that the use of family planning counselling services in primary health care should be promoted; furthermore, counselling strategies and content should be re-structured for better efficacy

Evaluation of Febrile Neutropenia in Hematologic Malignancy Patients

Introduction: Febrile neutropenia, developing in hematological cancer patients, is a common complication requiring hospitalization and resulting in death. It is assumed that it is caused by infection until its reason is clarified. Hence, it requires a multidisciplinary approach and treatment as a medical emergency. For these patient groups, most of whom are at high risk, death caused by infection is attempted to be minimized by continuously updating treatment approaches. This study aimed to determine clinical characteristics, risk factors, distribution and frequency variance of isolated pathogens and impact in mortality of hematological cancer patients with febrile neutropenia prospectively. Materials and Methods: In this study, 161 febrile neutropenia episodes of 99 patients with hematological cancer monitored between January 2012 and January 2013 in the Department of Hematology in the Hospital of our Medical Faculty were evaluated. Age, gender, underlying disease, chemotherapy regimens, hematologic and radiologic findings, antibacterial and fungal therapeutic regimens were recorded. Routine microbiological blood and urine cultures were performed. When necessitated, cultures from other sterile body sites were taken. Results: Mean age of the patients in the study group was 50.7 ± 15.9. Mean duration of hospitalization was 29.7 ± 14.9 days. Meanduration of neutropenia was 14.6 ± 5.7 days. In 21% of the evaluated episodes, microbiologically defined infection was found, where clinically defined infection was determined in 40% and fever of unknown origin was determined in 39%. A total of 47 isolates were isolated in total. When distribution of all isolated microorganisms, in all cultures was evaluated, 40% were grampositives, 47% were gram-negatives and 13% were fungi. The most frequently observed microorganisms were coagulase negative staphylococci with 31% and Escherichia coli with 22%. In blood cultures, 58% were gram-positives, 32% were gramnegatives and 10% were fungi. The most frequent febrile neutropenia treatment used in our center was carbapenem monotherapy. Mortality rate was 25.4%. Neutropenia duration and stage were the most important factors increasing mortality risk. Conclusion: Febrile neutropenia is a complication which may result in mortality in patients with hematological cancer. In order to define treatment models, each center is supposed to determine its center’s microorganism spectrum and antibiotic resistance profiles periodically

Condutas de mães objetivando a segurança de crianças nos carros em Sacaraya, Turquia - doi:10.5020/18061230.2006.p40

The aim of this study was to assess protective behaviour of families with children between the age of 0-16 years concerning safety measures for vehicle transport. Inclusion criteria for this cross-sectional, descriptive study were: having child/children between the age of 0-16 years, sharing the same domicile with them and giving informed consent to participate in the study. Beyond the maternal attitudes facing their children’s safety, there were studied the variables related to the mothers’ educational level, the number of children, the loss of children due to automobile accidents or illnesses. For the maternal attitudes analyses, The Paediatric Preventive Behaviour Survey was applied using a 10 points response Likert Scale. The study group (n=248) was randomly selected among mothers fulfilling the above criteria. Data were collected during one year between February 2003 and 2004. The results of the study revealed that, the higher the educational level of the mother, the more important she considered safety measures for children in vehicles. Nevertheless, attitudes and behaviour concerning vital protective measures to prevent children from major harm inside vehicles were not at a satisfactory level. It is obvious that there is a need for education in order to raise the consciousness of the public and families with children concerning safe behaviour in traffic to reduce/prevent inappropriate careless behaviour leading to injury, disablement and death of children during traffic accidents.O objetivo deste estudo foi conhecer o comportamento preventivo de famílias com crianças entre a idade de 0 a 16 anos sobre as medidas de segurança em veículos de transporte. Os critérios de inclusão deste trabalho transversal e descritivo foram: possuírem crianças entre 0 e 16 anos, dividir o mesmo domicílio com elas e dar o consentimento livre e esclarecido de participar deste estudo. Além das atitudes maternas frente a segurança dos filhos foram estudadas as variáveis relacionadas ao nível educacional da mães, o número de filhos, a perda de filhos por acidente automobilístico ou por doença. Para a análise das atitudes maternas foi aplicado o The Paediatric Preventive Behaviour Survey com a utilização de uma Escala Likert de resposta de 10 pontos. O grupo de estudo (n=248) foi escolhido de forma randomizada entre mães que preenchessem este critério. Os dados foram coletados durante um ano, no período de fevereiro de 2003 a 2004. Os resultados deste estudo revelaram que, quanto maior o nível educacional da mãe, mais importante ela considerava as medidas de segurança para crianças nos veículos. Apesar disso, atitudes e comportamentos relacionados às medidas de proteção vital para proteger as crianças de danos maiores dentro dos veículos não estavam em níveis satisfatórios. É obvio que há a necessidade de educação com o objetivo de aumentar a consciência da comunidade e de familiares com crianças no que diz respeito a comportamentos seguros no trânsito, para a redução/prevenção de condutas e descuidos inapropriados levando a traumas, incapacidade e mortes de crianças em acidentes de trânsito