Nutritional Issues And Self-Care Measures Adopted By Cancer Patients Attending A University Hospital In Turkey

Objective: This study aimed to assess the nutritional status of cancer patients and the self-care measures they adopted as a response to nutritional problems. Methods: This descriptive study included seventy cancer patients staying in the oncology and internal disease clinics of a university hospital in Turkey. Data were collected using a questionnaire with 29 questions. Results: The mean age of participants was 40.2 ± 1.82 years. Approximately, 62.9% of the patients ate only half of the meals offered to them, 65.7% experienced weight loss, and 45.7% had difficulty eating their meals on their own. Moreover, 47.1% of the patients received nutritional support and nutritional problems were observed in 71.4% of the patients; 80% were unable to eat hospital food, 54.3% had an eating disorder related to a special diet, 30% suffered from loss of appetite, 27% had nausea, and 14.3% had difficulty swallowing. Furthermore, 48.5% of patients responded that they ate home-cooked food or ordered food from outside when questioned about the self-care measures taken to avoid the aforementioned nutritional problems. Conclusions: Most of the cancer patients had serious nutritional problems and ate home-cooked food and used nutritional supplements to overcome these problems. Oncology nurses are responsible for evaluating the nutritional status of cancer patients and eliminating nutritional problems.PubMe

PAIN AND FRAILTY IN ELDERLY FEMALES WITH OSTEOPOROSIS

Introduction: Most adults who live to an advanced age become frail. Although not a disease, frailty is a combination of age-related changes and associated medical problems. This descriptive study aimed to determine the pain level and frailty status of elderly females with osteoporosis

Turkish Public University Students' Views On The Quality Of Phd Education In Nursing

This is a descriptive study to determine the views on the “doctoral education in nursing” of the doctoral students in Nursing. The data of the study were collected using the “Student Views Regarding Doctoral Education in Nursing” survey prepared by using the literature. The survey was sent via e-mail to the students who were at least in the 3rd semester of their doctoral education in nursing. A total of 110 students answered the questionnaire. The students stated that receiving doctoral education is necessary for “improving the nursing knowledge and practices”, that they faced challenges such as “inadequate time” and the “attitude of the advisor”, and they gained professional skills such as “planning and sustaining research, critical perspective, etc.”, but the doctoral education provided a limited contribution to their intellectual improvement.Wo

Öğrenci Gözüyle Nöroloji Hastasına Bakım Vermek: Nitel Bir Çalışma

Amaç: Bu çalışma, nörolojik sistem hastalığı olan bireylere bakım veren öğrenci hemşirelerin yaşadıkları güçlüklerin belirlenmesi amacıyla yapılmıştır. Yöntem: Çalışmada veriler, nitel çalışma yöntemi olan odak grup görüşmesi ile toplanmıştır. Çalışmanın örneklemini, Ankara ilinde bir üniversitenin hemşirelik fakültesinde öğrenim gören ikinci sınıf öğrencilerinden (nöroloji kliniğinde klinik uygulama deneyimleri olmaları nedeniyle) araştırmaya katılmayı kabul eden 24 hemşirelik öğrencisi oluşturmuş ve her grupta altı öğrenci olmak üzere toplam dört odak grup görüşmesi yapılmıştır. Araştırma verilerinin toplanmasında, öğrencilerin demografik özelliklerini içeren soru formu ve araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen yarı yapılandırılmış soru formu kullanılmıştır. Bulgular: Öğrencilerin yaş ortalamaları 20,4 olup, %75’i kız öğrencidir. Öğrencilerin tamamının nörolojik hastalıklar hakkındaki bilgiyi derslerinden edindikleri ve %75’inin nörolojik hastalığı olan bir akrabası olmadığı tespit edilmiştir. Öğrencilerin çoğunluğu nöroloji hastasına bakım verirken hastaya karşı acıma, üzülme, korku ve tedirginlik gibi duygular yaşadıklarını ifade etmişlerdir. Öğrencilerin tamamı, nörolojik sistem hastalığı olan bireylerle çalışırken güçlük yaşadıklarını ifade etmişlerdir. Öğrenciler, bu hastalarla çalışırken karşılaştıkları zorluklarla baş etmek için eğitimci, klinik hemşiresi ve hekiminden destek aldığını ifade etmişlerdir. Sonuç: Araştırma sonucunda 2. sınıf hemşirelik öğrencilerinin tamamının nörolojik sistem hastalığı olan bireyler ile çalışırken güçlük yaşadıkları saptanmıştır. Öğrencilerin hastalara karşı acı, üzüntü, endişe gibi olumsuz duygular yaşadıkları, bu hastalara bakım vermede ve hastalar ile iletişim kurma konusunda güçlük yaşadıkları belirlenmiştir

Turkish Nursing Students' Views Of Their Clinical Learning Environment: A Focus Group Study

Objective: The objective was to determine the views of Turkish nursing students towards clinical learning environment. Methodology: The study used qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews. Nursing school students were selected for study participants. It was discussed with total 32 nursing students; four groups were formed, each with 8 people about studies themes. Result: All participants were female and the mean age was 22 0.97. A total of 32 student nurses described the importance of their clinical learning experiences, both negative and positive, and their opinion about the clinical learning environment. Conclusion: This is one of the studies from Turkey on Turkish nursing students' views regarding the clinical learning environment and showed that the students were affected by their patients, clinical educators and clinical professional's attitudes towards nursing students in the clinical environment.Wo

Using progressive relaxation exercises in chronic obstructive lung disease: systematic review

Bu çalışmada Kronik Obstrüktif Akciğer Hastalığı (KOAH) olan hastalarda progresif kas gevşeme egzersizi (PGE) kullanımının etkisini inceleyen çalışmaların sistematik olarak incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır.Gereç ve Yöntem: KOAH hastalarında PGE’nin etkisini ortaya koyabilmek için ULAKBİM, PubMed ve Science Direct veri tabanları kullanılarak Temmuz 2018 tarihine kadar yayınlanmış 2553 çalışma taranmış ve PGE ile ilgili 310 makaleye ulaşılmıştır. Bunlardan çalışma kriterlerini karşılayan 8 çalışma amaç, yöntem, bulgular ve sonuç açısından incelenmiştir. Çalışmaya KOAH hastalarında PGE’nin etkisini inceleyen randomize kontrollü çalışmalar (RKÇ) ve yarı deneysel çalışmalar dahil edilmiştir. Seçilen araştırmalar, anahtar kelimelerin seçimi için PICO, kalite kontrolü için ise Joanna Briggs Enstitüsü (JBI) eleştirel değerlendirme listelerine göre değerlendirilmiştir.Bulgular: Bu çalışmada yedi RKÇ ve bir yarı deneysel çalışma olmak üzere sekiz çalışma incelenmiştir. Çalışmalarda KOAH hastalarına uygulanan PGE‘nin yorgunluk, anksiyete ve depresyon düzeyini azaltmada, uyku kalitesini arttırmada etkili olduğu saptanmıştır. Ayrıca PGE’nin fizyolojik parametreler (kan basıncı, kalp atım hızı, solunum hızı, oksijen satürasyonu) ile pik ekspiratuar akım hızı üzerine de etkili olduğu belirlenmiştir.Sonuç: KOAH hastalarına uygulanan PGE birçok semptomun yönetiminde etkili olduğu görülmektedir. Alana daha fazla kanıt oluşturabilecek randomize kontrollü çalışmaların yapılması önerilmektedir.The aim of this study was to systematically investigate the effects of progressive muscle relaxation exercise (PMR) on patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Material and Methods: In order to determine the effects of PMR in COPD patients, 2553 studies were reviewed by using Ulakbim, PubMed and Science Direct databases with the last search date of July 2018 and 310 articles related to PMR were reached. 8 studies that met the study criteria were reviewed in terms of objectives, methods, findings and outcome. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies investigating the effects of PMR on COPD patients were included in the study. Results: In this study, seven RCTs and one quasi-experimental study were examined. The studies reported that PMR were effective in decreasing fatigue, anxiety and depression and increasing sleep quality in COPD patients. In addition, it was also found that PMR was effective on physiological parameters (blood pressure, heart beat rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation) and peak expiratory flow rate. Conclusion: Since PMR is effective in the management of many symptoms in COPD patients, it is recommended that that randomized controlled trials may be conducted to provide more evidence for the field

Physiological Problems In Patients Undergoing Autologous And Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Objective: Stem cell transplantation is usually performed in an effort to extend the patient's life span and to improve their quality of life. This study was conducted to determine the postoperative physiological effects experienced by patients who had undergone autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Methods: The research is a descriptive study conducted with a sample of 60 patients at Stem Cell Transplantation Units in Ankara. Percentile calculation and chi-square tests were used to evaluate the data. Results: When a comparison was made between patients who had undergone allogeneic Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and those who had undergone autologous HSCT, results indicated that problems occurred more often for the allogeneic HSCT patients. The problems included: Digestion (94.3%), dermatological (76.7%), cardiac and respiratory (66.7%), neurological (66.7%), eye (56.7%), infections (26.7%) and Graft Versus Host Disease (5 patients). Furthermore, the problems with pain (50%), numbness and tingling (40%), and speech disorders (3 patients) were observed more often in autologous BMT patients. Conclusion: Autologous and allogeneic patients experienced most of physical problems due to they receive high doses of chemotherapy. Therefore, it is recommended that an interdisciplinary support team approach should be usedtohelp reduce and manage the problems that may arise during patient care.PubMe

Nursing Students’ Perspectives On Assisting Cancer Patients

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the experiences of student nurses who have provided care to cancer patients. Methods: A mixed method approach consisting of semistructured focus groups (n = 61) and a survey questionnaire (n = 129) was used in the study. Student nurses were first interviewed, and then, a questionnaire was developed for them to answer. Following the content analysis, three themes and 19 subthemes were identified. Frequency and percent were used for qualitative data. Results: Among the student nurses, 80.6% reported that working with cancer patients was “difficult.” Difficulties experienced by the student nurses included patients rejecting their care, a large number of problems cases encountered when providing care to cancer patients, communication problems (38.0%), working with patients and attendants who fear death, and problems arising from family attendants who obstruct care. The majority of students experienced patients fearing death (28.7%) and felt feelings such as pity (71.1%), sadness (50.0%), and fear of cancer (41.9%) during their internships in oncology clinics. Conclusions: Students should be supported by instructors and oncology nurses, and nursing curricula should contain topics on how to best approach cancer patients.PubMedScopu