Prediction of breast self-examination in a sample of Iranian women: an application of the Health Belief Model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Iranian women, many of whom live in small cities, have limited access to mammography and clinical breast examinations. Thus, breast self examination (BSE) becomes an important and necessary approach to detecting this disease in its early stages in order to limit its resultant morbidity and mortality. This study examined constructs arising from the Health Belief Model as predictors of breast self examination behavior in a sample of women living in Bandar Abbas, Iran.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study was conducted in eight health centers located in Bandar Abbas, Iran. The sample consisted of 240 eligible women who were selected from referrals to the centers. The inclusion criteria were as follows: aged 30 years and over; and able to read and write Farsi. Women with breast cancer, who were pregnant, or breast feeding, were excluded from the study. Data were collected by using a self administered questionnaire which included demographic characteristics and Champion's Health Belief Model Scale. This instrument measures the concepts of disease susceptibility (3 items), seriousness (6 items), benefits (4 items), barriers (8 items) and self-efficacy (10 items).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The subjects' mean age was 37.2 (SD = 6.1) years. Just under a third of the subjects (31.7%) had performed BSE in the past and 7.1% of them performed it at least monthly. Perceived benefits and perceived self-efficacy of the women who performed BSE were significantly higher compared with women who did not practice BSE (p < 0.03). Furthermore, perceived barriers were lower among those who had performed BSE (p < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis indicated that women who perceived fewer barriers (OR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.63-0.77, p < 0.001) and had higher self-efficacy (OR: 1.08, 95% CI: 1.02-1.13, p = 0.003) were more likely to perform BSE (R²= 0.52).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Findings from this study indicated that perceived barriers and perceived self-efficacy could be predictors of BSE behavior among the sample of women. Therefore, BSE training programs that emphasize self-efficacy and address perceived barriers are recommended.</p

Ebola: translational science considerations

We are currently in the midst of the most aggressive and fulminating outbreak of Ebola-related disease, commonly referred to as “Ebola”, ever recorded. In less than a year, the Ebola virus (EBOV, Zaire ebolavirus species) has infected over 10,000 people, indiscriminately of gender or age, with a fatality rate of about 50%. Whereas at its onset this Ebola outbreak was limited to three countries in West Africa (Guinea, where it was first reported in late March 2014, Liberia, where it has been most rampant in its capital city, Monrovia and other metropolitan cities, and Sierra Leone), cases were later reported in Nigeria, Mali and Senegal, as well as in Western Europe (i.e., Madrid, Spain) and the US (i.e., Dallas, Texas; New York City) by late October 2014. World and US health agencies declared that the current Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak has a strong likelihood of growing exponentially across the world before an effective vaccine, treatment or cure can be developed, tested, validated and distributed widely. In the meantime, the spread of the disease may rapidly evolve from an epidemics to a full-blown pandemic. The scientific and healthcare communities actively research and define an emerging kaleidoscope of knowledge about critical translational research parameters, including the virology of EBOV, the molecular biomarkers of the pathological manifestations of EVD, putative central nervous system involvement in EVD, and the cellular immune surveillance to EBOV, patient-centered anthropological and societal parameters of EVD, as well as translational effectiveness about novel putative patient-targeted vaccine and pharmaceutical interventions, which hold strong promise, if not hope, to curb this and future Ebola outbreaks. This work reviews and discusses the principal known facts about EBOV and EVD, and certain among the most interesting ongoing or future avenues of research in the field, including vaccination programs for the wild animal vectors of the virus and the disease from global translational science perspective

TÜRKİYE'DE İş SAGLIGI HEMŞİRELİGİ

İş sağlığı hemşireliği. hemşirelik bilgi ve becerilerinin iş alanında uygulandığı bir halk sağlığı dalıdır. &Ccedil;alışanın sağlığının korunması ve geliştirilmesi i&ccedil;in halk sağlığı ilke ve kuramlarının kullanıldığı hemşirelik uygulamalarını i&ccedil;erir. &Uuml;lkemizde iş sağlığı hemşireliği hen&uuml;z &ccedil;ağdaş hizmet d&uuml;zeyine ulaşamamıştır. G&ouml;zlem ve araştırma bulguları, hemşirelerin iş sağlığı alanında &ccedil;alıştırılmadığını, &ccedil;alışanların gelişmiş hemşirelik rollerini uygulamadıklarını ve sistemin yapısının koruyucu,geliştirici sağlık bakımı hizmetlerine yer vermediğini g&ouml;stermektedir. Bu derleme, iş sağlığı hizmet ekibi &uuml;yesi olarak iş yeri hemşirelerinin T&uuml;rkiye&#39;deki durumunu kritik etmek ve iş sağlığı hemşireliğinin yapılandırılmasına y&ouml;nelik &ccedil;&ouml;z&uuml;m &ouml;nerileri sunmak amacıyla d&uuml;zenlenmiştir. T&uuml;rkiye&#39;de hemşirelik eğitimi ve sağlık anlayışı ile ilgili yeni gelişmeler 2000 li yıllarda hemşirelerin iş alanlarında istihdam edilmelerini ka&ccedil;ınılmaz kılmaktadır.Bu bağlamda; -Ulusal hedefler ve iş sağlığı hemşireliği standartlarında hizmet verecek hemşirelik insan g&uuml;c&uuml; i&ccedil;in yasal ve uygulama d&uuml;zeyinde d&uuml;zenlemelere. -Hemşirelerin, ivedilikle kurulması beklenen &quot;İş Sağlığı Enstit&uuml;leri &quot; ve hemşirelik &ouml;rg&uuml;tleri tarafından d&uuml;zenlenen eğitim programları ile &quot;İş yeri hemşiresi&quot; olarak yetiştirilmelerine. -Hemşire/erin iş sağlığı alanındaki &ouml;neminin topluma, &ccedil;alışanlara. sendika temsilcilerine ve iş verene anlatılmasına ve kanıtlayıcı &ccedil;alışmaların yapılmasına. gereksinim vardır. Anahtar Kelimeler: İş sağlığı hemşireliği. T&uuml;rkiy

Validity and Reliability of the Instruments to Measure Colorectal Cancer Screening Benefits and Barriers-Turkish Version

Background Perceptions of benefits and barriers are important determinants in understanding colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) behaviors. There is a need for standardized Turkish tools that measure the benefits and barriers of fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and colonoscopy (COL). Objective The aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the "Instruments to Measure CRCS Benefits and Barriers." Methods This methodological study was carried out in 2 stages in primary care and in 394 adults between the ages of 50 and 70 years. In the first stage, some items of the scales demonstrated low/unacceptable corrected item-total and factor loadings, and in the second stage, it was decided to add emoji-based facial scales, which include emoji expressions. Results Results with the emoji-based facial scales included internal consistency coefficients of 0.85 for FOBT benefits, 0.79 for FOBT barriers, 0.84 for COL benefits, and 0.86 for COL barriers; the item-total correlations of FOBT varied between 0.39 and 0.73, whereas those of COL varied between 0.38 and 0.76. The factor loadings of all items were higher than 0.40. Conclusions The emoji-based facial scale for CRC Screening Benefits and Barriers is a valid and reliable tool for measuring the benefits and barriers perceptions of 50- to 70-year-old Turkish adults. Implications for Practice The Instruments to Measure CRCS Benefits and Barriers-Turkish version can provide insights for nurses and healthcare professionals to understand individuals' perceived FOBT and COL benefits and barriers and to develop effective interventions to increase CRCS rates

Using the Omaha System to Describe Health Problems, Interventions, and Outcomes in Home Care in Istanbul, Turkey A Student Informatics Research Experience

Preparing nursing students to achieve informatics competencies is essential in today's information-intensive healthcare delivery systems. This study aimed to provide hands-on informatics experience to nursing students and to identify the frequency and type of home care clients' health problems, nursing interventions, and outcomes using a standardized nursing terminology, the Omaha System. Data were collected by 159 nursing students on home visits to 598 clients, who received 8657 interventions from students and faculty for 2267 problems, in addition to the services provided by the home care centers. Skin, neuromusculoskelatal function, personal care, nutrition, and urinary function were the most common problems. The most common intervention category was teaching, guidance, and counseling (47%), followed by treatments and procedures (22%), surveillance (22%), and case management (9%). Outcomes evaluation showed significant improvement in 97.5% of the identified problems. Students gained informatics experience in the use of a standardized nursing language in electronic health records, data management, and use of nursing data at the basic practice level. This study demonstrated that the Omaha System was a useful data collection tool for evaluating problems, interventions, and outcomes in home care and a positive teaching and learning tool for baccalaureate nursing education