Hygiene behaviour in university students in Turkey

Conclusions: Community-based awareness and education plans must initiated to improve regular hygiene practices at the level of university students in Turkey

EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO SMOKE ON THE RESPIRATORY HEALTH OF CHILDREN

Infections of the respiratory tract are the most common acute illness of childhood. Apart from the morbidity (and occasional mortality) attributable to respiratory infections, they also represent risk factors for asthma and possibly other chronic respiratory effects in later life. Children's exposure to harmful substances of tobacco smoke begins at prenatal period, if pregnant woman smokes after the delivery, it continues postnatally to be paced. Children are especially sensitive to the respiratory effects of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure. ETS exposure is an significant & avoidable risk factor for respiratory diseases among children. ETS is a wide-spread environmental pollutant that has been long linked with respiratory problems. In children of all ages ETS exposure has been found to be associated with increased respiratory symptoms such as wheeze and cough. The role ETS plays in the development of atopy is of great interest, as atopy is closely related to the development of childhood asthma. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is preventable. This review discusses primarily on impact of ETS on during the fetal period and infancy and childhood. This paper reviews of several articles between year 1992-2009 obtained from the internet; Pubmed and Medline

Parent's knowledge and perceptions of the health effects of environmental hazards in Sakarya, Turkey

Objective: To assess the knowledge and perception of parents of high school students about the health effects of environmental hazards in Sakarya province of Turkey. Method: The cross-section study was conducted in May 2009 in which randomly assigned 362 parents answered a questionnaire inquiring about the sociodemographics and a list of environmental hazards such as tobacco smoking, sunlight exposure and skin cancer, global climate change, air pollution, noise exposure, smoking during pregnancy and low birth-weight, exposure to radon and lung cancer, reducing radon, air pollution and cardiovascular diseases, base station and childhood leukaemia, extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields and brain tumour. The participants were also asked about water pollution, environmental tobacco smoke, air pollution, ozone depletion, exposure to radon gas, soil pollution, noise pollution, formaldehyde related with furniture, ground ozone and pesticides etc. SPSS 15 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Among the participants 226 (62.4%) were females, and 284(78.5%) were in the 31-45 age group. There were 246(68%) high school or university graduates. Of the participants, 357 (98.6%) knew that smoking was a health risk, but exposure to radon gas was not that prevalent (n=194; 53.6%). The most intimidating risk was claimed as unsafe water (n=311; 85.9%), while noise exposure was the least source of worry among the environmental risks (n=134; 37.0%). Conclusion: There is a necessity to inform the public about less-known but significant environmental risks such as radon gas and noise exposure which may cause health problems

Psychometric properties of the hygiene inventory in a Turkish population

The HI23 was as psychometrically robust in Turkish population as in an Australian population. Testing in different populations, cultures and healthcare systems will further assist in reporting the HI23 usefulness

Knowledge and Attitudes of University Students on Health Effects of Environmental Risk

Environmental risks are being threated to public health significantly. The purpose of the study was to assess knowledge and attitudes on health effects of environmental risk of university students in the region of Kocaeli as an industrial city. A questionnaire was developed that focused on university students' knowledge and attitudes of environmental risk. The questionnaire was distributed randomly to university students in Kocaeli, and completed and returned anonymously. The highest rate (74.3%) of correct answers was obtained with the question about smoking "tobacco smoking is a risk factor for respiratory disease''. The lowest rate of correct answers (30.1%) was obtained with the question "residential exposure to radon gas is a risk factor for lung cancer''. When university students were asked to self-rate "environmental risks and resulting threat to health''; 59.1% of answers were indicating "the most significant threat is water pollution'', 15.2% of answers were indicating that "the lowest threat aspect is noise". School education on significant environmental risks is extremely needed for these university students in order to correct misconceptions, provide accurate information and to develop a positive attitude towards environmental risks

The contributing factors to poor sleep experiences in according to the university students: A cross-sectional study

Background: Sleep problems among university students are common; however, the contributing factors to poor sleep experiences are still unclear. The purpose of this study is to examine the contributing factors to poor sleep experiences in university students. Materials and Methods: The study was cross-sectional, and the students completed self-report, anonymous questionnaires provided during an in-class survey. This is a single center study. A descriptive survey was conducted randomly on 256 university students in Turkey. The instruments for data collection consisted of the demographic data, and the contributing factors to poor sleep. Results: The most frequent self-reported cause to poor sleep experiences in according to the university students were exposure psychological problems (67.2%), stress (64.8%), exposure to tobacco smoke in the sleeping room (63,7%), pain (62,9%), having family problems (62,5%), being patient (55,1%), air quality of the room (55,1%), strenuous physical activity (53,9%), fatigue (53,5%), sadness (53,1%), noise that caused by other people in the room (52.0%), room scents (sweat, perfume, humidity, naphthalene, etc.) (53.1%), depression (51, 6 %), anxiety, and tension (51, 1%). Conclusion: Students should be encouraged to solve psychological problems, to suitable stress-relieving measures, to follow sleep hygiene practice and adequate time management for academic and social activities

Trends in Smoking among University Students between 2005-2012 in Sakarya, Turkey

Turkey protects its entire population of 75 million people with all the MPOWER measures at the highest level. The aim of this study is to make a comparison of smoking and addiction data obtained from Sakarya University students in 2005-6 and 2012-13. A total of 4,200 (2,500 and 1,700 for each academic year) students at Sakarya University in Sakarya, Turkey, were randomly selected for sampling purposes. The selected participants represented Sakarya University students. Data were collected using a pretested anonymous and confidential, self-completed questionnaire which took 15-20 minutes to complete and Fagerstrom Test for nicotine dependence. Chi-squared, Spearman correlation, and binary logistic regression tests were used to define associations, if any. The level of significance was kept at alpha= 0.05. Smoking prevalance dropped by 8.5% (from 26.9% to 18.5%). Male gender, older age, high family smoking index, low self-rated school success, and high peer smoker proportion were common variables that have correlation with smoking status. In the binary logistic regression test the highest contributor to "being a smoker" was found to be the rate of peer smokers. Having all friends smoking puts the student a a 47.5 and 58.0 times higher risk for smoking for males and females, respectively. Our results suggest an admirable diminution of smoking prevalance among Sakarya University students, which can be attributed to MPOWER protection.https://doi.org/10.7314/APJCP.2014.15.11.457

Fallacies about Water Pipe Use in Turksih University Students - What Might Be the Consequences?

Background: The popularity of the narghile waterpipe, also referred to as hookah, shisha or hubble-bubble has increased tremendously during the past few decades. The aim of this study was to expose perception of narghile among a representative sample of university students in Sakarya University campus. Materials and Methods: Written approval was taken from the local education authority. An anonymous questionnaire which was prepared by the investigators and contained 17 questions was administered. Nine of the questions were related to socio-demographic characteristics and eight were related to the students harm perceptions about waterpipe. A total of 1,320 questionnaries were received and after preliminary evaluation 1,255 (95.7%) were found to be suitable for evaluation. The data was evaluated in SPSS program by using percentages and averages. Results: The mean +/- SD age of the students was 20.8 +/- 2.29 years (min 18, max 32). There were 864 (68.8%) females and 391 (31.2%) males. A total of 6.3 % of the students (n=79) believed that waterpipe is not harmful because its smoke does not burn the lungs. Almost one-third (n=318) think that the carcinogenic chemicals are filtered while waterpipe smoke passes from the water; 12.1 % of the students (n=152) checked "true" for the statement of "waterpipe smoke contains no nicotine". It is seen that 14.0 % of the students (n=176) think waterpipe with fruit/aroma is healthier than plain waterpipe. Conclusions: As a result of this study, it is found out that a substantial number of university students have false beliefs on harmful effects of waterpipe smoking.https://doi.org/10.7314/APJCP.2014.15.5.197

Smoking-Cessation Success Prediction Scale: Development, Validity, and Reliability Study

This study has been conducted with the aim of testing the validity and reliability of the Smoking Cessation Success Prediction Scale (SCSPS). The study was carried out between March 2017 to March 2018 with individuals who had applied to the smoking and quitting polyclinic of an education and research hospital after approval from the institution and the ethics committee. The sample of the study is comprised of 148 adult individuals. The test-retest method was conducted with 34 people. The data have been collected using a questionnaire prepared by the researchers and the SCSPS, which has a valid scope. The validity and reliability of the scale have been assessed using the programs IBM SPSS 23 and AMOS 23. In the study, the validity-rate test result for the scope is 0.77, and Bartlett's sphericity test is significant (p < .001). Explanatory factor and confirmatory factor analyses have been performed to determine the structural validity of the SCSPS. The result of the exploratory factor analysis concludes the scale to have 10 items and two factors. The scale is shown to be reliable due to the results of Cronbach's alpha coefficient and the test-retest. SCSPS which developed was determined as a valid and reliable measurement tool