Comparison of knowledge scores of medical students in problem-based learning and traditional curriculum on public health topics

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study was to compare the knowledge scores of medical students in Problem-based Learning and traditional curriculum on public health topics. METHODS: We planned a cross-sectional study including the fifth and sixth year medical students of Dokuz Eylul University in Turkey. The fifth year students (PBL group, n = 56) were the pioneers educated with PBL curriculum since the 1997–1998 academic year. The sixth year students (traditional education group, n = 78) were the last students educated with traditional education methods. We prepared 25 multiple-choice questions in order to assess knowledge scores of students on selected subjects of Public Health. Our data were collected in year 2002. RESULTS: Mean test scores achieved in PBL and traditional groups were 65.0 and 60.5 respectively. PBL students were significantly more successful in the knowledge test (p = 0.01). The knowledge scores of two topics were statistically higher among PBL students. These topics were health management and chronic diseases. CONCLUSION: We found that mean total evaluation score in the PBL group was 4.5 points higher than in the traditional group in our study. Focusing only on the knowledge scores of students is the main limitation of our study. Upon the graduation of the first PBL students in the 2002–2003 academic year, we are planning additional studies regarding the other functions of a physician such as skill, behaviour and attitude

How are alcohol related problems prevented? Brief intervention approach in the treatment of alcohol use disorders

Excessive alcohol consumption and alcohol related problems are significant public health problems worldwide. Many factors contribute to the development alcohol related problems. Lack of knowledge about low-risk consumption levels and risks of excessive alcohol use is the most important factor. Men who are drinking more than four standard drinks per day and 14 standard drinks per week, women and men older than age 65 who are drinking more than three drinks a day and seven standard drinks per week have an increased risk for alcohol related problems. Screening and early brief intervention for alcohol consumption among patients in primary health care provides an opportunity to educate them about low-risk consumption levels and risks of excessive alcohol use. Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) has been established as a screening scale to identify risky and harmful alcohol use. "Brief intervention" is a time-limited and patient centered counseling method focuses to change the patient's behavior and increase the treatment compliance. It includes four stages; 1. Ask alcohol use, 2. Assess alcohol use disorders, 3. Advice and support, 4. Arrange follow-up. Brief intervention has been shown as an effective secondary prevention method in the studies and meta-analysis. Alcohol use problems as a major public health problem should be intervened in the primary health care as a secondary prevention. Early identification and intervention will prevent the growth of the problem. (Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry 2010; 11:51-59

The prevalence of sarcopenia risk and associated factors in patients aged 65-79 years living in a district of Izmir province of Turkey

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the prevalence of sarcopenia risk and associated factors in a community-dwelling elderly population in a district of Izmir province of Turkey

The comparison of the serum steroid levels of the patients with or without atrial fibrillation: Case control study

Objective: Cortisol is a steroid hormone secreted in response to stress and play active role in catecholamine synthesis. Catecholamines may cause arrhythmia by effecting the conduction system of the heart. One study reported lower incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with post-operative steroid administration with respect to control group. Study also indicated AF development in four patients who received pulse steroid treatment. The aim of this study is to determine whether the serum cortisol levels are different in AF patients in comparison with the control group. Material and Method: One hundred thirty-eight subjects (69 patients, 69 control), who were admitted to emergency service of the university hospital, were enrolled in this matched case-control study. Serum free cortisol levels of AF patients, aged 18 or over, were compared with that of the control group. Results: The mean age of 138 patients was 71 ± 12, 82 of which were women (59.4%). Mean serum cortisol levels were 25.1 ± 20.1 mg/dL in the AF group and 21.4 ± 14.0 mg/dL in the control group (p = 0.214). There was no difference between two groups when serum cortisol levels were classified as normal and high according to diurnal rhythm (p = 0.609). Serum cortisol levels were determined as 31.4 ± 22.5 mg/dL in the paroxysmal AF group and 20.7 ± 17.3 mg/dL in the permanent AF group (p = 0.040) with no significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.436). Conclusion: Our study concluded that abnormality in serum cortisol levels with respect to diurnal rhythm is not related with AF etiology and permanence. However, elevated mean cortisol levels in paroxysmal AF patients suggested the need for a more comprehensive study with higher number of subjects. © 2013 Japan International Cultural Exchange Foundation and Japan Health Sciences University

Disability and the Services for the Disabled in Turkey

In Turkey there are approximately 8.5 million (% 12.3) disabled people. While the ratio of orthopedic, visual, auditory, speech, and talking disabilities and mental disability is 2.6%, the ratio of the people who have chronic diseases is 9.7% In our country, by the beginning of 1982 Constitution, there have been a lot of legal regulations. If the services for disabled persons considered as social security-related legislation for care, healthcare, education, employment and practices; the legal regulation on the year 2005 (The Disability Law no. 5378 ) has covered many blankness and also evolved the services to the disabled people. However, despite these recent legal regulation it is questionable that if the services for the disabled are adequate or not. In this review, the services, which offered to the disabled people, are evaluated as the topics mentioned above. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2012; 11(4.000): 483-488

Pretest results of the revised standardized mini mental examination test in community dwelling elderly

Aim. To examine the Turkish version of Standardized Mini Mental State Examination (SMMSE) that some items were revised in the community dwelling elderly population as a pretest

Waist: height ratio: a superior index in estimating cardiovascular risks in Turkish adults

WOS: 000344544100014PubMed ID: 24103435Objective: To determine the best anthropometric measurement among waist: height ratio (WHtR), BMI, waist: hip ratio (WHR) and waist circumference (WC) associated with high CHD risk in adults and to define the optimal cut-off point for WHtR. Design: Population-based cross-sectional study. Setting: Balcova, Izmir, Turkey. Subjects: Individuals (n 10 878) who participated in the baseline survey of the Heart of Balcova Project. For each participant, 10-year coronary event risk (Framingham risk score) was calculated using data on age, sex, smoking status, blood pressure, serum lipids and diabetes status. Participants who had risk higher than 10% were defined as 'medium or high risk'. Results: Among the participants, 67.7% were female, 38.2% were obese, 24.5% had high blood pressure, 9.2% had diabetes, 1.5% had undiagnosed diabetes (>= 126 mg/dl), 22.0% had high total cholesterol and 45.9% had low HDL-cholesterol. According to Framingham risk score, 32.7% of them had a risk score higher than 10 %. Those who had medium or high risk had significantly higher mean BMI, WHtR, WHR and WC compared with those at low risk. According to receiver-operating characteristic curves, WHtR was the best and BMI was the worst indicator of CHD risk for both sexes. For both men and women, 0.55 was the optimal cut-off point for WHtR for CHD risk. Conclusions: BMI should not be used alone for evaluating obesity when estimating cardiometabolic risks. WHtR was found to be a successful measurement for determining cardiovascular risks. A cut-off point of '0.5' can be used for categorizing WHtR in order to target people at high CHD risk for preventive actions.Balcova MunicipalityBelediyelerSources of funding: The Heart of Balcova (BAK) Project was funded by Balcova Municipality. Balcova Municipality had no role in the design, analysis or writing of this article

[Effects of social inequalities on coronary heart disease risk factors: a population-based, cross-sectional study in Izmir].

Objective: Aim of the study was to determine effects of social inequalities on coronary heart disease risk factors in individuals living in an urban district of Izmir; namely Balcova

Working conditions and related neuropsychiatric problems among shoemakers in Turkey: Do child workers differ from others?

Objective: In this cross-sectional study, we investigated working conditions and related neuropsychiatric problems of shoemakers, including child workers, working in poor conditions with high health risks. Clinical diagnosis was not the objective of this study. Materials and Methods: We collected data from 318 workers ranging from 8-66 years of age. We evaluated working conditions, neuropathy symptoms and signs; urinary 2,5-hexanedione was used to estimate hexane exposure. We used the Zung depression scale for adult shoemakers to evaluate depression. Results: All workshops employed fewer than 10 workers with median daily work duration of 12h. Smoking and alcohol consumption were high among all workers including children. Peripheral neuropathy symptoms and signs were observed in 88 workers (27.8%) and it was related to alcohol consumption. Sixty-eight workers (47.9%) had depression and it was associated with daily work duration. Conclusion: Extremely poor, unhygienic, working conditions and a high prevalence of neuropsychiatric disorders were the main problems observed among shoemakers. A high number of child workers increased the scale of these observed problems

Relationship of socioeconomic status with health behaviors and self-perceived health in the elderly: A community-based study, Turkey

AimThe purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of socioeconomic status on health behaviors and perceived health