How do nurses and teachers perform breast self-examination: are they reliable sources of information?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. The aim of the present study was to determine and compare knowledge, behavior and attitudes among female nurses and teachers concerning breast self-examination (BSE).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Two-hundred and eighty nine women working in Aydin, Turkey (125 nurses and 164 teachers) were included in the study. The data were collected using a questionnaire designed to measure the knowledge, attitudes and behavior of the groups. Analysis involved percentiles, χ²tests, <it>t </it>tests and factor analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The knowledge of nurses about BSE was higher than that of teachers (81.5% versus 45.1%; p < 0.001). BSE practice parameters (i.e. age groups, indications, frequency) were similar (p > 0.05), whereas skills in performing self-examination were higher in nurses (p < 0.001). Fear of having breast cancer is the most frequent reason for performing BSE. Among nurses, the reasons for failure to perform BSE were the absence of prominent breast problems (82%) and forgetting (56.4%). The teachers who did not perform BSE said that the reasons were lack of knowledge on how to perform self-examination (68.9%) and absence of problems (54%). Both groups had unacceptable technical errors in the performance of BSE.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We conclude that nurses and teachers should be supported with information enabling them to accomplish their roles in the community. To improve BSE practice, it is crucial to coordinate continuous and planned education.</p

Smoking and oral contraceptive use in women in rural areas

Aims and Objectives At present, women are the target clients of tobacco companies. Female smokers using combined oral contraceptives are at higher risk of coronary heart disease and peripheral vascular disease than non-smokers. The aim of this study was to determine smoking status and oral contraceptive use in women in a rural area of the province of Aydın. Methods This descriptive study was performed in a rural area of Aydın. It was performed in 120 women aged 20-60 years, living in a village and accepting to participate. Data were gathered with a questionnaire prepared by the researchers and composed of questions about socio-demographic features including age, gender, education, marital status and income and presence of a health problem, height, weight, smoking status and use of contraceptives. Results The mean age of the women was 34.83±11.65 years. Of all the women, 30,8% were primary school graduates, 64,8% were married, 29,2% had a child, 66,4% had a sufficient income, 65,6% did not have a check-up, 30,3% had a chronic disease and 33,6% were smokers. Twenty-eight-point two percent of the women had a high body mass index; i.e. overweight. Eleven-point five percent and 11.5% of the women were using an IUD and oral contraceptives respectively. Sixty-nine percent of the women were not using any contraceptives. Of all the women using oral contraceptives, 57,1% were smokers, 7,1% were obese, 7.1% were aged over 35 years and 21.4% had a chronic disease (hypertension and diabetes). Conclusions About one third of the women in the rural area where the study was performed were smokers and the incidence of smoking was higher among the women using oral contraceptives. It is important that women in rural areas should be offered counseling so that they can stop smoking. Individual characteristics should be taken into account in counseling for contraceptives

Evaluation of sleep apnea and smoking in drivers

Aim and objective Smoking is a potential risk factor for sleep apnea, which increases the risk of health problems and accidents in drivers. The aim of this study was to determine relationship between smoking and sleep apnea. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed on 196 minibus drivers in the city of Aydın. Data were collected with a questionnaire. STOP-Bang questionnaire, adapted to Turkish by Acar et al., was utilized to evaluate sleep apnea. The questionnaire is composed of eight questions. The responders are asked to mark either yes or no. The scores 5-8, 3-4 and 0-2 for yes are considerate high, moderate and low respectively. Results All the drivers were male, and their mean age was 41,00±9,49 years. Seventy-four percent of the drivers were smokers and 40.3% of the drivers were taking alcohol. The mean duration of smoking was 19.46±8.41 years. Forty-point three percent of the drivers were working in shifts, the mean duration of working per day was 7,02±1,47 hours. Twenty-six-point seven percent of the drivers had a health problem. Based on the analysis of data collected with STOP-bang questionnaire, 9.8% of the drivers had a high score for sleep apnea, 46.1% of the drivers had a moderate score for sleep apnea and 44.1% of the drivers had a low score for sleep apnea. The sleep apnea score was higher in the drivers aged over 50 years, the smoking drivers and the drivers with a health problem. Conclusions Smoking was found to be common in the drivers and to be related to high sleep apnea scores. It can be recommended that drivers should be provided counseling to help them quit smoking and that sleep apnea should be treated. They should also be informed about the risk of accidents due to sleep apnea

Healthy lifestyle behavior of employees in small and medium-sized enterprises in Aydin, Turkey

WOS: 000402357400031PubMed ID: 28523046Objective: To determine healthy lifestyle behavior and affecting risk factors in workers at small and medium-sized enterprises from four different sectors in Aydin, Turkey. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at four different small and medium-sized enterprises in Aydin, Turkey and 264 employees participated in the study. A questionnaire was used for data collection. It consisted of questions about socio-demographic features (age, gender, marital status, education, perceived income, occupation and having children), health status, and medical history, medication use, having occupational accidents and occupational health and safety. Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale, which was developed by Walker et al. in 1996, was used to evaluate healthy lifestyle behaviors of the workers. Results: The mean score for Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale was 135.46 +/- 22.49. Gender, marital status, perceived income, sector of workplace, title, presence of a chronic disease, finding oneself healthy in the previous year and having an occupational accident in the previous year did not significantly affect any subscales of Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale. The workers aged over 50 years had significantly higher scores for health responsibility than those aged 20-29 years (p < 0.05). The workers living in a village got significantly higher scores for Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale and its subscales health responsibility, physical activity, nutrition and spiritual development than those living in a city (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Although workers have good spiritual development, they may not adopt physical activity as a healthy lifestyle and that workers benefiting from occupational health and safety services can display healthy lifestyle behavior

Determining health promoting behaviours, self-rated health, life satisfaction and loneliness among older persons

Objective: To determine relationship between health-promoting behaviours and loneliness, and between life satisfaction and self-rated health among the elderly. Method: The cross-sectional study was conducted from June to November 2020 in Aydin, Turkey, after approval from the ethics review committee at Ege University, Izmir, Turkey, and comprised individuals of either gender aged >65 years.  Data was collected through face-to-face interviews using a data-collection form with questions to identify independent variables and the geriatric health protective behaviour scale. Data was analysed using SPSS 23. Results: Of the 661 subjects, 334(50.5%) were females and 327(49.5%) were males. The largest group was of those aged 65-69 years 270(40.8%), while the smallest group comprised those aged 74-79 years 94(14.2%). Overall, 19(2.9%) subjects perceived their health as very good, while 161(24.4%) described it as good. Subjects aged 65-69 years, who had secondary education, whose perception of household income was good, who were not disabled, who did not feel lonely and who were regularly visited had higher scores (p<0.05). Conclusion: Health-promoting behaviours are affected by an individual’s socioeconomic conditions as well as their life satisfaction, feeling of loneliness and perception of health. Key Words: Geriatrics, Geriatric health promotion scale, Health promotion, Health of the elderly

Sağlık Çalışanlarının Sigara Bırakmaya Yönelik Desteğe Hazır Olma Durumu ve İlişkili Faktörler

Giriş: Sağlık çalışanları tütün kontrolünde önemli role sahiptir. Bu çalışma sigara içen sağlık çalışanlarının transteoretik modele görebulunduğu değişim aşaması ve ilişkili faktörlerin belirlenmesi amacıyla yapılmıştır. Gereç Yöntem: Çalışmamız Aydın’da bir hastanedeŞubat 2019 - Ocak 2020 tarihlerinde 182 sağlık çalışanı ile gerçekleştirilmiş kesitsel bir araştırmadır. Transteoretik Model desteği ilekatılımcıların bırakma desteğine hazır olma durumu belirlenmiştir. Sosyodemografik özellikler, sağlık özellikleri, sigara kullanımıdetaylarının yer aldığı anket uygulanmıştır. Ki-Kare ve Student-t testleri uygulanmış ve ilişkili bulunan faktörle, yaş ve cinsiyet eklenerekçoklu değişkenli lojistik regresyon testi ile tekrar değerlendirilmiştir. Anlamlılık düzeyi p<0.05 olarak kabul edilmiştir. Bulgular: Sağlıkçalışanı olan ve günlük 1-10 sigara tüketen bireylerin desteğe hazır olma olasılığı 11 ve üzeri günlük sigara tüketenlerinden 4,47 (%95 GA1,88-10,62) kat fazla olarak saptanmıştır. Bunun yanı sıra son bir yıl içinde sigara bırakmayı denemiş olan sağlık çalışanı bireyler, biryıldan daha uzun süre içinde denemiş olanlara göre 2,82 (%95 GA 1,17-6,79 ) kat, üç ve üzeri sayıda bırakma deneyimi olan sağlık çalışanıbireyler, 2 ve altı deneme girişimine sahip olanlara göre 2,70 (%95 GA 1,19-6,10) kat fazla desteğe hazır bulunmuştur. Sonuç: Bu çalışma,sigara kullanıcısı olan sağlık çalışanlarının sigarayı bırakmaya yönelik profesyonel yardım almalarını kolaylaştıracak bilgiler üretmiştir. Bualana yönelik öncelik belirleme müdahale olanaklarını arttırabilecek ve halk sağlığı uygulamaları kapsamında girişimsel programlarıngeliştirilmesine rehberlik edebilecektir

Poliklinik Hizmeti Alıp Sigarayı Bırakamayanların Bir Yıl Sonra Desteğe Açık Olma Durumlarının Tekrar Değerlendirilmesi

This research was carried out with the aim of determining the re-readiness status and factors that may be related to those who applied for support at a outpatient clinic but could not quit smoking at the end of the year. The research was carried out as a cross-sectional type study with individuals who applied to Ege University Faculty of Medicine Department of Public Health Smoking Cessation Clinic between July 2018 and June 2019 and could not quit smoking a year later (n=219). The data were collected by interview form and outpatient records prepared by the researcher. The analysis of the data was evaluated with an average, standard deviation in descriptive statistics, chi-square test and multinominal logistic regression. 43.8% of the participants are women, 69.3% of them have a high school and above education status, and the average age is 42.30 +/- 12.50. 61.6% of the participants are married, 56.6% have children and 30,8% do not work in any job. According to the Transteoretic Model's change stages, 49.3% of participants were found ready to take action; 28.8% were considering to take action, and 21.9% were found not considering to take action. In the study, readiness for action was found in those aged 40 and over, have a secondary education level education and below, married, have children, those who evaluated their leisure time by hand, physical and social activity, and those with package-year durations of more than 20 years; in addition, those aged 40 and over, married people who spent their free time with hand, physical and social activity, and those with package-year durations of more than 20 years were found to be more likely to think (p<0.05). In this study, it was concluded that individuals who have received support from an outpatient service and still cannot quit smoking within a year are considering quitting smoking again and have a high rate of readiness for action, that individuals who cannot quit who are in preparation for quitting have more willing cessation thoughts and intentions, and that they should be evaluated with more precise approaches in smoking cessation programs

Burden of caregivers of dementia patients and affecting factors in Turkey: A Systematic Review

Objective: To determine the burden on the caregivers of dementia patients and the factors affecting the perception of it. Methods: The current systematic review was done in Turkey and comprised a search between October 2019 and March 2020 on Turkish and English indexes, including the Turkish Academic Network and Information Center database, Web of Science, PubMed, Education Resources Information Centre, Medline, SocINDEX, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, Ulusal Tez Merkezi, Dergipark and Turk Medline. The key words used were ‘Demans’, ‘alzheimer’, ‘bak?m verenler’, ‘hastal?k yükü’, ‘dementia’, ‘alzheimer's’, ‘caregivers’ and ‘burden of illness’. Studies included were those having been conducted from 2010 to 2019 and which used the Personal Information Form, the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale and the Caregiver Burden Inventory. Results: Of the 4,182 studies initially found, 502(12%) were accessed using Turkish key words, and 3,680(88%) using English key words. Overall, 16(0.38%) studies met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. There were 2,060 caregivers and 414 patients in these studies. A high number of variables affected caregiver burden. Patient-related variables reported in multiple studies included time spent on caregiving, dementia stage, patient's age and level of patient's dependence. Conclusion: The most frequently reported caregiver-related variables which increased caregiver burden were being female, younger age, being unemployed, older age, lower education level. Key Words: Dementia, Alzheimer's, Caregivers, Burden of illness. Continuous..