Healthy lifestyle behaviors and quality of life status of public health directorate workers in a city of Turkey | Türkiyeʾde bir ilde halk sağlığı müdürlüğü çalışanlarının saglıklı yaşam biçimi ve yaşam kalitesi durumları

© 2018 by Türkiye Klinikleri.Objective: Health promotion services are primarily provided by public health directorates in our country. Therefore, identifying healthy lifestyle behaviors in health workers serving in these directorates is important. The quality of life status of health care workers matters for both their health and the health of individuals and the society they serve. This study aimed to assess the status of healthy lifestyle behaviors and quality of life in health care workers and identify the relationship of these two elements with each other and with other factors. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted by applying Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale II (HLSBS II) and Turkish Version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument (WHOQOL-BREF-TR) to the staff of a public health directorate. Results: The HLSBS II scores of participants ≥40 years old, females, participants who exercise and participants who work as civil servants were higher. The participants with the lowest income had lower HLSBS II and WHOQOL-BREF-TR scale scores. The participants who work as subcontracted workers had lower WHOQOL-BREF-TR scale scores. There was a positive correlation between the two scales (ρ=0.584 p<0.001). Conclusion: The studies targeting to develop healthy lifestyle behaviors in society should focus on both genders and all age groups. Policies aimed at improving any area of health should also include eliminating socioeconomic disparities. Exercise is a component of healthy lifestyle behaviors and also an encouraging factor for other health promoting behaviors. Improving the quality of life of the individuals in society enables developing healthy lifestyle behaviors or vice versa

The Effects of Repeated Antibiotic Administration to Juvenile BALB/C Mice on the Microbiota Status and Animal Behavior at the Adult Age

Recent studies carried on germ –free (GF) animal models suggest that the gut microbiota (GM) may play a role in the regulation of anxiety, mood, and cognitive abilities such as memory and learning processes. Consistently, any treatment disturbing the gut microbiota, including the overuse of antibiotics, may influence the brain functions and impact behavior. In the present study, to address this issue, two wide-spectrum antibiotics (ampicillin and cefoperazone, 1 g/l) were repeatedly applied throughout a 6-week period to initially 21-day-old male BALB/c mice. Antibiotics were administered separately or in a mixed fashion. On the completion of the antibiotic treatment, all mice were subjected to the behavioral tests. The serum levels of corticosterone and brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) were assessed. Gut microbiota profiles were obtained by using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis system, DGGE, from fecal samples. Ampicillin had a greater impact on both, gut microbiota composition and mice behavior compared to cefoperazone. All antibiotic-treated groups manifested a decrease in the locomotor activity and reduced recognition memory. However, the ampicillin-treated groups showed a higher anxiety level as assessed by the open field and the elevated plus maze tests and an increased immobility (behavioral despair) in the forced swim test. Obtained results evidently show that in mice, a repeated antibiotic treatment applied during adolescence, parallel to the changes in GM, affects locomotor activity, affective behavior and cognitive skills in young adults with ampicillin specifically enhancing anxiety- and depressive-like responses. Lower levels of serum BDNF were not associated with cognitive impairment but with changes in affective-like behaviors. Repeated administration of neither ampicillin nor cefoperazone affected basal serum corticosterone levels. This is one of the few studies demonstrating changes in a behavioral phenotype of young-adult subjects who were previously exposed to a repeated antibiotic treatment. © 2018BAP-01-08-2016005-16The study was supported by the METU Scientific Research Found , BAP-01-08-2016005-16 , to AG Gozen

A qualitative study of hand hygiene compliance among health care workers in intensive care units

Introduction: Studies indicate that adherence to hand hygiene guidelines is at suboptimal levels. We aimed to explore the reasons for poor hand hygiene compliance