The effects of education on foot care behaviors and self-efficacy in type 2 diabetes patients

Background: Diabetic foot significantly affects the quality of life of patients with diabetes. It leads to loss of labor force, psychosocial trauma, and high treatment costs due to serious morbidity and mortality. Nurses have an important responsibility to improve the metabolic status of individuals with diabetes, to protect them from foot complications, and to teach patients foot care skills. Aim: This study investigated the effects of education on type 2 diabetes patients regarding diabetic foot care and self-efficacy. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted from February to July 2016 in hospitals located in the city of Balıkesir in Turkey with type 2 diabetes patients who were admitted to the internal medicine clinic and monitored by the endocrinology and internal medicine outpatient clinics. G*power 3.1.9.2 software was used to calculate the sample size of 94 people with a 5% type 1 error, and 90% power. The study was carried out with stratified randomization, and a questionnaire was administered to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group received training, and both groups' scores on the Diabetic Foot Behavior Questionnaire [Appendix 1] and the Diabetic Foot Care Self-Efficacy Scale [Appendix 2] were compared after three months. The t-test, the paired t-test, and the Chi-square test were used. Results: While the self-efficacy and the foot care behavior scores of the control group did not show any differences (P > 0.05), the experimental group's scores were significantly higher (P 0.05). The control group's self-efficacy and foot care behavior scores on the pre-test and final test were similar, while the experimental group's scores increased (P 0.05). Conclusions: Starting from the diagnosis of diabetes, it is advisable to carry out foot assessments and to follow up with diabetics who received foot care education to increase their self-efficacy, to make foot care a habit, and to re-evaluate missing or incorrect practices during check-ups

Nursing students' approaches toward Euthanasia

PubMed ID: 25084711Background: In Turkey, which is a secular, democratic nation with a majority Muslim population, euthanasia is illegal and regarded as murder. Nurses and sti.idents can be faced with ethical dilemmas and a lack of a legal basis, with a conflict of religious beliefs and social and cultural values concerning euthanasia. The aim of this study was to investigate undergraduate nursing students' attitudes towards euthanasia. Method. The study, which had a descriptive design, was conducted with 600 students. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year nursing students at a school of nursing were contacted in May 2009, and 383 students (63.8% of the study population of a total of 600 students) gave informed consent. Two tools were used in accordance with questionnaire preparation rules. Results: The majority of students were female and single (96.9%), and their mean age was 21.3 ± 1.5 years. A majority (78.9%) stated they had received no training course/education on the concept of euthanasia. Nearly one-third (32.4%) of the students were against euthanasia; 14.3% of the students in the study agreed that if their relatives had an irreversible, lethal condition, passive euthanasia could be performed. In addition, 24.8% of the students agreed that if they themselves had an irreversible, lethal condition, passive euthanasia could be performed. Less than half (42.5%) of the students thought that discussions about euthanasia could be useful. There was a significant relation between the study year and being against euthanasia (p < 0.05), the idea that euthanasia could be abused (p < 0.05), and the idea that euthanasia was unethical (p < 0.05). Conclusion: It was concluded that the lack of legal regulations, ethical considerations, religious beliefs, and work experience with dying patients affect nursing students' attitudes towards euthanasia. © 2014, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc