Antenatal Education on Pregnant Adolescents in Turkey: Prenatal Adaptation, Postpartum Adaptation, and Newborn Perceptions

Purpose: This clinical trial study was planned in order to evaluate the effect of antenatal education on antenatal and postpartum adaptation and newborn perceptions among adolescent pregnant women. Methods: A research assistant met with pregnant adolesencents in a Family Health Center and at the participants' homes. The sample included 70 pregnant adolescents (35 in experimental group, 35 in control group) chosen through simple random sampling. The experimental group received antenatal eduation, whereas the control group merely had routine surveillance. As for data collection tools, the Prenatal Self Evaluation Questionnaire (PSEQ), the Postpartum Self Evaluation Questionnaire (PPSEQ) and the Newborn Perception Scale (NPI) was used. Results: It was found that the experiment group who received antenatal education had a lower mean total PSEQ score (133.94 ± 15.62) compared to the control group (159.86 ± 17.83). In the comparison of two groups, it was determined that the experiment group had lower mean total PPSEQ scores on the 1st day, 1st week and 2nd week compared to the control group, indicating higher levels of postpartum adaptation (p = .017, p = .009, p = .029). Conclusion: It was determined that the level of prenatal adaptation was higher in the experiment group, which received antenatal education, than in the control group and that levels of postpartum adaptation was significantly higher in the experiment group on the 1st postpartum day and the 1st and 2nd postpartum weeks but not on the 4th postpartum week. There were no significant differences between the experiment and control groups in terms of NPI results

Modelling remediation options for urban contamination situations

The impact on a population from an event resulting in dispersal and deposition of radionuclides in an urban area could be significant, in terms of both the number of people affected and the economic costs of recovery. The use of computer models for assessment of urban contamination situations and remedial options enables the evaluation of a variety of situations or alternative recovery strategies in contexts of preparedness or decision-making. At present a number of models and modelling approaches are available for different purposes. This paper summarizes the available modelling approaches, approaches for modelling countermeasure effectiveness, and current sources of information on parameters related to countermeasure effectiveness. Countermeasure information must be applied with careful thought as to its applicability for the specific situation being modelled. Much of the current information base comes from the Chernobyl experience and would not be applicable for all types of situations. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved