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Background: This study has two primary objectives. Firstly, it aims to measure the time savings achieved through the digitization of paper forms filled out by nurses in the inpatient care process. Secondly, it seeks to reveal the financial savings resulting from reduced paper consumption due to the digitalization. The Health Information Management System Society (HIMSS)--Electronic Medical Record Adaption Model (EMRAM), which makes stage-based (0--7) evaluations, serves as a tool to measure the rate of technology utilization in public hospitals in Turkey. The study is based on the HIMSS EMRAM criteria for 2018. Bahçelievler State Hospital, a public hospital in Turkey, was chosen as the research facility. In 2017, it was accredited as Stage 6 with HIMSS EMRAM. However, not all its wards have been digitalized. Initially, pilot selected wards were digitized. Therefore, digital and non-digital wards serve together. In this context, 4 wards were randomly selected and time, paper and toner savings before and after digitalization were measured. Method: A table was created in Microsoft Excel,listing the forms used by nurses in inpatient care and the time required to fill them out.The time spent for filling paper-based forms and digital-based forms was measured in randomly selected wards. Result: The analysis showed that digital forms saved more time, paper and toner. For example, filling out the patient history form took 45 min when using paper, compared to 12 min in digital environment. Approximately 27% time savings are achieved only for the patient history form. The total time savings delivered by digitalization for 1,153 inpatients during the year were found as 117 care days, and the savings on total paper consumption was 41.289 pages. For 1,153 inpatients throughout the year, the total time savings from digitalization was 117 care days and the total paper consumption savings was 41,289 pages. In addition, in 4 wards with a total bed capacity of 25, annual paper savings of $1,705.86 and toner savings of $283,736 were achieved. Discussion: This study reveals the benefits of digitalisation in hospitals for nurses. It saves the time that nurses allocate for filling out paper forms with digitalised forms. Thus, it is a good practice example in terms of using the time allocated for form filling for patient care.When we extend this study to Turkey in general, it can be considered that the time savings achieved by nurses by digitizing inpatient forms varies between 10.8% and 13%. The number of nurses working in public hospitals in Turkey is approximately 160,000. Assuming that 60% of the nurses work in the inpatient ward, it is understood that the annual savings achieved by digitizing the forms corresponds to a range of 398--559 nursing hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) remains high worldwide in today's society, especially among young people. Youth education on STDs could help to reduce the prevalence of the condition in society and prevent new cases. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of peer‐based short‐form educational videos on youths' knowledge of STDs. Methods: This quasi‐experimental study was conducted in Turkey. The sample consisted of 121 students divided into experimental and control groups. Pre‐ and post‐test control group quasi‐experimental research design was employed in this study during the spring semester of the academic year 2021–2022. Peer‐based short‐form educational videos created by nursing students were used as an intervention. The survey form and Sexually Transmitted Disease Knowledge Questionnaire were used to collect data. Results: Participants with parental responsibilities and had previous STD experience had higher knowledge score than the other subgroups. There was a significant main effect of peer‐based short‐form educational video on participants overall knowledge score of STDs. Additionally, the effect of intervention continued at 12‐week follow‐up measurement. Conclusion: Peer‐based short‐form educational videos increase young people's knowledge of STD, and the impact of the intervention continued at 12‐week follow up. Summary statement: What is already known about this topic? Sexually transmitted diseases continue to be prevalent in society, particularly among young people.Sexually transmitted diseases can lead to serious health conditions and have a significant impact on sexual and reproductive health.The effectiveness of internet‐based education and lectures on sexually transmitted diseases has already been investigated.Little research has been addressed to determine the impact of educational materials, which are short videos on knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases created by utilizing nursing students' peer assessment. What this paper adds? Peer‐based short‐form educational videos increase young people's sexually transmitted disease knowledge.People with parental responsibilities and a previous sexually transmitted infections responded to interventions more favourably.The effects of peer‐based short‐form educational videos persisted 3 months afterwards. The implications for this paper: This cost‐free method has a potential to be widely used as a public health intervention to educate young people on sexually transmitted diseases.The peer‐based short‐form educational videos can be combined with other interventions to increase young people's knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Studies of the effects of COVID‐19, especially post‐acute COVID‐19 syndrome, on psychological health in non‐severe cases are limited. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence and associated risk factors of psychological symptoms, and quality‐of‐life in three groups of outpatients, hospitalized and intensive care patients. Methods: A total 276 patients, previously confirmed with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, attending the COVID‐19 follow‐up outpatient clinic from December 2020 to July 2021 were interviewed face‐to‐face. In this cross‐sectional, retrospective study, all participants were asked our self‐designed demographic and screening questions to assess their psychological symptoms and administered the WHQOOL‐BREF survey to evaluate quality of life. Results: In screening questions, major depressive disorder symptoms were detected at a rate of 20.3%, generalized anxiety disorder symptoms at a rate of 16.7%, panic attack symptoms at a rate of 10.9%, post‐traumatic stress disorder symptoms at a rate of 28.6% and obsessive‐compulsive disorder symptoms at a rate of 18.1%. The outpatient group with COVID‐19 infection had a higher risk of developing psychological symptoms and decreased quality of life. Conclusion: COVID‐19 infection was found to have a considerable psychological impact on those treated as outpatients despite the less severe course of their illness. Summary statement: What is already known about this topic? Post‐intensive care syndrome affects physical, cognitive and psychological health.It is associated with symptoms such as generalized weakness, memory disturbances, cognitive function impairment, depression, anxiety and post‐traumatic stress disorder.Some physical and psychological symptoms persist for over 12 weeks in some patients and have been classified as 'Post‐acute COVID‐19 Condition or Syndrome' (PCS). What this paper adds? At the post‐acute‐COVID‐19 period, a considerable number of outpatients with COVID‐19 infection were at higher risk for psychological distress symptoms than those who had been treated in the hospital or intensive care unit.Depression, anxiety, panic disorder and PTSD symptoms were found to be higher in outpatients and those with these symptoms were also shown to have a lower quality of life.Our findings highlight the significant psychological impact of COVID‐19 on patients, even after their reported recovery from the acute manifestations of this disease. The implications of this paper: Ongoing psychological symptoms in the post‐COVID period are not associated with the severity of the disease in the acute phase.It is important that healthcare professionals are equally concerned not only with physical condition of post‐COVID‐19 patients but also with their psychological state and the patient's psychology‐related quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Turkish and Syrian earthquake on February 6th 2023, was one of the deadliest earthquakes in the last decade. It affected approximately 26 million people and left at least 50.000 dead. In this paper, we analyzed the psychological impact and the relationship between mental health factors, earthquake-related experiences and stressors, and resources related to the earthquake, 4 months after the event. Methods: We conducted an analytical cross-sectional study, applying a survey to 320 adults (18–93 years old) in Adiyaman, Turkey. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were assessed using the PC-PTSD, general psychiatric morbidity using the GHQ-12, together with questions focusing on suicidality, drug abuse, as well as experiences, related stressors and received support related to the earthquake. Results: We found a high prevalence of general mental health symptoms, and of PTSD. Fear of aftershocks and the loss of close family members were found to be risk factors for such symptoms. We didn't find significant differences in the GHQ or the PC-PTSD scores when considering ethnicity, religion or financial income. Conclusions: High levels of general mental health symptoms and PTSD symptoms were found 4 months after the earthquake and need to be addressed in all groups, independently from potential religious, social or ethnic backgrounds. The results indicate a large psychiatric and material burden on the entire sample and some priority needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

User equipment (UE)'s operating system (OS) and category types are important factors that are affecting the end-user performance in a given mobile network operator (MNO)'s infrastructure. For this reason, fair and statistically accurate observed network performance differences of UE's OSs based on category types, MNOs or locations can be of interest for mobile telecommunication ecosystem players. This paper's focus is on performance comparisons of UE OSs (including Android, IOS (iPhone Operating System) and Windows phones) over different UE categories, MNOs and locations based on previously collected end-to-end nationwide crowd-sourced data measurements in Turkey. The analysis results performed in this paper uses statistical comparisons of unpaired observations due to imbalance between number of observations between all OSs and yield insight on how the mobile OS types' network performances differ using some important Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as downlink (DL) speed, latency, jitter and packet loss (PL). The outcome of the analysis indicate that Android devices perform better in terms of DL speed among all MNOs, whereas IOS devices are better in terms of latency values. On the other hand depending on the UE category, the performances of MNOs may vary when IOS and Android OSs are compared based on different KPIs. Additionally, IOS has shown better performance than Android in large geographical areas of Turkey. Finally, the business aspects of performing the proposed statistical OS comparisons from the perspectives of OS developers, MNOs, device manufacturers, and end-users are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Ege University Nursing Faculty (JEUNF) is the property of Journal of Ege University Nursing Faculty (JEUNF) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to argue that the disqualification of directors, coupled with other liabilities to which they may be subjected, particularly in insolvency, should be sufficient to deter wrongdoing, because of the impact they tend to have on their personal and professional lives. It, however, argues that the "deterrence" effect would be dependent on the existence of other factors such as the efficient application of the law, publicity and post-disqualification monitoring. Design/methodology/approach: Using the UK as its primary case study, while also making reference to Nigeria and Turkey, this paper will show that while the existence of disqualification as a sanction exists in the first two countries, it is virtually absent from Turkey. And that while directors' disqualification provisions are routinely applied in the UK, they are hardly invoked in Nigeria, except perhaps with respect to listed companies, due perhaps to a lack of awareness of its existence or potency. Findings: This paper will conclude by making a case for a stronger application of the law, as it relates to directors' disqualification in the UK, call for an elaboration of the legal framework in Nigeria as well as the need for a public awareness of its provisions and potential impact and contend that Turkey should put in place a legal framework for directors' disqualification patterned also after the UK framework. Originality/value: The uniqueness of this paper stems from its tri-country focus. In that respect, the UK, which is a more advanced economy, with a robust and dynamic company law regime, is used as the primary case study, whereas at the same time, developments in Nigeria, particularly with that country's capital market, will be extracted and compared with the UK framework. Turkey, on the contrary, has been chosen as a case study mainly because it has no directors' disqualification mechanism in its legal system. Comparing directors' disqualification in one developing country, Nigeria, and a developed country, the UK and determining their upsides and downsides will be beneficial to Turkey in respect to establishing a deterrent effective disqualification mechanism on directors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing discussions on authoritarian populism and the media, from the lens of the political economy of ownership. In contrast to studies that consider the link between media and authoritarian populism by focusing on the discursive structures of populist communication, this study analyses changes in the structure of news media ownership in four European countries that have been subject to authoritarian populism. By employing social network analysis, a methodology rarely used in media ownership research, we reveal how news media ownership concentration as well as changes in ownership structures have provided favorable conditions for the rise and endurance of authoritarian populism. Our study covers ownership developments during the period 2000 to 2020, in Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, and Turkey where authoritarian populist tendencies have been evident, albeit to varying degrees. Conclusions are drawn to illustrate how authoritarian populist actors in the sample countries not only capitalize on prevailing news media ownership structures, but also proactively intervene in ownership relations in order to increase influence over the diffusion of information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Equality is a basic human right. However, LGBTQ individuals often have their human rights violated because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. They also experience discrimination because of homophobic and transphobic attitudes. They frequently deal with derisive attitudes at school, are discriminated against in the workplace and struggle to access health services. This paper aims to determine the discriminatory attitudes of nurses in their social and professional lives toward LGBTQ individuals. Design/methodology/approach: This study involved 503 nurses and used a questionnaire to examine their views regarding members of the LGBTQ community. The questionnaire consisted of 24 questions. Ten experts from the fields of social psychology, sociology, and nursing provided the necessary inputs, which were subsequently incorporated into the questionnaire. Findings: The nurses were found to have a negative attitude toward LGBTQ individuals; they felt that they should not be allowed to live in comfort in Turkey and that they disrupted the social order and compromised public morality. It was observed that married (in general), male (in particular), and have fewer nursing education nurses are much more likely to have a discriminatory attitude toward LGBTQ people, and they were more discriminatory in their society rather than in their professional lives. Originality/value: According to the principles of justice and equality, which are a prominent part of the nursing code of ethics – "With the awareness that all people have equal rights, the nurse serves regardless of race, language, religion, age, gender, belief, social and economic status and political opinion" – nurses should not have a discriminatory attitude. This study reveals the inequality and the ethical problems that riddle Turkey's health sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Analecta Política is the property of Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aim: We aimed to examine the frequency, reasons, correlates and predictors of missed nursing care in Turkey. Methods: This descriptive and cross‐sectional study sample consisted of 1310 nurses working in inpatient units of 10 public, university and private hospitals in Istanbul. Data were collected using the Nursing Teamwork Survey‐Turkish and the MISSCARE Survey‐Turkish between February and June 2019. Descriptive analysis, parametric comparative analysis, correlational analysis and regression analysis were used to analyse the data. Results: The total occurrence of missed nursing care was 2.93 (on a scale of 1.00–4.00), which differed across 21 nursing care elements. The most frequently missed care was turning patients every 2 hours. Multiple regression analysis determined that nurses' tenure in the profession, patient–nurse ratio, days absent in the last 3 months and nursing teamwork significantly affected missed nursing care. Nursing teamwork alone accounted for 23.6% of the variance in missed nursing care. Conclusions: The level of missed nursing care was found to be high, and labour resources issues were the most important reason. Nurse professionals should apply interventions to improve nurses' work environment factors such as patient–nurse ratio and nursing teamwork to reduce the incidence of missed nursing care. Summary statement: What is already known about this topic? Missed nursing care is a globally common patient safety issue that threatens quality nursing care.Although there are many studies from different countries in the international literature on missed nursing care, studies on this subject in Turkey have been limited. What this paper adds? Missed nursing care correlated with age, tenure in hospital, tenure in unit, weekly work hours, satisfied in current position, satisfaction with being a nurse, satisfaction with salary, technological, educational and career opportunities of the hospital, satisfaction with the level of teamwork in the unit, and satisfaction with support of first‐line nurse manager.Nurses' tenure in the profession, patient–nurse ratios, days absent in the last 3 months and nursing teamwork significantly affected missed nursing care. The implications of this paper: Strategies to improve nurses' work environment characteristics, especially teamwork, should be organized to prevent or reduce missed nursing care.Hospital administrators and nurse managers should address levels of missed nursing care through balancing patient–nurse ratios, providing adequate human and material resources, increasing technological, educational, and career opportunities of hospitals, meeting nurses' needs and providing support and performing activities to reduce absenteeism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Modern Turkish History Studies / Çagdas Türkiye Tarihi Arastirmalari Dergisi is the property of Journal of Modern Turkish History Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aim: This study aimed to explore nurses' views and experiences regarding remaining silent. Background: Silence is a barrier for organizational improvement and can occur for many reasons; it cannot be simply defined as the opposite of speaking out. Method: An exploratory qualitative design was used for this study. Data were collected using semi‐structured interviews in 2016 with 24 nurses who were recruited by using a snowball sampling method. Results: Three themes emerged as a result of the thematic analysis: fear, silence climate and disengagement. The first theme contained three subthemes: avoidance of being seen as a troublemaker, financial loss and reluctance to reveal lack of ability or knowledge. The results indicated that nurses remained silent when they felt unsupported or psychologically unsafe in their work environment. Conclusion: Encouraging nurses to express their opinions is essential for creating a psychologically safe nursing work environment and an organizational climate that supports open communication. Because the majority of healthcare professionals are nurses, they can act as role models and change agents for other nurses if they are encouraged to share their ideas and opinions without fear of retribution. Summary statement: What is already known about this topic? Silence negatively affects work environment and causes job dissatisfaction.Silence is a threat to the development of new ideas and prevents nurses from raising concerns about critical issues. What this paper adds? Nurses remain silent when they fear losing their jobs, showing weakness or being labelled as a troublemaker.Nurses' work environment affects their decision to speak up.If nurses do not receive any support or see any change, they tend not to speak up. The implications of this paper: Hospital managers should support a work environment that encourages open communication and productive feedback systems.Silence can be prevented by creating a psychologically safe environment in which no one is judged for their opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Online collaboration tools have been identified as potentially effective means for enhancing student learning, motivation, and engagement in science education. However, their effectiveness in improving science education outcomes among middle school students remains uncertain. Objectives: The study aimed to investigate the impact of online collaboration tools on science education outcomes among middle school students, focusing on learning achievement, engagement, and motivation. Methods: A quasi‐experimental design with a pretest‐posttest control group was used in this study. A total of 60 eighth‐grade middle school students were involved in the study, with both the experimental and control groups comprising 30 students each. The experimental group incorporated the use of digital collaboration platforms, including Asana, Slack, and Team Viewer, as instrumental components of group project execution and discussion in their science lessons. Conversely, the control group adhered to the current educational approach in Turkey, characterized by the employment of an inquiry‐based learning strategy in their science instruction. Data was collected over eight weeks using a science achievement test, engagement scale, and science motivation scale. Results: The experimental group demonstrated significantly higher post‐test scores compared to the control group, suggesting that online collaboration tools positively impacted science education outcomes. Additionally, survey data indicated high levels of engagement and motivation among the experimental group students when using the online collaboration tools. Conclusions: The findings support the notion that online collaboration tools can effectively enhance learning, motivation, and engagement in science education among middle school students. These results have significant implications for educators, educational institutions, policymakers, and curriculum developers. Further research is needed to examine the potential of these tools in various educational contexts and with different student populations. This will help broaden the understanding of how online collaboration tools can be integrated into diverse learning environments, potentially benefiting a larger number of students and further improving science education outcomes. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Technology's role, particularly online collaboration tools, in enriching science education is undebatable (Donkin & Rasmussen, 2021; Rahmawati et al., 2022). Such tools have been theorized to bolster student learning outcomes, motivation, and engagement (Donnelly et al., 2013; Ekici, 2017; Khazanchi & Khazanchi, 2019). Yet, the empirical evidence validating their efficacy in science educational settings remains sparse. What this paper adds: This research delves into the influence of online collaboration tools on science learning outcomes among middle school learners. Data indicates that employing these digital tools substantially elevates student performance, as gauged by a science achievement test. Furthermore, students navigating through these online collaborative platforms recorded elevated levels of both engagement and motivation. The primary effectiveness of online collaboration tools stems from their ability to foster specific behaviours, such as increased communication frequency and structured task management, which can amplify learning and group collaboration through their facilitated structured interactions. Implications for practice and/or policy: This study's conclusions offer pivotal insights for educators, academic institutions, policy framers, and curriculum architects. Online collaborative platforms exhibit promise in amplifying student outcomes and engagement within the realm of science education. It is imperative to broaden this research scope to discern the tools' potential across varied educational environments and diverse student demographics. There is a compelling case for stakeholders, especially educators and policymakers, to contemplate incorporating these online tools into science pedagogy, aiming to magnify student learning experiences and engagement levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of GRID - Architecture, Planning & Design Journal is the property of GRID - Architecture, Planning & Design Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper investigates different uses of the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) in national journal rankings and discusses the merits of supplementing metrics with expert assessment. Our focus is national journal rankings used as evidence to support decisions about the distribution of institutional funding or career advancement. The seven countries under comparison are China, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Norway, Poland, and Turkey—and the region of Flanders in Belgium. With the exception of Italy, top‐tier journals used in national rankings include those classified at the highest level, or according to tier, or points implemented. A total of 3,565 (75.8%) out of 4,701 unique top‐tier journals were identified as having a JIF, with 55.7% belonging to the first Journal Impact Factor quartile. Journal rankings in China, Flanders, Poland, and Turkey classify journals with a JIF as being top‐tier, but only when they are in the first quartile of the Average Journal Impact Factor Percentile. Journal rankings that result from expert assessment in Denmark, Finland, and Norway regularly classify journals as top‐tier outside the first quartile, particularly in the social sciences and humanities. We conclude that experts, when tasked with metric‐informed journal rankings, take into account quality dimensions that are not covered by JIFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article was to identify the characteristics of HRM (Human Resources Management) portals that can contribute to building a smart, sustainable society in two countries: Poland and Türkiye. The analyzed countries were selected due to their similar economic situation, as well as differences in terms of culture and customs and varying degrees of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) implementation in the economy. Conducting the survey at this particular moment was intended to objectivize users' opinions on the HRM portals and their attributes that may contribute to mitigating the effects of the crisis and facilitating economic development toward the creation of a sustainable society. The survey was conducted in April 2022. It was carried out in both countries and covered a group of more than 850 respondents. The CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interview) method was used in the survey. The differences between results were identified, and the degree of verification of the hypothesis was established and discussed in this paper. In the first stage of the study, the respondents' environment was examined, as well as their opinions on the use of HRM portals. The second phase consisted of assessing the attributes of the most well-known HRM portals that can contribute to building a smart, sustainable industry. As a result, the finally distinguished features included the characteristics that were most important to the users of the portals and those that supported the development of HRM portals due to their innovativeness. The study fills the research gap regarding the potential impact of HRM portals and their prospective use in first restoring the economic balance of a sustainable society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study examined the impact of injectable plateletrich fibrin (iPRF) and concentrated growth factor on postoperative pain, edema, trismus, and quality of life in impacted mandibular third molar surgery. The primary aim of this study was to minimize common sequelae following third molar surgery by using iPRF and concentrated growth factor. The secondary objective was to compare the postoperative effects of these products. Method and materials: This study represents a single-center, randomized prospective clinical trial conducted at the Ordu University Faculty of Dentistry. It involved patients who underwent third molar surgery for various reasons between July and October 2022. The predictor variables were the use of concentrated growth factor and i-PRF. They were categorized as concentrated growth factor, i-PRF, and control groups. The outcome variables include pain levels and analgesic consumption measured on a visual analog scale, distances between predetermined anatomical points, maximum mouth opening capacity, and data from the postoperative symptom severity (PoSSe) scale. Some statistical tests were performed with a 95% confidence interval, which was considered significant. Results: Total analgesic use was notably lower in the concentrated growth factor group (P = .044). Concentrated growth factor and iPRF outperformed the control group in all edema measurements by postoperative day 7 (tragus–pogonion, lateral canthus–angulus, tragus–commissura; P < .05). Concentrated growth factor significantly reduced trismus on days 2 and 7. Quality of life was notably higher in the concentrated growth factor group than in the control group (P = .026), although iPRF group differences were not significant. Conclusion: The results indicate that concentrated growth factor has a limited impact on postoperative pain, but significantly reduces edema, trismus, and enhances quality of life. The iPRF group experienced positive effects on pain, edema, and trismus, although the statistically significant differences observed with concentrated growth factor highlight its potential for use instead of iPRF after third molar surgery. An increased sample size is essential for more comprehensive results [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION Asthma and COPD management have a broad framework, and smoking cessation plays an essential role. We examine the management of asthma and COPD patients not only for inhaler treatment options but also for essential interventions, such as smoking cessation support. METHODS Data were collected cross-sectionally from pulmonology departments of three government hospitals in Türkiye between May and September 2022. Patients aged ≥18 years who had been diagnosed with asthma or COPD for at least a year, were included in the study. The demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were investigated. Routine cessation interventions were implemented for current smokers, and they were followed via phone calls after one month regarding their quit status and access to cessation clinics. RESULTS Data from 145 patients with asthma and 148 patients with COPD were analyzed. The rate of current smoking among patients with asthma and COPD was 18.8% and 34.5%, respectively. Current smoking was negatively associated with age (<65 years) and disease duration (years) for both diseases (p<0.05). In addition, for asthmatics, presence of pulmonary disease in the family (OR:0.28, 95% CI: 0.10-0.79) and for COPD patients presence of hospitalization (OR: 0.26, 95% CI: 0.07-0.93) were negatively associated with current smoking. After one month, 85.1% of current asthmatic smokers had not tried to call a quitline, while 14.8% had tried to contact a quitline. Among current smoker COPD patients, only 1.9% had visited a smoking cessation clinic. CONCLUSIONS Tobacco cessation support seems to be neglected in asthma and COPD management. Instead, pulmonologists and patients focus on pharmaceutical treatments, which constitute the other component of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to determine the food allergy knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers working in five-star hotel kitchens in Turkey and to explore the association between the obtained scores and handlers’ demographic and working characteristics. A cross-sectional survey involving 450 food handlers in the state of Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya, in Turkey, was conducted using a paper-based questionnaire. The total knowledge score of the participants was 11.89 ±2.22 (max 17), attitude score 60.63 ±10.34 (max 75) and practice score 55.60 ±8.01 (max 65). In the comparison based on demographic characteristics; the knowledge (12.10 ±2.15) and practice (56.33 ±5.91) scores of the food handlers who received food allergy training in the hotel they work were found to be significantly higher than those who did not receive food allergy training (p<0.05). Food allergy knowledge of food handlers was evaluated as "average", attitude as "positive", and practice as "low risk practice". The results obtained are expected to contribute to the development of food allergy policies, procedures, and the planning of the necessary trainings for reducing the risks of food allergies and preventing fatal allergic reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION Many studies have shown that training in smoking cessation care (SCC) is important for increasing the number and quality of delivered interventions by health professionals, and various training methods are available. The study aimed to identify the relationship between receiving training on SCC and the frequency of providing outpatient-based SCC among pulmonologists who were members of the Turkish Thoracic Society (TTS). METHODS For this cross-sectional study, a self-administered online questionnaire-based survey was conducted on a group of active pulmonologists who were members of the TTS, between April and October 2019. The survey included questions about demographics, smoking status, participation in SCC training, and providing outpatient-based SCC. RESULTS A total of 199 (53%) pulmonologists were actively taking part in outpatient-based SCC. Compared to those that were not providing outpatient-based SCC, median age, median time since graduation, and the number of non-academics, non-current smokers and recipients of smoking cessation care training were significantly higher in the group providing outpatient-based SCC (p<0.001, p<0.001, p=0.002, p=0.001, respectively). It was observed that having SCC training increased more than 6-fold the likelihood of providing outpatient-based SCC (AOR=6.45; 95% CI: 3.96--10.49; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The most crucial obstacle in providing smoking cessation is healthcare workers not providing smoking cessation to smokers. It is worthwhile to devote more tasks and resources to training physicians on smoking cessation care since this may increase their effective involvement in tobacco cessation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate serum levels of VEGF, IGF-1 and FGF-2, and relationships with several clinical characteristics in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with and without bipolar disorder (BD). Method: 40 subjects with ASD + BD as study group, and 40 subjects with ASD as control group were included. Serum levels of VEGF, IGF-1, and FGF-2 were measured using commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Results: The study group was significantly higher than the control group in terms of ASD severity, self-harming behavior and sleep disturbance. Serum VEGF and FGF-2 levels were significantly higher in the ASD + BD group than in the control group. There was no significant difference in serum IGF-1 levels between the two groups. There was no correlation between VEGF, IGF-1 and FGF-2 serum levels and ASD severity in the study group. However there was a negative correlation between VEGF levels and age at first diagnosis of BD, and a positive correlation between IGF-1 levels and the number of bipolar episodes in the study group. Conclusion: Growth factors like VEGF and FGF-2 may be potential biomarkers of bipolar disorder in young subjects with ASD. Given the difficulty of clinical management of BD in young subjects with ASD, potential biomarkers would help clinicians in the diagnosis and follow up of BD in this special population. Further research is needed whether VEGF and FGF-2 can be potential biomarkers in the clinical management of young subjects with ASD and BD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Namık Kemal Tıp Dergisi is the property of Galenos Yayinevi Tic. LTD. STI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objectives. This study aims to compare the work stress and obsessive-compulsive symptoms of nurses and office workers and to determine the relationship between work stress and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Methods. A total of 127 nurses and 127 office workers participated in the cross-sectional study and comparative study. Data were collected using the perceived work stress scale and the Maudsley obsessive-compulsive inventory. Results. Nurses had higher work stress scores (p = 0.003) in general than office workers. In particular, nurses with a low (p < 0.039) and average (p < 0.007) economic status, nurses who had been employed for 1–10 years (p < 0.001) and nurses working 40 h per week (p < 0.042) had higher work stress scores than office workers. There was no difference (p > 0.05) between obsessive-compulsive symptom scores. There was a positive significant relationship (p < 0.001) between work stress and obsessive-compulsive symptom scores of nurses and office workers. Work stress explains 6.1% of the obsessive-compulsive symptoms in nurses and 12.4% in office workers. Conclusion. The results of this study concluded that work stress of nurses is higher than that of office workers and work stress affects the obsessive-compulsive symptoms in both groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to compare the effect of room arrangement on the mood and milk volume of mothers who gave birth by cesarean section and whose babies were not with them. The study included 89 mothers with and without infants living in the same room (Group 1) and 94 mothers without and without infants living in the same room (Group 2) (n = 183). The expression of milk was performed twice (0–6 h after birth and 36–48 h before discharge) using an electric breast pump. Expression lasted 15 min for each breast separately. The mean first milk volume of the mothers (Group 1: 5.56 ± 5.03 cc, Group 2: 3.76 ± 3.73 cc) and the mean last milk volume (Group 1: 18.78 ± 15.43 cc, Group 2: 10.64 ± 14.12 cc) were determined, and a significant difference was found between the groups. The mean milk volume of Group 1 was found to be significantly higher than Group 2 (Group 1: 13.21 cc ± 14.62 cc, Group 2: 6.88 cc ± 13.56 cc) (p < 0.05). A statistically significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of positive and negative mood (p = 0.003). In conclusion, it was determined that the milking behavior of mothers was negatively affected due to the lack of stimulation in the room where there was no baby, and this situation negatively affected the start time of the first milking and the average milk volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Objectives: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most prevalent progressive muscular dystrophy, and the guidelines recommend the regular assessment of respiratory muscle function. This study aimed to assess the relationship between maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP), maximum expiratory pressure (MEP) and sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP) measurements and upright-supine spirometry parameters in children with DMD, the predictability of upright–supine spirometry in terms of diaphragm involvement, and the impact of nutrition on muscle strength. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study examined patients with DMD by comparing upright and supine FVC, MIP, MEP, and SNIP measurements. The effects of the ambulatory status, kyphoscoliosis, chest deformity, and low BMI on respiratory parameters were investigated. Results: Forty-four patients were included in the study. The mean patient age was 10.8 ± 2.9 years. Twenty-five patients were ambulatory. A significant decrease in FVC, FEV1, and FEF25–75 values was detected in the supine position in both ambulatory and non-ambulatory patients (p < 0.05). All patients had low MIP, MEP, and SNIP measurements (less than 60 cm H2O). MIP, MEP, and SNIP values were significantly lower in patients with a low BMI than in those without (p < 0.05). Conclusions: To accurately assess respiratory muscle strength, supine FVC should be combined with upright FVC, MIP, MEP, and SNIP measurements. It is crucial to regularly screen patients for nutrition, as this can significantly affect respiratory muscle function during pulmonology follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most prevalent symptomatic primary immunodeficiency in adults. This study evaluates the clinical, immune, and immunohistological characteristics of hepatic involvement in CVID. Materials and Methods: Medical records of 72 CVID patients, including 7 with liver biopsies, were retrospectively reviewed. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to identify immune cell infiltration. Results: We enrolled 72 patients with a median age of 38 (22--77) years, and 47% (n = 34) were female. Elevated alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels were found in 58.3% (n=42) of the patients. Hepatic involvement was more prevalent among females, and those with hepatic involvement displayed a higher incidence of autoimmune disease. Splenomegaly was identified in 85% of the patients with hepatic involvement. Notably, switched memory B cells (IgD- CD19+ CD27+) and the CD4+/CD8+ ratio were statistically lower in patients with hepatic involvement (p=0.031, p=0.047). Liver biopsies were performed on 7 patients, revealing minimal to severe chronic hepatitis. Immunohistologic analysis of these liver biopsies revealed varying degrees of positivity of CD8+, CD4+, and CD16+. However, staining for CD21, CD56, and CD138 yielded negative results. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that immune cells, particularly CD8+, CD4+, and CD16+ cells, may play a role in developing hepatic involvement. Understanding the underlying causes and mechanisms of hepatic involvement in CVID patients can lead to early diagnosis and targeted treatments, ultimately improving the prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is critical for nurses to provide healthcare services to healthy/sick individuals with a humanistic approach and with empathy. Aims: This research aimed to determine nurses' humanistic behaviour ability, empathy levels and related factors in clinical practice. Design: A descriptive cross‐sectional and exploratory study. Methods: Probability sampling method was used, and 337 nurses working in two public hospitals were included in the study. Data was collected using the Humanistic Practice Ability of Nursing Scale and the Empathy Level Determination Scale. Structural equation model analysis and descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the hypothesised model. This study adhered to the STROBE checklist for reporting. Results: Nurses' humanistic ability and empathy level in nursing practices were found to be above average. Both the ability to act humanely in nursing practices and their empathy levels were found to be significantly higher in nurses who were married and had children. A significant relationship was found between empathy levels and humanistic behaviours. Accordingly, nurses' empathy levels positively affected their humanistic care behaviours, and the model established between the two concepts was found to be statistically appropriate. Conclusions: Nurses' empathy levels positively affect their ability to act humanistically. The result of the model established between the two concepts also supports this. Care strategies should be developed that consider factors that will improve empathetic and humanistic behaviours in nurses and maximise individualised care practices. Implications for the Profession: Increasing the awareness of nurses about the factors affecting humanistic behaviours and empathic attitudes while caring for individuals in clinical practice, will contribute to improving the quality of nursing care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is one of the top 3 diseases that may lead to disability. Current treatment guidelines define exercise as a first-line treatment for nonspecific LBP (NSLBP). There are various evidence-based exercise approaches for treating NSLBP, and many of them include motor control principles. Motor control exercises (MCEs) are better than general exercises that do not include motor control principles. Many patients find learning these exercises complex and challenging, in that MCE exercises have no standard teaching method. The researchers of this study developed multimedia instructions for an MCE program to make teaching MCE easier; thus, more effective. Methods: The participants were randomized into multimedia or standard (face-to-face) instruction groups. We applied the same treatments to both groups at the same dosage. The only differences between groups were the exercise instruction methods. The multimedia group learned MCE from multimedia videos; the control group learned MCE from a physiotherapist with face-to-face instructions. Treatment lasted 8 weeks. We evaluated patients' exercise adherence with Exercise Adherence Rating Scale (EARS), pain with the Visual Analog Scale, and disability with Oswestry Disability Index. Evaluations were made before and after treatment. Follow-up evaluations were carried out 4 weeks after the end of treatment. Results: There was no statistically significant interaction between the group and time on pain, F2,56 = 0.068, P = .935, partial η² = .002 and Oswestry Disability Index scores, F2,56 = 0.951, P = .393, partial η² = .033. Also, there was no statistically significant interaction between the group and time on Exercise Adherence Rating Scale total scores F1,20 = 2.343, P = .142, partial η² = .105. Conclusions: This study showed that multimedia instructions for MCE have similar effects to standard (face-to-face) instructions on pain, disability, and exercise adherence in patients with NSLBP. To our knowledge, with these results, the developed multimedia instructions became the first free, evidence-based instructions that have objective progression criteria and a Creative Commons license. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aims to evaluate how a Hypoglycaemia Education Programme (HEP) affects the hypoglycaemia outcomes of patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Methods: This study which included a six-month follow-up was conducted with 101 patients with T2DM receiving insulin in the outpatient diabetes clinic. The patients were assigned to the HEP group (n = 51) and the control (n = 50) group. Patients in the HEP group participated in the Hypoglycaemia Education Programme. The patients in both groups were assessed at baseline, and one, three, and six months after HEP using the Clarke Hypoglycaemia Awareness Scale and the Hypoglycaemia Fear Survey in terms of frequency, self-management behaviours of hypoglycaemia, fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels, and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels. Results: The HEP group had a higher score of hypoglycaemia awareness in six months compared to the control group (p = 0.006). Fear of hypoglycaemia decreased significantly (p < 0.001) but the frequency of hypoglycaemia did not change in the HEP group compared to the control group (p > 0.05). While self-management behaviours for hypoglycaemia improved in the HEP group, no change was observed in the control group (p = 0.005). Moreover, HbA1c lowered significantly in the HEP group (p < 0.01). Conclusion: As a unique first programme on hypoglycaemia management in T2DM in Turkey, HEP is effective for improving selfmanagement behaviours for hypoglycaemia, hypoglycaemia awareness, and glycaemic control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: 'Teachable moments', such as inpatient treatment periods, can be turned into opportunities for smokers to acquire healthy living behaviors. This study was conducted to evaluate outcomes of smoking cessation interventions at an inpatient hospital setting. Methods: Data was collected for this single arm prospective intervention cohort study between October 2021 and March 2022 from hospitalized patients at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Training and Research Hospital in Türkiye. Smoker patients received smoking cessation counseling and brief smoking cessation interventions during their hospitalization and were informed about how to apply to our hospital's smoking cessation outpatient clinic after discharge. They were followed via phone at 3rd, 5th,7th days and 1st, 3rd, 6th, 12th months after their discharge regarding their quit status as well as admissions to smoking cessation clinics. Quitters were confirmed by exhaled air carbon monoxide testing. Logistic regression analysis was performad to evaluate the presence of admission to emergency department and family physicians at 1st year follow up, model was adjusted regarding age, sex, presence of malignancy and education level. Results: Totally data of 183 patients included to the study, there were 163 participants who completed periodic follow-ups during 1 year and among them the quit rate was 47.2%. Rate of anxiety was higher among non-quitters, compared to quitters (9.4% vs 1.2%) (p:0.024). Non-quittters were 19 times more likely to have emergency department admissions (aOR: 19.64, 95% CI: 8.08-47.68) and 8 times more likely have family doctor admissions (aOR: 8.43, 95% CI: 4.05-17.53) than quitters. Conclusions: This cessation program evaluated the quit rates of hospitalized patients at first year and revealed that rate of anxiety was higher in non-quitters compared to quitters. It would be an important approach to include psychiatric support in this practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine the incidence of pressure injuries from medical devices in children. Background: Medical devices can cause pressure injuries on skin and soft tissues. Design: A prospective, descriptive study adhering to STROBE guidelines. Methods: This study was conducted in the third‐level Paediatric Intensive Care Unit of Ege University Hospital in İzmir, Türkiye between April 2019 and October 2019 in Türkiye. Patients aged between 1 month and 18 years with medical devices were observed for pressure injuries using Braden scales and a specific monitoring form. Results: In this study, we followed 522 medical devices applied to 96 patients. The three most commonly used medical devices were the ECG probe (21%), the blood pressure cuff (16%) and the saturation probe. Out of the 522 medical devices followed, 36 caused pressure injuries (6.8%). Conclusion: The incidence of medical device‐related pressure injuries was found to be high. Effective training and implementation strategies need to be devised for paediatric nurses to prevent pressure injuries associated with medical devices. Relevance to Clinical Practice: The results of this study reveal that pressure injuries related to medical devices are an important health problem in paediatric hospitals. Therefore, awareness‐raising and educational activities among health professionals and nurses should be accelerated. Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve expertise, transplant surgeons in Turkiye undergo rigorous training, including medical school, residency, compulsory service, and extensive training in transplant surgery. Despite their high academic and clinical knowledge level, success in transplant surgery heavily depends on cultural competency. Through semi-structured interviews with 21 transplant surgeons specializing in kidney and liver transplants in Ankara, this study reveals how health illiteracy, culture, and folklore create significant barriers. Surgeons navigate these challenges while enduring harsh working conditions. This research highlights the critical role of cultural competency in transplant surgery, emphasizing the necessity for surgeons to understand and address the diverse cultural needs of their patients. Key findings indicate that surgeons must balance medical expertise with cultural sensitivity to deliver effective care. This study identifies four main cultural barriers: spiritual trust, family politics, health illiteracy, and subcultural incompetency. Effective transplant surgery requires a combination of theoretical proficiency and cultural awareness to meet a patient's needs and improve surgical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary goal of the KIDS4ALLL project was to empower educators to foster a flexible, innovative, and collaborative learning environment within their classrooms. This article delves into teachers' experiences with implementing collaborative learning during the KIDS4ALLL project. Additionally, it explores how teachers perceived the implementation of the KIDS4ALLL pilot in learning environments across different national educational settings, specifically in Israel and Turkey. Given that both Israel and Turkey have centralized education systems and adhere to a traditional teaching approach, the two research questions offer insights into how the national education context of both countries influences the implementation of the collaborative learning approach of KIDS4ALLL and the experiences of educators. The methodology employed in this study involved semi-structured interviews with 16 educators and participant observation during the two pilots. The findings highlight a sense of fear and uncertainty among educators regarding their ability to conduct lessons in an unfamiliar yet innovative and flexible learning environment. These feelings were accompanied by challenges such as technological and language barriers, sociocultural diversities, and occasional behavioral issues. The results also underscore similarities between the two countries, emphasizing that centralized education systems, teachers' previous training, curriculum, and available physical space posed challenges to the pilot program's implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim was to evaluate the effect of metabolic control on bone biomarkers in children with type I diabetes. Materials and methods: The children were divided into two groups according to their glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) (%) levels: a group with HbA1c levels < 8% (n = 16) and: a group with HbA1c levels > 8% (n = 18). The serum total oxidative status (TOS) (µmol/L), total antioxidant status (TAS) (mmol/L), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (IU/L), osteocalcin (OC) (ng/ml), procollagen type-1-N-terminal peptide (P1NP) (ng/ml), and vitamin D (IU) levels and food consumption frequencies were determined. Results: When patients were classified according to HbA1c (%) levels, those with HbA1c levels < 8% were found to have lower TOS (µmol/L) values (8.7 ± 6.16, 9.5 ± 5.60) and higher serum OC (ng/mL) (24.2 ± 16.92, 22.0 ± 6.21) levels than those with HbA1c levels > 8% (p < 0.05). Regardless of the level of metabolic control, there was a statistically significant association between serum TOS (µmol/L) and P1NP (ng/ml) (p < 0.05) levels, with no group-specific relationship (HbA1c levels <%8 or HbA1c levels >%8). Conclusion: HbA1c and serum TOS levels had an effect on bone turnover biomarkers in individuals with type I diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this quantitative study was to develop a valid and reliable scale to examine the environmental sensitivity of social workers, the Environmental Sensitivity Scale. First, the researchers created an item pool by considering the information in the literature. Then, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analyses were carried out. A total of 314 social workers practicing in the field in Türkiye (previosly referred to as Turkey) participated in the study. The EFA conducted for validity indicated an 11-item structure composed of two factors. The first factor provides information about environmental sensitivity in macro practices ; the second factor provides information about environmental sensitivity in micro and mezzo practices. The reliability analyses also revealed that the resulting structure was reliable. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficients for the first factor, second factor, and total score were.830,.815, and.875, respectively. The developed scale can be utilized to figure out the attitudes of social workers about environmental sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As in many other countries, baseline data concerning the linguistic development of bilingual children in Sweden are lacking, and suitable methods for identifying developmental language disorder (DLD) in bilinguals are lacking as well. This study presents reference data from 108 typically developing (TD) Turkish/Swedish-speaking children aged 4;0–8;1, for a range of language tasks developed specifically for the assessment of bilinguals (LITMUS test battery, COST Action IS0804). We report on different types of nonword repetition (NWR) tasks (language-specific and language-independent), receptive and expressive vocabulary (Cross-Linguistic Lexical Tasks, CLTs), and narrative macrostructure comprehension and production (Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives, MAIN) in Turkish, the children's home language, and in Swedish, the language of schooling and society. Performance was investigated in relation to age, language exposure, type of task, and (for NWR and narratives) vocabulary size. There was a positive development with age for all tasks, but effects of language exposure and vocabulary size differed between tasks. Six bilingual Turkish/Swedish children with DLD were individually compared to the TD children. TD/DLD performance overlapped substantially, particularly for NWR, and more so for the production than the comprehension tasks. Surprisingly, the discriminatory potential was poor for both language-specific and language-independent NWR. DLD case studies underscored the importance of interpreting language scores in relation to exposure history, and the need for an increased emphasis on functional language skills as reported by parents and teachers when assessing and diagnosing DLD in bilinguals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the readiness of our patient population for the transfer to adult care and the applicability of the TRANSITION-Q and STARx scales to the Turkish adolescent patient population. Patients and methods: A total of 153 patients (92 males, 61 females; mean age: 15.5±1.9 years; range, 12 to 18 years) were included in the study between September 15, 2021, and December 15, 2021. The patients were divided into two groups according to age groups: 12 to 15 years old and 16 to 18 years old. The patients were also divided into four groups according to their diagnosis: connective tissue diseases, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, vasculitis, and autoinflammatory diseases. The TRANSITION-Q and STARx scales were administered face-to-face by a nurse and a doctor. The transition readiness of the patients was evaluated according to their scores. Results: Sixty-nine (45%) patients were in the 12 to 15 age group, and 84 (55%) were in the 16 to 18 age group. Eight-four (54.9%) patients had juvenile idiopathic arthritis, 47 (30.7%) patients had an autoinflammatory disease, 14 (9.2%) patients had vasculitis, and eight (5.2%) patients had a connective tissue disease. There was no significant difference in the scale scores according to disease groups and sexes in both scales. Considering the age of the patients, the mean scores of the patients in the 16 to 18 age group were found to be significantly higher compared to the 12 to 15 age group for both the TRANSITION-Q (74.3±13.3 vs. 65.4±9.6, p<0.001) and STARx scales (51.8±8.1 vs. 44.8±9.1, p<0.001). Cronbach's alpha score was 0.71 for the STARx scale and 0.79 for the TRANSITION-Q scale. Conclusion: TRANSITION-Q and STARx scales could guide the Turkish patient population in determining the pretransition needs of patients in planning individualized transition processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the first involved joints and associated factors in Turkish patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients and methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included 300 newly diagnosed and disease-modifying antirheumatic drug-naïve RA patients (240 females, 60 males; mean age: 54±1.2 years; range, 18 to 82 years). Baseline demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were evaluated between January 2022 and December 2022. The patients were divided into four groups according to autoantibody profile: antibody-negative patients (Group 1; both RF and anti-CCP were negative in this group of patients), RF-positive patients (Group 2), anti-CCP-positive patients (Group 3), and patients with dual seropositivity with RF and anti- CCP (Group 4). The patients were also divided into two groups according to the size of the first affected joint: patients with SJI at diagnosis and patients without SJI involvement at diagnosis. Results: Rheumatoid factor (RF) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibody positivity rates were 40.3% and 35.6%, respectively. The mean lag time to diagnosis was 25±36 months. At the disease onset, 20% of patients did not have small joint involvement (SJI). Seronegative patients tended to be female (p=0.001), had longer lag time (p=0.001), and had lower levels of C-reactive protein (p=0.025), white blood count (p=0.005), and neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (p=0.001) compared to the dual seropositive group. Patients presenting with SJI had a younger age (p=0.002), tended to be female (p=0.001), and had lower RF (p=0.034) and anti-CCP (p=0.031) positivity. Only age (p=0.005) and dual seronegativity (RF and anti-CCP; p=0.035) were the independent predictors of SJI in multivariate analysis. Conclusion: The decreasing age and seronegative status were defined as independent risk factors of SJI at the onset of RA. Population-based, prospective studies are needed for earlier diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess preschool children's hearingrelated quality of life and to introduce the scale, originally titled "Preschool Hearing Environments and Reflections on Quality of Life Questionnaire" (Preschool HEAR-QL), to the literature through Turkish adaption, validity, and reliability analyses. Method: Our study included 210 children aged 2--6 years: 110 with hearing loss (56 cochlear implant users and 54 hearing aid users) and 100 with normal hearing. Demographic data were collected and then the Preschool HEAR-QL, which was translated into Turkish, was administered twice at 15-day intervals. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine whether the factor structure found in the original scale development study was confirmed in our sample (construct validity). Cronbach's alpha, intraclass correlation scores, and the test--retest method were used to assess the scale's reliability as the findings were analyzed using paired samples t tests. Results: The children with hearing loss had lower scores than their normalhearing peers, and the difference was significant in the subdomains of behavior and attention, hearing environments, and communication. The subscale of the Preschool Period Listening Environments and their Reflections on Quality of Life Scale consists of 23 items, and Cronbach's alpha value was found as 0.922 in the first application and 0.926 in the second application (high reliability). In the model established for validity analysis, χ² /df = 2.156, root-mean-square error of approximation = 0.074, standard root-mean-square residual = 0.078, goodnessof- fit index = 0.830, adjusted goodness-of-fit index = 0.789, comparative fit index = 0.895, and Tucker--Lewis index = 0.881 (good model fit). In terms of test--retest reliability, the correlation between the two measurements was 0.837, and there was no statistical difference between the test--retest scores (p = .15). Conclusion: The Turkish version of the Preschool HEAR-QL scale was proven to be a valid and reliable scale for assessing the hearing-related quality of life of children aged 2-6 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Covid-19 affected all stages of the education system, from preschool education to higher education and uncertainties in education caused various health problems, especially stress. Aim: The aim of the study was to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing students' stress levels in Turkey. Methodology: It is a cross-sectional web-based survey. The population of the study includes the students of a Nursing Department of a Faculty of Health Sciences of a state university in Turkey (N=739). The sample of this study consisted of 311 nursing students. The data were collected via Google Forms using the "Sociodemographic Data Collection Form", "Questionnaire Form Regarding the Changes in Stress Level Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic", and "Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14)". Descriptive statistics, One Way ANOVA, Student's t-test and multiple linear regression analysis were adopted for data analysis. Results: It was determined that students experienced moderate stress during the COVID-19 pandemic period [Perceived Stress Scale-14 (PSS-14) mean score was 29.81±7.33]. Results suggest that PSS-14 total mean scores and the variables of "I have trouble overcoming the problems in my life", "I have difficulty in concentrating", and "I feel restless and angry" were statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: These results revealed that the pandemic affects the stress level of the students and that the students experience moderate stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effects of the rs965623242 reference single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on the ZIC5 gene in patients with neural tube defect (NTD). Patients and Methods: One hundred sixty-eight controls and one hundred sixty-eight NTD patients were included in the study. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) isolation from peripheral blood samples was carried out for all participants. rs965623242 polymorphic region was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and then sequenced. Results: In the 5' untranslated region (UTR) of the first exon, guanine (G) to adenine (A) base change was detected in the 38th base of NM_033132.5. G to A base change was determined as GG genotype in 117 (69.6%), AG genotype in 30 (17.86%), and AA genotype in 21 (12.5%) patients. In the control group, GG genotype in 107 (63.7%), AG genotype in 23 (13.7%) and AA genotype in 38 (22.7%) were observed. The statistically significant difference was observed between the NTD and the control groups in ZIC5 genotypes or allele frequencies [p=0.044, odds ratio (OR)=0.49 (0.27-0.88) and p=0.021, OR=0.65 (0.46-0.93), respectively]. Conclusion: ZIC5 rs965623242 polymorphism may have a protective role in the NTD development in the Eastern Anatolian population, in Turkey. Although, these findings demonstrate that the rs965623242 polymorphism is associated with NTD, we do not clarify how its expression is affected during the embryonic period and ongoing processes. We will need advanced ongoing genetic and clinical studies to obtain more detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the experiences and transitional care needs of Turkish frail older adults living in the UK and determine how this information can be utilized to improve the provision of culturally sensitive care during the transitional period. Design: Qualitative descriptive research with semi‐structured individual interviews. Methods: "The 'Silences' Framework guided the research design, from conceptualizing the research question to structuring the report of final outputs. For this study, semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews were conducted with sixteen older adults living with frailty and five family caregivers between January and May of 2023 in the United Kingdom. Results: Major themes that were identified included: (i) information and communication, (ii) care and support, (iii) the role of culture and (iv) trust and satisfaction. Further analysis, through discussion and immersion in the data, revealed that care transition periods were presented alongside three phases of transitional care: pre‐transition (during hospitalization), early‐transition (the period between discharge and the 7th day after discharge) and late transition (the period between the 8th day and 12th month after discharge). Conclusions: Our study revealed that the communication and informational needs of frail older individuals change during the transition period. While Turkish older adults and family caregivers expressed satisfaction with healthcare services in the UK, many struggled due to a lack of knowledge on how to access them. Impact: The support of family caregivers is a crucial component in facilitating transitional care for frail older patients, as they help in accessing healthcare services and using technological devices or platforms. It should be noted that family caregivers often hold the same level of authority as their elderly Turkish counterparts. Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimating the growth dynamics of a pandemic is critical for policy makers to fine-tune emergency policies in health and other public sectors. The paper presents country-level calibration and prediction results on some well-known models in the literature, namely, the logistic, exponential, Gompertz, SIR and SEIR models. The models are implemented on real data from various countries, including Turkey, and their performance for different estimation windows have been analyzed using R2 scores. The computational results are obtained using Python. The Gompertz model outperforms other models by consistently offering a better tit for the total number of infected. The exponential model is helpful in describing the growth dynamics in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Suspected-Infected-Recovered (SIR) and Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Removed (SEIR) models display a fair performance on the underlying active cases data in many circumstances. Quantitative models can offer policy makers in Turkey and elsewhere a better insight on the evolution of pandemic when everything else is held constant and the infections follow a typical path. The results can be highly sensitive to changes in policies. There is not a single model that can perfectly mimic all stages of pandemic. An ensemble model or multi-modal distributions can be used to capture the evolution of multi-wave pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Balikesir Health Sciences Journal / Balıkesir Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi is the property of Balikesir Health Sciences Journal (BAUN Health Sci J) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction: The clinical laboratory testing process has three phases, and one of the most common errors that adversely affect the accuracy of laboratory test results occurs in the pre-analytical phase. Different brands of blood collection tubes used in laboratories can adversely affect the accuracy of the parameters. This study aims to compare the clot activator gel biochemistry tubes for selected clinical parameters. Methods: Fifty healthy volunteers aged between 18-70 years were included who didn't have any chronic or inflammatory disease, any clinical or pathological disease, and didn't use any medication. The biochemical parameters such as serum albumin, creatinine (crea), urea, triglyceride (TG), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), potassium (K), and chloride (Cl) levels; aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity were measured by an autoanalyzer. Student's t-test and Bland-Altman plot methods were used for statistical data analysis by SPSS software. Results: There was no statistical difference between the two different tube brands in terms of all evaluated clinical parameters that could affect the accuracy of the test results. Discussion and Conclusion: When the BD® brand tube is taken as a reference, it is thought that AYSET® tubes give the same or close values, and the clinical use of AYSET® brand tubes will not cause an error in laboratory tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Nursing Effect / Etkili Hemşirelik Dergisi is the property of Dokuz Eylul Universitesi Hemsirelik Fakultesi Elektronik Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Health & Nursing Management / Sağlık ve Hemşirelik Yönetimi Dergisi is the property of Logos Medical Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background and Objectives: Nutrition literacy is a concept that improves individuals' diet quality, and quality of life and contributes to enhancing their general health by using and interpreting nutrition-related information correctly. This study purposed to determine the nutritional literacy and quality of life levels of university students and relate them with anthropometric measurements. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study and was conducted with 374 university students over the age of 18 at a state university. Nutrition literacy was assessed by using the Evaluation Instrument of Nutrition Literacy on Adults (EINLA), and quality of life was evaluated with the World Health Organization's Quality of Life Questionnaire (Turkish_WHOQOL-BREF). Waist, middle-upper arm, neck circumference, body weight, and height were measured in accordance with appropriate techniques by researchers. Independent t and One-Way ANOVA tests were used to determine differences between two and more than two mean values. Pearson correlation analysis was used to detect relationships between scores of total EINLA, its sections, total Turkish_WHOQOL-BREF and its dimensions, and other variables. Results: The mean EINLA and WHOQOL-BREF scores of the participants were 25.3±4.7 (borderline) and 54.3±15.1, respectively. While the EINLA score varied according to gender, faculty (health sciences vs others), and degree (1 to 4), the WHOQOL-BREF score varied according to gender and living place (home vs dormitory). EINLA and WHOQOL-BREF scores of BMI (underweight to obese), waist circumference, and neck circumference (normal vs at risk) groups were not different. It was found positive significant relationships between the second section of EINLA (reading comprehension and interpretation) and psychological health, the third section of EINLA (food groups), and social relationships (p<0.05). Conclusion: Nutrition literacy, anthropometric measurements, and quality of life of university students are affected by a multifactorial situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The total annual count of reported tuberculosis (TB) cases continues to decline throughout Turkey. Recognizing the regions with high and low burdens and revealing the factors affecting TB notification rates may play a role in guiding national control programs. This study aimed to analyze the spatial distribution of TB notification rates from 2005 to 2018 and evaluate the factors contributing to TB rates. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this ecological study, we used freely available open data from the Internet. We employed global and local spatial autocorrelation analysis to identify the spatial distribution and the clusters with low and high burdens. We conducted an ordinary least square regression model, spatial lag model, and spatial error model. The best-fitting model was selected via model parameters. RESULTS: Throughout the study period, the provinces in West Marmara Region (Edirne, Kırklareli, Tekirdağ, Çanakkale) were consistently in a high-burden cluster. In univariate ordinary least square regression, population density, the proportion of contacts screened for TB, the proportion of TB contacts who received prophylaxis, TB dispensary count, mean particulate matter 10 levels, and gross domestic product were found to be positively associated with TB notification rate. The best-fitting multivariate spatial lag model revealed that the proportion of contacts screened for TB (ß, z-value: 0.89, 2.21) positively affected TB notification rate. CONCLUSION: The high TB burden in West Marmara Region should warn policymakers to maintain a focused approach to controlling TB in this area. This study showed the importance of contact tracing efforts to prevent the underdetection of TB cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]