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Copyright of Community & Physician / Toplum ve Hekim is the property of Turk Tabipleri Birligi / Turkish Medical Association 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 Community & Physician / Toplum ve Hekim is the property of Turk Tabipleri Birligi / Turkish Medical Association 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 Community & Physician / Toplum ve Hekim is the property of Turk Tabipleri Birligi / Turkish Medical Association 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.)

The aim of the present study was to calculate maternal mortality rates by analyzing pregnancy-related death cases in Samsun over the last 20 years, to identify causes of death and preventability, and to examine the change over the years. The Samsun Provincial Health Directorate's pregnancy-related mortality data from 2002 to 2021 were examined retrospectively. Causes of maternal death were classified as direct, indirect, undecided, and incidental. The maternal mortality rate was calculated as the number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Between 2002 and 2021, Samsun experienced a total of 344,324 live births juxtaposed with 79 pregnancy-related deaths. The computed maternal mortality rate is 19.16 per 100,000 live births across the two-decade span. Detailed analysis reveals that 30 deaths (38%) were attributable to direct causes, 31 (39.2%) to indirect causes, 13 (16.5%) were incidental, and 5 (6.3%) remained inconclusive post-autopsy. A breakdown of the direct causes unveils obstetric bleeding as the primary culprit (18.2%), trailed by cardiovascular diseases (13.6%). Moreover, incidental causes, represented by traffic accidents, account for a 7.6% fatality rate. While the observed decline in maternal deaths, particularly from preventable direct causes, over the previous twenty years signifies the efficacy of the instated health policies, the persistent mortality underscores the imperative for ongoing research and strategy recalibration. Identifying fluctuations in causative factors through comparative analyses is pivotal in strategizing future preventive studies on pregnancy-related deaths. The results advocate a pronounced emphasis on continuous professional development to curtail mortalities from avoidable sources, especially postpartum hemorrhage, thereby fortifying existing health policies with reinforced, data-driven interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stigmatisation of the gecekondu in post-19 45 Turkey is a common theme in the literature. However, these studies have drawn little connection with health issues, even though these are known to be important in the mechanisms of stigmatisation. Policies for tuberculosis (TB) control--then Turkey's "number one health issue"--have tended to focus on individual and biological factors, to the detriment of social or environmental ones that could contribute to making TB a matter of politics and not only of policies. A close study of the practices of the numerous TBcontrol actors nevertheless reveals an entanglement of the social, the environmental, and the medical questions. Through the emblematic but unknown case study of the TB-control pilot area created in Zeytinburnu in 1961, this article studies discourses, but also graphic representations, portraying the gecekondu as unhealthy, revealing an underlying environmental conception of TB among Turkish public health actors. The choice of Istanbul's biggest gecekondu neighbourhood to be a pilot area originated from a common conception of the gecekondu areas as pathogenic, but also contributed to reinforcing this vision and adding it to the very definition of the gecekondu. It thus participated in the stigmatisation of these areas and their inhabitants, even if some of the study's conclusions undermined the common vision of the gecekondu as populated by poor, rural migrants. However, the pilot project was also conceived as a way to integrate the inhabitants into the modern city. The "pilot" character of the area, if characteristic of the vocabulary of the 1960s, which were also the time of the attempt to "socialise the health services" in Turkey, is questionable. The project displayed a desire to know and control this specific territory rather than a genuine promotion of broader environmental changes to be replicated on a national scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Turkey, as well as all over the world, one of the most significant challenges faced by the health sector players such as governments, private enterprises and institutions is to make health expenses sustainable while ensuring the sustainability of healthcare services. Increasing obesity rates, aging of the population and increases in chronic diseases require urgent solutions. Although the causes and solutions of these health problems are shaped in line with enviromental conditions and public policies, individuals' preferences and behaviors are among the primary determinants of their health status. Tobacco use, poor diet, physical inactivity and inadequate health protective behaviors often cause illness and death. For this reason, it is of great importance to change the health-related behavior of individuals. This is difficult, however, as health-related behaviors are very complex in that they are influenced by many factors. On the other hand, behavioral economics, which draws attention with the insights it has drawed on especially from psychology in recent years, offers a new approach to why people cannot make the best choice for themselves and cannot oppose their impulses at the expense of losing their health in the long term. In addition, it addresses the behavioral barriers in the healthcare comprehensively, taking into account the behavior of healthcare providers with a similar approach. Concordantly, the study, considering relevant insights, offers suggestions on how to use behavioral economics's tools in designing more effective but low-cost health policies and programs in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Community & Physician / Toplum ve Hekim is the property of Turk Tabipleri Birligi / Turkish Medical Association 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.)

Turkey is a transit and final destination for many asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants because of its geographical location, cultural issues and hospitality. The following article is aimed to present the health policies applied to Syrian citizens who escaped the Syrian Crisis in 2011. To evaluate the topic in detail, legal basis of health policies of Turkey and the neighboring countries who accept Syrians as asylum seekers or refugees were evaluated. As the right of human access to health is vital and it is thought that this study will help the researchers and policy makers to understand the results of their efforts and compare the health care needs and access to health care of Syrian asylum seekers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neoliberal policies which gained momentum in the last quarter of the 20th century brought along change in both economic and social policies. One major field where this change is effective is the presentation of health care. Health services after 1980 are being restructured within the framework of economic concepts such as efficiency, profitability, cost and performance charges. Within this period, the health services, which are regarded as the responsibility of the government as a crucial public service, are being marketed, whereas public health enterprises leave their place to private enterprises under the policies of privatization. The change in health policies inevitably leads to deepening of inequality and poverty. This study aims to evaluate post-1980 changes in health policy in Turkey, together with the results of those changes. Within the scope of the study, the changes in health expenditures will be examined regarding the General Health Insurance, family medicine, city hospitals, participation rates of individuals in health spending, expenditures of public and private health institutions and expenditures for social security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Countries' national drug policies include all key stakeholders (pharmacists, physicians, pharmaceutical firms, and patients) in the public, the private sector, and the field of pharmacy. The aim of this study was to outline pharmaceutical patents and data protection, orphan drugs, drug pricing, and surplus goods regarding pharmacoeconomics, promotions, inspections in the pharmaceutical industry, and policies in pharmacies with respect to buying and selling drugs, and to discuss ethics in particular. Materials and Methods: Written laws in force relating to drugs in Turkey constitute the materials of this study. Results: Essential medicines must always be accessible. Both governments and pharmaceutical companies must fulfill the obligations imposed on them in an ethical way. Research and development activities must also be carried out for orphan drugs. While pricing drugs, authorities must take pharmacoeconomic evaluations into account. Conclusion: Drugs must be accessible and in the first grade at all times under all circumstances because a product cannot replace it. The concept of surplus goods should be revised to ensure the common needs of the pharmaceutical industry, warehouses, and pharmacies. Promotions in the field by the pharmaceutical industry should be made based on scientific evidence in an ethical way. Inspectors should perform meticulous pharmaceutical industry inspections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Infant mortality rate (IMR) and neonatal mortality rate (NMR) are accepted as good indicators to measure the health status of a nation. This report describes recent declines in IMR and NMR in Turkey.Methods: Data on infants who died before 12 months of life were obtained from the Infant Mortality Monitoring System of Ministry of Health of Turkey between 2007 and 2012. A total of 94,038 infant deaths were evaluated.Results: Turkey IMR and NMR exhibited a marked decline from 2007 (16.4 and 12.2) to 2010 (10.1 and 6.6) and then plateaued in 2012 (9.7 and 6.3), despite regional differences. Prematurity, congenital anomalies and congenital heart diseases (CHD) were the three most common causes of infant deaths between 2007 and 2012. While the rates of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and metabolic diseases increased, the rates of congenital anomalies and birth injuries decreased. IMR and NMR significantly increased with the number of infants per paediatrician, per doctor, and per midwife, while was decreasing with the increased rate of hospital birth, caesarean delivery, antenatal care, infant follow-up, and staff trained within the Neonatal Resuscitation Programme (NRP).Conclusion: From 2007-2012, Turkey showed remarkable encouraging advances in reducing IMR and NMR. Any interventions aimed at further reductions in IMR and NMR should target the common causes of death and defined risk factors especially in socioeconomically disadvantaged regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]