Identification of the number of home accidents per year involving children in the 0-6 age group and the measures taken by mothers to prevent home accidents.

This study was designed and carried out to determine the factors effective on the home safety measures taken by mothers with children in the 0-6 age group and to detect the frequency of home accidents among children in this group. The study was carried out with the participation of 514 mothers who were registered at the H. Ulgen Health Center affiliated with the Directorate of Mamak Health Group. The study data were collected through a questionnaire form and the "Scale for Identification by Mothers of the Safety Measures Taken by Mothers to Prevent Home Accidents in Children in the 0-6 Age Group". It was found that 37.9% of the 0-6 age group children had had a home accident, with "fall" the most common (75.4%). A statistically significant difference was recorded in the mother's total mean score from the scale with respect to the factors of educational status, age, family type, and number of children (p < 0.05).

Animal-related injuries: a population-based study of a five-state region in the upper Midwest: Regional Rural Injury Study II.

PROBLEM: While agricultural injury has been identified among the major causes of occupational injury mortality and morbidity, data have been limited pertinent to the magnitude, consequences, and potential risk factors for animal-related injuries -- a major source of morbidity among agricultural operations. METHODS: Demographics, exposure, and injury data were collected for 1999 and 2001 among agricultural households in a five-state region. Causal models facilitated survey design, data analyses, and interpretation of results; directed acyclic graphs guided multivariate modeling. RESULTS: From 7,420 households (84% response of eligible), a total of 5,045 injury events were reported; 1,016 (20.1%) were animal-related. Multivariate analyses revealed increased risks for those <20 years; residents of all states compared to Minnesota; all age groups compared to 0-4 years; >0 hours worked; and prior agricultural injury history. For those 20+ years, increased risks were identified for: South Dakota residents; males; >0 hours worked; and prior agricultural injury history. For those cases <20 and 20+ years of age, 58% and 46%, respectively, resulted in lost work time on their agricultural operations (31% and 50%, one week or more). CONCLUSIONS: Animal-related injury has a major impact on the agricultural industry. Results serve as a basis for interventions and further research. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The impact of animal-related injuries on the agricultural industry appears significant; among age groups <20 and 20+, 85% and 82%, respectively, had some resulting restriction. For all events combined, 29% and 30%, respectively, involved restriction from one week to 3+ months; 12% and 15% involved restriction for one month or more. Among those <20 and 20+ years of age, 58% and 46%, respectively, lost work time on their own agricultural operation as a result of injuries associated with their own operation; 22% and 15% lost one week or more. Moreover, of the non-agriculture-related injuries, 31% and 50% resulted in lost work time on their own operation; 15% and 28%, respectively, lost one week or more. Restrictions such as these can affect the productivity of the operation, resulting in financial impacts, especially on small operations that have few people to manage the required tasks.

Determination of the risks of domestic accidents for the 0-6 age group in the Tuzluçayir Village Clinic neighborhood.

This study was planned and conducted based on the investigation of families living in the Tuzluçaylr Village Clinic neighborhood to determine the risks of domestic accidents for the children aged 0-6 years. It was established that 66.0% of the rooms were furnished with sharp-edged furniture; 63.2% had open electrical sockets; 68.4% had slippery flooring; and 68.9% of the houses with balcony railings had rail openings wide enough for a child to pass through. We determined that 28.8% of the children aged 0-6 years had suffered a domestic accident during the last year.

An evaluation of the poisoning accidents encountered in children aged 0-6 years in Kirikkale.

This study was planned with the aims of evaluating poisoning accidents encountered in children aged between 0-6 years, who applied to the H. Hidayet Dogruer Obstetrics and Children's Hospital in Kirikkale in 2003, and of determining the measures taken by families to prevent further accidents in their homes. Poisoning accidents were concentrated in children aged between 2-3 years. The major causative poisoning agents were determined to be drugs and cleaning agents, and the majority of accidents (34.0%) occurred in the kitchen. It has been determined that most of the poisoning accidents (49.5%) stemmed from storing of drugs within the reach of children. Of all mothers participating in the study, 68.9% declared that they have taken measures to prevent future poisoning accidents in their homes.

Risk of physical assault against school educators with histories of occupational and other violence: a case-control study.

A case-control study design was used to investigate risks of work-related physical assault (PA) associated with a history of violent victimization among educators. A total of 6,469 state-licensed educators (Kindergarten - Grade 12) worked in the previous 12~months and were eligible to participate. Exposure data were collected from cases (reporting a PA event in previous 12 months, n=290) for the month before PA, and from controls (no work-related PA in previous 12 months; n=867) for a randomly selected working month. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals identified increased risks for educators with any prior history of work-related (17.3, 11.4-26.3) or non-work-related PA (2.0, 1.2-3.5). In addition, PA risk in the previous twelve months increased with the number of previous victimizations, and risk also increased for educators with histories of non-physical violence (work- and non work-related). The results present a compelling case for targeted interventions and further research.

An investigation on nursing, midwifery and health care students' learning motivation in Turkey.

The aim was to determine differences between the dimensions of motivational learning and sociodemographic characteristics of nursing, midwifery and health care students. For the purpose of collecting data on learning-oriented motivations, occupational learning motivation scale (OLMS) was used. The OLMS was designed to assess the constructs of extrinsic, intrinsic and negative factors for learning, cognitive and lifelong learning goals. The mean levels of the items "willingness to help people", "fear of making mistakes" and "willingness to work with those likely to motivate them" were all determined to be high. Significant differences were revealed for the sex of the students (p<0.05).

Horse-related injuries among agricultural household members: Regional Rural Injury Study II (RRIS-II).

PURPOSE: To determine the incidence, associated consequences, and potential risk factors for horse-related injuries among youth and adults residing in Midwestern agricultural households. METHODS: Demographic, injury, and exposure data were collected for 1999 and 2001 among randomly selected agricultural households within a 5-state region. A causal model facilitated survey design, data analysis, and interpretation of results; directed acyclic graphs guided multivariate modeling. FINDINGS: From 7,420 households (84% response of eligible), involving 32,601 persons, 5,045 total injury events were reported; 1,016 were animal-related injuries, of which 215 (21%) were horse-related (rate, 6.7 events per 1,000 persons per year). Seventy-seven percent (77%) required health care; comparing those under age 20 and those 20 and older, 49% and 54%, respectively, lost work time on their operation (28% and 26%, one week or more), as a result of injuries largely associated with horse riding activities (70% and 56%). Multivariate analysis for youths under age 20 indicated: increased risks in North and South Dakota, for >0 hours worked, and for having a history of prior agriculture-related injury; and decreased risks for males. For those 20 and older, increased risks were identified for a prior injury history and less than high school education. CONCLUSIONS: Horse-related injuries, primarily associated with riding activities, are a significant problem among agricultural communities, and greatly impact their operations.

Fatty acid-based polyurethane films for wound dressing applications.

Fatty acid-based polyurethane films were prepared for use as potential wound dressing material. The polymerization reaction was carried out with or without catalyst. Polymer films were prepared by casting-evaporation technique with or without crosslink-catalyst. The film prepared from uncatalyzed reaction product with crosslink-catalyst gave slightly higher crosslink density. The mechanical tests showed that, the increase in the tensile strength and decrease in the elongation at break is due to the increase in the degree of crosslinking. All films were flexible, and resisted to acid solution. The films prepared without crosslink-catalyst were more hydrophilic, absorbed more water. The highest permeability values were generally obtained for the films prepared without crosslink catalyst. Both the direct contact method and the MMT test were applied for determination of cytotoxicity of polymer films and the polyurethane film prepared from uncatalyzed reaction product without crosslink-catalyst showed better biocompatibility property, closest to the commercial product, Opsite.