[Stigma of tuberculosis scale: validity and reliability]. / Tüberküloz Damgalanma Ölçegi: Geçerliligi ve güvenilirlik.

INTRODUCTION: In many health conditions, stigma is receiving increasing attention. Public stigmatization toward social illness can affect particularly the patients and family memberships to help seeking behavior and treatment. This study, the aim of this study was to investigate the validity and reliability of the Turkish "Stigma of Tuberculosis Scale " which was developed to evaluate of perception of stigma with tuberkulosis patient. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This methodological study was conducted with 150 with tuberculosis disease people who above 18 age and without known psychological and mental disability. In the study, "Stigma of Tuberculosis Scale" was used as data collection tool. During the study, language equivalence, content validity, reliability and construct validity of the scale was performed. The data was assessed by using mean, median, standard deviation, Spearman Correlation, Cronbach Alpha coefficient and confirmatory factor analysis. RESULTS: The mean age of study participants was 45.6 ± 16.1 (20 - 85). years. Spearman correlation coefficient of the scale for test-retest reliability was 0.853 and the Cronbach Alpha coefficient was 0.95. According to fit indexes of confirmatory factor analysis [x2/SD= 481.38/230= 2.09; RMSEA= 0.087; GFI= 0.776; CFI= 0.776; NNFI= 0.875] it was found that one factors were appropriate for the scale. CONCLUSION: The adoption of the translated "Stigma of Tuberculosis Scale"in Turkey is found reliable and valid to evaluate of perception of stigma with tuberkulosis patient.

Evaluation of inhaler technique and patient satisfaction with fixed-combination budesonide/formoterol dry-powder inhaler in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): data on real-life clinical practice in Turkey.

INTRODUCTION: The present study was designed to evaluate inhaler techniques and patient satisfaction with fixed-combination budesonide/formoterol dry-powder inhaler chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Turkey in real-life clinical practice. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 442 patients with COPD [mean (SD) age: 63.2 (10.6) years, 76.5% were males] were included in this cross-sectional study conducted at 25 outpatient clinics across Turkey. Data on socio-demographic characteristics, characteristics of COPD, inhaler technique and satisfaction with dry-powder inhaler were recorded at a single crosssectional visit performed at the study enrolment. RESULTS: Patients were characterized by prominence of moderate to severe (78.1%) COPD, high rate of regular use of overall COPD medications (89.4%) and Turbuhaler® for an average of 33.7 months, predominance of males (76.5%), primary education (85.7%), urban location (68.3), ex-smokers (61.1%) and spending time outdoors for ≥ 4 hour/day (62.0%). Use of correct techniques was evident in majority of patients (≥ 94%), whereas inhalation maneuvers including breathing out gently away from mouthpiece without blowing into it (71.9%) and holding the breath for 5-10 seconds (78.3%) were performed correctly by lesser percent of patients especially in the older group (≥ 65 years, p< 0.05). Overall percent of patients with the feeling that she/he used the inhaler very/fairly correctly was 73.3%, while 86% of patients identified that they were very/fairly satisfied with the inhaler, irrespective of age and educational status. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, our findings revealed the majority of patients are able to use Turbuhaler® correctly regardless of the educational status, while older age was associated with higher rate of errors in inhalation maneuvers in the real clinical practice in Turkey. Majority of our patients identified Turbuhaler® to be very/fairly convenient regarding ease of use, portability, and usability with an overall self-confidence in using the inhaler correctly among 73% and the satisfaction rate of 86%; irrespective of age and educational level.

Asthma and quality of life in adolescents in Manisa, Turkey.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of asthma and the association between asthma and quality of life in sixth, seventh, and eighth graders in the city of Manisa. METHOD: The population of this cross-sectional study includes the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades of primary schools located in the city of Manisa (n = 59, 135). The study sample included 763 students from nine schools with different socioeconomic features selected by the Directorate of National Education. Data were collected under the supervision of the researcher with a socio-demographic questionnaire, International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire and Kiddo-KINDL, a quality of life scale. Descriptive statistics, Student's t-test and chi2-test were used for the evaluation of the data. RESULTS: In total, 83 children (10.9%) were diagnosed with asthma by doctors and 82 children (10.7%) had wheezing or asthmatic attacks in the past 12 months. The children with life-long asthma had significantly lower scores for quality of life than those without asthma (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of asthma is different in different geographical regions in Turkey. Our results are similar to the results of Western society and asthma has a negative effect on the quality of life of children.

Drug-using behaviors of the elderly living in nursing homes and community-dwellings in Manisa, Turkey.

AIM: The study aimed to investigate drug-taking behaviors of the elderly living in a nursing home or community dwelling and to determine the factors affecting their behaviors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on the elderly living at homes (n=106) or in nursing homes (n=220) in the city center of Manisa located in the Aegean region of Turkey. The study data were collected between February 2011 and May 2011. For data collection, three survey forms were used: the socio-demographic questionnaire, the standardized mini mental test and the questionnaire which enquires drug-using behavior. The data were evaluated with SPSS for 15.00 Windows statistical package program. Data descriptive statistics were evaluated with the chi-square test, Student's t-test and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean age of the whole group was 73.4±6.3 (65-94). In the study group, the mean numbers of chronic diseases and medications used were 1.2±0.9 (0-5) and 2.6±1.8 (0-10), respectively. According to the survey results, those living in nursing homes, males and those with education higher than primary school education displayed better drug-taking behaviors than those living at home, females and those with less than primary school education, respectively. CONCLUSION: The appropriate use of medicine is a major problem in old age. Living at home or in a nursing home, gender and education are important factors affecting the correct use of medicine in old age.