The Influence of Skill Development Training Program for Spiritual Care of Elderly Individual on Elderly Care Technician Students' Perception of Spiritual Support.

Spiritual care means helping an individual protect, maintain and gain all the dimensions of his/her existence. Elderly care technicians face numerous cases or crisis situations in which elderly individuals from different backgrounds question the meaning and value of life. Elderly care technicians must acknowledge that the spirituality is an important element in the way an elderly individual receives healthcare and they must be equipped for this matter. This study was conducted in order to examine the influence of "Skill Development Training Program for Spiritual Care of Elderly Individual," which was carried out with students from elderly care program, on the perception of spirituality support in a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study design with control group. As the data collection form, "Spiritual Support Perception" (SSP) scale was used. The mean scores of the intervention group after the training and after one month are 50.39 ± 5.34 and 51.13 ± 4.98, respectively, and those of the control group are 43.16 ± 4.83 and 42.72 ± 4.48. A statistically significant difference was found between the mean scores of the intervention group from the pretest and the posttests immediately after the training and one month after the training (f = 94.247, p = 0.001). In the control group, however, there was no significant change in the SSP mean scores (f = 0.269, p = 0.77). As a result, this study pointed out the necessity of such training programs for healthcare professionals to make a distinction between their professional duties and their own personalities in order to offer spiritual care to the elderly individual.

Internet addiction and physical and psychosocial behavior problems among rural secondary school students.

The aim of this study was to determine secondary school students' levels of Internet addiction and the physical and psychosocial behavior problems they face while using the Internet. This descriptive study was conducted in three state secondary schools in a rural area in the western part of Turkey. This study's sample consisted of 549 students who agreed to participate, with the consent of their families, and who had an Internet connection at home. The data were evaluated using t-tests and variance analyses. In this study the students' score of Internet addiction was at medium level (mean addiction score 44.51 ± 17.90). There were significant differences between the students' Internet addiction scores and the presence of physical behavior problems (going to bed late, skipping meals, eating meals in front of the computer) and psychosocial behavior problems (suffering from conditions such as restlessness, anger, heart palpitations, or tremors when they could not connect to the Internet, decreased relationships with family and friends, feelings of anger, arguing with parents, and finding life boring and empty without an Internet connection).

The effects of peer education on reduction of the HIV/sexually transmitted infection risk behaviors among Turkish university students.

This study investigated how HIV/sexually transmitted infection peer education (PE) affected HIV knowledge, perceived prevention self-efficacy, and risky sexual behaviors among Turkish university students (N = 118) who were sexually active but did not use condoms. A methodological and pre-/posttest controlled study design was used, with data collected before PE, just after PE, 3 months after PE, and 6 months after PE. We found significant differences according to group*time interaction in the variables of HIV knowledge, self-efficacy for condom use and refusing sexual intercourse, and vaginal-oral-anal intercourse with condom, talking with the partner about condom use, refusing sexual intercourse with someone not using a condom, and taking alcohol before sexual intercourse. No differences were found according to group*time interaction in self-efficacy for asking potential partners questions, using drugs before and after sexual intercourse, and sexual partner. Peer education was found to reduce risky sexual behaviors among university students. Peer education should focus on safer sexual behaviors to develop strategies to increase self-efficacy.

Is nursing a profession in Turkey?

Nursing has been a dynamic process since the existence of humanity on Earth. As a part of this process, whether nursing is an occupation or a profession has been a long-lasting question. There exist different sets of criteria and schemes of classification that are used to define professions. In this article the authors inquire into the professionalism of nursing in Turkey in view of the criteria for nursing professionalism first set by B. K. Miller et al. (1993).

Academic dishonesty among nursing students: a descriptive study.

This descriptive and cross-sectional study aims to evaluate academic dishonesty among university nursing students in Turkey. The study's sample included 196 students. Two instruments were used for gathering data. The first instrument, a questionnaire, which included some socio-demographic variables (age, class, gender, education, family structure, parents' attitude and educators' attitude) formed the first part. The second part included the Academic Dishonesty Tendency Scale developed by Eminoglu and Nartgün. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Kruskall Wallis, One-way Anova, t- test and Mann-Whitney U test. It was found that academic dishonesty was at medium-level (2.60-3.39) in nursing students.

Beliefs about cervical cancer screening among Turkish married women.

Cervical cancer can be prevented by having a Pap test aiming for early screening. This study was planned to determine the beliefs of women about cervical cancer and the influencing factors. The cross-sectional study was conducted in Sariyer, one of the most densely populated districts of Istanbul, which is the most crowded city in Turkey. This study sample included 300 women receiving training at public education centers. The data for the study were collected with "HBM-based scale" developed by Bryd et al. upon the basis of health belief model. The mean of the women's ages was determined as 33.9 ± 10.6. Considering the beliefs of the women who haven't had a Pap test about cervical cancer, it was determined that 75.7% of the women participating in the survey thought "I am not at risk for cervical cancer". Logistic regression analysis was carried out in order to find out the most decisive variable among the reasons for not having a Pap test, and it was determined that the factors stated as "I don't know where I could go if I wanted a Pap test" was a four times factor. This study demonstrated that the main determinant factor affecting CCS behaviors of married women is beliefs. It is considered that the results from this study could be basic data for cervical cancer early screening and educational programs.

Healthy behaviours and educational needs among Turkish women: a school-based study.

The present descriptive study was planned to be the first stage of a school-based programme towards promoting healthy behaviours in Turkish women after determining their healthy behaviours and their need for relevant education. The sample was composed of 468 mothers of students attending an elementary school located in the city of Istanbul. The data were obtained during interviews and using two separate questionnaires. The Health Promotion Model formed the basis for the questionnaires describing healthy behaviours. The mean age was 34.6 +/- 0.5 and 10.9% of the participants were illiterate. They generally were in middle-income families and 41.5% had at least one chronic disease. The participants were found to have poor behaviours pertaining to exercising, eating habits, and weight control. The majority (88%) did not exercise regularly. Chronic diseases were found to be the factor with the largest impact (OR: 1.87, 95%, CL = 1.908-2.515). The participants pointed out that they would especially like to be educated on how to control their weight. The researchers have appended a programme devised for women regarding exercising, eating habits and weight control.

Workrelated risks and health problems of working children in urban Istanbul, Turkey.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to identify the work-related risks and health problems of working children. The sample included 167 working boys. These boys were chosen from schools giving occupational education in the industrial part of Istanbul. A questionnaire and worksite assessment checklists, developed by the researchers, were used as data gathering tools. Data were collected from the boys' schools and workplaces. From this data, it was found that 24.6% of the boys were jewelers, 32.3% were car mechanics and 43.1% were hairdressers. Findings revealed that 30.5% of the boys, who were engaged in child labor, were poor and dropped out of school to assist their families. Boys, whose mean age was 17.6 +/- 1.2, had been working since they were 13 yr old. The boys were also found to work 66.4 h a week, which was an unexpectedly high result considering the 35 hours limitation set by the laws of Turkey for working children. As for work-related risks, chemical risks for boys working as hairdressers (p<0.01), and using sharp tools and accidents for boys working as car mechanics were more common than the other groups (p<0.001, p<0.001). Boys working as hairdressers mostly had respiratory system problems, skin problems, and headache (p<0.001, p<0.001, p<0.001). Those working as car mechanics had nose/throat problems, and musculoskeletal system problems (p<0.001, p<0.01). Among those working as jewelers, eye-related problems were common (p<0.001). It was concluded from the findings of the present study that child labor creates an unhealthy environment for children.