The Reflections of Final Year Medical Students About Nursing Home: "Loneliness and Abandonment".

BACKGROUND: Population aging is a global phenomenon with opportunities and challenges. The numbers and proportions of older people are increasing in almost every country. This study aimed to evaluate the perceptions of nursing homes among final-year medical students. METHODS: This qualitative study used the word association test as a data collection tool to obtain the reflections regarding nursing homes among final-year students, and the concept of "nursing homes" was defined in face-to-face interviews of the volunteer students. RESULTS: Analysis of data collected from 51 students regarding nursing homes resulted in five main categories (old age [frequency, f=74], positive affect emotions [f=66], negative affect emotions [f=165], loneliness [f=75], and abandonment [f=46]) based on the reflections that the term "nursing home" evoked among the students. In the present study, the final-year students primarily used more negative expressions. CONCLUSION: Qualitative studies with students, such as those included in the present study, can provide important clues for the development of educational curriculum and social health policies.

Prevalence of urinary incontinence and lower urinary tract symptoms in school-age children.

PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and urinary incontinence (UI) in elementary school aged children in Manisa. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Dysfunctional Voiding and Incontinence Scoring System (DVIS) which was developed in Turkey is used. A total of 416 children, 216 (51.9%) male and 200 (48.1%) female were recruited in this study. RESULTS: Mean age of children was 10.35 ± 2.44 years (median10 years). Daytime UI frequency was 6.7% (28 child), nocturnal incontinence 16.6% (69 child) and combined daytime and nocturnal incontinence 4.1% (17 child). There was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of nocturnal and or daytime UI between male and female gender. Mean DVIS score was 2.65 ± 3.95 and gender did not affect total DVIS points. The mean ages of achieving daytime bowel and bladder control were all significantly correlated with DVIS points. DVIS points were positively correlated with the history of UI of the family. Total points were increased when the father was unemployed. CONCLUSION: UI negatively influences health related quality of life of the family and child, so it is important that awareness of the UI and symptoms of lower urinary tract dysfunction.

Awareness of breast cancer risk factors and practice of breast self examination among high school students in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Young breast cancer patients have a lower rate of survival than old breast cancer patients due to being diagnosed at advanced stages. Breast self-examination makes women more "breast aware", which in turn may lead to an earlier diagnosis of breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate knowledge and practice of breast self-examination and to determine knowledge of risk factors for breast cancer among high school students. METHODS: This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. It was conducted in a high school in Manisa, Turkey. The study sample included 718 female high school students. A socio-demographic characteristics data form, knowledge of breast self examination and risk factors for breast cancer form and breast self examination practice form were used to collect data. RESULTS: The female high school students had insufficient knowledge about breast self-examination and a low percentage of students reported that they had performed breast self examination monthly. The most common reason for not doing breast self- examination was "not knowing how to perform breast self-examination" (98.5%). Most of the students had little knowledge of the risk factors for breast cancer. The most widely known risk factor by the students was personal history of breast cancer (68.7%). There was a significant relation between breast self-examination practice and age, school grade, knowledge about breast cancer and knowledge about breast self- examination. CONCLUSION: There is a need to increase knowledge of adolescent females about the risks of breast cancer and benefits of early detection. In fact, health care professionals can develop effective breast health care programs and help young women to acquire good health habits.

The association of self-esteem, depression and body satisfaction with obesity among Turkish adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity and to examine the effects of actual weight status, perceived weight status and body satisfaction on self-esteem and depression in a high school population in Turkey. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 2101 tenth-grade Turkish adolescents aged 15-18 was conducted. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated using weight and height measures. The overweight and obesity were based on the age- and gender-specific BMI cut-off points of the International Obesity Task Force values. Self-esteem was measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and depression was measured using Children's Depression Inventory. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine relationships among the variables. RESULTS: Based on BMI cut-off points, 9.0% of the students were overweight and 1.1% were obese. Logistic regression analysis indicated that (1) being male and being from a higher socio-economical level were important in the prediction of overweight based on BMI; (2) being female and being from a higher socio-economical level were important in the prediction of perceived overweight; (3) being female was important in the prediction of body dissatisfaction; (4) body dissatisfaction was related to low self-esteem and depression, perceived overweight was related only to low self-esteem but actual overweight was not related to low self-esteem and depression in adolescents. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that school-based adolescents in urban Turkey have a lower risk of overweight and obesity than adolescents in developed countries. The findings of this study suggest that psychological well-being of adolescents is more related to body satisfaction than actual and perceived weight status is.