Investigation of rational drug use behaviors and knowledge levels of older individuals: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine older individuals' rational drug use behavior, their knowledge of rational drug use, and the factors affecting it. METHODS: This study was conducted cross-sectionally with 440 patients aged 65 years who received inpatient treatment in internal medicine and surgery clinics between October 2021 and November 2022 using a Rational Drug Use Scale and rational drug use behavior questions. RESULTS: The findings showed that the mean age of older adults was 72.56±5.84 years, and 51.8% were men. It was determined that 79.1% of the older adults did not check their expiration date before using the medicines, and 85.9% of them retained the remaining medicines after treatment. Results indicated that 77.3% of older adults knew less about rational drug use. Additionally, a significant difference was observed between older adults' marital status, educational status, possession of outdated drugs at home, self-use of antibiotics without examination, and mean score on the Rational Drug Use Scale (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The results showed that the rational drug use knowledge level of older adults was low and that there were differences in the knowledge levels of rational drug use according to certain behaviors and factors.

The Effects of an Innovation Process in Nursing Course on Students' Creative Thinking and Entrepreneurial Skills: An Uncontrolled Before/After Study.

Background: Creative thinking and entrepreneurship have an important place in innovation studies in the field of nursing. Purpose: This study aims to examine the effect of an Innovation Process in Nursing course on students' creative thinking tendencies and entrepreneurship skills. Methods: An uncontrolled before/after design with non-probability sampling collected data on 70 nursing students in a 15-week Innovation Process in Nursing course using the Marmara Creative Thinking Dispositions Scale (MCTDS) and the University Students Entrepreneurship Scale. Data were analyzed using percentage, mean, standard deviation, and paired samples t-test. Conclusions: Scores on both the MCTDS and the University Students Entrepreneurship Scale improved significantly (p < 0.05) on post-test. Implications for Practice: Nurse educators should add courses on creative thinking and entrepreneurship to the curriculum.

The Relationship Between Inhaler Use and Oral Problems in Patients with COPD and Affecting Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study.

AIM: This study aimed to determine the relationship between inhaler drug use and oral problems in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the affecting factors. METHOD: The study has an analytical and cross-sectional design. The study was conducted between August 2020 and January 2021 with 208 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease receiving treatment at a university hospital and using inhaler drugs. Research data were collected using a questionnaire and Eiler's oral assessment guide. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test and Pearson's correlation test were used for dependent groups. RESULTS: There was a positive significant correlation between the deterioration in the oral mucosa and the use of drugs containing ipratropium bromide + salbutamol and the use of combined drugs with budesonide effect (p < .05; p < .01). Eiler's score was higher in patients receiving combined treatment of ipratropium bromide + salbutamol and corticosteroids (F = 4.80; p < .05). It was determined that there is a relationship between diabetes, heart diseases, cough, oxygen use, and oral problems. CONCLUSION: A relationship was found between inhaler drug use and oral problems in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Oxygen use, diabetes, heart diseases, and cough were also found to affect oral health.

Comparison of blood pressure and pulse readings measured on a bare arm, a clothed arm and on an arm with a rolled-up sleeve.

BACKGROUND: Although there are standards for measuring blood pressure and pulse, nurses and other health professionals implement different practices. It has been observed that these measurements are sometimes taken over sleeves or with rolled-up sleeves due to various cultural factors or as a matter of convenience. There is a need to investigate whether measurements taken in this form can be counted on to be reliable. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare blood pressure and pulse readings measured on a bare arm, a clothed arm and on an arm with a rolled-up sleeve. METHODS: This study, of analytical design, was conducted with 200 individuals at the Adnan Menderes University Research and Practice Hospital in January and December 2017. A questionnaire and a measurement recording form were used in collecting the data. The participants' blood pressure and pulse readings were taken and the circumference of the clothed and bare arm and arm skinfold thickness was measured. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the independent samples t-test, and Pearson's correlation test. RESULTS: The mean age of the individuals participating in the study was 33.38 ±â€¯9.14 (range: 19-51). It was observed that in the measurements taken over a bare and clothed arm, mean systolic (114.48 ±â€¯13.18 and 114.72 ±â€¯12.21, respectively) and diastolic (70.42 ±â€¯8.72 and 70.24 ±â€¯8.63, respectively) blood pressure readings were statistically similar (t = -0.41, p = 0.682; t = 0.45, p = 0.653, respectively). On the other hand, in the measurements taken over an arm with a rolled-up, constricting sleeve, it was observed that mean systolic (116.76 ±â€¯13.00) and diastolic (71.99 ±â€¯9.15) blood pressure readings were statistically higher than measurements taken over a bare arm (t = -3.88, p = 0.000; t = -3.75, p = 0.000, respectively) and a clothed arm (t = -3.43, p = 0.001; t = -4.31, p = 0.000, respectively). Similarly, pulse readings taken from an arm with a rolled-up, constricting sleeve (82.40 ±â€¯12.15) were found to be statistically higher than pulse readings taken from a bare arm (79.68 ±â€¯12.30) and a clothed arm (80.44 ±â€¯11.10) (t = -6.78, p = 0.000; t = -5.50, p = 0.000, respectively). The analysis indicated blood pressure and pulse readings were positively correlated with arm thickness but not correlated with the arm skinfold thickness or the thickness of the clothing. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that constricting rolled-up sleeves and the thickness of the circumference of the arm were factors that produced higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure and pulse readings.

Effect on pain intensity of injection sites and speed of injection associated with intramuscular penicillin.

The aim of this one-group, quasi-experimental study was to examine the effect of choice of injection site and injection duration on the intensity of pain associated with intramuscular penicillin injection. Injections containing the same dose of drug were administered 12 hours apart for each patient over 5 s/mL and 10 s/mL durations in the dorsogluteal and ventrogluteal sites. Sixty patients who had a medical order for intramuscular penicillin at least twice in a day and for two successive days at the same dose were included in the study. No difference in pain was perceived by participants between the two injection durations at either the dorsogluteal or the ventrogluteal site. This study showed that intramuscular penicillin can be administered to either site over 5 s/mL or 10 s/mL durations. There is a need for further research with a randomized controlled design in different settings and in a larger sample on the impact of choice of injection site and injection duration on pain intensity.

Determination of nursing diagnoses used by students in the first clinical practice.

PURPOSE: This study was carried out descriptively with the purpose of determining nursing diagnoses that nursing freshmen students used in their first clinical practice. METHODS: The sample of the study consisted of 61 nursing students. Data of the study were collected with the examination of 208 care plans that the students had prepared. Nursing diagnoses in the examined care plans were classified according to nursing diagnoses grouped under the domains of Taxonomy II NANDA-I. RESULTS: Students determined 31 different diagnoses in nine domains of NANDA-I. Total nursing diagnoses used in care plans were 635. CONCLUSIONS: It was determined that the nursing diagnoses that the students mostly used, according to classification of NANDA-I, were in the domains of safety/protection, activity/rest, comfort, elimination and exchange, and nutrition.

Prevalence and risk factors for excessive daytime of sleepiness in rural western Anotolia (Turkey): the role of obesity and metabolic syndrome.

The purpose of the present study was to identify risk factors for and prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness and associations between demographic factors, obesity and metabolic syndrome criteria and excessive daytime somnolence (EDS). A descriptive and analytical study was conducted among 508 volunteers in primary health care centers in western Anatolia, Turkey. The data were obtained using a questionnaire and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Metabolic syndrome components were defined according to the criteria of the Internetional Diabetes Federation. A logistic regression model was used for statistical analysis. The mean +/- SD age was 46.3 +/- 17.3 years, body mass index was 27.0 +/- 5.4 kg/m2 and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score was 5.0 +/- 4.4. The prevalence of EDS was 14.6% (n=74). Older age (OR 1.033; 95% CI 1.03-1.26) and high body mass index (OR 1.143; 95% CI 1.01-1.04) were associated with increased incidence of EDS. In backward logistic regression analysis, non-tea and coffee drinking (OR 6.189; 95% CI 2.10-18.2) were significantly asociated with EDS. According to our study, age, body mass index and non-tea and non-coffee drinking were associated with EDS.

Multiple causes for delay in arrival at hospital in acute stroke patients in Aydin, Turkey.

This descriptive, hospital-based study, performed in western Turkey, was designed to assess the level of pre-hospital delay and reasons for such delay in acute stroke patients, taking into consideration certain factors such as socioeconomic status, availability of transport options at onset of symptoms. Data were collected from hospital records, and a questionnaire was administered that included questions about socio-demographics, self-reported risk factors and questions related to hospital arrival. The rate of patients arriving at the hospital more than 3 hours after symptom onset was found to be 31.6% for this study. Approximately 1/3 of patients delayed going to the hospital because they were waiting for symptoms to go away while 1/3 of patients were not aware of the importance of seeking immediate medical help. There was a significant relationship between the use of ambulance transportation and length of time before arrival at the hospitals, though there was no statistically significantly relationship between the existence of stroke risk factors and hospital arrival delay. These results will likely be helpful to health care decision makers as they develop a model for stroke health care and community based training.