Episiotomy Skills Self-Efficacy Scale (ESSES): Development and psychometric properties.

BACKGROUND: Episiotomy is a surgical procedure that increases midwifery students' anxiety levels and reduces their self-efficacy levels. However, there is no valid and reliable tool to assess the student's episiotomy experience-related self-efficacy levels. OBJECTIVES: The study was aimed at developing the Episiotomy Skills Self-Efficacy Scale and investigating its psychometric properties. DESIGN: In the study, the descriptive, cross-sectional and methodological design was used. SETTING: The study was conducted at the midwifery department of a state university in western Turkey. PARTICIPANTS: The study sample included 209 midwifery students selected using the convenience sampling method. METHODS: A comprehensive literature review and expert panel was conducted on episiotomy skills. Content validity was performed by 10 health professionals. Of them, one was an obstetrician and gynecologist, four were midwives and five were faculty members working in midwifery departments of different universities. The Episiotomy Skills Self-Efficacy Scale was administered to the 3rd and 4th grade students who had taken a course on childbirth. The inclusion criteria were as follows: having received episiotomy training, and having opened and closed an episiotomy on a model in the laboratory. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was performed within the scope of validity. Reliability was evaluated with the Cronbach's alpha method and item-total correlations. RESULTS: A two-factor structure which explained 77.96 % of the total variance was obtained by factor analysis. Its "Preparation for and Implementation of Episiotomy" dimension includes 11 items, and "Episiotomy Repair and Control" dimension includes 8 items. Model fit indices were at an acceptable level. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the scale was 0.97. CONCLUSIONS: The Episiotomy Skills Self-Efficacy Scale has sufficient psychometric validity and reliability. It is short and easily administered.

Sexual functions in pregnancy: different situations in near geography:a case study on Turkey, Iran and Greece.

Purpose: This descriptive and cross-sectional study aims to determine the sexual function status of primipar and multipar pregnant women who admitted to birth clinics in Iran, Turkey and Greece and to investigate the relationship between pregnancy processes and some variables.Methodology: This descriptive and cross-sectional study population consisted of primipar/multipar pregnant women who met the research inclusion criteria, agreed to participate in the research and admitted to the Tabriz Pars Clinic in Iran, Izmir Aegean Maternity Hospital in Turkey and Thessaloniki University Hospital in Greece.Results: When the sexual problems of women are compared according to their countries,it was determined that 40% of Iranian women "can't easily share their sexuality issues with their spouses", whereas this rate was 8% in Turkey and 6.7% in Greece.Considering the prevalence of orgasmic and arousal disorder in the pre-pregnancy period,it was reported that this rate was 53% in Iran, 47% in Greece and 5.6% in Turkey.In the study, the mean "Female Sexual Function Index(FSFI)" score of Turkish women was found to be (59.83 ± 21.75), whereas the FSFI score of Iranian women was (62.86 ± 22.71) and mean FSFI score of the Greek women was (54.33 ± 21.15).Discussion: In the study, it was shown that there is a difference in the sexual problems of the women, depending on the religious and socio-cultural structure of the country they live in. For an effective case and training on sexuality,the norms and values of the society have to be understood in order to raise quality of lives and problem-free sexuality of pregnant women.

Prevalence of anemia and related factors among women in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of anemia and related factors among women in Turkey. METHODS: This descriptive study was conducted at the outpatient clinics of the Department of Internal Medicine, Ege University Medical School. Randomly selected women were given questionnaires regarding their socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics. The data were coded and analyzed using SPSS version 17.0 software. Statistical analyses with 95% confidence intervals were considered to be significant if p<0.05. RESULTS: The study results showed an anemia prevalence of 27.8% in the study sample. Among all anemia diagnoses among the participants, 56.0% were determined to have iron deficiency, 37.1% iron-deficiency anemia, and 6.9% severe anemia. It was observed that anemia was detected among women who were 15-49 years of age (p<0.05), menstruating (p<0.05), had a history of Cesarean section (p<0.05), and had not entered menopause (p<0.05). Based on forward-stepwise-logistic regression analysis, the most important parameter was concluded to be age group, which was followed by menopausal status. CONCLUSIONS: The study results suggest that the anemia prevalence rate is specifically higher among women of reproductive age. To prevent anemia at a low cost, it is recommended to provide women with relevant information and well-planned interactive educational programs.

Mothers' views of milk banking: sample of Izmir.

AIM: The studies on human milk banking in Turkey, has being carried out at a hospital in Izmir province. There are different point of views about milk banking. The aim of the study is to determine the knowledge and the views of the mothers towards milk banking. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study is a cross-sectional survey. The study was carried out with 404 mothers who gave birth in a two maternity hospitals and one university hospital in Izmir using the face-to-face interview technique between March 2014 and June 2014. The study data were collected using a 30-item socio-demographic questionnaire. RESULTS: The mothers' mean age was 28.4 years (16-46 years). Of the mothers, 45.5% were primary school graduates, 80.2% were members of a nuclear family, 75.7% had less than three children, 63.4% gave birth by caesarean section and only 79.5 percent were able to breastfeed before being discharged. Of the mothers, 41.6% were aware of milk banking, 71.3% were willing to receive milk bank services and 68.8% were willing to donate breastmilk. 62.2% of those who did not want to make donation stated risk of contagion as a reason, 8.2% of the participants had worked as wet-nurse before. CONCLUSIONS: Most mothers revealed positive approaches and opinions about establishment of milk banking and milk donation. However, there were some concerns due to the risk of infectious diseases and religious beliefs. Efforts should be made to raise awareness and mothers should be informed about the importance of breast milk and breastfeeding so that milk banks can be regarded as an additional choice.

Barriers on Breast Cancer Early Detection Methods.

OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women throughout the world. It is the second leading cause of cancer related deaths, after lung cancer. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in Turkey with a rate of 23,4%. One out of every four women has breast cancer. This study was conducted to determine the barriers on methods of early diagnosis of breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The research population consisted of women over the age of 40 years who live in the neighborhood of Doganlar (N=2404). The sample size was determined (n=251) with Epi Info Statcalc account program with 95% confidence interval, with the incidence of breast cancer accepted as 24%. Women over the age of 40 years who agreed to participate were included in the study. In order to collect the necessary data, a 27-item questionnaire including socio-demographic characteristics and methods of early diagnosis was created according to the literature. This study was conducted between March-October 2012 in Doganlar neighborhood. RESULTS: Two-hundred-fifty-four women participated in the study, with a mean age of 54,27±1, and an average monthly income of 895,0197 TL (min=0 TL, max=7000 TL). 79,1% were married, 89,8% were housewives, 56,7% were literate, and 83,1% had health insurance. The status of performing regular Breast Self Examination (BSE) was significantly higher in women who had knowledge about BSE, (p=0.000). Married (p=0.015) women and those who had a social security system (p=0.048) had significantly higher rates of mammography. Women who were informed on mammography (p=0.000) had significantly higher rates of mammography. When reasons for not getting mammography was addressed, it was observed that 99,2% was due to lack of information and education. Women who had regular BSE had significantly higher Clinical Breast Examination (CBE) (p=0.024). Women's sociodemographic characteristics did not affect the status of performing regular BSE and CBE significantly. CONCLUSION: Barriers against implementation of breast cancer screening methods in women were related to level of education and lack of adequate information about breast cancer screening, and symptoms of breast cancer. Women's lack of information about signs, symptoms and treatment in the early stages of breast cancer needs to be eliminated. Health care providers may have a key role in increasing breast cancer early detection rates.