Attitudes of Turkish midwives and nurses working at hospitals towards people living with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Health professionals caring for people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) show poor or negative attitudes because of fear of contagion. Therefore, it is important to know the attitudes of midwives' and nurses' towards people living with HIV/AIDS. The aim of this descriptive and cross-sectional study is to assess the attitudes of Turkish midwives and nurses working at hospitals to people living with HIV/AIDS and to identify factors that affect these attitudes. A group of 46 midwives and 192 nurses working in hospitals were included in the study. Data were collected through AIDS Attitude Scale. Age, professional experience, number of children and marital status influenced the attitudes of the participants towards people living with HIV/AIDS. We concluded that higher level of education appear to positively influence the attitudes of the participants. Education programmes including evidence-based nursing implications might be planned to improve positive attitudes and to prevent stigmatization of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Non-pharmacological interventions used by cancer patients during chemotherapy in Turkey.

PURPOSE: Although there are many non-pharmacological practices being recommended for symptom management, most patients prefer to use pharmacological interventions. This study assesses the non-pharmacological interventions used by cancer patients for symptom management during chemotherapy and the factors affecting its use. METHOD: This study was conducted at the Istanbul University Institute of Oncology, Turkey, with 202 patients. Personal characteristics, illness-related characteristics, symptom severity and non-pharmacological interventions used by the patients were assessed by using Patient Description Form, ECOG and Nightingale Symptom Assessment Scale. RESULTS: Most of the patients in this study were living in Istanbul, 58.4% were women, 78.7% were married and their mean age was 48.82 ± 1.44. Most of the patients experienced different symptoms related to chemotherapy, but only a small number of patients preferred to use and benefited from the non-pharmacological interventions in their symptom management. There were different factors affecting the well-being of the patients, but only being young was found to be an important variable in the use of psychological interventions (OR 3.06 [95% CI 1.17-7.96]). CONCLUSIONS: Physicians remain the central figure in the treatment of cancer patients, so oncologists and oncology nurses should be more proactive and innovative in their patient care, education, and counseling to maximize the use of non-pharmacological interventions that may be helpful in symptom management. Further research evaluating the use and effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions on symptom management in cancer patients is needed.

Quality of life and complementary and alternative medicine use among cancer patients in Turkey.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to assess the relationships between quality of life and use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among Turkish cancer patients. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Istanbul University Institute of Oncology, Turkey. Two-hundred patients were invited and informed consent was obtained, however 179 cancer patients completed the study. The Patient Characteristics form, The Nightingale Symptom Assessment Scale and The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Scale were used in the evaluation of the patients' characteristics and quality of life. RESULTS: Some form of CAM had been used by 71.5% of the sample. Frequently used CAM methods appeared to be religious practices (68.2%) and only 37.4% of the patients used herbs. However, female patients, single patients, and individuals with metastatic disease and worse quality of life showed a tendency to use CAM more often. More than one-third of our patients began to use CAM immediately after being diagnosed with cancer and factors associated with CAM use varied according to the type of CAM. Although CAM use did not affect the patients' quality of life, logistic regression analysis revealed that gender, type of cancer diagnosis and education level were important factors to be considered in different CAM therapies. CONCLUSION: CAM use is common in cancer patients in Turkey. More discussion about CAM use should take place between patients and health professionals to inform the patients' decisions.