The association between quality of life and complementary and alternative medicine use in patients with diabetes mellitus.

AIM: In the current study, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between life quality and use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in patients with diabetes mellitus. METHODS: The Audit of Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life (ADDQOL-19) scale was applied to 453 diabetic patients. Socio-demographic characteristics of the patients and their CAM usage were recorded. RESULTS: The rate of CAM use among diabetic patients was 46.1%. The most preferred practices were herbal medicine, including black cumin (26.6%), cinnamon (23.3%) and olive leaf (12.5%). 'Freedom to eat' (p = 0.002), 'drinking freedom' (p = 0.001) and 'physical health' (p = 0.001) were the most negatively affected items that may drive patients to use CAM. CONCLUSIONS: In this sampling, the use of CAM among patients with diabetes mellitus is high. The association between CAM usage and eating and drinking freedom and physical health should be studied in detail in further studies.

Why do patients with minor complaints choose emergency departments and does satisfaction with primary care services influence their decisions?

AimTo identify the reasons why patients with minor complaints choose emergency departments (EDs) as a first contact of care and whether dissatisfaction with primary care services influences their decisions. METHODS: In this study, a self-completed survey called EUROPEP was given to 535 outpatients who were admitted to the Bursa Yuksek Ihtisas Training and Research Hospital in Bursa and examined in the green zone in July 2015. Patients were asked about their complaints and why they preferred EDs as a first contact of care. RESULTS: EDs were the first contact of care in 87.8% of cases. In all, 9% of patients registered to family physicians who were working outside the city of Bursa. There was no relationship between patient satisfaction and the number of previous visits to EDs in last 12 months (P=0.09). The main reasons for admitting to the emergency services were feeling excessive pain (20.4%), perception of urgency (14.5%) and that the family doctor services were closed outside working hours (13.2%). The mean patient satisfaction with family practice offices was calculated to be 68.1%. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of admission to EDs as a first contact of care was extremely high in the absence of a referral system. Patients who did not have family doctors in the settlement where they live put an extra burden on the EDs. Overall, patient satisfaction with their GPs did not influence the number of visits to EDs but accessibility remains a big challenge.