The effectiveness of an individual and family self-management theory-based education program given for adolescents with epilepsy and parents: Randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: This study focused on an online education program based on Individual and Family Self-Management Theory. PURPOSE: The study investigated whether the education program affected adolescents' attitudes toward epilepsy, seizure self-efficacy, quality of life, and their parents' perceived nurse-support levels. METHODS: The study is a single-blind, randomized, controlled trial. The study was conducted in the pediatric neurology outpatient clinic of a medical hospital between January 2021 and April 2022 in Konya. The sample consisted of adolescents with epilepsy (n = 36) and their parents (n = 36). The intervention group attended the education program in three main sessions, two weeks apart. The control group received routine education. Data were collected using a Child Demographics Form (CDF), a Parent Demographics Form (PDF), the Child Attitude Toward Illness Scale (CATIS), the Self-Efficacy Scale for Children with Epilepsy (SSES-C), the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), and the Nurse Parents Support Tool (NPST). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's chi-square test, Fisher's Exact test, independent samples t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Mixed design ANOVA analysis, Cohen's d, and 95 % confidence interval. This study adhered to CONSORT research guidelines. RESULTS: The intervention group adolescents had a significantly higher mean of all scale scores than the control group adolescents. The intervention group parents had a significantly higher mean NPST score than the control group parents. CONCLUSION: Healthcare professionals should organize theory-based online education programs for adolescents and their parents at regular intervals for the self-management of epilepsy in special situations, such as pandemics, where face-to-face education is impossible. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The study revealed that, unlike existing cues that highlight the effectiveness of face-to-face education, online interventions will strengthen epilepsy self-management of children with epilepsy and their parents. In extreme situations where face-to-face education has to be postponed for a long time and in routine education interventions, it is recommended to plan and implement online education so that children with chronic diseases can maintain their self-management. CLINICALTRIALS: The paper is registered in the Clinical Trials database (NCT04822662).

The experiences and coping mechanisms of mothers caring for a child with cerebral palsy.

Mothers caring for a child with cerebral palsy suffer from many physical and psychosocial problems. Their quality of life is significantly lower than mothers with healthy children. The first step in improving these women's quality of life is to improve the understanding of their experiences and coping mechanisms in specific cultural contexts. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the experiences and coping mechanisms of mothers caring for a child with cerebral palsy through a qualitative study conducted in Turkey. The study took place in 2021. Ten mothers were selected to participate through purposeful sampling. Inclusion criteria were mothers who had cared for a child with cerebral palsy for over three years, had no chronic diseases, could speak Turkish fluently, and wanted to participate in the study. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data. Two main themes and three categories emerged from the data analysis. The themes were "dedication" and "seeking." The analysis showed that mothers were dedicated as they engaged in all aspects of care. Their coping mechanisms involved self-focused and problem-focused seeking. These mothers must be acknowledged and supported while considering cultural and religious beliefs.

Assessment of myocardial involvement using cardiac troponin-I and echocardiography in rheumatic carditis in Izmir, Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Acute rheumatic carditis is still a major problem in developing countries. Cardiac troponin-I (cTnI) has been identified as a sensitive and specific marker in the diagnosis of myocarditis in children and adults. METHODS: A prospective study was performed using Doppler echocardiography and cTnI in order to detect myocardial involvement in 26 consecutive patients with acute rheumatic valvular disease. Patients were divided into two groups: group 1, rheumatic fever with carditis (n > 16); group 2, rheumatic fever without carditis (n > 10). RESULTS: Clinically age, gender, body temperature, heart rate and white blood count did not differ significantly between the groups and the age-matched control group. C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, anti-streptolysin-O were significantly different. Left ventricular fractional shortening was normal in all patients (group 1, 37 +/- 10%; group 2, 34 +/- 5%; NS). Left ventricular dimensions were larger in group 1, in which all patients except two had moderate to severe mitral and/or aortic valvular regurgitation (5.05 +/- 0.75 cm/m(2)) compared to group 2, in which none had valvular regurgitation (3.27 +/- 0.26 cm/m(2), P < 0.05). None of the patients in either group presented with or developed pericarditis. Mean cTnI was 0.12 +/- 0.034 ng/mL in group 2 and 0.077 +/- 0.02 in group 1, the difference of which was not statistically significant. Neither significant cTnI elevations nor echocardiographic systolic function abnormalities were found in the present patients with rheumatic carditis. CONCLUSIONS: The present results indicate the absence of myocardial involvement in acute rheumatic carditis without congestive heart failure.