Evaluation of Incoming Messages to WhatsApp Communication Network Created by Volunteers in Major Disasters: The Case of Turkey Earthquake.

OBJECTIVE: This research was conducted in order to assess the 1-week aid needs determined by the health professional who voluntarily served in the WhatsApp communication network during the earthquakes in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. METHODS: This descriptive retrospective epidemiological study focuses on the 1-week messaging activities of the WhatsApp group created by volunteers after the earthquake in Turkey. During the 7-day period included in the research, a total of 5813 messages were sent. 3472 of these messages were not included in the research for various reasons, and a total of 2341 messages were used for the research. RESULTS: In all 7 days, it was seen that most of the messages were sent via text message and that voice messages were very few. When the distribution of the needs demanded by the earthquake victims for 7 days was examined, it was seen that there was a significant increase in the needs on the fourth day after the earthquake, and that the highest increase was the need for tents. CONCLUSION: While the demands for rescue services increased in the first 2 days, it was determined that the demands for water especially, dry food, and tents increased from the third day onwards. It is suggested that a professional online infrastructure system should be created to enable the transfer of instant scene and need information that can be activated in such disasters.

Evaluation of Illness Perception of Women with Breast Cancer in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to examine the illness perceptions of women with breast cancer and possible relationships between these perceptions and descriptive characteristics such as sociodemographic and clinical characteristics in Turkey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted in compliance with correlational, descriptive research principles. Three hundred eighty women with breast cancer who were treated in various hospitals in seven regions of the country were included in the study. A sociodemographic and clinical characteristics form, and The Illness Perception Questionnaire were used for data collection. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients with breast cancer was 49.8±11.5, among them, 83.95% were married, 37.37% were at stage 2 breast cancer, and 67.11% experienced mastectomy. It was found that the patients perceived higher personal control over illness (20.88±4.76). The patients perceived most common risk factors as the cause of the illness (19.42±6.38). This study show that variety sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the patients affected their perceptions of illness. CONCLUSION: The meaning of illness from the perspective of patient with breast cancer should be assessed. The care, education and counselling programs should be planned according to the patient's illness perceptions.

How Does Health Education Given to Lung Cancer Patients Before Thoracotomy Affect Pain, Anxiety, and Respiratory Functions?

In this study, it was aimed to determine how the postoperative pain level, state-trait anxiety level, and respiratory function were affected by the health education given through a patient education booklet to patients with lung cancer, in comparison with control group, before pulmonary resection through thoracotomy. The 60 patients (n = 60) having pulmonary resection indication because of lung cancer were recruited in the present study. The patients were separated as control (n = 30) and experimental groups (n = 30). The patient education was applied to patients in the experimental groups via the education booklet 24 h before the surgery. Patients in the control groups received only usual clinical nursing information. The pain was evaluated via visual analog scale (VAS). The State-Trait Anxiety Scale (STAS) was used for evaluating the anxiety level. The evaluated pulmonary functions were peak expiratory flow (PEF), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), and forced expiratory flow 25-75 (FEF25-75). The pain level of the experimental group was statistically lower than control group (p < 0.05). The state anxiety level of experimental group received education was statistically lower than control group (p < 0.05). There was no any statistical difference in trait anxiety levels between control and experimental groups (p > 0.05). The FEV1 and FEF25-75 values in experimental group were statistically higher than control group. A planned health education applied via the thoracotomy patient education booklet has a positive effect on clinical recovery process by affecting postoperative pain, state anxiety, and FEV1 and FEF25-75 values.

Cutaneous side effects of chemotherapy in pediatric oncology patients.

Pediatric oncology patients can present with various skin lesions related to both primary disease and immunosuppressive treatments. This study aimed to evaluate the cutaneous side effects of chemotherapy in pediatric oncology patients. Sixty-five pediatric oncology patients who were scheduled to undergo chemotherapy from May 2011 to May 2013 were included in the study. Three patients were excluded from the results, as 2 patients died during treatment and 1 patient withdrew from the study; therefore, a total of 62 patients were evaluated for mucocutaneous findings. Patients were grouped according to their oncological diagnoses and a statistical analysis was performed. There was no statistical significance in the incidence of cutaneous side effects of chemotherapy among the different diagnostic groups. Awareness among dermatologists of the possible cutaneous side effects of chemotherapy in pediatric patients and their causes can promote early diagnosis and treatment in this patient population.

Effectiveness of online education in teaching breast self- examination.

BACKGROUND: This research evaluated the effectiveness of an online education model in teaching breast self- examination to university staff and students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 1,679 women participated in a breast self-examination online training program. Breast self-examination knowledge evaluation forms developed by Maurer (1997) were used in the research and were evaluated on a 100 point scale. Paired t-test and McNemar's Test statistics were employed. RESULTS: The participants scored an average of 46.5 (14.0%) on knowledge on breast self-examination before training, but 77.4 (11.0%) one month after education and 76.7 (9.52%) after six months. There was a clear significant difference between these knowledge levels (p<0.05). Similarly, while the rate for systematic practice of breast self-examination among women was 30.8% before training it increased to 47.8% afterwards. Again the difference was significant (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Online education is an effective method for teaching breast self-examination to women.