Adherence to hemophilia patients with prophylaxis: Veritas-Pro and psychometric properties adapted to Turkish.

The Validated Hemophilia Regimen Treatment Adherence Scale-Prophylaxis (VERITAS-Pro) assesses adherence to prophylaxis treatment recommendations in hemophilia patients. This study aimed to adapt the VERITAS-Pro into Turkish and evaluate its reliability and validity. The research design used is a psychometric study. A convenience sample of 102 patients with hemophilia A or B was followed by the Aegean Adult Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center. The VERITAS-Pro was adapted to Turkish in six steps, including forward- and back-translation, committee review, and reliability and validity analysis. Based on the confirmatory factor analysis, modification indices suggested discrepancies amongst items, which were improved upon the removal of items 11 and 15. Findings from this alternative model are: χ2/df = 1.34; RMSEA = 0.05; SRMR = 0.09; and IFI = 0.92. The alternative model showed high adherence rates. Cronbach's alpha value for the Turkish version was found to be 0.83. The test-retest reliability of the Turkish scale ranged from 0.31 to 0.78. All items discriminated significantly between participants who were more adherent and those who were less adherent (t = 23.53; p<0.01). Translation of the VERITAS-Pro into local languages enables more accurate measurement of treatment adherence among people with hemophilia and facilitates cross-cultural comparison studies. According to the validity and reliability evidence obtained, the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the VERITAS-Pro are suitable.

RE-AIMing COVID-19 online learning for medical students: a massive open online course evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Clinical training during the COVID-19 pandemic is high risk for medical students. Medical schools in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) have limited capacity to develop resources in the face of rapidly developing health emergencies. Here, a free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) was developed as a COVID-19 resource for medical students working in these settings, and its effectiveness was evaluated. METHODS: The RE-AIM (reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance) framework was utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of MOOC in teaching medical students about COVID-19. The data sources included the student registration forms, metrics quantifying their interactions within the modules, students' course feedback, and free-text responses. The data were collected from the Moodle learning management system and Google analytics from May 9 to September 15, 2020. The research team analyzed the quantitative data descriptively and the qualitative data thematically. RESULTS: Among the 16,237 unique visitors who accessed the course, only 6031 medical students from 71 medical schools registered, and about 4993 (83% of registrants) completed the course, indicating high levels of satisfaction (M = 8.17, SD = 1.49) on a 10-point scale. The mean scores of each assessment modules were > 90%. The free-text responses from 987 unique students revealed a total of 17 themes (e.g., knowing the general information on COVID-19, process management of the pandemic in public health, online platform use, and instructional design) across the elements of the RE-AIM framework. Mainly, the students characterized the MOOC as well-organized and effective. CONCLUSIONS: Medical students learned about COVID-19 using a self-paced and unmonitored MOOC. MOOCs could play a vital role in the dissemination of accurate information to medical students in LMIC in future public health emergencies. The students were interested in using similar MOOCs in the future.

International medical students' adaptation to university life in Turkey.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to determine the adaptation process of international medical school students to university life in Turkey. METHODS: The mixed method design study, including all the international students (n=127) studying at Ege University School of Medicine, is employed. Qualitative data were collected from 23 students selected by purposive sampling technique. Two instruments were utilized for collecting data: Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ) and Brief COPE. Focus group interviews were performed for qualitative data collection. RESULTS: The mean SACQ score of the medical students was found to be 407.44 (SD=68.29). The Academic Adjustment category included the themes of educational goals, different studying habits, accommodation, academic advisor, and scholarship. The Social Adjustment category included the themes of social interaction and support, differences, longing for family, discrimination and its effects on social life. The Personal/Emotional adjustment category included themes of psychological and physiological health problems. The Goal Commitment/Institutional Attachment category included themes of academic and social adaptation as well as the student' communication with education management. CONCLUSIONS: This study identifies to light critical issues in supporting international students with adaptation problems to university life in Turkey. It is clear that revising the content of education programs to enable international exchange is not sufficient enough by itself to meet the needs of international students.

Validity and reliability study of the pediatric Rome III questionnaire for Turkish children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Questionnaire on Pediatric Gastrointestinal Symptoms: Rome III version (QPGS-RIII), originally developed in English, was adapted to different languages in order to widen its use. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of a questionnaire on the Pediatric QPGS-RIII parent-report form for children and self-report form for children and adolescents, which has been adapted into Turkish. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study group comprised 7-18-year-old children/adolescents (n=690) who presented to Ege University School of Medicine, Department of Child Health and Diseases outpatient clinic. In the study, the validity and reliability of the QPGS-RIII Turkish version of the questionnaire was established. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) resulted in a 10-factor model satisfactory construct for the validity and in acceptable indices of goodness of fit. Standardized coefficients determined with CFA in the Turkish version of the instrument ranged between 0.15 and 0.87 in the 7-9-year-old children and between 0.13 and 0.98 in the 10-18-year-old children/adolescents. t-values of all the factor loadings were significant. In addition, the test-retest analyses were above 0.70, except for the abdominal migraine factor. CONCLUSION: Findings relating to the validity and reliability of the study indicated that the Turkish version of the instrument could be adequately used to assess functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) in Turkish children and adolescents. The Turkish version of the instrument is therefore recommended to be used in epidemiologic studies and in clinical trials to be conducted in a Turkish-speaking population.

Adaptation of the Critical Care Family Need Inventory to the Turkish population and its psychometric properties.

In the complex environment of intensive care units, needs of patients' relatives might be seen as the lowest priority. On the other hand, because of their patients' critical and often uncertain conditions, stress levels of relatives are quite high. This study aims to adapt the Critical Care Family Need Inventory, which assesses the needs of patients' relatives, for use with the Turkish-speaking population and to assess psychometric properties of the resulting inventory. The study was conducted in a state hospital with the participation of 191 critical care patient relatives. Content validity was assessed by expert opinions, and construct validity was examined by exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to determine internal consistency. The translated inventory has a content validity ratio higher than the minimum acceptable level. Its construct validity was established by the EFA. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the entire scale was 0.93 and higher than 0.80 for subscales, thus demonstrating the translated version's reliability. The Turkish adaptation appropriately reflects all dimensions of needs in the original CCFNI, and its psychometric properties were acceptable. The revised tool could be useful for helping critical care healthcare workers provide services in a holistic approach and for policymakers to improve quality of service.