Medical device-related pressure injuries in paediatric patients: An incidence study in a children's hospital.

AIM: To determine the incidence of pressure injuries from medical devices in children. BACKGROUND: Medical devices can cause pressure injuries on skin and soft tissues. DESIGN: A prospective, descriptive study adhering to STROBE guidelines. METHODS: This study was conducted in the third-level Paediatric Intensive Care Unit of Ege University Hospital in Izmir, Türkiye between April 2019 and October 2019 in Türkiye. Patients aged between 1 month and 18 years with medical devices were observed for pressure injuries using Braden scales and a specific monitoring form. RESULTS: In this study, we followed 522 medical devices applied to 96 patients. The three most commonly used medical devices were the ECG probe (21%), the blood pressure cuff (16%) and the saturation probe. Out of the 522 medical devices followed, 36 caused pressure injuries (6.8%). CONCLUSION: The incidence of medical device-related pressure injuries was found to be high. Effective training and implementation strategies need to be devised for paediatric nurses to prevent pressure injuries associated with medical devices. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The results of this study reveal that pressure injuries related to medical devices are an important health problem in paediatric hospitals. Therefore, awareness-raising and educational activities among health professionals and nurses should be accelerated. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution in the study.

Effectiveness of infant massage on babies growth, mother-baby attachment and mothers' self-confidence: A randomized controlled trial.

Infant massage is a unique massage that can be application to babies in the postpartum period for centuries. While baby massage provides contact between the baby and the mother, it supports the growth processes of the baby. This study aimed to investigate the effects of online infant massage training on infant growth, mother-infant attachment, and mothers' self-confidence. This randomized controlled clinical trial included 60 healthy-term infants and mother. The Demographic Data Collection Form, Maternal Attachment Scale, and Pharis Self-Confidence Scale were completed by all the mothers participating in the study. At the end of the 4th week, infant massage training was given to the mothers of the babies in the massage group by the primary investigator. Body weight, height, and head circumference measurements were made at the end of the 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th week of both group babies. At the end of the 20th week, the self-confidence of the mothers in both groups was assessed using the Maternal Attachment Scale and Pharis Self-Confidence Scale. Infants in the massage group had significantly higher mean body weight at the end of the 8th week (p = 0.006) and mean height at the end of 20th week (p = 0.05) than the infants in the control group. The Maternal Attachment Scale values were higher for the mothers in the massage group (p = 0.030). Infant massage is an effective method that strengthens maternal attachment and increases body weight and height in infants. The study is registered under the ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT05302427.

Evaluating the cancer related fatigue by children, mothers, and nurses in Turkish pediatric oncology patients.

PURPOSE: The aims of this study were to evaluate cancer related fatigue by children', mothers', and nurses' perspectives in recently diagnosed pediatric oncology patients, to evaluate levels of agreement between the fatigue scales, and to evaluate the relationships between fatigue and sample characteristics. METHOD: The sample of this cohort, descriptive, correlational study consisted of 26 recently cancer diagnosed children between the ages of 7 and 12, receiving inpatient treatment in pediatric oncology/hematology units, their mothers and their nurses. The data about children's fatigue were collected using the Child Fatigue Scale-24 h, Parent Fatigue Scale-24 h and Staff Fatigue Scale-24 h, for two consecutive days in the second and third weeks of the patient's first chemotherapy treatment cycle. RESULTS: The mean scores of the Child Fatigue Scale-24 h showed the children's fatigue to be at a moderate level, a statistically significant difference was found between the CFS-24 h and PFS-24 h mean scores in the first and second measurement (p < 0.05). The Intraclass correlation showed a good agreement between scales and repeated measurements for these scales. CONCLUSION: Fatigue in recently diagnosed cancer patients is an important symptom which is of particular concern to the children, their parents and nurses. The study showed that these three scales can be used alone an also used simultaneously, and also proved that these scales are reliable for repeated measurements.

Determination of methods used by the neonatal care unit nurses for management of procedural pain in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods used by neonatal intensive care unit nurses to reduce procedural pain. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2011 to June 2012 and comprised nurses employed in the paediatric departments, consisting of neonatal intensive care units and newborn units, of 15 hospitals in various cities of Turkey: 8 in Istanbul, 3 in Izmir and two each in Antalya and Edirne. Data was collected using a questionnaire and analysed using SPSS 15. RESULTS: The mean age of the 486 nurses was 28.19±5.14 years; 316(65%) had bachelor's degrees; 278(57.2%) had nursing experience greater than 6 years; and 322(72.5%) had newborn nursing experience greater than 6 years. Overall, 364(74.9%) nurses used non-pharmacological methods, and 145(29.8%) used pharmacological methods for pain relief. The most commonly used non-pharmacological methods were skin touch 364(75%) and giving a pacifier 269(55.3%). The most commonly used pharmacological methods were paracetamol and ibuprofen by 145(29.8%) nurses. A statistically significant difference was found between the level of education and use of pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods for pain relief (p< 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Among the nurses in both groups, very little pain management was used for invasive procedures. Educational programmes for pain management in newborns should be arranged to develop an institutional culture. Guidelines for these patients' pain management should also be established.

Reliability and validity of Turkish versions of the child, parent and staff cancer fatigue scales.

This study was designed to adapt the Turkish versions of scales to evaluate fatigue in children with cancer from the perspectives of the children, parents and staff. The objective of this study was to validate "Child Fatigue Scale-24 hours" (CFS-24 hours), "Parent Fatigue Scale-24 hours" (PFS-24 hours) and "Staff Fatigue Scale-24 hours" (SFS-24 hours) for use in Turkish clinical research settings. Translation of the scales into Turkish and validity and reliability tests were performed. The validity of the translated scales was assessed with language validity and content validity. The reliability of the translated scales was assessed with internal consistency. The scales were evaluated by considering the following: calculation of the Cronbach alpha coefficient for parallel form reliability with 52 pediatric cancer patients, 86 parents and 43 nurses. The internal consistency was estimated as 0.88 for the Child Fatigue Scale-24 hours, 0.77 for the Parent Fatigue Scale-24 hours, and 0.72 for the Staff Fatigue Scale-24 hours (Cronbach's α). The Turkish version of the Child Fatigue Scale-24 hours, the Parent Fatigue Scale-24 hours and the Staff Fatigue Scale-24 hours were judged reliable and valid instruments to assess fatigue in children and showed good psychometric properties. These scales should assist in understanding to what extent initiatives can minimize or eliminate fatigue. Our scales are recommended for further studies and use in pediatric oncology clinics as routine measurements and nursing initiatives should be planned accordingly.

Health professionals' estimation of cancer-related fatigue in children.

Many studies show that cancer-related fatigue is one of the most common symptoms experienced by children as a side effect of cancer therapy. This problem has grown considerably in recent years; the exact mechanisms underlying fatigue remain unclear. Therefore, assessing and managing this symptom can be problematic. This article describes the findings from a survey evaluating how health professionals (n = 56) at the Pediatric Oncology Centers in Izmir currently define and assess cancer-related fatigue. The results demonstrate that while the problems associated with fatigue are acknowledged, assessment tools are not widely used, and the majority of health professionals report that they would benefit from further education on the subject to assist in the care of patients.

Sexual activity, knowledge and contraceptive usage by gender among university students in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: To assess sexual activity and contraceptive knowledge and practice by gender among university students. METHODS: Descriptive and cross-sectional study conducted at Ege University, Turkey, with 1000 volunteering students. Data collection was stopped when 500 students of each gender had participated. RESULTS: Of the surveyed students, 50.3% (27.4% female, 73.2% male) reported having had sexual intercourse; the mean age at first sexual intercourse was 18.4 years for girls and 16.9 years for boys. We found that 44.5% of female and 30.6% of male students failed to use contraception at their first coitus, whereas 2.2% of female and 13.7% of male students failed to do so at their most recent intercourse. The rate of condom usage for students' first sexual encounter was 50.1% (35.8% female, 55.5% male) and was 67.8% (70.1% female, 66.9% male) at their most recent intercourse. Abortion was mentioned by 43.9% of female and 39.2% of male students as a method of preventing pregnancy after unprotected coitus. CONCLUSION: Male Turkish students had started sexual relations at a younger age but had less often unprotected first sex than female students.