The Effects of a Psychodrama-Based Risk Management Training Program on the Knowledge and Practices of Turkish Nurses in Psychiatric Clinics.

This study aimed to assess the effects of a psychodrama-based risk management training program on nurses' knowledge and practices. This study used a mixed methods design; quantitative and qualitative methods were used together with a single group pretest, post-test, and follow-up. The training program, in which the nurses took part, comprised six lessons that were designed using psychodrama methods. The result showed that risk management scores increased significantly after the training. Thus, this training is effective for improving the knowledge and practices of mental health nurses for risk management.

The Effect of a Brief Cognitive Behavioural Stress Management Programme on Mental Status, Coping with Stress Attitude and Caregiver Burden While Caring for Schizophrenic Patients.

This experimental study was carried out using a pre-test/post-test control group model to evaluate the effect of a "Brief Cognitive Behavioural Stress Management Programme" (BCBSMP) on mental status, coping with stress attitude, and caregiver burden while caring for patients with schizophrenia. A total of 61 caregivers who provided care for schizophrenia patients at a community mental health centre were included in the study. Caregivers were matched according to gender and scale scores and were assigned to either the study or the control group. Before and after the programme, caregivers in both groups were given the "Demografic Data Form", "Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale", "Coping Attitude Evaluation Scale", "Stress Indicators Scale", and the "General Health Survey-28". Caregivers in the study group were taken to a BCSMP one session per week (each session lasted 120min) for seven weeks. We determined that the stress indicators, the risk of developing a psychological disorder, and caregiver burden decreased and skills related to both the problem-oriented and emotion-oriented aspects of stress increased in the study group after the programme.

Suicide Risk in the Hospitalized Elderly in Turkey and Affecting Factors.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the suicide risk among the elderly hospitalized and treated because of physical illnesses, and the factors affecting the risk. METHODS: The study has a cross-sectional design. It was conducted with 459 elderly people hospitalized and treated in a public hospital between May 25, 2015 and December 4, 2015. Data were collected with the Personal Information Form, Suicide Probability Scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. For the analysis, descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and logistic regression analysis were used. RESULTS: In the study, 24.0% of the elderly were at high risk for suicide. Suicide risk was even higher among the elderly in the 60-74 age group, living alone, drinking alcohol, perceiving his/her religious beliefs as weak, being treated for cancer, having the diagnosis 11 years or over, having a history of admission to a psychiatry clinic, and being at risk for anxiety and depression. CONCLUSION: In the study, approximately one out of every four elderly people was at high risk for suicide. Therefore, older people should be assessed for suicide risk and programs targeting to prevent the elderly from committing suicide should be organized.

Effects of the professional identity development programme on the professional identity, job satisfaction and burnout levels of nurses: A pilot study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the Professional Identity Development Program on the professional identity, job satisfaction and burnout levels of registered nurses. This study was conducted as a quasi-experimental one with 63 nurses working in a university hospital. Data were gathered using the Personal Information Questionnaire, the Professional Self Concept Inventory, Minnesota Job Satisfaction Inventory and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The Professional Identity Development Program which consists of ten sessions was implemented to the study group once a week. The Program significantly improved the professional identity of the nurses in the study group compared to that of the control group. During the research period, burnout levels significantly decreased in the study group while those of the control group increased. The programme did not create any significant differences in the job satisfaction levels of the nurses. The programme had a positive impact on the professional identity of the nurses. It is recommended that the programme should be implemented in different hospitals with different samples of nurses, and that its effectiveness should be evaluated.

Relationship between job satisfaction, professional identity and intention to leave the profession among nurses in Turkey.

AIMS: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between job satisfaction, professional identity and intention to leave the profession among nurses in Turkey. BACKGROUND: Although there are many studies on job satisfaction among nurses in Turkey, there is a gap in the literature in relation to professional identity, particularly for intentions to leave the profession. METHOD: This cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational study was conducted with 2122 nurses from Turkey. RESULTS: A positive and significant correlation was determined between the nurses' job satisfaction and professional identities. It was found that 15.5% of the nurses intended to leave their profession. Intention to leave the profession was greater among the nurses with inadequate professional identity development and low job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Professional identity is a factor affecting job satisfaction. Both professional identity and job satisfaction are important factors affecting nurses' intention leaving the profession. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Given that professional identity and job satisfaction affect intention to leave the profession and professional identity affects job satisfaction, nurse managers who are mainly responsible for the quality of nursing care should develop strategies that support nurses' professional identity and increase their job satisfaction if they are to prevent nurses from leaving the profession.

Relationships between coping strategies, individual characteristics and job satisfaction in a sample of hospital nurses: cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to describe and compare the job satisfaction, coping strategies, personal and organizational characteristics among nurses working in a hospital in Turkey. METHODS: In this cross-sectional survey design study, 186 nurses from Cumhuriyet University Hospital completed Personal Data Form, Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire and Ways of Coping Inventory. Response rate was 74.4%. RESULTS: In this study, it was found that job satisfaction score of nurses showed moderate (mean: 3.46+/-0.56) was found. While nurses mostly used to employ self-confident and optimistic approaches that had already being considered as positive coping strategies with stress, yielding and helpless approaches were employed less than that. While a statistically significant positive relation (p<0.05) was found between job satisfaction and dimensions of Ways of Coping Inventory "self-confident approach" and "optimistic approach", negative relation (p<0.01) was found between job satisfaction and dimensions of the "helpless approach". Organizational and individual nurse characteristics were not found to be associated with job satisfaction. But, job satisfaction of the nurses who is bounded by a contract was found higher than that of permanent staff nurses (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The job satisfaction of Turkish hospital nurses was at a moderate and that of the nurses who succeeded to coping with the stress was heightened. Higher levels of job satisfaction were associated with positive coping strategies. This study contributes to a growing body of evidence demonstrating the importance of coping strategies to nurses' job satisfaction.

Sleep quality in hospitalized patients.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare sleep quality of the hospitalized patients and matched healthy controls. BACKGROUND: Although the functions of sleep are not clearly understood, it is generally accepted that it is necessary for the maintenance of good health. Hospitalized patients' sleep may not be refreshing or restorative. The reasons for this can be categorized into three groups: environmental, physiological and psychological. DESIGN AND METHODS: This research was conducted at the Cumhuriyet University Hospital in Turkey. One hundred and fifty hospitalized patients (psychiatry = 50; orthopaedic + general surgery + cardiovascular surgery + urology = 50; internal medicine + chest diseases + infectious diseases + physical therapy and rehabilitation = 50) and 50 healthy controls constituted the sample. The researchers administered to the patient and control groups Sociodemographic Information Form and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. We compared sociodemographic and illness variables with sleep characteristics. The following statistical analyses were used in order to evaluate the data: variance analysis, Tukey HSD test, Student's t-test, Kruskall-Wallis test. RESULTS: We found that patients in psychiatric ward experienced worse sleep quality than the other patients, worse in female patients than male patients, and worse sleep characteristics in patients than controls. CONCLUSIONS: Health professionals must be educated about sleep and must provide intervention when needed. Relevance to clinical practice. The enhancing of sleep quality accelerates to the recovery from illness.

The distribution of symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder in school age children in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in school age children in Sivas province centre and to examine the distribution of symptoms according to subtypes. METHOD: The study population was made up of 1425 children between the ages of 6 and 15 from eight primary schools selected by random sampling method in Sivas province centre. All students were given a questionnaire prepared according to DSMIV criteria that was completed by their parents or teachers. This form includes 18 symptoms of ADHD and eight symptoms of ODD. Student's t-test and variance analysis were used for statistical evaluation. RESULTS: A prevalence of 8.1% was found for ADHD in our study. According to subtypes, 32.2% of these were "inattentive", 40% were "hyperactive" and 27.8% were combined type. A prevalence of 11.5% was found for ODD. The boy/girl ratio was > 1 for both ADHD and ODD, and 52.2% of those with ADHD were established as having ODD at the same time. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of ADHD and ODD in primary school children was not considered to be small. Studies concerning the distribution of symptoms in different societies, cultures, and viewpoints and identification of children with this type of problem are beneficial for early diagnosis and prophylactic treatment.

Distribution of symptoms of conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: A variety of conduct disorder (CD) symptoms are seen together as a symptom cluster. Among CD symptoms there are serious and stubborn antisocial behaviors: lying, swindling, running away from home/school, destructiveness, arson, kidnapping women, sexual abuse, and armed robbery. The objective of this study was to discover the relationship between CD and antisocial personality disorder (APD) and the distribution of the symptoms of these disorders. SAMPLING AND METHODS: The research sample consisted of 994 individuals between the ages of 18 and 65 years in Sivas province. Subjects were given the Diagnostic Interview Schedule-III-R (DIS-III-R) APD subscale. RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence for CD and APD was found to be 21.03 and 3.02%, respectively. In both disorders the percentage of men was higher than for women. The comorbidity of both disorders was found to be 14.35%. The most frequently seen CD symptom in normal society is 'lying', but in those with CD 'initiates a fight several times' is the most frequently seen symptom. In those with APD the most frequently seen symptom is 'truant from school several times'. CONCLUSIONS: Identifying risk factors in children could be an important step in preventing the progression of CD and APD.

Psychosocial approaches in outpatients with schizophrenia.

The objective of this study was to determine how psychosocial approaches to people with schizophrenia, in addition to treatment with psychotropic drugs, affect the course of the illness and family interactions. The project included people who were diagnosed with schizophrenia and hospitalized at least once. Twenty-three people completed the study. Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), WHO Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF-TR), Family Assessment Device (FAD), Specific Level of Functioning Scale (SLFS) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were applied both at the beginning and at the end of the study. Two study teams visited the participants six times in their homes once per two weeks. At the end of the third month, improvements in social interactions and in family relationships were observed. According to the average score at baseline, BPRS average score was found to be significantly lower (p < 0.02); WHOQOL-BREF, SLFS and MSPSS average scores were found to be significantly higher (respectively p < 0.02, p < 0.0001, p < 0.05). The results of this study show that psychosocial approaches are beneficial especially in social skills and family relationships.

The effects of patient education in lithium therapy on quality of life and compliance.

The purpose of this study was to show the effects of education on medication compliance, symptom level and quality of life of outpatients who were being treated with lithium for bipolar disorder. The study was performed comparing a total of 26 patients (14 study and 12 control) who were a patient group in lithium therapy. In the study one group was given a short education program about the disorder and lithium therapy in three sessions. Data were collected from both groups using a medication knowledge form, Brief Symptom Inventory, and WHO Quality of Life Scale before and after the intervention. At the end of 3 months whereas there was no difference seen in the scores of the control group; the study group had an increase in medication knowledge, a decrease in symptom level, an increase in quality of life, and a beginning of more regular medication use. Findings that were obtained show the importance of education about the disorder and medication in increasing the adaptation to society of patients who have bipolar disorder.