Age-specific rubella seroprevalence in unvaccinated adolescents in Ankara, Turkey

The purpose of this study was to determine the age-specific rubella seroprevalence and factors associated with rubella seropositivity in unvaccinated adolescents in Ankara, Turkey. In this cross-sectional study 229 students were selected with stratified sampling methods in 2 primary and 2 high schools of low to medium socioeconomic status. Overall rubella seroprevalence was 92.6%. There was a significant association of rubella seropositivity with age and history of exanthema disease. Recommendations are made for vaccination of all children at age 1 year, combined with a one-time campaign of vaccination of adolescent girls and young women to provide future protection for those who are about to enter the child-bearing age

Fertility characteristics and use of contraceptives in Park Health Centre Region

The service area of Public Health Department of Ankara, University Medical School is the catchment area of Park Education Health Centre, in which regular family planning services have been provided for a long period of time. The purpose of this study was to determine the fertility characteristics, knowledge, attitude and practice regarding contraceptive methods in the region and to reevaluate the services. A cross-sectional study was carried out by filling a questionnaire in house to house visits to 359 women who were chosen by random sampling from 3500 between 15-49 years old living in the region. Demographic characteristics, number of pregnancies, deliveries and abortions were obtained.Percentage of contraceptive methods were determined and their relations with factors like age and educational level were investigated. The average number of pregnancies was 3.83, of live births was 2.53 and of abortions was 1.29. The number of pregnancies and births increased with age and decreased with higher educational level. A total of 80.7% of women were using one contraceptive method, while 11.9% did not need to use a method [sterility, menopause, etc.] and 7.4% were not using any method.Among the users 61. 4% preferred modern methods. Of all the methods used, the most frequent method was IUD and the second was coitus interruptus. The ratio of non-users and traditional method users increased with age and low educational level. Knowledge and attitude of the women regarding contraceptives were also investigated. It was seen that their knowledge on adverse effects and usage of oral contraceptives in particular was not sufficient. It was concluded to emphasize one-to-one counseling practices besides public training and to focus on women of older age and lower education as a priority risk group in order to increase the use of modern methods and maintain appropriate usage

Vaginal douching and related factors in women between 15-49 years old in the area of Prak Health Centre

Several epidemiologic studies showed that vaginal douching [VD] has an effect on the occurrence of ectopic pregnancy, Cervical cancer and especially pelvic inflammatory disease [PID], VD, which is commonly used in many countries, is also common in our country. However, there are no clear data on VD. In this study which included married women between 15 and 49 years in the area of Park Health Centre, the frequency of VD, properties of the method and afffecting factors were investigated. For this aim, between May and June 1995, 350 women selected by simple randomized sampling from 3077 women living in the mentioned area, were evaluated using a face to face questionnaire and gynecologic examination. Only 318 of them completed this study. Chi square test and multiple logistic regression analysis were used for statistical evaluation. According to our results, VD was applied in a high rate [63.2%] in the area and used frequently, using only water or water and soap as the method learnt from elder people such as mothers. In general, it is applied during showering, post-coital and postmenstrual for cleaning, religious beliefs or contraception. Advanced age, living in gettos, unemployment, marriage in early age were related factors as shown by using multiple logistic regression analysis. In these women, PID was also detected in a significantly high rate in the previous year