ABSTRACT
Aim: We aim to determine the effect of the pandemic on the characteristics of health utilization of non-COVID 19 people. Method(s): Quantitative research was conducted on those who applied to two family health centers (n=200) and Gazi Hospital (n=210) in Ankara. Qualitative research was conducted on health workers or managers from primary care (PC) and tertiary care (TC) (Gazi and Gulhane hospital) and consultants of the Ministry of Health. We also used the health records of Gazi hospital. Result(s): Making an appointment is the most common problem faced by people applying for both PC (19,0%) and TC (32,9%) during the pandemic. The follow-up percentages for PC and TC during the pandemic were 60%-56.3% in DM, 54.2%-54.9% in hypertension, 28.6%-46.2% in COPD, and 16.7%-48.5% in mental health problems, respectively. For all diseases investigated, these percentages were above 80% before the pandemic. During the pandemic period, a sharp decrease between 5% and 85% was observed in outpatients and inpatients due to DM, HT and COPD in Gazi hospital. Participants of the qualitative study stated that delayed admission to the health institution causes more complicated case diagnoses. According to health workers, the groups most affected by the lack of access to healthcare services are demographic group elderly patients and medical group cancer patients. It was emphasized that PC plays an important role in the continuity of health services. Conclusion(s): In the short term, it may be suggested to develop informative materials about conditions that require urgent treatment and follow-up processes of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) during the pandemic. Interruptions in NCDs follow-up and treatment may create the potential for increased morbidity and mortality. Countries should make their plans considering the long-term effects of pandemic on the health system. The pandemic has revealed the importance of PC for accessible and sustainable health care. ©Copyright 2023 by Gazi University Medical Faculty.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To determine the change in the quality of life (QoL) of patients who applied to a tertiary outpatient clinic according to their COVID-19 status.
ABSTRACT
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are considered learning environments that eliminate many learning barriers. Online courses in MOOCs have become an opportunity for everyone during the lockdown of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, usability issues may cause problems such as high dropout rates and lack of learner's motivation. Therefore, in this study, the usability of Coursera, one of the most known MOOCs in the world, was evaluated. The evaluation was performed with ISO 9241-11 standard. The environment's effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction were evaluated with the authentic tasks requested to be done in Coursera. Additionally, the findings were supported by eye-tracking metrics such as fixation duration, fixation counts, heat maps, and gaze plots. Twelve individuals (six females, six males) participated in the authentic tasks, and three individuals (two females, one male) participated in the eye-tracking phase. Results of the study revealed that most participants successfully performed the authentic tasks and are generally satisfied with the usability of the environment. However, considering eye-tracking findings and Coursera Usage Satisfaction Survey, some usability problems such as inadequate language support and the difficulty of using the search feature emerged. In the end, possible reasons were discussed, and the suggestions were presented for usability improvements. © 2022, Ozgen Korkmaz. All rights reserved.