ABSTRACT
Introduction: Beyond a significant psychological burden in lives of patients with bipolar disorders, the COVID-19 outbreak created a significant obstacle in accessibility to mental health services, which raised a need for a country-wide network of healthcare providers for bipolar disorders in Turkey. The Bipolar Disorders Chapter of Turkey organized a training program for excellence in diagnosis and management of bipolar disorders in order to train early career psychiatrists who carry out mental services all over the country. Method: We announced a training program consisting of four modules including interactive Zoom lessons giving the theoretical baseline 48 hours), and a supervision module that includes case discussions with experts (96 hours). The lectures and discussions were moderated by leading specialists in bipolar disorders in Turkey. The theoretical modules focused on diagnosis and classification, pharmacological treatment, psychosocial interventions, and special populations (elders, pregnants, patients with comorbidity etc.) in bipolar disorders. Results: We trained 40 early career psychiatrists (14 men, 26 women;between ages of 27-40) from 18 different cities of Turkey. 37 of them have successfully completed the four modules, passed the final examination, and qualified for the supervision module. Most participants agreed that the program enhanced their clinical skills perfectly (satisfaction over 90%). Conclusion: This might be a good example of a postgraduate training program for clinicians serving patients with bipolar disorders. Such training programs might create a basis for building country-wide networks of healthcare professionals for bipolar disorders.
ABSTRACT
A national epidemiological research project was carried out to define the dynamics affecting the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) infection in Turkey and to identify the risk factors. Official veterinarian (OV) and breeder original questionnaires were produced separately as part of this study to collect thorough data regarding the disease from the field. The number of questionnaires that needed to be filled out was decided by 95% confidence interval (CI) and 5% margin of error. The findings of 371 OV and 317 breeder questionnaires completed online across the country were analyzed. In addition, 28 outbreaks determined by random method were visited. To observe regional differences and field conditions, the opinions of OVs who monitored the disease and breeders were compiled. It was observed that the data obtained from both questionnaires was largely compatible. The main factors in the epidemiology of bTB infection were found to be effective fight, development of state policy, providing adequate financing, animal purchase, ear tagging and records, animal traders, animal markets, animal movements, conditional slaughtering, slaughterhouses, postmortem inspection, premise conditions, socio-economic impact, evaluation of raw milk, disease-free premises, compensation payments, and quarantine processes.