The relationship between health literacy and family planning attitude in women in Kirsehir province, Turkey.

To develop positive attitudes towards family planning, health literacy is important. This study aimed to investigate a relationship between health literacy and family planning attitudes among married women. 657 married women volunteered to participate in this cross-sectional, correlational and descriptive study. The Türkiye Health Literacy - 32 scale and the Family Planning Attitude Scale were used in the study. According to the results, the women's general health literacy score was 34.5±8.7 out of 50 points, which was adequate, and the family planning attitude score was 128.9±17.7 out of 170 points, which was above the average. It is found a weak positive relationship between health literacy and family planning attitudes. Educational status, occupation and income level affect health literacy and family planning attitude. It is noteworthy that 84.4% of women with inadequate health literacy were using modern family planning methods, while this rate was 77.1% among women with adequate health literacy. To improve women's attitudes towards family planning, it is recommended that health literacy is improved, effective media content is developed and women are encouraged to use primary health care services.

Pour développer des attitudes positives à l'égard de la planification familiale, il est important d'avoir des connaissances en matière de santé. Cette étude visait à examiner la relation entre les connaissances en matière de santé et les attitudes à l'égard de la planification familiale chez les femmes mariées. 657 femmes mariées se sont portées volontaires pour participer à cette étude transversale, corrélationnelle et descriptive. L'échelle Türkiye Health Literacy - 32 et l'échelle Family Planning Attitude Scale ont été utilisées dans l'étude. Selon les résultats, le score général des femmes en matière de santé était de 34,5±8,7 sur 50 points, ce qui est adéquat, et le score de l'attitude de planification familiale était de 128,9±17,7 sur 170 points, ce qui est supérieur à la moyenne. Il existe une faible relation positive entre les connaissances en matière de santé et les attitudes à l'égard de la planification familiale. Le niveau d'éducation, la profession et le niveau de revenu influencent les connaissances en matière de santé et l'attitude à l'égard de la planification familiale. Il convient de noter que 84,4 % des femmes dont les connaissances en matière de santé sont insuffisantes utilisent des méthodes modernes de planification familiale, alors que ce taux est de 77,1 % chez les femmes dont les connaissances en matière de santé sont suffisantes. Pour améliorer l'attitude des femmes à l'égard de la planification familiale, il est recommandé d'améliorer les connaissances en matière de santé, de développer un contenu médiatique efficace et d'encourager les femmes à utiliser les services de soins de santé primaires.

Changing perceptions of general health in the Kayseri Province, Turkey in 2004 and 2017: A population-based study.

Aim: Self-rated health (SRH) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) have closely related outcomes in measuring general health status in community-based studies. The aim of this study is to determine changes in the self-perceived overall health of people and affected factors by comparing the findings of two studies conducted in the same research area. Methods: Both studies were conducted using the same measurement tools in households determined by random sampling techniques in the same research areas. The first and second studies were conducted with 1,304 and 1,533 people residing in 501 and 801 households in 2004 and 2017, respectively. The demographic data form, the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), and a single-item SRH questionnaire were used for data collection. Results: The rate of good SRH increased from 56% to 70% while the average NHP score decreased from 30.87 to 20.34. The predictors of negative health perceptions were the presence of chronic diseases (OR 3.4-2.7-times higher), being female (OR.1.4-1.5 times higher), and the completion of primary education only (OR. 2.7-2.8 times higher) both 2004 and 2017. Living 500-1,000 m from the nearest healthcare facility was the main protective variable against poor SRH. Conclusions: Good SRH and HRQoL have increased significantly over time. Chronic diseases, education, and gender are the strongest predictors of poor SRH.

Smoking Behaviors and Viewpoints of Smoking by Erciyes University, Faculty of Theology Students.

Religious beliefs and attitudes contribute to a healthy life by helping individuals avoiding negative behaviors that can affect health. In this respect, clergymen can play an important role in smoking control by being models for the society. This study was conducted to evaluate smoking situations and views on cigarette use by Erciyes University, Faculty of Theology students. In this cross-sectional descriptive research, a questionnaire was conducted with the first and last year students studying in the Faculty of Theology (305). 88.2% of the students (97.0% of the women and 69.6% of the men) have never smoked; 6.9% of them (3.0% freshmen/16.0% senior students) still smoke and 4.9% of them have quit smoking. 81.0% of the smokers have thought of quitting smoking and 47.6% of them have tried to quit smoking. 70.6% of those thinking of quitting smoking stated that religion is motivating their thought of quitting smoking. 73.8% of the students expressed that religious sensitivity could affect smoking, 54.4% stated that smoking was an abomination to religion and 43.3% expressed that religion totally forbids smoking. Some measures need to be taken for fight against smoking, a global and preventable problem. Countries make legislative regulations to solve this problem and in addition to this, individuals such as clergymen and educators should also be mindful for the solution of this problem.

Relation between Health Literacy Levels, Hypertension Awareness and Control among Primary-secondary School Teachers in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: Health literacy plays a critical role in chronic disease self-management. This study aimed to determine the relation between health literacy levels, hypertension awareness and control among primary-secondary school teachers in Turkey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive and cross-sectional research was conducted among school teachers with the participation of 500 volunteer teachers of both genders. The response rate was 86.2%. To determine health literacy levels, the Newest Vital Sign Scale and Blood Pressure Concept Test were used. RESULTS: The mean scores of all individuals were 2.12 ± 1.82 over six points although this showed "limited" levels of health literacy. The mean scores obtained from the scale were 2.13 ± 1.83 in non-hypertensives, while it was 2.06 ± 1.77 in hypertensives. Nonetheless, disease knowledge and awareness were low in teachers. Adequate health literacy levels were low according to disease awareness and control. The measured health literacy levels of teachers didn't overlap with their own assessments about health literacy skills. RECOMMENDATIONS: Limited health literacy levels in educators gave an impression that our education system was poor in terms of health education programs.

Hazardous Health Behaviour among Medical Students: a Study from Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Hazardous health behaviour in young people is an important factor that affects the individual risk for non-communicable diseases and other disorders later in life. This study aimed to determine the hazardous health behaviour of first and last class medical students of Erciyes University. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive study was carried out with 240 medical students from the first and 130 students from the last (sixth) class. Data were obtained by questionnaire between March-April 2012. In total, 339 students were included with a response rate of 91.6%. Socio-demographic characteristics, school success, self-reported economic difficulties, health perceptions, hazardous health behaviour related to chronic disease, tobacco, alcohol, substance use, body weight, height, traffic, violence and nutrition were assessed in line with the literature. RESULTS: Of the participants; 64.0% were from first and 36.0% were from the last class. Mean ages for the first and last classes were 19.4 ± 1.5 and 24.0 ± 1.5 years, respectively. In the current study, males exhibited more hazardous behaviour than females. Sime 19.8% of the students in the study group used alcohol, 35.4% used a waterpipe, and 24.8% used tobacco at least once. These rates increased in both genders in the last class and the increase in males was significant. Some 3.8% of the students in the current study used pleasure-inducing illegal substances at least once. All the students participating in the current study were single, the number of males reported not using condoms (8.6%) was 4.56 times higher compared to females. Some 64.0% of the students did not perform physical activity lasting at least 30 minutes for five times a week, 13.0% did not sleep for mean 7-8 hours daily, males having a 2.9 times higher risk. More than 1/3 of the students did not consume cooked vegetable dishes and 1/4 did not consume fresh fruits and salads, the rates were higher among males. CONCLUSIONS: In the current study, hazardous health behaviour was prevalent among medical students, with higher risks among males and last class students. According to these results, medical curriculum may be focused on decreasing hazardous health behaviour. In addition, in order to prevent unhealthy behaviour, the number of youth-friendly health facilities should be increased.

Physician exposure to violence: a study performed in Turkey.

Recently, in Turkey, there has been an increase in the number of violent acts against healthcare workers, towards doctors in particular. This study aimed to investigate the extent of violence, the causes of violence and to evaluate proposed solutions to violence. Out of 597 physicians, 86.4% indicated that they were exposed to at least one type of violence (physical, verbal, sexual) throughout their careers. Among the physicians participating in the study, 27.5% suffered physical threats and 68.6% suffered verbal violence in the past year. Only 40.4% reported the physical violence to their institution. Physicians indicated that the top three causes of violent behavior were excessive demands of patients, the expectation that the issue will be solved immediately and blaming physicians for their problems. To stop violence against themselves, physicians need to raise their voices, along with those of their personal or professional organizations, and should report and follow up incidents.

Health promoting lifestyle behaviour in medical students: a multicentre study from Turkey.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of health promoting lifestyle behaviour among medical students attending seven of the medical schools in Turkey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross- sectional descriptive study was performed during the second semester of the first and last (sixth) years of study from March to May 2011. A questionnaire with two sections was specifically designed. The first section contained questions on demographic characteristics; the second consisted of the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP) Scale. From a total of 2,309 medical students, 2,118 (response rate 91.7%) completed the questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t, Anova, Tukey test and binary logistic regression analysis. The research was approved by the Ethics Committee of Erciyes University. RESULTS: The mean age was 20.7±2.9 years and it was found that 55.1% were men, 62.3% were in the first year. The overall prevalence of smoking was 19.1%, and for drinking alcohol was 19.4%. HPLP point averages of the first year students were 129.2±17.7, and for last year 125.5±19.0. The overall mean score for the HPLP II was 2.5±0.4. They scored highest on the spiritual growth subscale (2.9±0.5), interpersonal relations (2.8±0.5), health responsibility subscale (2.3±0.5), nutrition subscale (2.3±0.5), stress management subscale (2.3±0.4), and the lowest subscale physical activity (2.0±0.5). It is established that student's grade, educational level of parents, economic status of family, marital status, smoking and general health perception of the students resulted in a significant difference in HPLP Scale total score average and the mean score of majority of subscales.There was no statistically significant difference between the total HPLP when evaluated for gender, chronic disease, alcohol drinking status and BMI. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these results, particularly in the curriculum of medical students in order to increase positive health behaviours including physical activity, health promotion issues, and giving more space to aim at behaviour change in these matters is recommended.

Attitudes and behaviors regarding organ donation: a study on officials of religion in Turkey.

The aim of this study is to determine the attitudes and behaviors of religious scholars regarding organ donation and transplantation. In this study, 540 officials working in the Department of Religious Affairs in Kayseri, Turkey, were included. Overall, 86.6% response rate (n = 468) was achieved. Although a majority of the officials of religion in this study stated that they believed in the importance of organ donation (90.8%), the rate of considering donation (57.9%) and the donation rate (1.1%) were found to be substantially low. There is a difference between the employment status and willingness to donate organs. The rate of willingness to donate was significantly high in men than women. And also was high in imams and preachers. Regarding the sources of information, the majority of the respondents (70.0%) cited mass media. Overall, 15.3% cited school education and 42.0% religious publications. The most common question (83.1%) that was asked was "whether or not organ donation was suitable for Muslim religious". Our study revealed that although the research groups have positive ideas about organ donation and transplantation, their role was low in informing and motivating people about organ donation and transplantation.

Healthy life-style promoting behaviour in Turkish women aged 18-64.

AIM: In this study we aimed to investigate the healthy life-style behaviour of Turkish women and establish influencing features. METHODS: This descriptive study performed by a questionnaire method was conducted in a primary health care centre, in an urban region in Kayseri, Turkey. Every midwife region belonging to the health care centre was accepted as a cluster, and a sample of 450 women between ages 18-64, was gathered from 9 midwife regions. The Health Promotion Life-style Profile (HPLP) was applied to evaluated the healthy life- style behaviour of 421 women that could be reached. T test, Tukey HSD with ANOVA, and chi square tests were used for analysis. RESULTS: The mean total HPLP was 126.8 ± 19.2 (interpersonal support subscale, 74.3 ± 14.1; nutrition subscale, 73.6 ± 12.6; self-actualisation subscale, 70.6 ± 11.9; stress management subscale, 63.4 ± 13.0; health responsibility subscale, 61.2 ± 13.2; and exercise subscale, 47.1 ± 15.0). There was no statistically significant variation when evaluated for age, marital state, family type, economic status, and perception of self-health, smoking, and BMI. HPLP was high in people with an education of primary school and lower in university graduates, in people who lived mostly in the city centre and in individuals with chronic diseases. In conclusion, it was established that the health promoting behaviour in Turkish women is, in general, at a medium level, and women should be enlightened in order to develop and increase the habit of health preservation and promotion.

Knowledge, attitude about breast cancer and practice of breast cancer screening among female health care professionals: a study from Turkey.

The awareness of health professionals about breast cancer prevention is of vital importance, since their beliefs and behaviors may have a major impact on other women. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, and attitudes regarding risk factors for breast cancer as well as screening such as breast self-examination, clinical breast examination and mammography among different groups of female health professionals. In this cross- sectional study, 444 female health professionals in various health centers located in Corum Province, Turkey, were interviewed using a self-administered questionnaire. The mean age was 33.1 ± 6.1 and most were married (81.3%). The rate of feeling under risk regarding breast cancer among female health personnel was 31.3%. The majority (98.4 %) perceived breast self-examination as a beneficial method for the early detection of breast cancer. Although 81.3 % of the participants stated that they did breast self examination, only 27.3 % reported doing so on a regular basis (performed monthly or once per menstrual cycle). The most common reason for not doing breast self-examination was the belief that it was not necessary (45.8 %). Of the entire group, the rate of having a mammography was 10.1% and the rate of clinical breast examination was 24.8%. Health professionals are a direct source of medical information to the public. The use of breast self-examination and mammography was found lower than expected when considering the fact that participants were health care professionals.

Cystic echinococcosis in Central Anatolia, Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: Human cystic echinococcosis (CE) caused by infection with a larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus is a serious public health problem in Turkey. Echinococcosis is a zoonotic disease; dogs and livestock are important hosts in transmission. The aim of this study is to evaluate the rate of CE in Kayseri Rural Area, Central Anatolia, Turkey. METHODS: At the present study, we planned to evaluate the rate of CE in Kayseri rural area in Central Anatolia between 2000 and 2002. We investigated 2,242 subjects using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect fluorescence antibody (IFA), and we examined the seropositivity by using Western blotting (WB). RESULTS: The seropositivity rate was 2.7% by ELISA and IFA. We retested seropositive serum samples and 200 seronegative sera by WB. Seropositive serum samples were studied using abdominal ultrasound and chest x-ray to confirmed the presence of hydatid cyst and we found 10 (0.5%) different localized cysts. CONCLUSION: The results of our study indicate that Kayseri rural area has a high endemicity of human CE.