Evaluating the Effect of Health Education Intervention on the Health Beliefs and Behaviors of First-Degree Female Relatives of Breast Cancer Patients.

Sule OlgunBackground Breast cancer risk increases by 80% in the presence of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations in the same family. In particular, a woman whose sister or mother has breast cancer has a 2- to 5-fold higher risk of developing breast cancer compared with other women. For this reason, recommendations should have been made regarding breast cancer prevention and/or early detection for women with first-degree family history of breast cancer. Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of health education, which was provided to first-degree female relatives of breast cancer patients, on their health beliefs and behaviors. Study Design and Methods The study sample included 50 women with a first-degree relative being treated for breast cancer in the chemotherapy and radiotherapy unit of a university hospital. A one-group pretest-posttest design was used. The pretest consisted of the health belief model scale and a questionnaire regarding the women's sociodemographic information and breast cancer screening behaviors. After the pretest, the patients received health education regarding breast cancer risk factors and screening methods. The posttest was conducted 3 weeks after the education using the same assessment tools. Results After education, there were statistically significant increases in rates of practicing breast self-examination, having clinical breast examinations, and undergoing breast ultrasound/mammography compared with pretest results. Conclusions Health workers should possess knowledge and experience about breast cancer which will enable them to effectively undertake an educational role, especially for high-risk groups such as women with first-degree family history of breast cancer.

Examination of ethical dilemmas experienced by adult intensive care unit nurses in physical restraint practices.

Nurses are more likely to face the dilemma of whether to resort to physical restraints or not and have a hard time making that decision. This is a descriptive study. A total of 55 nurses participated in the research. For data collection, a question form developed by researchers to determine perceptions of ethical dilemmas by nurses in the application of physical restraint was used. A descriptive analysis was made by calculating the mean, standard deviation, and maximum and minimum values. The nurses expressed (36.4%) having difficulty in deciding to use physical restraint. Nurses reported that they experience ethical dilemmas mainly in relation to the ethic principles of nonmaleficence, beneficence, and convenience. We have concluded that majority of nurses working in critical care units apply physical restraint to patients, although they are facing ethical dilemmas concerning harm and benefit principles during the application.

The effect of nail polish on pulse oximetry readings.

INTRODUCTION: Pulse oximeters utilise the pulsatile nature of arterial blood flow to distinguish it from venous flow and estimate oxygen saturation in arterial blood. Pulse oximetry is primarily used in hospital wards, emergency rooms, intensive care units, operating rooms and home care. AIM: The objective of this study is to determine whether the use of nail polish of various colours have an effect on oximeter readings of oxygen saturation value. METHOD: The sample group of this study is comprised of 40 healthy women. In the first phase of the study, readings were taken on left and right hand fingers, with no nail polish, to determine any differences in oxygen saturation value. In the second phase of the study, 10 different colours of nail polish, namely dark red, yellow, dark blue, green, purple, brown, white, metallic, black and pink, of the same brand were applied. Readings were recorded once oxygen saturation values on the screen became stable. Number and percentage distributions along with Wilcoxon signed ranks and Friedman test were used in the analysis of data. CONCLUSION: Only red nail polish did not yield statistically significant reading results. We conclude that different nail polish colours cause a clinically significant change in pulse oximeter readings in healthy volunteers.

The effect of nurse-performed preoperative skin preparation on postoperative surgical site infections in abdominal surgery.

AIM: To determine the effect of preoperative skin preparation procedures performed by nurses on postoperative surgical site infection in abdominal surgery. BACKGROUND: Despite all interventions, postoperative SSIs still greatly affect mortality and morbidity. DESIGN: This is an experimental study. METHODS: Procedures developed for nurse application of preoperative skin preparations were tested on a control group (n = 39) and study group (n = 43). RESULTS: Only clinical routines for preoperative skin preparation were performed on the control group patients. Control group members' skins were mostly prepared by shaving with a razor blade (41%). For the study group members, the researchers used the preoperative skin preparation procedure. Clippers were used to prepare 55.8% of study group members while 44.2% of them were not treated with the clipper because their wounds were clean. As a requirement of the procedure, all members of the study group had a chlorhexidine bath at least twice after being hospitalised and at least once a night before the operation under controlled conditions. In the group where chlorhexidine bath was not applied, the infection risk was found to be 4.76 times (95%CI = 1.20-18.83) greater even after corrections for age and gender had been made. The difference between control group and study group with respect to surgical site infections was also statistically significant (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Preoperative skin preparation using clipper on the nights before an operation and a 50 ml chlorhexidine bath excluding head area taken twice in the pre-operative period are useful to reduce SSI during postoperative period. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: We find that preoperative skin preparation using the procedures developed as a result of findings of this study is useful in reducing surgical site infection during the postoperative period.