Violent Discipline Behaviors in Mothers of Preschool Children in Malatya, East Anatolia.

Violent parenting behavior, whether physical or psychological, give harms to child well-being. This study was conducted to describe and compare the prevalence of discipline methods used by mothers of 2- to 5-year-old children in Malatya, Turkey. This is a cross sectional study and 552 mothers were administered a face-to-face questionnaire describe the methods they use to discipline their children in the year previous the survey. It was observed that nine of 10 women used violence on their children physically and psychologically. The study showed that nine of 10 mothers used physical and/or psychological punishment toward their children in the previous year. Nonviolent discipline was less prevalent than punitive discipline, such as psychological and physical punishment. The most commonly used method was psychological punishment. Significant sociodemographic associations with discipline methods were found. Mother's educational level, family income, child gender, and child age were the independent predictors that explained discipline methods used by mothers. Starting parenting classes and strengthening the child protection systems at national level were suggested.

[The lifetime and point prevalence of neck, upper back and low back pain of the people living in central Malatya with influencing factors]. / Malatya il merkezinde yasayan bireylerde boyun, sirt ve bel agrisi prevalanslari ve etkileyen faktörler.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the lifetime and point prevalence of neck, upper back and low back pain of people living in central Malatya with influencing factors. METHODS: This research study is a cross-sectional interview survey. Thirty health house spots tied to the health clinics in the city center were chosen as thirty sets with the method of sampling and 600 people by taking 20 people from each set were included in the research. The data were collected between the 1st of June and the 1st of September. The association between pain prevalence and socio-demographic, health and behavior related characteristics were evaluated. Chi-square and backward stepwise logistic regression tests were used in the analyses. RESULTS: Of the participants, 56.2% were women, 46.8% were men, and the mean age was 38.5±0.5 years. The lifetime neck, upper back and low back prevalence were 79.3%, 59.5% and 86.3%, respectively. The point prevalence of neck, upper back and low back were 12.0%, 3.0% and 18.3%, in that order. Gender, age, and psychological problems were determined to be the main predictors of life time pain prevalence. For point pain prevalences, the main predictors were gender, psychological problems and body mass index. CONCLUSION: Both lifetime and point pain prevalence showed that musculoskeletal disorders symptoms were common in the central Malatya region. In-service training of health personnel on the subject, assessment, notification, and prevention methods should be developed.

[The rates of seropositivity and seroconversion of toxoplasma infection in pregnant women]. / Gebelerde Toksoplazma Enfeksiyonunun Seropozitiflik ve Serokonversiyon Oranlari

Infections caused by Toxoplasma gondii are frequently asymptomatic in healthy adults, however they may be serious in pregnant women and immunocompromised patients. The aims of this study were to investigate the rates of seropositivity and seroconversion in pregnant women and newborn cord blood samples, and to evaluate those data in the view of relation to lifestyle and nutrition. A total of 312 pregnant women (mean age: 28.1 ± 5.2 years) who were admitted to and followed by gynecology clinics of Inonu University Medical School Hospital, Malatya, Turkey were included in this observational and cross-sectional study. Anti-toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies in pregnants and newborn cord sera were screened by commercial ELISA and immunofluorescence antibody (BioTek; USA) methods. A total of 312 sera from pregnant women and 312 cord blood samples during delivery were collected. IgG seropositivity rate in pregnants was found as 37.5% (117/312), seroconversion was not determined in restrained pregnants and T.gondii IgM was found negative in all pregnants. Also in all newborns IgM was negative and IgG seropositivity was determined as 33.3% (104/312) in cord blood. There was a statistically significant relationship between IgG seropositivity and raw meat consumption (p< 0.001) and being engaged in agriculture (p< 0.005). It was concluded that toxoplasma antibodies should routinely be searched on the first visit of the pregnants and the seronegative cases should be trained about the preventive measures related to toxoplasmosis. The follow-up of toxoplasma seronegative cases during pregnancy can be achieved by only detecting the IgM class antibodies and this will also reduce the cost of screen test.

A household survey: unintentional injury frequency and related factors among children under five years in Malatya.

Accidents constitute a major public health problem around the world. They are one of the leading causes of death among children under five, with residential accidents accounting for the majority. Since there is no recording system that provides routine and reliable data about accidents, the data about the frequency of accidents and related factors are available only through researches. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of injury-producing accidents and related factors among children aged under five who live in Malatya city center. In this cross-sectional epidemiological study, we covered first each regional health center in Malatya city center, a total of 30 clusters out of the population using a proportional systematic sampling method, and in turn, a sample size of 704 children under five. The frequency of injury-producing accidents was determined as 12.6%. The majority of the accidents occurred in the house, and 65.3% of them were due to falls; in 65.1%, accidents occurred in the presence of the mother. The frequency of the accidents was highest for the 4-5 age group (14.1%) and lowest among those < or = 1 year. It was found that maternal age < or = 30 (odds ratio [OR] = 1.9) and patient age of 4-5 years (OR = 5.4) primarily affected the chances of having an accident. A drawing of a kitchen setting, representing a total of 13 accident-producing risks, was given to the mothers, who were able to define an average of only 5.1 +/- 0.2 risks. The average number of risks defined by the mothers was found to be associated with the age of the child, educational background of the mother, her occupation, type of family, and monthly family income. No relation was determined between the accident risk awareness and accident frequency. In conclusion, the injury-producing accident frequency among children aged under five in central Malatya was found to be high. Given the finding that children have accidents in the presence of their mothers, it seems reasonable to provide mothers with parenting applications and training programs to reduce the home-based risks.

The prevalence of nutritional anemia in pregnancy in an east Anatolian province, Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Anemia is considered a severe public health problem by World Health Organization when anemia prevalence is equal to or greater than 40% in the population. The purpose of this study was to determine the anemia prevalence with the associated factors in pregnant women and to determine the serum iron, folate and B12 vitamin status in anaemic pregnants in Malatya province. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional survey. A multi-sage stratified probability-proportional-to-size cluster sampling methodology was used. A total of 823 pregnant women from sixty clusters were studied. Women were administered a questionnaire related with the subject and blood samples were drawn. Total blood count was performed within four hours and serum iron, folate and B12 vitamin were studied after storing sera at -20 C for six months. RESULTS: Anemia prevalence was 27.1% (Hb < 11.0 gr/dl). Having four or more living children (OR = 2.2), being at the third trimester (OR = 2.3) and having a low family income (OR = 1.6) were determined as the independent predictors of anemia in pregnancy. Anemia was also associated with soil eating (PICA) in the univariate analysis (p < 0.05). Of anaemic women, 50.0% had a transferrin saturation less than 10% indicating iron deficiency, 34.5% were deficient in B12 vitamin and 71.7% were deficient in folate. Most of the anemias were normocytic-normochromic (56.5%) indicating mixed anemia. CONCLUSIONS: In Malatya, for pregnant women anemia was a moderate public health problem. Coexisting of iron, folate and B vitamin deficiencies was observed among anaemics. To continue anemia control strategies with reasonable care and diligence was recommended.

Iodine deficiency in pregnant women in eastern Turkey (Malatya Province): 7 years after the introduction of mandatory table salt iodization.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the urinary I excretion of pregnant women in Malatya Province, eastern Turkey. DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional study was performed on pregnant women in urban and rural settlements of Malatya Province. SUBJECTS: Urinary I excretion was measured for 824 pregnant women who were randomly selected using a probability-proportional-to-size sampling methodology. RESULTS: Median urinary I concentration (UIC) of pregnant women was 77.4 microg/l. The percentage of pregnant women with UIC below 100 microg/l was 83.3. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that I deficiency disorders (IDD) is still a problem in Malatya Province and most certainly in other parts of the country. Proper monitoring of I content of the salt sold or used in the area, in order to strengthen the IDD intervention programme, is suggested.

The effectiveness of an education program on stages of smoking behavior for workers at a factory in Turkey.

The aim of the study was to determine the smoking behavior based on "stages of change" model of the workers and to assess the effectiveness of a education program at a workplace. The first step was descriptive and the second step was an experimental study. The intervention group received an smoking cessation education. Before intervention 36% of the intervention group were at precontemplation stage. Six months after the intervention decline the percentage of those at precontemplation stage was significantly lower. In the control group there was not a significant reduction in the percentages of smokers at precontemplation stage before and after the intervention. After the 6 months the "maintenance" stage rates were 6% and 2% in the intervention and control groups, respectively. The study showed that the education in factory for workers could not be successful in quiting, however it impacted the intention and preparation of to quit in the future.

Prevalence of goiter and urinary iodine status of 7-11-year-old children in Malatya province, Turkey.

Goiter prevalence and urinary iodine excretion levels were assessed in 568 schoolchildren (317 boys and 251 girls), aged 7-11 years, living in the Malatya province, a well-known endemic goiter area in Turkey. Five hundred sixty-eight children aged 7-11 years consented to thyroid gland palpation and provided a urine sample on the day of examination in April 2004. Median urinary iodine concentration for the total group was 66 microg/L. There was an association between presence of goiter or not and urinary iodine levels (67 microg/L versus 62 microg/L, p=0.000). The median urinary iodine concentration was lower in rural areas than in urban areas (54.6 microg/L versus 59.7 microg/L, respectively) and schoolchildren living in rural areas had significantly lower urinary iodine levels (p=0.000). In conclusion, the present study reports mild iodine deficiency in the Malatya province, despite a mandatory iodization program in Turkey which has been in force since 1998.

Physical, emotional and sexual violence during pregnancy in Malatya, Turkey.

BACKGROUND: In Turkey, violence against women was established as a critical area of concern related to women and various prevention strategies have been developed since 1980. There are limited numbers of studies on violence during pregnancy in the country. This study was performed to determine the prevalence of physical, emotional and sexual violence during pregnancy in Malatya province and the associated factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional interview survey was conducted among pregnant women living in Malatya province between October 2003 and May 2004. Stratified probability-proportional-to-size sampling methodology was used for selecting the study population. A total of 824 pregnant women from 60 clusters were studied. Association between violence prevalences and womens' sociodemographic, fertility and behavioural characteristics were evaluated. RESULTS: During pregnancy 31.7% of women were exposed to any form of violence. Emotional violence was the most frequently reported form (26.7%), followed by sexual (9.7%) and physical violence (8.1%). Regular smoking [odds ratio (OR) 1.6], unwanted pregnancy (OR 1.8), living in urban area (OR 1.5), low education level of husband (OR 1.7), low family income (OR 1.9) and being in second trimester (OR 1.4) were determined to be the main predictors of overall violence during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: Violence during pregnancy is a common public health problem in Malatya. Low education level in partners, low family income, husband's unemployment, urban settlement, unwanted pregnancy and smoking should alert health staff towards violence at pregnancy and training of health personnel on the subject is recommended.

AIDS awareness and knowledge among married women living in Malatya (Turkey): implications for province-based prevention programs.

The study was performed in 2003 to obtain baseline information on married women's knowledge of AIDS/HIV in Malatya, Turkey. The aim was to reach 1% of the population by covering 1200 married women out of 120,034 whose ages ranged from 15-49. Stratified systematic random sampling was used according to 17 health center lists. Although median HIV/AIDS knowledge score was found to be 70 (highest score was 100), it was also seen that clinical properties of the disease were not recognized adequately. The main resources of knowledge were visual (93%) and printed material (35%). These findings show that media based information does not seem to be sufficient. Therefore, it is recommended that health education should be inserted in the school curriculum and health personnel should inform the women.

University hospital physicians' attitudes and practices for smoking cessation counseling in Malatya, Turkey.

The aim of the study is to determine attitudes and self-reported practices performance for smoking cessation counseling of the physicians working at a university hospital in Malatya, Turkey. All physicians who were providing health care to adult patients in 19 outpatient clinics at the hospital were administered a self-reported questionnaire. Of the physicians, 26.5% reported that they were always asking about their patients' smoking history and 22.6% were always advising their smoker patients to quit. Men non-smoker physicians more often practiced counseling than men smoker physicians. Negative attitudes of physicians about smoking cessation counseling negatively effected their practices. Negative attitudes were significantly higher among men smoker physicians than non-smokers but attitudes did not differ among female smoker and non-smoker physicians. The findings showed that smoking cessation counseling was rarely practiced by physicians and physicians' practices differed by their smoking behavior, departments and attitudes towards smoking cessation.