Social adaptation status of Syrian refugee physicians living in Turkey.

OBJECTIVES: Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria, over 3.5 million Syrians have fled to Turkey. Considering the massive burden of healthcare service needs of this population, the Turkish government has launched an initiative as employing Syrian doctors to provide health services to their citizens in Refugee Health Centres. In this study, we aimed to explore the social adaptation status of Syrian physicians living in Turkey using a structured questionnaire and the Social Adaptation Self Evaluation Scale (SASS). METHODS: Between November 2016 and April 2018, 799 physicians who participated in "Syrian Physicians' Adaptation Training" were enrolled in the study and underwent a structured questionnaire that questioned socio-demographic data and the SASS. The participants were divided into two groups as having poor and normal/high SASS scores. The binary SASS groups were compared with some demographic data. RESULTS: The median SASS score of the respondents was found as 43 (min. 10, max. 60, IQR 10) which can be accepted as normal. In the binary grouping, it was seen that 107 (13.39%) participants had poor social adaptation, whereas 692 (86.61%) participants had normal or high social adaptation scores. The physicians who were certain about not going back to Syria had significantly higher SASS scores. CONCLUSION: The social adaptation scores of the Syrian physicians were considerably high. The adaptation status was found to be associated with some characteristics like living in Turkey for a long time and having pre-knowledge about the Turkish healthcare system.

Insulin initiation status of primary care physicians in Turkey, barriers to insulin initiation and knowledge levels about insulin therapy: A multicenter cross-sectional study.

AIMS: Our aim was to evaluate the insulin initiation status, barriers to insulin initiation and knowledge levels about treatment administered by primary care physicians (PCP). METHODS: We conducted our study in accordance with a multicenter, cross-sectional design in Turkey, between July 2015 and July 2016. A questionnaire inquiring demographic features, status of insulin initiation, obstacles to insulin initiation and knowledge about therapy of the PCPs was administered during face-to-face interviews. RESULTS: 84 PCPs (19%) (n=446, mean age=41.5±8.4years, 62.9% male and 90.0% ministry certified family physicians) initiated insulin therapy in the past. Most of the stated primary barriers (51.9%, n=230) were due to the physicians. The most relevant barrier was "lack of clinical experience" with a rate of 19% (n=84 of the total). The average total knowledge score was 5.7±2.0 for the family medicine specialist, and 3.8±2.1 for the ministry certified family physicians (p=0.000, maximum knowledge score could be 10). CONCLUSIONS: The status of insulin initiation in Turkey by the primary care physicians is inadequate. Medical education programs and health care systems may require restructuring to facilitate insulin initiation in primary care.

Nivel de conocimiento, actitud y experiencias de los profesionales de la salud respecto de la lactancia y la leche materna en una ciudad de Turquía: Estudio transversal / Knowledge level, attitude and own experience of health professionals about breastfeeding and breast milk in a city of Turkey: Cross-sectional study

Introducción. El consenso mundial acerca de la lactancia materna es que el bebé debe ser exclusivamente amamantado hasta los seis meses de vida. A pesar de ello, la tasa de lactancia materna exclusiva es baja durante los primeros seis meses de vida en muchos países, incluida Turquía. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el conocimiento, las actitudes y las experiencias de los profesionales sanitarios en relación con la lactancia y la leche materna en una ciudad metropolitana de Turquía. Materiales y métodos. Este estudio se llevó a cabo entre julio de 2012 y diciembre de 2013. Los sujetos del estudio fueron profesionales de la salud que trabajaban en hospitales universitarios, hospitales de formación e investigación, hospitales públicos y privados, centros de servicios para niños, adolescentes, mujeres y de servicios de salud reproductiva, centros de salud general y centros de salud comunitarios ubicados en Ankara. Los datos se recogieron por medio de un cuestionario. El programa SPSS 11.5 se utilizó para el análisis estadístico. Resultados. En total, 715 personas participaron en este estudio. Entre los que tenían hijos propios, el 3,4% (n= 16) no había amamantado a sus bebés y el 7,6% (n= 36) había amamantado a sus bebés hasta el segundo año de vida. Se observó que el nivel de conocimiento sobre la lactancia y la lecha materna era deficiente en el 28,4% de los participantes, promedio en el 43,1% y adecuado en el 28,5%. Conclusión. Este estudio refleja la falta de conocimiento acerca de la lactancia y la leche materna entre los profesionales de la salud de Turquía. Si bien la gran mayoría de los participantes están de acuerdo con la recomendación de la OMS acerca de la duración de la lactancia materna, el porcentaje de profesionales de la salud que amamantaron durante el período recomendado fue muy bajo.

Introduction: Worldwide consensus about breastfeeding is that the infant should exclusively be breastfed until six months of life. Despite this, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of age is low in so many countries including Turkey. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, the attitudes and the own experiences of health professionals about breastfeeding and breast milk, in a metropolitan city in Turkey. Materials and methods: This study was performed between July 2012 and December 2013. Study subjects included healthprofessionals working in the university hospitals, research and training hospitals, public and private hospitals; child, adolescent, women and reproductive health services centers, family health centers, and community health centers located in Ankara. A questionnaire was used to collect data. SPSS 11.5 package program was used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 715 people participated in this study. From those who had children themselves 3.4% (n= 16) had not breastfed their babies at all, and 7.6% (n= 36) had breastfed their baby until second year of age. It was found that 28.4% of the participants had poor, 43.1% had average and 28.5% had good knowledge level about breastfeeding and breast milk. Conclusion: This study reflects the lack of knowledge about breastfeeding and breast milk among the health professionals in Turkey. Although a great majority of participants agree the recommendation of WHO about the duration ofbreastfeeding, the percentage ofbreastfeeding of health care professionals during recommended period was very low.

Knowledge level, attitude and own experience of health professionals about breastfeeding and breast milk in a city of Turkey: Cross-sectional study. / Nivel de conocimiento, actitud y experiencias de los profesionales de la salud respecto de la lactancia y la leche materna en una ciudad de Turquía: Estudio transversal.

INTRODUCTION: Worldwide consensus about breastfeeding is that the infant should exclusively be breastfed until six months of life. Despite this, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of age is low in so many countries including Turkey. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, the attitudes and the own experiences of health professionals about breastfeeding and breast milk, in a metropolitan city in Turkey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was performed between July 2012 and December 2013. Study subjects included healthprofessionals working in the university hospitals, research and training hospitals, public and private hospitals; child, adolescent, women and reproductive health services centers, family health centers, and community health centers located in Ankara. A questionnaire was used to collect data. SPSS 11.5 package program was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 715 people participated in this study. From those who had children themselves 3.4% (n= 16) had not breastfed their babies at all, and 7.6% (n= 36) had breastfed their baby until second year of age. It was found that 28.4% of the participants had poor, 43.1% had average and 28.5% had good knowledge level about breastfeeding and breast milk. CONCLUSION: This study reflects the lack of knowledge about breastfeeding and breast milk among the health professionals in Turkey. Although a great majority of participants agree the recommendation of WHO about the duration ofbreastfeeding, the percentage ofbreastfeeding of health care professionals during recommended period was very low.

INTRODUCCIÓN: El consenso mundial acerca de la lactancia materna es que el bebé debe ser exclusivamente amamantado hasta los seis meses de vida. A pesar de ello, la tasa de lactancia materna exclusiva es baja durante los primeros seis meses de vida en muchos países, incluida Turquía. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el conocimiento, las actitudes y las experiencias de los profesionales sanitarios en relación con la lactancia y la leche materna en una ciudad metropolitana de Turquía. MATERIALES Y MÉTODOS: Este estudio se llevó a cabo entre julio de 2012 y diciembre de 2013. Los sujetos del estudio fueron profesionales de la salud que trabajaban en hospitales universitarios, hospitales de formación e investigación, hospitales públicos y privados, centros de servicios para niños, adolescentes, mujeres y de servicios de salud reproductiva, centros de salud general y centros de salud comunitarios ubicados en Ankara. Los datos se recogieron por medio de un cuestionario. El programa SPSS 11.5 se utilizó para el análisis estadístico. RESULTADOS: En total, 715 personas participaron en este estudio. Entre los que tenían hijos propios, el 3,4% (n= 16) no había amamantado a sus bebés y el 7,6% (n= 36) había amamantado a sus bebés hasta el segundo año de vida. Se observó que el nivel de conocimiento sobre la lactancia y la lecha materna era deficiente en el 28,4% de los participantes, promedio en el 43,1% y adecuado en el 28,5%. CONCLUSIÓN: Este estudio refleja la falta de conocimiento acerca de la lactancia y la leche materna entre los profesionales de la salud de Turquía. Si bien la gran mayoría de los participantes están de acuerdo con la recomendación de la OMS acerca de la duración de la lactancia materna, el porcentaje de profesionales de la salud que amamantaron durante el período recomendado fue muy bajo.