Predisposing factors of health promotion behaviors and health literacy in adolescents: A cross-sectional design.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to measure health promotion behaviors, health literacy (HL) levels, and their predisposing factors among adolescents. DESIGN: A cross-sectional design was used. SAMPLE: The study was completed by 1046 students aged 11-14 years. MEASUREMENTS: Data were collected via the HL for School-Aged Children Scale and the Adolescent Health Promotion Scale. RESULTS: HL was significantly associated with gender, participation in sport activities, and health promotion behaviors. There was no confounding factor for HL. Adolescent health promotion behaviors were significantly associated with academic level, weight perception, participation in sport activities, and HL. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses could improve communication and decision-making skills related to health behaviors and learn how to obtain health-related knowledge to promote the health of adolescents.

Fatalism tendency and health beliefs about medication use in older adults: A predictive correlational design.

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to investigate fatalism tendency and health beliefs about medication use and to identify predisposing factors of these variables among older adults. METHODS: A predictive correlational design was used. The study was completed with 500 older adults. A personal information form, the Fatalism Tendency Scale, and the Drug Use Health Beliefs Scale were used to collect data. Univariate and multiple linear regression analysis was performed for data analysis. RESULTS: Fatalism tendency was found to be high in older adults who used medications prescribed by the physician in different ways, used the medications more than the recommended amount, and used medications at random intervals. Older adults who used over-the-counter medications and discontinued the medications before the due date had lower health beliefs about conscious and prescription medication use. CONCLUSIONS: The study concluded that characteristics regarding medication use predicted both fatalism tendencies and medication use health beliefs. Health perception was found to be one of the predisposing factors of medication use health beliefs, whereas education level was another predictive factor of fatalism tendency.

Difficulties Experienced by Turkish Parents With Children in Pediatric Palliative Care: An Exploratory Qualitative Study.

We aimed to identify the difficulties of the parents of pediatric palliative care patients and how they cope with these problems in this qualitative study in Turkey. This study was carried out with 20 parents by in-depth interviews. Content analysis was used for data analysis. Four themes were identified: The problems in the process of acceptance, the difficulties of being at the hospital, the expectations from the health staff, the coping strategies. The families had difficulties in coping with the end-of-life of their children. Future researches may focus on the effectiveness of family-centered care and the experience of parents with its implementation. The findings suggest that social support resources and coping strategies can play an important role in the acceptance of the child's disease process and maintenance of palliative care effectively.

Nutrition-Exercise Behaviors, Health Literacy Level, and Related Factors in Adolescents in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Health behaviors of adolescents affect their health and well-being into adulthood. This study was conducted to determine the nutrition-exercise behaviors, health literacy level, and related factors in adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used for this study. Overall, 810 students in grades 6-8 in a Turkish school completed the study. A personal information form, the Nutrition-Exercise Behaviors Scale, and the Health Literacy for School-Aged Children Scale were used for data collection. RESULTS: According to the mean score of the Health Literacy Scale, 21% of the students had a low level of health literacy, 63.8% had a medium level, and 15.2% had a high level. A positive correlation was found between health literacy level and healthy nutrition-exercise behavior (r = 0.345, p < .001), and a positive correlation between health literacy level and meal pattern (r = 0.230, p < .001). A positive correlation (r = 0.385, p < .001) was found between meal pattern and healthy nutrition-exercise behavior. A moderate positive correlation (r = 0.510, p < .001) was found between unhealthy nutrition-exercise behavior and psychological/addicted eating behavior. CONCLUSION: The present study revealed that nutrition-exercise behaviors and the health literacy of adolescents were at a moderate level and, there was a relationship between nutrition-exercise behaviors and health literacy levels in adolescents. Interventions should be planned and followed through with parents to help adolescents adopt healthy nutrition and exercise behaviors from an early age and to increase their health literacy level. In this context, it is recommended to implement training and intervention programs for adolescents and their families.

Adaptation difficulty and religious coping styles for the elderly in Turkey.

BACKGROUND: Many physical and psychosocial changes occur in elderly people due to aging. These changes affect the adaptation, coping style, and quality of life of elderly people. This study was conducted to determine the adaptation difficulty to the process of aging and religious coping styles used by elderly people. METHODS: The research was conducted as a cross-sectional type. The sample consisted of 505 elderly people from seven family health centres of a city in Turkey. Data were collected via a personal information form, the Assessment Scale of Adaptation Difficulty for the Elderly, and the Religious Coping Scale. RESULTS: The adaptation difficulty for the elderly total mean score was 0.52 (SD = 0.56). The positive religious coping mean score was 23.49 (SD = 5.30), and the negative religious coping mean score was 7.88 (SD = 3.20). While there was a negative weak relationship between the adaptation difficulty for the elderly and the positive religious coping (r = -0.147, P = 0.001), there was no significant relation between the adaptation difficulty for the elderly and the negative religious coping (r = -0.028, P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results revealed that adaptation difficulty to the process of aging is low, elderly people use positive coping strategies, and adaptation to old age increased as positive coping strategies were used. Factors that affect religious coping must be considered to improve the health of elderly people.

Prevalence of elder abuse among community-dwelling older adults in Turkey and its associated factors.

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to determine the prevalence of elder abuse among community-dwelling older adults and its associated risk factors. METHODS: The sample in this cross-sectional study consisted of 691 older adults. Data were collected with an elder abuse and neglect assessment form, which had been prepared by the researchers in accordance with the literature. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors related to subtypes of elder abuse. RESULTS: In this study, 13.6% of the elderly subjects (n = 94) were exposed to at least one instance of abusive behaviour within the last year; emotional abuse was the most frequently occurring type of abuse. Risk factors for abuse were being 75 years old or older (odds ratio (OR) = 1.993, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.105-3.592), being illiterate (OR = 4.863, 95%CI: 2.809-8.417), lack of own income (OR = 2.189, 95%CI: 1.179-4.064), having bad family relationships (OR = 20.564, 95%CI: 5.453-77.554), and lack of own home (OR = 3.945,; 95%CI: 1.167-13.330). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study showed that abuse was an important problem for the elderly population. Therefore, elderly individuals, especially those who are 75 years old or older, have a low education level, lack their own home, and lack their own income, should be evaluated for abuse.

Incidence of falls among community-dwelling older adults in Turkey and its relationship with pain and insomnia.

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of falls among community-dwelling older adults and the impact of pain and insomnia on falls. METHODS: This cross-sectional study recruited 659 older adults. Pain was assessed by the Geriatric Pain Measure, and insomnia was assessed by the Insomnia Severity Index. The history of falls was assessed within the last 12 months. Risk factors for falls were determined using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The incidence of falls within the last year was 37.2%. Based on the analyses, pain and insomnia were found to be risk factors for falls. CONCLUSION: In this study, falls were observed as a common problem among community-dwelling older adults, and pain and insomnia were determined as risk factors for falls. Therefore, pain and insomnia should be addressed when prevention of falls among community-dwelling older adults are planned by health care professionals including nurses.

Attitudes to ageing and their relationship with quality of life in older adults in Turkey.

AIM: With the increase in life expectancy, it has become necessary to expand our knowledge of how older individuals perceive their own ageing and how ageing affects their quality of life. The aim of the study was to determine older adults' attitudes towards ageing and the relationship between attitudes and quality of life among community-dwelling older adults in Turkey. METHODS: This cross-sectional and correlational study was conducted in Zonguldak, Turkey. The sample included 999 community-dwelling older adults, who were selected from five family health centres. The data were collected between April and June 2015 by using the Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument-Older Adults Module. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the predictive value of attitude to ageing on quality of life. RESULTS: Multiple regression analysis revealed that the subscales of Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire (psychosocial loss (ß = -0.289), physical change (ß = 0.296), and psychological growth (ß = 0.279)) were statistically significant predictors of quality of life. Attitudes to ageing explained 46.6% of the quality of life among community-dwelling older adults in Turkey (R2 = 0.466). CONCLUSION: The significant impact of attitudes to ageing on quality of life suggests the need for better recognition of attitudes to ageing in older adults.

Parental Attitudes Perceived by Adolescents, and Their Tendency for Violence and Affecting Factors.

Parental attitude is an important factor for adolescents to establish healthy-unhealthy relationships with their environment and to develop a tendency for violence. This study was performed to determine parental attitudes perceived by high school students and their tendency for violence and the affecting factors. This cross-sectional correlational study was conducted with 2,000 high school students. Data were collected by a questionnaire, Parental Attitude Scale, and Violence Tendency Scale. In the study, it was found that mean scores of the students for democratic attitude were higher than protective or authoritarian attitudes. Factors such as grade level, age, sex, education level of the parents, family type, income level, number of siblings, birth order, state of being exposed to domestic violence, and tendency for violence affected perceived parental attitude. It was also determined that violence tendency of the students was at a moderate level, and students who were studying at higher grades, who were among an older age group in parallel to grade level, who were males, whose mothers were employed, whose fathers had less than an primary education, whose incomes were less than the expenses, and who experienced domestic violence showed more tendency for violence. In addition, it was determined that tendency for violence decreased as democratic parental attitudes perceived by the students increased, and tendency for violence increased as protective and authoritarian attitude increased. It is recommended to plan regular family training programs to inform families about the relationship between family attitude and tenancy for violence, to strengthen the communication between parents and children, and to support and improve parenting skills of the parents.