Nutritional behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic: the association of fear and sleep quality with emotional eating.

PURPOSE: Even though it is known that fear and poor sleep quality trigger emotional eating, whether fear and poor sleep quality are associated with emotional eating during the COVID-19 pandemic is not clear. This study aimed to evaluate the association of fear of COVID-19, sleep quality, and some sociodemographic characteristics with emotional eating during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: This cross-sectional descriptive study was completed with 495 participants in Turkey. The participants filled out a questionnaire that asked about sociodemographic characteristics, fear of COVID-19, nutritional behaviors, sleep quality, and self-reported weight and height through email or social media. RESULTS: The fear of COVID-19 score (ß: 0.090, p < 0.05) and sleep quality score (ß: 0.289, p < 0.001) were associated with the emotional eating score at the rate of 0.8% and 8.3%, respectively. The association of fear of COVID-19 with emotional eating disappeared when combined with various factors. The collective association of all factors, fear of COVID-19 (ß: 0.042, p > 0.05), sleep quality (ß: 0.246, p < 0.001), BMI (ß: 0.275, p < 0.001), age (ß: - 0.259, p < 0.001) and gender (ß: - 0.169, p < 0.001) were associated with the emotional eating score at the rate of 18.3%. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that fear of COVID-19, sleep quality, BMI, age, and gender were associated with emotional eating during the pandemic. We hope that this study will help in the development of guidelines and strategies through understanding the factors associated with nutritional behavior during the pandemic period. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.

Predictors of COVID-19 preventive behaviours in a sample of the Turkish population.

AIM: This research aimed to determine predictors of COVID-19 preventive behaviours in a sample of the Turkish population. METHODS: The study was conducted with 575 individuals. COVID-19 preventive behaviours were evaluated with a 19-item scale scored from 19 to 95. Knowledge on COVID-19 was evaluated with a 22-item scale scored from 0 to 22. General health literacy was evaluated with the Turkey Health Literacy Scale (THLS), which was scored from 0 to 50. RESULTS: The average COVID-19 preventive behaviours score was moderately high in this sample of the Turkish population. Being female, having a higher level of education, better economic status, being a non-smoker, having a higher level of COVID-19 knowledge and better general health literacy score were significant predictors of COVID-19 preventive behaviours (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge of COVID-19 and general health literacy are crucial in preventing COVID-19 infections in a sample of the Turkish population.

Effectiveness of Two Different Methods on the Perceived Pain and Satisfaction During Intramuscular Antibiotic Injection: ShotBlocker and Local Vibration.

In this study aimed to examine the effectiveness of ShotBlocker and local vibration on the perceived pain and satisfaction during intramuscular antibiotic injection. The sample of the randomized controlled experimental study consisted of 100 patients (32 in vibration group, 35 in ShotBlocker group, 33 in control group) who applied to the adult emergency clinic for antibiotic (amoxicillin/cefuroxime sodium) injection between April and May 2021. The study data were collected using the Structured Information Form, VAS for Pain and VAS for Satisfaction. CONSORT statement was followed for reporting. After the intramuscular antibiotic injection, a significant difference was found between the groups in terms of the mean scores of VAS for Pain and VAS for Injection Satisfaction (p < .001). It was determined that local vibration application was more effective in reducing the pain and in increasing satisfaction that occurs during intramuscular antibiotic injection according to ShotBlocker and control groups.

The association of perceived sociability and social intelligence with loneliness in online learning among nursing students.

BACKGROUND: As a result of the decrease in socialization levels in computer-supported collaborative learning settings and/or interactions in social environments during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the adverse influence on the social intelligence development of nursing students could trigger loneliness. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of perceived sociability and social intelligence on loneliness in online learning among nursing students in Turkey. DESIGN: Descriptive, correlational and predictive study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 246 nursing students in the Nursing Department of a state university in the Istanbul province of Turkey were included. METHODS: Data were collected using the Participant Information Form, Sociability Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale-8 (ULS-8) for the Adolescents, and Tromso Social Intelligence Scale (TSIS) between November 2020 and December 2020. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of loneliness. A p value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The total mean Sociability Scale score was 23.54 ± 7.51 (range: 10-46). The total mean TSIS score was 74.15 ± 9.98 (range: 46-105) and the total mean ULS-8 was 13.91 ± 4.98 (range: 7-27). Perceived sociability in online learning (ß = -0.321, p < .001), and social intelligence (ß = -0.347, p < .001) were significant negative predictors (R2 = 0.269, p < .001) of loneliness. CONCLUSION: Perceived sociability in online learning and social intelligence was associated with the level of loneliness of this population during online learning.

The effects of fear of COVID-19, loneliness, and resilience on the quality of life in older adults living in a nursing home.

This study aimed to evaluate the fear of COVID-19, loneliness, resilience, and quality of life levels in older adults in a nursing home during the pandemic, and the effects of these variables and descriptive characteristics on their quality of life. Data were collected using a participant information form, the Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE), the Brief Resilience Scale, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S), the Loneliness Scale for Elderly (LSE), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF Turkish Version (WHOQOL-BREF-TR). Regarding the WHOQOL-BREF-TR scale, being male, history of chronic disease, MMSE score, and the changes in sleep pattern significantly affected the physical dimension (R2=0.353, p<0.01) while age, and MMSE and LSE scores significantly affected the psychological dimension (R2=0.364, p<0.01). Also, the MMSE, FCV-19S, and LSE scores significantly affected the social relations dimension (R2=0.234, p<0.01) while MMSE, FCV-19S, and LSE scores significantly affected the environmental dimension (R2=0.351, p<0.01).

Effects of Swallowing Training and Follow-up on the Problems Associated with Dysphagia in Patients with Stroke.

AIM: This study aimed to determine the effect of poststroke swallowing training and follow-up on swallowing function, nutritional status, and the development of problems associated with dysphagia. METHOD: This study was designed as a single-group, pretest-posttest, quasi-experimental study and was conducted with 32 patients, who met the inclusion criteria for the study and were hospitalized with a diagnosis of acute stroke in the neurology clinic of a training and research hospital between June 2010 and September 2011. The patients were provided with swallowing training, followed up during meals, and given a training brochure. The Structured Information Form, the Standardized Mini Mental Test, the Barthel Index, and the Bedside Water Drinking Assessment Test were used to collect the data. Data were analyzed by the SPSS 16.0 program using descriptive and comparative statistical methods. TREND statement was followed for reporting. RESULTS: It was determined that there was a statistically highly significant difference (p < .01) between the mean total score of the bedside water drinking assessment test after training compared with before the swallowing training, the duration of eating shortened (p < .01), and the amount of food consumed increased (p < .01) in the first follow-up. It was determined that the patients stayed in the hospital for an average of 9.75 ± 3.44 days; and aspiration occurred in 9.4% of them during this period. It was observed that patients who developed aspiration had prior lung problems. CONCLUSION: It was observed that swallowing training decreased the duration of eating and increased the amount of food consumed in patients with stroke and resulting dysphagia. It was considered that the implementation of the training and the follow-up of swallowing function could be useful in preventing the development of problems.

Evaluation of health related quality of life in patients with Parkinsons disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the socio-demographic and clinical feature of patients with Parkinson`s disease, their health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and the relationship between these. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty Hospital, and Ministry of Health, Taksim and Haseki Education and Research Hospitals in Istanbul, Turkey. The sample consisted of 80 Parkinson`s disease patients who attended the Parkinson`s and Movement Disorders Outpatient Clinics between March and July 2006. Data were collected using the questionnaire form, which included socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, the Hoehn and Yahr clinical staging scale, the Unified Parkinson`s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), and the Nottingham Health Profile. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 67.5 +/- 8.76 years, 62.5% were males, and approximately 47.5% were in stage one of Parkinson`s disease. The highest mean score on the UPDRS was for the "motor function" part (11.62 +/- 7.45); the quality of life dimensions of, in particular, "energy" (69.79 +/- 21.17), "physical movement" (44.95 +/- 24.23), "sleep" (36.36 +/- 31.96), and "emotional reactions" (35.01 +/- 31.55) were affected. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that patients with Parkinson`s disease who experienced the most problems in mobilizing, had an increase in their scores on the UPDRS with the advancing stage of the disease, and their HRQoL was also negatively affected. Studies such as this one have the potential to improve the quality of individualized care.