Prevalence and determinants of behavioral risk factors for noncommunicable diseases among students aged 13-19 years in Turkey.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and determinants of behavioral risk factors for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) among students aged 13-19 years in Turkey. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included a total of 1218 high-school students (mean age = 15.97 years; 57.6 % females) in Turkey. A facilitated survey in the form of a questionnaire was used to gather data. Questions from the Global School-Based Student Health Survey were adapted for the study, and the responses were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 28. Binary logistic regression and Poisson regression were applied to identify the contributing factors. RESULTS: The prevalence of inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption was 85.5 %, sedentary leisure behavior 80.9 %, physical inactivity 65.3 %, carbonated soft drink consumption 60.4 %, overweight or obesity 38.1 %, current tobacco use 23.1 %, and current alcohol use 14.5 %. The adjusted Poisson regression analysis showed that the odds for having behavioral risk factors were increased by being male, being in grade 11, and attending physical education classes, whereas the odds were reduced by having multiple psychological distress issues, regularly attending school, and having moderate or high parental support. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of clustering of modifiable risk factors for NCDs was high among students aged 13-19 years in Turkey, and there is a need to mount effective interventions. Risk factors for these diseases are often preventable: Appropriate health interventions before, during, and after pregnancy as well as throughout childhood and adolescence can significantly reduce their prevalence.

Determination of sexual developmental characteristics of adolescents with intellectual disabilities.

This cross-sectional study was carried out in order to determine the opinions of mothers on sexual development in children with intellectual disabilities. The sampling of this study included mothers of children aged 10-19 years with moderate and severe intellectual disabilities. Of the mothers, 45.7% stated that they felt incapable of providing sexual education to their adolescent children with disabilities and 97.6% stated that they had received no information on this subject themselves. Based on the mothers' opinions, the mean score for the sexual development of adolescent children was 11.33 ± 16.18. In the sub-dimensions of sexual arousal (20.97 ± 5.71), sexual harassment (12.22 ± 3.13), sexual satisfaction (15.79 ± 3.85) and sharing sexual issues (12.74 ± 2.67) the mean score of the scale was found to be high. The knowledge levels of the mothers concerning the sexual development of their children with intellectual disabilities were found to be low, and they required education on this issue.

The implementation of child rights in healthcare services.

BACKGROUND: Hospitalized children have the right to "partake in practices related to their treatment and care." Midwives and nurses have important roles and responsibilities regarding the protection and enforcement of these rights, such as providing information and advocating for children. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to determine the attitudes of midwives and nurses toward their roles and responsibilities in the implementation of child rights in healthcare services and the factors affecting their attitudes. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study included 122 midwives and nurses in total. The data were collected through a questionnaire. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Written permission was obtained from an ethics committee in the center of the city where the research was conducted. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 36.70 ± 8.03 years; 58.9% of midwives and nurses stated that they understood the child's consent about the treatment by looking at the child's facial expression; 36% of midwives and nurses stated that children could not participate in decisions regarding their own health. It was observed that obtaining the child's consent in matters related to treatment does not make any difference between midwives and nurses. The rate of the midwives stating that they would report suspicious violence-neglect and abuse was found to be higher. CONCLUSION: The variables of the unit of employment, the state of having children, choosing the profession and practicing in it willingly, and getting training on children's rights make a difference in terms of children's rights in healthcare services. Midwives and nurses should be reminded of child rights in healthcare services through regular in-service training programs.

Factors Affecting Attitudes Toward Organ Donation in Health Care Professionals.

BACKGROUND: Health care professionals can affect attitudes toward organ donation in society. The aim of this study was to examine health care professionals' attitudes toward and the affecting factors of organ donation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted between June and September in 2018. The sample consisted of 220 health professionals (nurses and physicians) who worked in the University Hospital and Family Health Centers located in Northern Turkey. The data were collected by using a sociodemographic form, an organ donation questionnaire, and the Organ Donation Attitudes Scale. Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, and ratios), independent t test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and correlation analyses were used. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 36.05 ± 7.52 years (range, 20-52 years). The mean score of the participants was 100.98 ± 13.18 for the positive dimension and 46.81 ± 17.61 for the negative dimension of the scale. It was found that nurses and health care professionals working in university hospitals and intensive care units have higher negative organ donation attitudes (P < .01). It was found that negative attitudes toward organ donation decreased as age increased (r = 0.146; P = .016). Overall, 17.7% of the participants had a donor card. CONCLUSION: Because the negative attitudes of nurses are higher in this study, the results reflect the need for intervention studies to determine the sensitivity to organ donation. It is striking that health care professionals who work in intensive care units have high negative attitudes toward organ donation. It can be recommended that interventional studies be performed with intensive care health care professionals.

Physio-psychosocial and Metabolic Parameters of Obese Adolescents: Health-Promoting Lifestyle Education of Obesity Management.

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of health-promoting lifestyle education on the physio-psychosocial and metabolic parameters of obese adolescents. This quasi-experimental study was conducted at a city center in Turkey through a pretest and a post-test (n = 73). Following the collection of the first assessment data from the study and control groups, an 8-week education program was applied to students in the study group. The study found that the BMI values and obesity-related risk factors of study group decreased, the means of the self-esteem scale and total ALS and sub-scale scores increased, and the pretest and post-test inter-group difference was significant (p < 0.05). The study found a decrease in cholesterol, LDL, Hb1Ac and Triglyceride levels in the study group and an increase in HDL levels. The study concluded that health-promoting lifestyle education for obese adolescents contributed to improving their physio-psychosocial and metabolic parameters.

[Determining headache characteristics among Health Sciences Faculty students and evaluating the cultural beliefs affecting their treatment selection(s)]. / Saglik bilimleri fakültesi ögrencilerinin bas agrilarinin karakteristik özelliklerinin belirlenmesi ve bas agrisini geçirmek için uyguladiklari yöntemlerde kültürel inanislarin degerlendirilmesi.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate the headache characteristics among students of the Faculty of Health Sciences and the cultural beliefs affecting their treatment selection(s). METHODS: This research was faculty-centered and 243 students formed the sample. Data was derived from face-to-face interview, using a 54-item questionnaire. RESULTS: The students involved in the research admitted that they had experienced a headache at least once in their lives. 51.0% stated the headache was localized on both sides, 50.9% reported a sense of heaviness, baring, carving in character, 50.6% stated that the headaches started in the evening and were voice, and 54.3% reported feeling tired afterwards. 71.2% of the students expressed sensitivity to voice in conjunction with the headache and 49.8% of them reported an increase in headache with activity. 179 students suffering from headache had never applied to a doctor, and 74 of them self-administered medication. Aside from the treatment with medicine, 81.1% stated that head and neck massages ameliorated/resolved their headache symptoms. CONCLUSION: Reports of seeing a doctor, taking painkillers or using other techniques for treating the headache were deficient.