Determining nursing students' attitudes towards, readiness for, expectations from and satisfaction with distance education and their sense of alienation from their university.

OBJECTIVE: To determine nursing students' views on attitudes towards distance education during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. METHODS: The analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted in May and June 2022 at a state university in the Mediterranean region of Türkiye, and comprised nursing students. Data were collected using the Attitude Towards e- Learning Scale, e-Readiness for e-Learning and Expectations Scale, e-Satisfaction Scale, and University Alienation Scale. Data were analysed SPSS 26. RESULTS: Of the 322 participants, 213 (66.1%) were females, and 159 (49.4%) were staying in hostel dormitories. The mean age of the sample was 20.36±1.63 years. There was a significant, moderate and positive correlation between the students' scores from with respect to readiness, satisfaction, transmission, practicality and content of distance learning (p<0.05). There was a significant, weak and positive correlation of readiness with the education process, interaction and assessment values (p≤0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Alienation towards university education increased in relation to technology skills.

Nursing Students' Compassion and Their Attitudes Toward Death and the Care of the Dying: An Intervention Study in Turkey.

This pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study investigated the effect of an educational intervention on nursing students' compassion levels and their attitudes toward death and the care of the dying. Data were collected using the Death Attitude Profile - Revised (DAP-R), the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care Of The Dying (FATCOD) Scale, and the Compassion Scale (CS). The intervention improved participants' DAP-R scores. Participants had higher posttest FATCOD scores than the pretest scores. However, the difference was statistically insignificant. Participants had high CS scores. There was a slight increase in CS scores after the intervention. The results showed that the intervention improved participants' attitudes toward death and the care of the dying. The results also showed that compassion was an important factor.

Reliability and Validity of the Positive Mental Health Literacy Scale in Turkish Adolescents.

Background: The present study aims to determine the reliability and validity of the Positive Mental Health Literacy Scale in the Turkish language. Methods: The sample of the present methodological study included 457 adolescents. The data were collected between February 10, 2019, and May 31, 2019, with a socio-demographic data form and the Positive Mental Health Literacy Scale. The scale was first translated to the Turkish language, expert opinion was obtained, and a pilot scheme was conducted. The content validity index was employed to test the validity of the scale, confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were conducted to test the construct validity, item analysis was conducted to test the reliability of the scale, Cronbach's alpha analysis was employed to determine internal consistency, and the test-retest scores were compared to determine time invariance. Results: The scale is unidimensional. The content validity analysis of the scale was 0.97. Scale item loads varied between 0.56 and 0.72 based on the confirmatory factor analysis. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the scale was 0.87, and the test-retest score was intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.739 (P < . 001). The mean participant score on the positive mental health literacy scale was 2.9 (SD=0.9). Conclusion: The validity and reliability findings in the study that was conducted to adapt the Positive Mental Health Literacy Scale to the Turkish language revealed that the scale could be used to measure the mental health literacy of adolescents. The Turkish version of the scale could be used in programs that aim to identify positive mental health literacy levels of adolescents in Turkish society.

The effect of decorative arts course on nursing students' creativity and critical thinking dispositions.

BACKGROUND: Nurses use their critical thinking skills and creativity to solve complex problems. Nursing students should access effective and appropriate educational materials to develop critical thinking skills and creativity. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effect of the "decorative arts" course on nursing students' creativity and critical thinking dispositions. METHOD: The study was conducted in the nursing departments of two universities between May 2021 and December 2021. The sample consisted of 141 nursing students. Data were collected using a sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale (CTDS), and the Marmara Creative Thinking Dispositions Scale (MCTDS). RESULTS: Fourth-year students had a significantly higher mean CTDS score than third-year students (p = 0.009). Participants who took the "decorative arts" course for two semesters had a significantly higher mean CTDS score than those who took it for one semester at most (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The "decorative arts" course helped nursing students develop critical thinking skills and creativity.

Traditional Methods and Practices Used in Society to Prevent COVID-19.

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the traditional methods and practices used during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. METHOD: This descriptive study was conducted between July 11 and 25, 2020, with volunteers above 18 years of age registered in the population of a district located in a rural district in Turkey. For the implementation of the study, permission was obtained from the Selçuk University Ethics Committee of Non-Interventional Scientific Research. The data collection form consisted of two parts. In the first part of the data collection form, there are seven questions concerning about characteristics of the participants. In the second part of the form, there are 13 questions concerning about characteristics of the participants. During the research application, data were collected from 500 participants. Data of the study were summarized in numbers, percentage, mean, and standard deviation and Fisher's exact and Chi-square tests were performed. RESULTS: Participants mostly used disinfectant (2.97 ± 1.18) and cologne (2.87 ± 1.09) in their personal hygiene for protection against coronavirus disease 2019 infection, in addition to home ventilation (3.77 ± 0.54) and use of bleach (2.78 ± 1.36) for home/environmental hygiene. Around 80.4% of those who did not take precautions did not work in healthcare and the status of taking precautions against coronavirus disease 2019 varied according to the field of employment (p = .000). The traditional method total score changed between the age groups 18-45 and 46-76 years, and the use of traditional methods increased with age (p = .000). CONCLUSION: It was determined that the rate of using protective measures recommended by experts during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic was high in the research group, while the scores of using traditional methods were also high. In addition, the rate of using protective measures was high among health sector workers. Results from this study may suggest further research to reveal the traditional methods and practices used during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in order to take precautions for methods and practices known to be detrimental to human health and to increase the use of those known to be useful, in line with the results obtained.

Analysis of the Nutrition, Self-Care Skills, and Health Professional Support in Schools of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

AIM: This study aimed to determine the nutrition, self-care skills, and health professional support of children with autism spectrum disorder. METHOD: This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. The parents of 82 children with autism spectrum disorder agreed to participate as part of a study group in 8 special education schools in 3 districts. The schools were selected on the basis of their levels of sociodemographic development. The data were collected and analysed between September 2016 and July 2017 using a two-section questionnaire developed after a literature review. RESULTS: The majority of the parents (63.4%) had sufficient knowledge with regard to autism spectrum disorder, but the issues that were most lacking in terms of education were care, nutrition, and skills related to daily living (36.2%). The parents wanted to be educated on "nutrition problems," and "activities of daily living." The majority of the children lacked self-care skills (82.9%). CONCLUSION: The most frequently observed nutrition problem in children with autism spectrum disorder was selective eating. In line with the literature, the majority of the children in this study were found to be unable to care for themselves. School nurses can provide support in terms of nutrition and self-care skills in these schools. School health education programmes for parents can be developed to allow for the more rapid and effective resolution of nutrition and self-care problems.

COVID-19 fear and compliance in preventive measures precautions in workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to identify the relationship between the fear of COVID-19 and the preventive measures of healthcare workers and service sector employees during the covid-19 pandemic. METHODS: The present study is a descriptive type of research. The study's sample group consisted of 735 people and included healthcare workers (n = 426) and service sector employees (n = 309). In this study, sociodemographic characteristics, employment in the healthcare or service sector, having a relative with COVID-19, losing any relative due to COVID-19 and taking preventive measures were taken as independent variables. The dependent variable was the score from the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S). RESULTS: The FCV-19S median value was 14 for the service sector and 17 for the healthcare sector. While no difference was found between occupational groups and the FCV-19S score in the service sector, there was a significant correlation between occupational groups and the FCV-19S score in the healthcare sector. The FCV-19S median value of midwives was 21, and it was higher than those of other occupational groups were. The mean FCV-19S scores of those who thought they had COVID-19 symptoms due to stress or panic were higher among the healthcare workers. CONCLUSION: The healthcare workers need more support in fear management than those engaged in service sector employees, and it is recommended that raising the awareness of service sector employees in terms of compliance with preventive measures should be prioritized.

Mental health status of health sector and community services employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to evaluate the depression, anxiety and stress status of health sector and community service workers who were actively working during the pandemic period. METHODS: This is a descriptive study. A total of 735 people consisting of 426 health sector employees and 309 service sector employees, constituted the study sample. In this study, the data were collected using the personal information form and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21). A regression model was established to test the effect of socio-demographic characteristics on depression, anxiety, and stress levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: While there was no difference in working a second job across different sectors (p = 0.450), the household income (p < 0.001) and the increase in expenditures during the COVID-19 pandemic (p < 0.001) were different across the sectors. The scores of the overall scale and its sub-dimensions were significantly different across the sectors (p < 0.001). The DASS-21 scores were higher in the participants, who started to smoke more and who had their sleep duration decreased (p < 0.001). There is a statistically significant difference between social media use and the DASS-21 score (p < 0.001). There is a significant difference across all DASS-21 subgroups by the daily working hours in the health sector (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Our study provides significant findings regarding the mental health of individuals who continued working during the pandemic. To implement effective mental health interventions to risk groups and affected people in the COVID-19 pandemic, the recommendations of leading organizations, including WHO and ILO, should be implemented effectively concerning occupational health.

Mothers' Knowledge Levels Related to Poisoning.

OBJECTIVES: This study was done to evaluate mothers' level of knowledge regarding poisoning, to plan training for issues with an identified lack of knowledge, to collect required data regarding protection and approach issues on poisoning cases which may occur in children for various reasons. METHODS: This descriptive study was performed after obtaining permission from the County Health Department and involved mothers who applied to Family Health Centers No. 1-7 between April 1(st) and May 31(st) 2012, and who agreed to participate in the study (n=290). The questionnaire was composed of three parts: "Personal Information Form," "House Poisoning Evaluation Form" and "Home Poisoning Prevention Knowledge Level Form." RESULTS: Participant ages were between 16 and 50 years and the mean age was 33.09±7.10 years. The number of children ranged from 1 to 6, and 203 people had seven children under the age of six. 37.6% of the mothers were primary school graduates, while 74.5% were housewives. There was a significant relationship between the knowledge score of the mothers on poisoning and education, career, neighborhood, and social security (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Childhood poisoning is the most common cause of admission to the hospital. Protective precautions such as family education, storage of medication out of reach of children and use of secure lids are thought to be important.