Relationship Between the Decision-Making Balance Regarding Organ Donation and Level of Empathy.

OBJECTIVES: In Turkey, the rate of organ donations has not reached the desired level. Although the vital importance of organ transplantation is known, the low participation in organ donation is an issue that needs to be examined meticulously. Organ donation decisions can be affected by demographic factors, such as family, personality traits, and religion and by psychological factors, such as attitude, intention, and sacrifice. For this reason, it is important to find the reasons that prevent people from being a donor and to develop intervention methods for them. In this context, we aimed to evaluate the relationship between the balance of decision-making regarding organ donation and the level of empathy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 638 adults (mean age of 25.32 ± 9.95 years; n = 468 female participants and n = 170 male participants) voluntarily participated in the study. We used the Organ Donation Decisional Balance Survey to measure basic information on participants' personal valuations on the importance of positive and negative aspects of donor decisions. We used the Empathy Quotient scale to determine the empathy level of participants. We determined the relationship between variables using Pearson correlation analysis. RESULTS: Organ donation balance had positive correlations with measures of cognitive empathy subscale (r = 0.115; P < .01), emotional reactivity subscale (r = 0.117; P < .01), and social skills subscale (r = 0.084; P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: We found a positive relationship between empathy and the individual decision-making balance on donation; therefore, empathy development and altruism may affect organ donation decisions.

Organ Donation Decisional Balance Survey: Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Version

OBJECTIVES: Despite the positive view about organ donation in our society, many people remain reluctant to donate. Identifying the perceived advantages and disadvantages and raising awareness about organ donation may help promote willingness for eligible people to become donors. Our aim was to determine the validity and reliability of the Organ Donation Decisional Balance Survey for the Turkish community in order to implement the transtheoretical model of behavior change and to emphasize the positive aspects of organ donation during the process of decision making. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 420 adults, including 304 women and 116 men, voluntarily participated in the study. A personal information form, now known as the Organ Donation Decisional Balance Survey, and the Compassion of Others' Lives scale were used to evaluate the participants. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the factor structure of the questionnaire. All data were analyzed with confirmatory factor analysis using the Amos 16 programs. RESULTS: Analysis results showed that the fit index values of the survey were acceptable (P < .01). Factor loads of the survey for the advantages subdimension were between 0.53 and 0.78, and the factor loads for the disadvantages subdimension were from 0.46 to 0.75. Internal consistency of these 2 components resulted in an acceptable Cronbach alpha value. We also identified a positive correlation between the advantages score and the Compassion of Others' Lives scale score. CONCLUSIONS: This survey can guide those who prepare training programs on organ donation by highlighting positive thoughts and reducing negative judgments. The Turkish version of the Organ Donation Decisional Balance Survey is acceptable, valid, and reliable.

Challenges and needs of informal caregivers in elderly care: Qualitative research in four European countries, the TRACE project.

BACKGROUND: Providing informal care may affects caregivers' life in different ways. Determining the needs of caregivers and supporting them can improve both the quality of life of the caregivers, as well as the elderly they take care of. OBJECTIVE: To explore the experiences and needs of the informal caregivers in four countries. DESIGN: Qualitative research method was used in the study. METHODS: The qualitative data was collected through focus groups and individual interviews between December 2016-May 2017. In all countries interviews were conducted in the mother language of the informants. Informants of the qualitative research were adult people who take primary care of an individual with chronic diseases, aged 65 years or older. Data were collected from 72 informal caregivers from four European countries. Inductive content analysis was performed. RESULTS: Informal caregivers identified 2 themes, 5 subthemes, 19 categories and 7 subtcategories. The themes highlighted two major issues: informal caregiver's challenges and needs related to the management of care of elderly and caregivers' personal needs. CONCLUSION: The important and charming results of the present study are, difficulties of managing caregiver's own life, and coping with emotions are common in four countries. Identifying challenges and needs of informal caregivers enable healthcare professionals to develop care strategies and plan interventions focused to support and help to reduce the burden of care for elderly with chronic diseases.

Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Version of Illness Cognition Questionnaire.

Background: This study aimed to determine the validity and reliability characteristics of the Illness Cognition Questionnaire (ICQ). Methods: A total of 205 patients who had pain related to chronic musculoskeletal diseases were referred to the study. In order to test the validity, Short Disease Perception Scale (SDPS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were administered together with the ICQ. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to measure the construct validity of the ICQ, and convergent and divergent validities were evaluated using Pearson correlation analysis. In order to achieve the test-retest reliability of the questionnaire, 81 patients re-applied the questionnaire after two days. Cronbach's alpha internal consistency and test-retest reliability coefficients were calculated to determine the reliability level of the questionnaire. Results: The factor loadings of the ICQ helplessness subscale ranged from 0.784 to 0.853, the acceptance subscale ranged from 0.583 to 0.855, and the perceived benefits subscale ranged from 0.733 to 0.794. Internal consistency coefficients of the ICQ were found α = 0.929 for the helplessness subscale, α = 0.868 for the acceptance subscale, and α = 0.896 for perceived benefits subscale. The results of the analysis showed that there was a statistically significant positive correlation between the initial measurement of helplessness sub-scale and the retest helplessness subscale at 0.697 level (p < .05). A statistically significant positive correlation was determined between the test and the retest of acceptance sub-scale at 0.465 level (p < .05). A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the first test of the perceived benefits sub-scale and the retest test at the 0.661 level. Conclusion: The Turkish version of the ICQ was found to be valid and reliable. It is a measurement tool that could be used easily in clinics because of its short application time and easy to understand. We think that ICQ which provides a new awareness in the perception of disease in Turkish society should be examined in different diseases and age groups.

Is training for informal caregivers and their older persons helpful? A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The steady increase in the number of people suffering from chronic diseases and increasing life expectancy raises new demands on health care. At the same time, the need for informal caregivers is increasing. This study aims to perform a systematic review of the methodologies used to identify effect of different types of training on informal caregivers and their older persons. METHODS: MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL and Ovid were searched from December 2016 and April 2017. The following keywords were used; "informal caregiver", "training" "elderly", older persons". Identified publications were screened by using the following inclusion criteria; systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, prospective cohort and multicentre studies, English language full text journals, samples or interventions that included caregivers of older persons and published in last 10 years. RESULTS: Twenty four studies (12 randomised control trials, 8 intervention studies and 4 systematic reviews) were included. Most of the randomized controlled trials involved both caregivers and elderly. Pretests and post-tests were used in intervention studies (5 out of the 8 studies). ICT-based, psychosocial interventions on family caregivers' education program for caregivers were applied. Caregivers following a supportive educative learning had a significantly better quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this systematic review suggest that support interventions for caregivers can be effective in reducing caregivers' stress, with a consequent improvement of the quality of care. However, results are based on relatively small studies, reporting somewhat controversial findings supporting the need to perform further research in this field.

THE ROLE OF PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF ATHLETES IN COACH-ATHLETE RELATIONSHIPS.

This study investigated the relationship between athletes' personality characteristics and the quality of the coach-athlete relationship. 84 female (M age = 20.6 yr., SD = 2.8) and 129 male (M age = 22.0 yr., SD = 3.3) elite youth athletes competing at least for 7 yr. participated in this study. The Five-Factor Personality Inventory (short version) and the Quality of Relationships Inventory were administered to all participants. Stepwise multiple regression analysis assessed which of the five personality factors predicted scores for the different subscales of the Quality of Relationships Inventory (Depth, Support, and Conflict). Results indicated that depth of relationship was not predicted by personality factors. On the other hand, neuroticism and extraversion were significant predictors of support dimension of relationship. Analysis indicated that conscientiousness was the strongest predictor of conflict. In conclusion, athletes' personality characteristics may be important in determining the quality of the coach-athlete relationship.

Physical self-esteem of adolescents with regard to physical activity and pubertal status.

The purpose of this study was to examine the physical activity and pubertal status differences in the multiple dimensions of physical self-esteem of Turkish adolescents. The current study also aimed to investigate the gender differences in the physical self-esteem. The pubertal status of participants was determined by a self-report questionnaire. The Children and Youth Physical Self-Perception Profile and a weekly activity checklist were administered to 803 adolescents (Mage = 13.10 +/- 0.93). Analysis revealed significant main effects of physical activity on the multiple dimensions of physical self-esteem for both boys and girls. Follow-up analysis indicated that physically active boys and girls scored higher on almost all subscales of physical self-esteem than less active counterparts. The main effect of pubertal status and physical activity x pubertal status interaction were not significant either for boys or girls. Analysis also revealed significant gender differences in perceived body attractiveness, physical strength, physical condition, and physical self-worth subscales in favor of boys (p < .05).