Randomized Controlled Trial for the Effects of an Exercise Program for Functional Remission and Weight Control in Schizophrenia: A Community Mental Health Study.

This research was conducted to determine the effect of an exercise program on functional remission and weight control in schizophrenia. This experimental study was conducted with pre-posttests and a control group at community mental health centers with 32 individuals with schizophrenia. The individuals participating in the program registered a more significant increase on the functional remission levels compared to the control group and a significant difference was found between the pretest/posttest BMI measures of the experimental group. The nurse-led exercise program is an effective plan that can be used in achieving functional remission.

The impact of an emotion-focused training program on nursing students' emotional awareness and expression: A randomized placebo-controlled study.

PURPOSE: This study explores the effects of an emotion-focused training program (EFTP) and an interactive activity (placebo) on nursing students' skills in recognizing and expressing emotions. DESIGN AND METHODS: The research was conducted as a randomized, placebo and control group, and experimental study with repeated measurements. One hundred and twenty nursing students were randomly assigned to the groups. The EFTP was carried out for 10 sessions in the study group. FINDINGS: The emotional awareness and emotion expression scores of the students in the training group were significantly higher than those of the students in the placebo and control groups (p < 0.05). PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The EFTP can be used in the nursing undergraduate curriculum to promote emotional awareness and improve skills of emotional expression.

The effect of a plant cultivating program conducted at a community mental health center on the functional remission of individuals with schizophrenia: A randomized controlled study.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to determine the effect of a plant cultivating program carried out in a community mental health center (CMHC) on the functional remission levels of individuals with schizophrenia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was carried out as experimental research in pretest-posttest with control group design. Eighty individuals being followed up and treated at two CMHCs were randomly assigned to an intervention and a control group. The plant cultivating program, containing a theoretical and a practical sequence, was conducted for six weeks in the intervention group. The effectiveness of the program was assessed with the Functional Remission of General Schizophrenia (FROGS) scale. RESULTS: The individuals participating in the program registered a significant increase in their FROGS scale overall scores as compared to the control group following the program. After the program, the intervention group's social, health, daily skills and professional functioning posttest scores were significantly higher than those of the control group. CONCLUSION: The plant cultivating program applied to individuals with schizophrenia at the CMHCs positively resulted in an improvement in their functional remission. The nurse-led plant cultivating program conducted at the CMHCs was observed to be an effective and applicable program that would improve the social, health, daily skills and professional functioning of individuals with schizophrenia.

The Family Management of Childhood Chronic Conditions: Measurement in a Turkish Sample.

PURPOSE: The principal aim of this study was to adapt the FaMM into the Turkish language and test its validity and reliability. DESIGN AND METHODS: Data were collected from a total of 395 parents of children with chronic disease. The FaMM was translated using the translation and back-translation method. The reliability analysis of the FaMM was performed using Cronbach alpha coefficients, item-total correlations and test-retest correlations. Construct validity for the scale was assessed with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). RESULTS: The overall content validity index was 95%, signifying that the FaMM has good content validity. The CFA of the Turkish version of the FaMM did not confirm the original factorial structure. The model of three subscales for the Turkish FaMM was validated using EFA. The values of ≥0.70 for the Cronbach alpha coefficient, >0.25 for the item-total correlations and >0.40 for the test-retest application correlations for 2 weeks were found to be acceptable levels for the instruments and its subscales. CONCLUSIONS: The FaMM was found to be valid, reliable and appropriate for Turkish culture and psychometric characteristics were satisfactory. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The FaMM can be used in evaluating the management of illness in families with children with chronic disease.

Impact of a healthy nails program on nail-biting in Turkish schoolchildren: a controlled pretest-posttest study.

This study was conducted to examine the effect of a healthy nails program on nail-biting in Turkish schoolchildren. This quasi-experimental study was of pretest-posttest control group design. A total of 50 students of a primary school formed the intervention group, while 53 students from the same school formed the control group. Data were collected with a demographic form, a nail-biting follow-up form, and photographs of the fingernails. It was found that 68.9% of students were biting seven or more of their nails; 46.6% had damaged nail beds. In the intervention group, the rate of the children who were not biting their nails (baseline = 0%, 4th week = 56.0%, 8th week = 64.0%) increased significantly compared to the control group (baseline = 0%, 4th week = 15.1%, 8th week = 18.9%). Outcomes indicate the efficacy of the healthy nails program in reducing the nail-biting problem in schoolchildren.

Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Version of Children's Somatization Inventory.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Children's Somatization Inventory (CSI) in Turkish schoolchildren and adolescents. METHODS: The CSI was translated using translation and back-translation. The participants were 813 schoolchildren, adolescents and their parents (n=453). Content and construct validity were assessed to test the validity of the CSI-24. Internal consistency reliability, interrater reliability (child-parent agreement) and test-retest reliability were assessed to test the reliability of the CSI-24. RESULTS: Psychometric analyses of the Turkish version of the CSI-24 indicate high reliability and good content and construct validity. CONCLUSION: The Turkish version of the CSI-24 is a useful instrument for measuring self-reported somatic complaints in Turkish schoolchildren and adolescents between the ages of 9 and 15.