Ayse San Turgay

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Used by Pediatric Patients With Cancer in Western Turkey

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To determine the extent of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use, the types of therapies employed, and the reasons for choosing those therapies. DESIGN Descriptive type, cross-sectional. SETTING Pediatric oncology department in western Turkey. SAMPLE 112 children receiving or completing treatment for cancer. METHODS Parents of 112 children completed a questionnaire regarding CAM use. Analyses included examining correlations between CAM use and demographic variables. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES CAM use and demographic variables. FINDINGS 77% of the patients used one or more type of CAM, with herb use being the most common. CONCLUSIONS About 75% of parents used CAM for their children. However, about 25% sought discussion with the physician about the CAM they were using. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Nurses should approach their patients without prejudice, gather information about the various CAM techniques, and share this knowledge with their patients.

Determination of Knowledge of Turkish Midwifery Students about Human Papilloma Virus Infection and its Vaccines

Human papilloma virus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted agents and its infection is the most established cause of cervical cancer. Midwives play a key position in the implementation of cervical cancer. This descriptive study aimed to determine the level of knowledge concerning HPV and HPV vaccination among 268 midwifery students. Data were collected between November 15 and 30, 2011, through a self-reported questionnaire. The mean age of participants was 20.75 ± 1.60. Among all students, 44.4% had heard of HPV, while 40.4% had heard of HPV vaccinatiob. The relationship between the midwifery student knowledge on HPV and HPV vaccine and their current educational year was significant (p=0.001). In conclusion midwifery students have moderate level of knowledge about HPV and its vaccine and relevant information should be included in their teaching curriculum.

Effectiveness of Online Education in Teaching Breast Self- Examination

BACKGROUND This research evaluated the effectiveness of an online education model in teaching breast self- examination to university staff and students. MATERIALS AND METHODS 1,679 women participated in a breast self-examination online training program. Breast self-examination knowledge evaluation forms developed by Maurer (1997) were used in the research and were evaluated on a 100 point scale. Paired t-test and McNemars Test statistics were employed. RESULTS The participants scored an average of 46.5 (14.0%) on knowledge on breast self-examination before training, but 77.4 (11.0%) one month after education and 76.7 (9.52%) after six months. There was a clear significant difference between these knowledge levels (p<0.05). Similarly, while the rate for systematic practice of breast self-examination among women was 30.8% before training it increased to 47.8% afterwards. Again the difference was significant (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Online education is an effective method for teaching breast self-examination to women.