Banu Terzi

The reliability of site determination methods in ventrogluteal area injection: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND While administering medication through intramuscular injection, the ventrogluteal site must be used instead of the dorsogluteal site, and it is of great significance to locate the ventrogluteal site correctly. OBJECTIVE To determine the reliability of two different methods used to determine the ventrogluteal site in intramuscular injection practice. DESIGN A cross-sectional study. SETTINGS A university hospital in Istanbul. PARTICIPANTS The study population comprised 120 randomly selected healthcare personnel at a university hospital. METHODS The ventrogluteal site was determined using the geometric (G method) and V method and these sites were scrutinized under ultrasonography. It was investigated whether there was any anatomic vessels or neural structure present, and also determined the thickness of subcutaneous tissue, musculus gluteus medius, and musculus gluteus minimus. RESULTS Of the participants, 65.8% were female and the average age was 32.30 years and body mass index was 25.31 kg/m(2). The results showed that G and V methods were statistically significant in terms of variables. It was also found that sex affects subcutaneous tissue thickness and the skin-bone margin in the G and V method, and that body mass index determines subcutaneous tissue, musculus gluteus medius thickness and skin-bone margin. CONCLUSION When the ventrogluteal site is used for intramuscular injection purposes, the site must be determined in line with the geometric method.

Evaluation of individuals’ health beliefs and their association with testicular self-examination: adult sample from Amasya

Background Testicular self-examination is important for the early diagnosis and treatment of testicular cancer; the nature of the examination itself influences individuals’ health beliefs about testicular self-examination. Methods This descriptive research study was carried out using 152 individuals working at Amasya University between August and November 2016. A personal information form and Champion’s Health Belief Model Scale were used for the data collection stage of this research. Descriptive statistical tests, Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis variance analysis and Cronbach’s alpha were used in the data analysis stage. Results Analysis of respondents’ sociodemographic data revealed that the study participants’ mean age was 38.88 ± 9.36, and that 112 participants (73.7%) were married and 76 participants (50.0%) had a graduate degree at the time the study was conducted. Of the research participants, 134 (88.2%) had no training on testicular self-examination; a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) was found between participants’ consciousness of their capability to perform testicular self-examination on their own and the mean factor scores of the Champion’s Health Belief Model Scale’s ‘barriers of testicular self-examination’ and ‘self-effectiveness’ items. Conclusion The study found that health beliefs play a part in individuals’ positive health behaviours regarding testicular self-examination.