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Prevalence of Urinary Incontinence in the 12-Month Postpartum Period and Related Risk Factors in Turkey

Aim: The purpose of this study is to determine the prevalence of urinary incontinence in the 12-month postpartum period and the risk factors related to this condition. Methods: The research is a cross-sectional study of 1,749 first-year postpartum women living in the metropolis of Konya and presenting at seven city health centers. The statistical methods used were the χ2, the Student’s t test and logistic regression analysis. Results: Of the women in the study who were in their 12-month postpartum periods, 19.5% were experiencing varying degrees of urinary incontinence. While 42.2% of the women suffered from stress incontinence, 10.3% had urge incontinence, 47.5% complained of a mixed type of urinary incontinence, 7.3% reported leakage of urine during sexual intercourse and 14.4% reported the need to use protective pads. It was found that 12.3% of the women were performing pelvic floor muscle exercises and only 15.2% had consulted their doctors about urinary incontinence. Conclusion: It was seen that urinary incontinence is a serious health problem in the postpartum period, that it disrupts a woman’s daily activities, affects her sex life but that despite this, women do not receive needed medical assistance.

The transcultural nursing concept: a study of nursing students in Turkey.

BACKGROUND Cultural differences are known to be pronounced in Turkey, and some difficulties are encountered in patient care. Cultural sufficiency in providing health care to the patients is of great importance in satisfactory care delivery. AIM To determine the cultural diversity that the students experienced between the patients and themselves while providing care to patients. Knowledge of transcultural nursing was also investigated. DESIGN AND METHODS This was a descriptive study. The population comprised of 650 undergraduate students attending the nursing schools of three universities. A total of 622 students were included in the sample. The survey method was used for data collection. Percentages and chi-square test were used. RESULTS Most of the students (85.5%) had experienced cultural differences while giving care to their patients and 73.8% did not know the definition of this concept. The issues where cultural differences were experienced to the highest degree were differences in dialect and pronunciation (53.4%), differences of language (37%), traditions and customs of the individual (30.7%), and religious belief and sect (30.2%). It was found that the grade the students were in had a significant effect on the experience of cultural differences (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The majority of students experience cultural diversity in patient care. It is thought that transcultural care placed in curriculum even as a separate course will guide nursing students in all stages of patient care. Thus, the effect of cultural diversity in patient care can be minimized with the help of education.

Reproductive history, socioeconomic status and disability in the women aged 65 years or older in Turkey

Pregnancy and childbirth are an important physiological and emotional phenomenon in their lives for most women and studies have shown that this process may have a significant impact on their health at later ages. The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between functional disabilities in women over the age of 65 and their reproductive history and socioeconomic status. This is a cross-sectional study. The study group consisted of 543 women aged 65 or over. A general questionnaire and the Brief Disability Questionnaire (BDQ) were used to collect data with face-to-face interview in home visits. Of the women 79.2% have disability. First childbirth was experienced at the average age of 19.6+/-3.3 and the average age at which the women experienced their last delivery was 32.5+/-6.3. Parity was 4.1+/-1.7. Advanced age, being widowed and illiterate, less income, being outside of the middle class and having more than four children are important determinants for later life disability. The study highlights the importance of focusing not just on the short-term effects of childbearing and socioeconomic factors, but also of taking into account the possibility of long-term effects on disability in older women.

Turkish version of the revised nursing professional values scale: Validity and reliability assessment

AIM The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of a Turkish version of the Revised Nursing Professional Values Scale (NPVS-R). METHODS The sample of this methodological study consisted of 385 participants, including senior undergraduate nursing students (n = 328) and clinical nurses (n = 57). Data was collected using the NPVS-R. For NPVS validity, content validity and construct validity were analyzed. The content validity index (CVI) was used to determine item validity. RESULTS Item CVI ranged from 0.78 to 1.0, and total CVI was 0.93. Construct validity was examined using factor analysis and the five factors were identified as original NPVS-R. Chronbachs alpha was used to assess the internal consistency reliability. The 26-item NPVS had a standardized alpha coefficient of 0.92. Test-retest reliability scale was r = 0.76 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Our analyses showed that the Turkish version of NPVS-R has high validity and reliability.

Adolescent Pregnancy in Turkey

Adolescent sexuality and reproductive health problems continue to be sensitive matter in Turkey. Premarital sexuality is not approved of in Turkish society, and society maintains a strict attitude against extramarital and random sex. It is considered unsuitable for Muslim adolescents to be active sexually until marriage; however, there is a more tolerant attitude toward adolescent males. In a 2008 study of midwifery students, the majority of students believe that virginity is important and premarital sexual intercourse is wrong and that young women have to be aware of the negative outcomes of premarital sexual intercourse. This inequality among adolescents has caused young girls to suffer much more harm than boys. One example, in Turkey, marriages under the age of 17 and all marriages other than civil marriages have been legally prohibited; however, as illegal marriages at early ages are accepted by society, they are still performed. Stopping this practice requires broad enforcement. Additionally, many studies conducted in Turkey demonstrate that young people still have deficiencies in knowledge about sexual health and reproductive health. What we have found is that the level of education, family structure, and economic status are closely related risk factors for adolescent pregnancies. The median age of first marriage for women who have received secondary and higher education is 24.1. The median age for women who have completed the second stage of primary education is 3 years younger (21 years old), and the median age for uneducated or non-primary school graduate women is 5 years younger (16 years old). We also found that the most significant reason for older age of first marriage is the increase in educational opportunities, access to a profession, and the use of effective birth control methods.

15-49 Yaş Kadınların Kürtaj Nedenleri ve Kontraseptif Tercihleri

Amac: Calisma 15-49 yas kadinlarin isteyerek dusuk yapma nedenlerini ve kontraseptif tercihlerini saptamak amaciyla yapildi. Yontem: Calisma tanimlayici arastirma seklinde yapildi. 11 Kasim 2005 – 31 Ocak 2006 tarihleri arasinda Konya Dr. Faruk Sukan Dogum ve Cocuk Hastanesi’nde isteyerek dusuk yapan 103 kadin arastirmanin calisma grubunu olusturdu. Literature dayanarak arastirmacilar tarafindan olusturulan 27 soruluk anket formu verileri toplamak icin kullanildi. Bir arastirmaci verileri yuz yuze goruserek topladi. Tanimlayici istatistikler yaninda kurtaj nedeni ile aile planlamasi tercihleri arasindaki iliskiyi incelemek amaci ile X2 onemlilik testinden yararlanildi. Bulgular: Calismaya alinan kadinlarin yas ortalamasi 32.7 (SD: 5.91, median: 32.0, mode: 30, min.18, max. 45). %85.4’u ilkokul mezunu veya okur yazar degil, gebelik sayisi 3 veya uzerinde olan kadinlar daha fazla isteyerek dusuge/MR bas- vurdugu saptandi (%94.2). En sik isteyerek dusuk yapma nedeni olarak cocuk sayisi gosterilmis (%47.6) ve kadinlarin gebe kalmadan once geri cekme yontemini kullandiklari tespit edildi. Sonuc: Isteyerek dusuk hala bir kontraseptif metod olarak kullanilmaktadir. Ozellikle dogum sonu kliniklerinde kontrasepsiyon danismanligina odaklanmak anne ve cocuk sagligi bakimindan onemlidir