Birgül Piyal

The Relationship Between Adolescents’ Locus of Control and Healthy Dietary Behaviours and its Implications for School Psychologists and Other Health Related Professionals Results From a Turkish Study

The Concept of Health Locus of Control (HLOC) indicates the personal belief of an individual about who or what affects his/her health. This approach emphasizes the importance of individual responsibility for health, especially in the school years which represent a ‘critical period’ for students to adopt healthy behaviours and lifestyles. The main aim of this survey is to define relationships between Health Locus of Control and the dietary behaviours of Turkish adolescent students by evaluating their risky health behaviours. Results of this survey are used for prediction of how to modify positive health behaviours of students for the protection and promotion of their health. The study group of this descriptive study consists of primary and secondary school students (831) in Ankara. The results not only clearly indicate the relationship between HLOC and dietary behaviours of adolescent students, but also support the results of earlier research. In particular, the association between the relatively higher Chance-HLOC, which represents low responsibility for health, and risky dietary behaviours of students is striking. The Internal-HLOC of students has been found to be more effective than External-HLOC in maintaining healthy dietary behaviours. School psychologists and health educators need to emphasize HLOC in educational activities for reduction of risky behaviours.

An analysis of the prevalence of malaria in Turkey over the last 85 years

Abstract Background: Affecting 106 countries, malaria is a major global burden. Though intensive antimalaria efforts in Turkey have been successful in bringing down the number of cases, historically malaria was a serious public health concern. Methods: This paper reviews the prevalence rates of malaria in Turkey over the last 85 years (1925–2010). The time series of malaria prevalence was evaluated for possible structural changes by using Chow breakpoint tests and regression models using dummy variables, with autocorrelated errors and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity models to assess the impact of volatility in prevalence. Results: Seventy-eight cases of malaria were diagnosed in Turkey in 2010. Malaria prevalence rates in the country show a statistically significant volatility, which underlines the fragility of efforts to control the disease. Conclusions: It is necessary to analyse the national malaria control programme to evaluate to what extent its programmatic capacity, financial resources, and political commitment are sufficient to avoid eroding the gains that have already been made and, ultimately, eradicate malaria. It is essential that there should be no lessening in the long-standing efforts to reduce malaria.

An analysis of the incidence of measles in Turkey since 1960

BACKGROUND/AIM The aims of this study were to evaluate measles incidence and the effect of elimination strategy interventions on the disease from 1960 to 2014 in Turkey. The administration of measles vaccine started in the rural regions in 1970; it was carried out as a campaign along with the National Vaccine Campaign in 1985, and it has been employed as combined measles, mumps, and rubella under the scope of the Measles Elimination Program (MEP) since 2006 in Turkey. While a dramatic decrease in the reporting of measles was observed between 2000 and 2010, the number of the cases has increased since 2011. MATERIALS AND METHODS The time series of measles incidence was evaluated for possible structural changes with regression models using dummy variables, autocorrelated with error terms. RESULTS The incidence of measles showed a statistically significant decline between 1985 and 1988 (P = 0.0072) and between 2005 and 2011 (P < 0.0001). However, a statistically significant increase in incidence was noted after 2013 (P = 0.0008). CONCLUSION Over the last 54 years, the pattern of measles cases demonstrated a significant decline in incidence. However, the increase in incidence in 2013 should be carefully analyzed and interpreted in terms of the MEP.

M.Soner Yılmaz a, Birgül Piyal b

Dunya Saglik Orgutu ve Birlesmis Milletler Cocuk Fonu’nun bir raporuna (2008) gore, her gun 2000’den fazla cocuk, kasitsiz ya da kaza ile yaralanmalar sonucu olmekte ve dunya genelinde her yil milyonlarca cocuk genellikle kendilerini yasam boyu engelli birakacak kaza ve yaralanmalar dolayisiyla hastaneye kaldirilmaktadir. Cocuk Yaralanmalarinin Onlenmesi Dunya Raporu; Cocukluk doneminde meydana gelen kazalarla ilgili kapsamli, ilk kuresel degerlendirme niteligindeki rapor olup, bu tur yaralanmalarin onlenmesinin yollarina da atifta bulunmaktadir. Raporda ulasilan sonuca gore, her yerde etkisi kanitlanmis onlemlere basvurulmasi halinde, her gun en az 1000 cocugun yasami kurtarilabilir. Bu derleme ile ozellikle dusuk ve orta gelirli ulkelerde onemli bir yuk olusturan cocukluk donemi kasitsiz yaralanmalarina yonelik oncul calismalarin ozetlenmesi amaclanmaktadir