Havva Tel

Information needs, care difficulties, and coping strategies in families of people with mental illness.

Objective: To determine information needs, care difficulties, and coping mechanisms of family members of people with mental illness. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the study sample consisted of the families of 134 patients who were treated in the Psychiatric Unit of Cumhuriyet University Training and Research Hospital in Sivas, Turkey between January and May 2011. Data was collected by a questionnaire and analysed descriptively, and by chi-square testing. Results: It was determined that 79.1% of family members were knowledgeable of the patients’ illness. It was found that they experienced difficulties in communicating with the patient, and in ensuring drug compliance and anger management and that they used psychological and social coping strategies. Conclusion: Our results indicate that access to medical information on its own is not sufficient for carers of people with mental illness, and the necessity of developing positive attitudes when dealing with the illness and its symptoms. We recommend that nurses and other health professionals offer long term support and consultation programs to family members.

KOAH’LI HASTALARDA ANKSİYETE, DEPRESYON VE SOSYAL / Determination of the Conditions of Anxiety, Depression and Social Support among the Patients with COPD

OZET Bu calisma KOAH’li hastalarda anksiyete, depresyon ve sosyal destek durumunu belirlemek amaciyla tanimlayici olarak yapilmistir. Arastirmaya 10 Ocak - 10 Haziran 2007 tarihleri arasinda Konya Numune Hastanesi Gogus Hastaliklari servisinde KOAH tanisi ile yatan 126 hasta alinmistir. Arastirma verileri kisisel bilgi formu, Beck Anksiyete Olcegi, Beck Depresyon Olcegi ve Cok Boyutlu Algilanan Sosyal Destek Olcegi ile toplanmistir. Verilerin analizinde Kruskal-Wallis Varyans Analizi, Mann Whitney U testi ve Pearson Korelasyon analizi kullanilmistir. Calismada hastalarin cogunlukla anksiyete (%88.9), depresyon (%85.7) yasadiklari, anksiyete ve depresyon arasinda pozitif iliski oldugu (r=.542, p<0.01) anksiyete artikca depresyonunda arttigi saptanmistir. Depresyon ile sosyal destek arasinda negatif iliski oldugu (r=-.244, p<0.01), sosyal destek azaldikca depresyon arttigi, hastalarin aile destegi puanin ( X =19.92±7.84) daha yuksek oldugu saptanmistir. Cekirdek ailede yasayan, KOAH’in ruh sagligini olumsuz etkiledigini belirten hastalarin anksiyete, depresyon puanlarinin yuksek oldugu, 65 yas ve uzeri yastaki hastalarin, dul hastalarin sosyal desteklerinin daha dusuk oldugu saptanmistir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Kronik obstruktif akciger hastaligi, anksiyete, depresyon, sosyal destek ABSTRACT This study was performed as a descriptive study in order to determine the conditions levels of anxiety, depression and social support for the patients with COPD. 126 patients with COPD diagnosis, stayed in Konya Numune Hospital Pulmonary Diseases ward between January 10 and June 10 2007, were included. The data of the research was obtained through a personal information form, Beck Anxiety Scale, Beck Depression Scale and the scale for Perceived Multidimensional Social Support. In the analysis of data, Kruskal-Wallis Variance Analysis, Mann Whitney U test, and Pearson Correlation analysis were used. In the study, it was found that the patients frequently experienced anxiety (88.9%) and depression (85.7%) and there was a positive relation between the anxiety and depression (r=.542, p<0.01), the more the anxiety increased the more depression increased. It was found that there was a negative relation between the depression and social support (r=.244, p<0.01), the more social support decreased the more depression increased and it was found that the scores of patients for family support was higher (X=19.92±7.84). In the nuclear family lived and determined that COPD affected their mental health negatively had higher anxiety and depression scores and social support of the patients at the age of 65 and over and widowed patients were lower. Keywords: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, anxiety, depression, social support