Mehmet Ali Bumin

Burnout and its correlates among nursing staff: questionnaire survey.

AIM This paper is a report of a study to determine the burnout level and its correlates in nurses. BACKGROUND Healthcare providers and especially nurses are generally considered a high risk group regarding work stress and burnout and this syndrome has been a major concern in the field of occupational health. METHOD The study was carried out at a university hospital in Turkey during May-June 2005. A total of 418 nurses from the 474 working at the hospital at the time (88.2%) answered a self-administered questionnaire including the Maslach Burnout Inventory. FINDINGS All the nurses were female, with a mean age of 30.6 (5.4) and a median age of 29 years. The mean score was 17.99(6.35) for the Emotional Exhaustion subscale, 5.72 (3.87) for the Depersonalization subscale and 19.83 (4.66) for the Personal Accomplishment subscale. Emotional Exhaustion decreased with increasing age (P < 0.05). Total time in the job, weekly working hours, shift-working and the unit where employed influenced burnout scores (P < 0.05). Not being happy with relations with superiors, not finding the job suitable, feeling anxious about the future, perceived poor health, problems with personal life and financial difficulties were also factors influencing burnout scale scores (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION It is necessary to consider nurses having the characteristics shown as the correlates of burnout in this study as a target group, to screen periodically the burnout status and improve their working conditions, especially relationships with colleagues.

Self-medication with antibiotics: questionnaire survey among primary care center attendants.

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and reasons for self‐medication with antibiotics within the last 12 months among primary healthcare center attendants aged 18 or over, in Ankara.

Incidence of stress urinary incontinence among women in Turkey

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of stress urinary incontinence among women at the age of 15 and above who applied to the primary health care centers in Ankara, Turkey. We applied the urinary stress incontinence questionnaire to 2,601 women at the age of 15 or above who consulted to the “mother–child health care and family planning centers” in January 2002. To evaluate the urinary incontinence status with respect to age groups and other risk factors, chi-square test was used. Stress incontinence prevalence was 16.1% in our population. Age was a statistically significant risk factor affecting the incidence of stress incontinence. As the number of gravida increases, the frequency of stress incontinence increases (p<0.05). Presence of a systemic disease was also an important risk factor (p<0.05). Alcohol use and smoking were not found to affect the incidence of urinary stress incontinence (p>0.05). As urinary incontinence greatly influences life quality and social and psychological status of the person, and also creates economic burden, predisposing factors of stress incontinence should be well defined and measures should be taken to encourage women experiencing this problem to visit a doctor and to get an efficient treatment.

A study on the prevalence of accessory auricle anomaly in Turkey

OBJECTIVE Accessory auricular anomaly is a small elevation of skin containing a bar of elastic cartilage localized most commonly just anterior to the tragus or ascending crus of the helix. The anomaly may exist isolated or may be associated with other congenital anomalies of the first arch. The purpose in this study is to detect prevalence of accessory auricle in Turkey and find out whether it is associated with other craniofacial anomalies or hearing loss. METHODS The study was performed on 850 children from the age of 7 to 9 during a screening program in primary schools. Complete otolaryngologic examination and acoustic reflectometry measurements were performed on all the children. Full physical examination, tympanometric and audiometric evaluation and EEG measurements were added to the cases with accessory auricle anomaly. RESULTS Among 850 children examined, four had accessory auricle anomaly and prevalence of the anomaly was calculated as 0.47% (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.13-1.20%). Children were developmentally normal, and no other congenital craniofacial or systemic anomaly was detected in any of the cases. Further, tympanometric, audiometric evaluations and EEG tests were in normal limits. CONCLUSIONS In this study, the prevalence rate of the condition was calculated as 0.47%. Although one study from China reported this prevalence as 0.22%, the difference between the reported prevalances was not statistically significant. Further, although external ear anomalies may present together with cranifacial anomalies and neurologic disorders like epilepsy, neuromotor retardation and EEG disorders, in our cases, mental and motor development was normal and epilepsy history or abnormal EEG patterns do not exist. On the other hand, no hearing loss was found to be associated with accessory auricles.

Water usage habits and the incidence of diarrhea in rural Ankara, Turkey

This aim of this study was to determine water usage behavior and incidence of diarrhea during the summer months among people in rural areas of Turkey. Information was collected using a questionnaire during face-to-face interviews with people aged 18 years and over in their homes. Diarrhea was detected in 31.7% of the 543 households included in the study in the summer of 2003. The percentage of those living in the study area experiencing at least one bout of diarrhea was 10.0%. The diarrhea episode rate was 18.7%. A logistic regression model of factors that could influence the incidence of diarrhea showed that the reported distance between the septic tank and the well, the total monthly household income and water shortages of longer than 12h had a significant effect on diarrhea incidence (P<0.05). The fact that water shortages are the biggest risk factor for diarrhea points to the need for (i) health education to raise awareness and (ii) the supply of equipment to enable households to use both the first running water after a water shortage and the water they have collected during the shortage as drinking water.

Hepatitis B Virus and Hepatitis C Virus Seroprevalence in the Elderly Living in Nursing Homes

Background Communal living situations such as nursing homes create a risk for the spread of hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus (HCV). The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of hepatitis B virus and HCV in the elderly living in 2 nursing homes in Ankara, Turkey. Methods A total of 227 persons (mean age, 76.11 ± 8.55 years) participated in this cross-sectional study. All individuals were investigated seroprevalence for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), anti-HBs immunoglobulin G (IgG), anti-hepatitis B core IgG, and anti-HCV IgG. Results Positive seroprevalence was 11.9% for HBsAg, 48.0% for anti-HBs IgG, 25.1% for anti-hepatitis B core IgG, and 2.5% for anti-HCV IgG. Hepatitis B surface antigen positivity was 12.4% in males and 11.5% in females (P > 0.05); and the seroprevalence was 10.4% for those living in nursing homes for 1 year or less and 13.0% for those living in nursing homes for more than 1 year (P > 0.05). Conclusions The fact that nearly half of those living in nursing homes had not encountered hepatitis B infection or had not received hepatitis B vaccination indicates the need for administering hepatitis B vaccines in this group.

Bordetella pertussis Seroprevalence Among Vaccinated School Children in Ankara, Turkey

Pertussis is an acute infectious disease caused by Bordetella pertussis occurring world wide [1]. It is highly contagious in the early catarrhal stage and the secondary attack rate can increase up to 80–90% with household contact [1, 2]. Antibodies against pertussis toxin (PT) have been correlated with clinical protection against pertussis in humans [3]. Pertussis affects susceptible individuals of every age and is especially severe in children [1, 2]. Adolescents and adults are important reservoirs for B. pertussis and are frequent sources of infection for infants in particular [1, 4, 5]. In Turkey, infants are vaccinated with whole cell pertussis as a triple vaccine including Tetanus and Diphteria at the second, third, and fourth months with a booster at 18 months of age according to the national vaccination schedule. No pertussis vaccination is given afterward. Neither immunity nor vaccination protects against the disease long-term and it has been reported that the number of pertussis cases in adolescents and adults has been increasing since the 1990s [4, 6–13]. Pertussis is a notable disease in Turkey and continues to be one of the important childhood infections [14]. The National Standard Diagnosis and Surveillance Guide is put into use since January 1st, 2005, and cases are started to be reported as probable cases or definite cases from all health facilities [15]. Due to the new surveillance system, the number of clinically confirmed cases were 200 and laboratory confirmed cases were 72 with an overall incidence of 0.01/1,000,000 population [16]. The low number of cases reported may likely to be due to the low awareness of the clinicians both in diagnosis and in reporting. Laboratory verification is not usually obtained because of not including the disease in their prediagnosis list or lack of required laboratory infrastructure. In this study, we aimed to determine the pertussis seroprevalance rate in four dosage vaccinated school children aged 6–14 years through the assessment of anti PT IgG antibodies.

The 5-Year Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Women Older Than 15 Years in Ankara, Turkey: A Population-Based Study

Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is a significant cause of morbidity and premature mortality especially in adults. In Turkey, there are few studies on DM incidence. This study aimed to determine the incidence of type 2 DM in women 15 years or older in Turkey. Methods This prospective cohort study was performed from December 2002 to May 2003. Preliminary population-based screening was performed in 1997 and 1998 on women 15 years or older living in 4 villages in the Gölbaşı, Ankara province. Five hundred sixty-three women who were considered nondiabetic in the first study comprised the population for the present study. Data collection was accomplished by using a questionnaire and randomly measuring the blood glucose levels of the women. The χ2 and Fisher exact tests were used to analyze the risk factors for DM. Results The 5-year incidences of type 2 DM, impaired glucose tolerance, and impaired fasting glucose were 2.3%, 0.4%, and 0.7%, respectively. The 5-year incidence of type 2 DM increased with age (P < 0.05). The DM incidence was 6.2% in those with mixed-type hypertension and 4.0% in those with a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher. At 5-year follow-up, age (≥35 years), hypertension, and body mass index (≥30 kg/m2) were the risk factors for incidence of abnormal glucose metabolism (P < 0.05). Conclusions The incidence of abnormal glucose metabolism in this study is in accord with that in the literature. Our results will contribute to our understanding of the incidence of DM in women in Turkey.

Topluma Dayalı Mamografi Taramasına Katılımı Etkileyen Faktörler

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the demographic or risk factors affecting participation in a population-based breast screening with mammography program in a rural area of Turkey. Patients and Methods: This definitive epidemiological study was carried out between December 2002 and August 2003, in a town of Ankara. Of the 784 women, 710 were interviewed and 462 (58.9%) of them participated in the screening. A questionnaire was used for collecting data. Results: The mean age of the women was 50.7aplusmn;10.0 years. Fifty four percent of the single, widowed or divorced women (p=0.001), 62.5% of those aged 60 years or older (palt;0.001), and 42.8% of the illiterate or literate women (palt;0.001) did not participate the screening. Women, who were elder had a 1.1-fold greater risk of nonparticipation in mammography screening than younger ones (95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.09), and those who were postmenopausal had 1.5-fold greater risk than those who were premenopausal (95% confidence interval, 1.04-2.22). Conclusion: Age, marital, educational and menopausal statuses seem to be effective on participation in the population-based study. Screening programs should be planned considering these factors. Amac: Bu calismanin amaci Turkiyea#39;nin kirsal bir alaninda topluma dayali mamografi taramasina katilimi etkileyen demografik ve risk faktorlerini incelemektir. Hastalar ve Yontemler: Tanimlayici epidemiyolojik calisma olarak tasarlanan arastirmanin veri toplanmasi Aralik 2002 ve Agustos 2003 tarihleri arasinda Ankaraa#39;nin bir ilcesinde yapildi. Toplam 784 kadindan 710a#39;u ile gorusuldu ve 462a#39;si (%58.9) taramaya katildi. Veri toplamak icin anket formu kullanildi. Bulgular: Kadinlarin ortalama yasi 50.7aplusmn;10.0 yildi. Bekar dul veya bosanmis olanlarin %54a#39;unun (p=0.0001), 60 yas ve uzerindekilerin %62.5a#39;inin (palt;0.001) ve okuma yazma bilmeyen veya okur yazar olanlarin %42.8a#39;inin (palt;0.001) taramaya katilmadigi saptandi. Yasli kadinlarin genclere gore mamografi taramasina katilmama riskinin 1.1 kat (1.04-1.09; %95 guven araligi) ve menopoz sonrasi donemde olanlarin menopoz oncesi donemde olanlara gore 1.5 kat (1.04-2.22; %95 guven araligi) daha fazla oldugu belirlendi. Sonuc: Topluma dayali meme kanseri taramasina katilimi etkileyen faktorler yas, medeni durum, egitim durumu ve menopozda olup olmamadir. Tarama planlanirken katilimi az olabilecek gruplarin katilimini artiracak uygulamalarin gelistirilmesi onerilmektedir.