Mukadder Mollaoğlu

Mobility disability and life satisfaction in elderly people

The objective of this descriptive and analytical study is to examine mobility disability and life satisfaction in elderly people living in nursing home residences and analyze the relationship between them. The study was conducted over 78 elderly people in two nursing home residences. The data of this study were obtained through a personal information form (PIF), the Rivermead mobility index (RMI) and the life satisfaction scale (LSS). It was detected that life satisfaction levels of elderly people were average, a great majority of them went through mobility disability and there was a significant correlation between mobility and life satisfaction. It was established that in elderly people mobility was affected by the age, gender and chronic diseases while life satisfaction was related to age, education level and health perception level. Disability is a factor that has a significant effect on the life satisfaction of elderly people. The findings of this study will be useful for planning interventions to improve mobility and satisfaction with life among nursing home elders in Turkey.

Influence of diabetic education on patient metabolic control

This study was conducted for the purpose of examining the effect of planned education given to persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) on their metabolic control. The method of the study was a randomly controlled clinical trial. A sample of 50 individuals participated, of which 25 were in the Experimental group (E), and 25 were in the Control group (C). The educational program consisted of three sessions between the educator and persons with diabetes. Before the education program, there was no statistically important significance between the metabolic control parameters of the E group and the C group. In the analysis of the difference between means of the E and C groups, after the third education program, statistically significant differences were found between fasting blood sugar, postparandial blood sugar, urine glucose, hemoglobin A1c, triglyceride, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. In the study, regular and repetitive education provided by the nurses had a positive effect on the metabolic values of persons with DM.

Trigger factors in migraine patients

The objective of this study was to examine potential trigger factors in migraine patients. A total of 126 migraine patients were interviewed about possible trigger factors for migraine. The most common trigger factors were emotional stress (79%), sleep disturbance (64%) and dietary factors (44%). Sleep and stress were significant trigger factors in patients with migraine with aura, whereas environmental factors were important trigger factors in patients with migraine without aura. Stress, sleep and environmental factors were important trigger factors in women and differed significantly from men. Trigger factors are frequent in migraine patients, and avoidance of such factors may result in a better control of the disorder.

Knowledge of and attitudes toward tuberculosis of Turkish nursing and midwifery students

AIM The aim of the study was to describe the level of knowledge and the attitudes of Turkish nursing and midwifery students toward tuberculosis in an attempt to understand and determine whether there is a need for improvement in nursing and midwifery education regarding tuberculosis. METHOD The research is a descriptive study conducted at four nursing or midwifery schools in Turkey. The sample was composed of 615 students who were first-, second-, third-, or fourth-year nursing and midwifery students. Data were collected using the Knowledge and Attitudes toward Treatment and Control of Tuberculosis Questionnaire. RESULTS The level of tuberculosis knowledge was poor [7.22±1.92 (range: 2-9)]. The attitudes of nursing and midwifery students toward tuberculosis were generally negative. Only 5.9% of the sample would prefer to care for patients with tuberculosis. Students who received tuberculosis lectures/education had higher levels of knowledge and more positive attitudes toward tuberculosis than their peers who did not receive such education. CONCLUSION In order to fight effectively against tuberculosis, positive attitudes toward tuberculosis must be developed among health care teams, and awareness of tuberculosis via theoretical and practical education, starting from the initial semesters of the professional education, must be increased.

Disability in elderly patients with chronic neurological illness: Stroke, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy

The aim of the study was to evaluate disability in patients with elderly stroke, multiple sclerosis (MS) and epilepsy, and to analyze its relationship with demographic characteristics. We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 113 patients with neurological diseases. The data were collected with a Personal Information Form, the Rivermead Mobility Index (RMI), and the Brief Disability Questionnaire (BDQ) were used. The data were evaluated using percentage, variance analysis, the Kruskal-Wallis test and the Pearson correlation analysis. The study results demonstrate that among three disorders, the severity of disability increased in patients with stroke, epilepsy and MS, respectively. It was also found that in patients with stroke, MS and epilepsy experiencing disability in mobility, 32.7% had experienced moderate physical-social disability, and 63.3% had experienced severe physical-social disability, and that there was a significantly high relationship between mobility disability and physical-social disability. The severity of disability was found to be higher for older age, low level education, self-employed and widows. Especially in stroke patients, disability is a common problem in patients with epilepsy and MS. Detecting the level of disability is very important for decreasing the limitation in elderly patients with neurological illness.

Investigation of Effect on Glycosylated Hemoglobin, Blood Pressure, and Body Mass Index of Diabetes Intensive Education Program in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus:

This study investigated the effects of a diabetes intensive education program (DIEP) on glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), body mass index (BMI), and arterial blood pressure (BP). An 8-week randomized-controlled trial was conducted in Cumhuriyet University Hospital. Diabetes patients were randomized to control group (CG; n = 25) and intervention group (IG; n = 25) who received DIEP, including the factors affecting metabolic control and implementation of diabetes guidelines. Primary outcomes included HbA1c, BP, and BMI. After the 8 weeks, there was a significant decrease in HbA1c mean values for the intervention group. Also, BP significantly decreased from 143/87 to 130/80 mmHg in the IG as compared with an increase from 137/82 to 137/86 mmHg in the CG. In addition, the results demonstrated that DIEP improved the number of patients at goal for BP (130/80 mmHg). Baseline BMI did not change significantly in either group during the course of the study. These findings show that the DIEP may be effective in decreasing HbA1c levels and improving adherence to BP control.

Evaluation of emergency department nursing services and patient satisfaction of services.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To identify nursing services and assess patient satisfaction in patients who present to the emergency department. BACKGROUND Emergency nursing care is a significant determinant of patient satisfaction. Patient satisfaction is often regarded as a reliable indicator of the quality of services provided in the emergency department. DESIGN This is a descriptive study. METHODS Eighty-four patients who presented to the university emergency department were included in the study. The study data were collected by the Patient Information Form and the Satisfaction Level Form. RESULTS Emergency nursing services, including history taking, assessing vital signs, preparing the patient for an emergency intervention, oxygen therapy, drug delivery and blood-serum infusion were shown to be more commonly provided compared with other services such as counselling the patients and the relatives about their care or delivering educational and psychosocial services. However, 78·6% of the patients were satisfied with their nursing services. The highest satisfaction rates were observed in the following sub-dimensions of the Satisfaction Level Form: availability of the nurse (82·1%), behaviour of the nurse towards the patient (78·6%) and the frequency of nursing rounds (77·4%). CONCLUSIONS The most common practices performed by nurses in the emergency department were physical nursing services. Patient satisfaction was mostly associated with the availability of nurses when they were needed. Our results suggest that in addition to the physical care, patients should also receive education and psychosocial care in the emergency department. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE We believe that this study will contribute to the awareness and understanding of principles and concepts of emergency nursing, extend the limits of nursing knowledge and abilities, and improve and maintain the quality of clinical nursing education and practice to train specialist nurses with high levels of understanding in ethical, intellectual, administrative, investigative and professional issues.