Nursen O. Nahcivan

Health beliefs related to breast self-examination in a sample of turkish women

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To examine health beliefs and sociodemographic and breast cancer-related variables influencing breast self-examination (BSE) practice. DESIGN Descriptive, cross-sectional. SETTING Two vocational training centers in Istanbul, Turkey. SAMPLE 438 women were selected using a convenience sampling method. Participants had not had breast cancer and were not currently pregnant or breast-feeding. The mean age of participants was 33.51 years (range = 18-67). METHODS Willing participants were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire and the Turkish version of Champions Health Belief Model Scale. The sample was categorized into two groups: performers (i.e., women who performed BSE at least occasionally) and non-performers (i.e., women who had never performed BSE). MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES Perceived susceptibility to and seriousness of breast cancer, perceived benefits of and barriers to BSE, confidence in the ability to perform BSE, health motivation, and frequency of BSE practice. FINDINGS Significant differences between performers and non-performers correlated to age, marital status, health insurance, regular gynecologic visits, and education about breast cancer and BSE. The mean scores of perceived benefits and confidence were noticeably higher in performers. Stepwise logistic regression analysis yielded three significant predictor variables. CONCLUSIONS Women who had more confidence in their ability to perform BSE, had health insurance, and were informed about breast cancer were more likely to practice BSE. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Women in Turkey are at great risk for advanced breast cancer and metastatic spread because of their lack of knowledge. Nurses must provide information on breast cancer etiology, risks, prevention, and detection. To promote BSE practice among Turkish women, tailored health education and health promotion programs should be developed based on a specific understanding of womens health beliefs.

Reliability and Validity of the Breast Cancer Screening Belief Scale Among Turkish Women

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in Turkish women, and the use of breast self-examination (BSE) and mammography remains low in Turkey. Therefore, we need to identify the beliefs, influencing BSE and mammography, and a valid and reliable tool to measure constructs. The Champions health belief model scale (CHBMS) is a valid and reliable tool to measure beliefs about breast cancer, BSE, and mammography in an English culture. The purpose of this study was to assess the psychometric characteristics of a Turkish version of the CHBMS related to breast cancer, BSE, and mammography. A convenience sample of 656 women was recruited from 3 health centers and 2 maternal and child health centers in Istanbul. The CHBMS was translated to Turkish, validated by professional judges, back translated, and tested. Factor analysis yielded 7 factors for BSE: confidence, seriousness, barriers-BSE, health motivation 1 and 2, susceptibility, and benefits-BSE. For mammography scale, 6 factors were identified: seriousness, benefits-mammography, barriers-mammography, health motivation 1 and 2, and susceptibility. All items on each factor were from the same construct. Cronbach alpha reliability coefficients ranged from .75 to .87 for the subscales. The Turkish version of the CHBMS showed adequate reliability and validity for use in Turkish women. It could easily be used to evaluate the health beliefs about breast cancer, BSE, and mammography. Further refinement is required to study Turkish womens health beliefs and breast cancer screening behaviors in various settings.

Using the Omaha System to describe health problems, interventions, and outcomes in home care in Istanbul, Turkey: a student informatics research experience.

Preparing nursing students to achieve informatics competencies is essential in today’s information-intensive healthcare delivery systems. This study aimed to provide hands-on informatics experience to nursing students and to identify the frequency and type of home care clients’ health problems, nursing interventions, and outcomes using a standardized nursing terminology, the Omaha System. Data were collected by 159 nursing students on home visits to 598 clients, who received 8657 interventions from students and faculty for 2267 problems, in addition to the services provided by the home care centers. Skin, neuromusculoskelatal function, personal care, nutrition, and urinary function were the most common problems. The most common intervention category was teaching, guidance, and counseling (47%), followed by treatments and procedures (22%), surveillance (22%), and case management (9%). Outcomes evaluation showed significant improvement in 97.5% of the identified problems. Students gained informatics experience in the use of a standardized nursing language in electronic health records, data management, and use of nursing data at the basic practice level. This study demonstrated that the Omaha System was a useful data collection tool for evaluating problems, interventions, and outcomes in home care and a positive teaching and learning tool for baccalaureate nursing education.

Interventions Promoting Breast Cancer Screening Among Turkish Women With Global Implications: A Systematic Review

Background: Breast cancer is a major health concern and remains the most common malignancy in women worldwide and in Turkey. Mammography, clinical breast examination (CBE), and breast self‐examination (BSE) are recommended methods to detect early breast cancer in women. Many strategies have been developed to increase the rates of mammography, CBE, and BSE among Turkish women. Despite the benefits of breast cancer screening, these modalities are still underutilized by the majority of Turkish women. Aim: To systematically review the scientific evidence on the effectiveness of various strategies aimed at improving screening behaviors for breast cancer in Turkish women. Methods: A systematic review of the literature published between 2000 and 2015 was conducted, searching 10 databases of Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Google Scholar, ULAKBIM Turkish Medical Database, and Council of Higher Education Thesis Center. Results: Twenty‐three studies were included in the final review. The majority of the studies investigated the effects of multiple strategies to improve BSE. Group education comprised educational sessions, printed and audiovisual materials, which significantly improved BSE, CBE, and mammography screening rates at 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after the intervention. One‐to‐one education demonstrated no significant difference in BSE rates at 6‐month and 12‐month follow‐up. However, one‐to‐one education demonstrated significant differences in CBE and mammography rates at the 3‐month follow‐up. Linking Evidence to Action: The use of group education comprising a multicomponent intervention demonstrated an increase in breast‐screening behaviors among Turkish women. Further research investigating the duration of educational interventions is needed in order to suggest a “dose response.”

Evaluation of a nurse-led fall prevention education program in Turkish nursing home residents

ABSTRACT Falls are a major cause of morbidity and mortality among the elderly living in nursing homes. There is a need to implement and evaluate fall prevention programs in nursing homes to reduce the number of falls. The purpose of this resrch was to examine the effect of a nurse-led fall prevention education program in a sample of nursing home residents in Turkey. This study was designed in line with pre- and posttest one-group methodology. The sample is composed of 46 elderly aged 60 and over, noncognitively impaired, not bedridden, able to act independently in daily life activities, and consenting to voluntarily participate in the study. Data were collected using an interview form, the Morse Fall Scale, a medication checklist, and the Falls Behavioral Scale. Study findings showed that a nurse-led fall prevention education program has an impact on increasing knowledge about medications and developing protective fall behavior. However, no effect was seen on reducing the number of falls and diminishing the fear of falling for the nursing home residents.