Rabia Ekti Genç

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Used by Pediatric Patients With Cancer in Western Turkey

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To determine the extent of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use, the types of therapies employed, and the reasons for choosing those therapies. DESIGN Descriptive type, cross-sectional. SETTING Pediatric oncology department in western Turkey. SAMPLE 112 children receiving or completing treatment for cancer. METHODS Parents of 112 children completed a questionnaire regarding CAM use. Analyses included examining correlations between CAM use and demographic variables. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES CAM use and demographic variables. FINDINGS 77% of the patients used one or more type of CAM, with herb use being the most common. CONCLUSIONS About 75% of parents used CAM for their children. However, about 25% sought discussion with the physician about the CAM they were using. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Nurses should approach their patients without prejudice, gather information about the various CAM techniques, and share this knowledge with their patients.

Determination of Knowledge of Turkish Midwifery Students about Human Papilloma Virus Infection and its Vaccines

Human papilloma virus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted agents and its infection is the most established cause of cervical cancer. Midwives play a key position in the implementation of cervical cancer. This descriptive study aimed to determine the level of knowledge concerning HPV and HPV vaccination among 268 midwifery students. Data were collected between November 15 and 30, 2011, through a self-reported questionnaire. The mean age of participants was 20.75 ± 1.60. Among all students, 44.4% had heard of HPV, while 40.4% had heard of HPV vaccinatiob. The relationship between the midwifery student knowledge on HPV and HPV vaccine and their current educational year was significant (p=0.001). In conclusion midwifery students have moderate level of knowledge about HPV and its vaccine and relevant information should be included in their teaching curriculum.

Psychometric Properties of the Oncology Module of the KINDL Scale First Results

Purpose. The objective of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the Oncology module of the generic KINDL scale (having 24 items with 6 domains). Methods. The psychometric properties of the KINDL Oncology module were evaluated from the aspect of internal consistency, reliability, and construct validity on an inpatient sample of 103 Turkish children (mean age 10.0 ± 4.01 years) who had various oncological disorders. Results. The KINDL Oncology module (24 items) showed acceptable α coefficients ranging from .57 (physical well-being) to .87 (treatment) for each domain. In confirmatory factor analysis of the original 4-domain structure, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation was found as .086, and Comparative Fit Index was .87. Good known groups results supported the construct validity of the instrument. Correlations between the domains of the mother KINDL and the domains of its oncology module were significantly high, indicating a satisfactory convergent validity. Conclusion. The Turkish version of the KINDL Oncology module showed good reliability and questionable validity in this study. However, further research on other language versions of the module is needed for its global use.