Türkan Pasinlioğlu

Relationship between age of menopause and cell-mediated immune hypersensitivity in right- and left-handed women

The aim of this work was to study the relationship between age of menopause and cell-mediated immune hypersensitivity in right- (N = 32) and left-handed (N = 15) women who had experienced menopause after age of 34 at least one year before interview. Age of menopause was higher in right-handed than left-handed women. Cell-mediated immunity was higher in left-handers than right-handers. Hand-preference correlated with age of menopause, but inversely correlated with tuberculin reaction and percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes; age of menopause correlated with cell-mediated immunity. The results suggested that early menopause in left-handed women may be due to a more active immune system, especially cell-mediated immunity.

The Effect of Nursing Care Based on Comfort Theory on Women's Postpartum Comfort Levels After Caesarean Sections

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to determine the effect of nursing care based on comfort theory on womens postpartum comfort levels after C-sections. METHODS A quasi-experimental design was used. The sample comprised 100 women who had C-sections (50 experimental, 50 control). RESULTS A total of 27 nursing diagnoses were determined. The physical (p = .000), psychospiritual (p = .249), and sociocultural (p = .001) subdimension mean scores on the Postpartum Comfort Scale were higher in the experimental group than they were in the control group. The mean total scores on the Postpartum Comfort Scale were 138.70 ± 8.79 in the experimental group and 131.06 ± 9.30 in the control group (p = .000). CONCLUSION Nursing care based on comfort theory for women having C-sections met their comfort needs and increased their postpartum comfort levels. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS It is recommended that nursing care outcomes be compared using different nursing models.

Effects of imparting planned health education on hot flush beliefs and quality of life of climacteric women

Abstract Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of imparting planned health education to climacteric women on their beliefs related to hot flushes and on their quality of life. Methods: The research was conducted using pretest and post-test semi-experimental models along with a control group. Of 450 women, 255 were randomly selected and invited to participate in the study. Five people did not agree to participate in the study. Three people were also excluded from the study because they did not complete training. The research sample was comprised of 247 climacteric women (121 women in the experimental group and 126 women in the control group) who were <65 years (the average ages of the participants in the experimental group were 50.61 ± 5.54 years and in the control group 50.94 ± 6.03 years), had experienced hot flushes within the past month, were going through the menopause and postmenopause, were not using hormone replacement therapy, and had agreed to participate in the study. Participants were asked to complete a Sociodemographic Questionnaire, the Hot Flush Beliefs Scale, and The Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire. Three educational sessions at 2-week intervals were given to the women in the experimental group. The research was supported with an educational booklet prepared by the researchers. Training was not given to the women in the control group. After the education of the experimental group (after about 6 months), women in both groups recompleted the data collection forms, and post-test data were collected. Results: On all the subscales, the total of the Hot Flush Beliefs Scale, and the average post-test score, the women in the experimental group scored lower than the women in the control group (the average post-test total score in the experimental group was 26.22 ± 10.09 and in control group it was 52.25 ± 15.04; p < 0.001). While the women in the experimental group developed positive beliefs about their hot flushes, the beliefs of the women in the control group remained unchanged. The average post-test score on all the subscales of the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire for the women in the experimental group was lower than that for the women in the control group (p < 0.001; the average post-test score in the experimental group for the vasomotor subscale was 1.78 ± 0.88, for the psychosocial subscale 1.50 ± 0.75, for the physical subscale 1.69 ± 0.63, and for the sexual subscale 2.91 ± 2.06; the average post-test score in the control group for the the vasomotor subscale was 3.80 ± 1.88, for the psychosocial subscale 2.79 ± 1.08, for the physical subscale 3.10 ± 1.04, and for the sexual subscale 2.25 ± 2.11). While the quality of life of the women in the experimental group showed an upward trend, that of the women in the control group remained the same. Conclusion: It was found that planned health education about the climacteric period reduced women’s negative beliefs about hot flushes and enhanced their quality of life.