Biomedical subjects

S Kalaca

Publications and source records attributed to S Kalaca.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The anxieties of medical students related to clinical training.

High levels of anxiety and stress during medical education may have negative effects on students' learning and may also influence students' performance, decision-making and caring capabilities. This study aims to compare the anxieties of clerkships of two medical schools that apply two different preclinical curricula; one is problem-based and the other is integrated. Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine (DEUSM) has the basic clinical and communication skills education by the first year of medical education. However, the students of Marmara University School of Medicine (MUSM) had not any preclinical training about these issues at the time we performed this study. In order to evaluate the perceived anxiety, we used a questionnaire which comprises 39 issues presented as 4-point Likert-type scales. Eighty-six clerkships from MUSM and 115 clerkships from DEUSM participated in the study. According to the students of both of the schools, fear of making mistakes that could harm the patients was at the top of the list of sources of anxiety. The students of MUSM have additional anxieties related to the core clinical skills such as suturing patients, taking blood from patients and giving injections. On the other hand, the students of DEUSM have anxieties mostly related to difficult issues in communication such as breaking bad news. The study has revealed that medical students might have anxiety related to the clinical practice in the beginning of their clerkships. It was also shown that sources of anxiety may vary among students exposed to different preclinical curricula and different educational environment. If basic clinical and communication skills courses are integrated in preclinical curriculum, the students would meet some clinical task in the early year and would be orientated through clinical period.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Predictors of early leaving from the cotton spinning mill environment in newly hired workers.

OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study aimed to identify the predictors of leaving during the first year of employment from the cotton spinning mill environment in newly hired workers. METHODS: One hundred and ninety eight consecutively appointed new employees were investigated by questionnaire, lung function test, and skin test. They were examined before employment and at the end of the 1st week, and the 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 12th month after starting work and when possible before leaving their job. 572 personal dust sampling and 191 endotoxin measurements were performed to assess the environmental exposure. For the univariate analysis chi2, Student t tests, ANOVA, and Kruskall Wallis tests were used. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to identify factors associated with leaving the job. RESULTS: Fifty three per cent of workers left the mill environment during their first working year. Work related lower respiratory tract symptoms reported at the third month were associated with an increase rate of leaving the industry compared to those remaining in the industry (25% v 4.8%; p<0.005). Having respiratory symptoms at the first month of work predicted those leaving the industry at some point in the next 11 months. According to the Cox model, increasing age and having work related lower respiratory tract symptoms were found to be predictors for leaving job at the first working year. Atopic status, dust and endotoxin levels, and lung function changes were not consistently predictive of workers who left the industry in the follow up period. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that work related respiratory symptoms can predict workers likely to leave the cotton mill environment during the first year of employment, but atopy or acute lung function changes do not.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Assessment of sociodemographic factors and socio-economic status affecting the coverage of compulsory and private immunization services in Istanbul, Turkey.

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study was to determine the coverage of the Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI) of the Ministry of Health and the coverage of private vaccines in the Umraniye Health District in order to establish approaches for improving vaccination services. Other objectives were to define the areas that present higher risks for non-vaccination and to determine the factors that influence vaccination coverage. METHODS: A '30 x 7' cluster sampling design was adopted as the sampling method. Thirty streets were selected at random from each health care region. Sociodemographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population, utilization of vaccination services and vaccination status of children under the age of 5 years were determined by face-to-face interviews. Odds ratios for the sociodemographic and socio-economic characteristics, health centre region and inner country immigration were assessed as possible related factors with the vaccination coverage rates for children under 5 years and under 1 year using the backward elimination method in logistic regression. RESULTS: Vaccination coverage was as follows: hepatitis B third dose, 84.6%; Bacille Calmette-Guérin, 94.8%; diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DPT) third dose, 90.1%; oral polio virus (OPV) third dose, 90.0%; measles, 88.7%; DPT booster dose, 79.1%; OPV booster dose, 79.0%; measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), 13.3%; haemophilus influenza type b (Hib), 9.3%; and Varicella vaccine, 3.3%. The full vaccination rates for children under 5 years and under 1 year were 68.3 and 79.5%, respectively. Higher socio-economic status was associated with a higher rate of full vaccination and private vaccination for children under 5 years of age. CONCLUSIONS: Full vaccination rates for children aged less than 1 year and less than 5 years were higher in our district than in Istanbul. However, we did not meet the EPI aims for any of the vaccines, and differences were observed in vaccination coverage rates between different socio-economic groups in the district. Therefore, an intervention programme should be considered to achieve the EPI's goals, particularly in socio-economically disadvantaged groups. Also, the coverage of private vaccination (MMR, Hib, Varicella) is low and more children from higher socio-economic groups receive these vaccines.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Minimizing missed opportunities: an approach to decrease the unmet need for family planning.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to determine the participants with unmet need and to show that family planning consultancy given to women and men attending the first-level health facilities would increase contraceptive usage and reduce unmet need for family planning. METHODS: All married women aged 15-49 years and men having wives of the same age group attending the health centers for any service other than family planning were included in the study. Among 2021 attendants, a total of 1701 participated in the study (84.2%). Participants were interviewed after they took the services for which they attended. At the end of the inquiries, all willing participants were referred to the family planning unit in the same building. RESULTS: The unmet need (need for any or more effective contraceptive methods) was 43.1%. All participants with unmet need were referred to the family planning unit in the same building and willing participants were given family planning services. Of the participants, 23.9% attended the family planning unit and 17.8% took services immediately at the time of the attendance. CONCLUSIONS: Linking family planning services with other health services can be a cheap and practical way to reduce the unmet need.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Resistance against contraception or medical contraceptive methods: a qualitative study on women and men in Istanbul.

OBJECTIVES: This research was carried out to reveal the attitudes of men and women about contraception in the Umraniye district of Istanbul. METHODS: Focus group discussions were used for data collection. Data from 20 groups of married people (ten groups of men and ten of women) living in Umraniye were analyzed. RESULTS: Most people attending the focus groups in the study were against having 'too many' children. Economic constraints appear to be a leading influencing factor for limiting the number of children. Urbanization also seems to have a strong influence on people's knowledge and attitudes about contraception. Culture and religious beliefs were not found to be major barriers to contraception in general, but they would influence the selection of the type of a certain contraceptive method. More specifically, culture and religious beliefs were barriers to use of medical methods, and they were the main reasons for use of the withdrawal method, which is the most common method used in Turkey. CONCLUSIONS: Men and women are not resistant to contraception, but they are reluctant to use medical methods. The provision of contraceptive services, with special attention to cultural and religious beliefs and values, and the inclusion of appropriate counseling and education sessions during service delivery, may give clients new options and increase the use of medical methods.

Contraception Behavior↗