Background The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of abuse and its effect on life satisfaction in older adults living in our region. Method This research is a cross‐sectional study. The participants of the study were an elderly population who applied to one ‘family health centre’. The study was completed with the participation of 332 people. The study was carried out between June and July 2021. A questionnaire form, Geriatric Mistreatment Scale (GMS), Hwalek–Sengstock Elder Abuse Screening Test (H‐S/EAST), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were used in the study. Results According to the GMS, 16.0% of the participants experience abuse. Psychological abuse (6.92%) was the highest according to the GMS sub‐dimensions. This was followed by physical abuse (6.6%), neglect (1.8%), economic abuse (1.5%), and sexual abuse (1.5%). According to H‐S/EAST, 22.9% of participants experience abuse. The perpetrators of abuse are mostly spouses, children and relatives of the elderly. There is a negative correlation between the H‐S/EAST score and the SWLS score. Uneducated elderly people are exposed to abuse more than primary education graduates. Compared to the elderly living in a nuclear family, more abuse is seen in extended families and those living alone. Conclusion The fact that the houses in which the elderly live are not physically suitable increases the risk of abuse. Identifying and trying to minimise local risk factors for elder abuse can help reduce the prevalence of abuse. We hope that these data will be a guide for future intervention studies.
Objective: This study aims to examine the level of vitamin D, wich is an immunomodulator, in Covid-19 patients. Materials and Methods: 580 patients with positive Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR, PCR) test were screened from the national health data system. 91 patients whose vitamin D levels were checked recently were included in the study. In addition, 91 people with the same characteristics with negative PCR test were taken as the control group. Results: The average age of the Covid 19 patient group was 53.05±16.01, while the control group was 55.32±9.0 years, it was observed 39.6% of the participants were male and 60.4% were female. Vitamin D levels of positive patients, 69.2% (<20 ng / mL) deficiency, 23.1% (20-30 ng / mL) insufficiency, 7.7% (30-149 ng/mL) was found to be optimal and the average vitamin D is 17.61 ng / ml. Control group were found to be 58.2% deficiency, 24.2% insufficiency, 17.6% (30-149) optimal, and the average was 20.75 ng / ml. Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is more common in Covid 19 patients, and the average of vitamin D is generally lower in Covid 19 patients. Vitamin D supplementation is important in our fight against Covid 19.
Purpose: In this study, it was aimed to investigate the symptoms (Long-Covid) that continue after 28 days and the factors affecting its formation in patients who had a mild course of Covid-19 and recovered. Material and Methods: Until July 2021, 64 thousand Covid-19 patients were diagnosed in Kütahya. A questionnaire was conducted by contacting 659 people, who did not have hospitalization indications, either face-to-face or by telephone and 635 people completed it. Results: The mean age of the patients, 50.10% of whom were women and 43.50% were university graduates, was 44.26±15.69 years. It was determined that an average of 6.39±2.61 months (min:2; max:14) had passed since the patients were diagnosed with Covid-19. The most common symptoms was fatigue followed by muscle pain, memory problems, joint pain, and loss of smell, respectively. It was found that there was a significant relationship between the presence of prolonged symptoms and the observation of symptoms at the beginning of the disease, the presence of lung involvement, the status of taking anticoagulants, and the prolongation of the recovery time of active symptoms (p<0.05). Female gender, presence of chronic disease and non-vaccination were observed at higher rates in Long-Covid patients. Conclusion: Prolonged symptoms are more common in patients with a severe clinical course of Covid-19 disease. As vaccination rates increase, the rate of observing prolonged symptoms decreases. There is a need for new research on this subject with more vaccinated individuals.
Aim: It is aimed to investigate the attitude and behaviour changes in the smoking habit of those who had COVID-19 while smoking. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 312 active smokers with Coranavirus disease (COVID-19) between October and November 2021. Results: It was determined that 38.6% (n=81) of those who had COVID-19 while smoking reduced smoking, 2.4% (n=5) quit smoking, and 9.5% (n=20) quit for a while and then restarted. It was determined that individuals over the age of 45 who had COVID-19 while smoking (p=0.011) and those who received 1-5 years of education compared to those with education of 6-12 years and 13 years or more (p:0.012; p:0.010 respectively) developed more desire to quit smoking. Conclusion: Public service ads on the health hazards of smoking and the need to quit smoking could have been shared more actively during the pandemic. Also, smoking cessation treatments such as counselling, nicotine patches and medication could have been offered more widely. This COVID-19 Pandemic period, which is an opportunity to quit smoking, unfortunately could not be fully utilized and positive results could not be obtained in this habit.
Background This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and reservations of family physicians (FPs) in reporting elderly abuse and neglect (EAN). Methods Our cross-sectional study was conducted with 161 FPs in Kütahya, a city in Türkiye. A questionnaire including demographic characteristics, the frequency with which Elder Abuse Suspicion Index (EASI) questions were asked and knowledge level of EAN was applied to the FPs. Results Only about a quarter (24.2%) of the FPs felt competent regarding EAN. The rate of participants who had encountered EAN victims before was 46%. Of these, 40% reported psychological violence, 24.3% reported physical and psychological violence and 21.6% reported only physical violence. FPs also reported that inconsistency in anamnesis (87.0%), inconsistency between anamnesis and physical examination findings (85.1%) and frequent visits to the emergency department (59.6%) raised suspicion about EAN. It was also observed that 68.9% of the FPs knew that healthcare professionals had a legal obligation to report elder abuse. Only 23.0% of the FPs who encountered cases of violence and abuse stated that they had made a legal report. Among the FPs who did not report, 40.4% stated that they did not report because they had some reservations or did not know how to do so (35.1%). Conclusion Due to a lack of knowledge and some concerns, the rate of reporting EAN to judicial authorities was also low. FPs were not aware of the importance of EAN in terms of elderly health.
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