Background:Chronic disease of children can cause changes in the health-related quality of life (HrQoL) of the family members.Aims:To evaluate the HrQoL of healthy siblings of children with chronic disease.Study Design:Cross-sectional study.Methods:The study included healthy sibling of children with chronic disease (cerebral palsy, epilepsy, diabetes, celiac disease, hematologic/oncologic disease, or asthma) and healthy sibling of healthy children to evaluate the quality of life. We used the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory questionnaire; the physical health and psychosocial health scores were calculated using the responses of the sibling and parent. The primary endpoint was the comparison of HrQoL scores of healthy siblings of children with chronic disease and that of healthy siblings of healthy children.Results:This study included a respective healthy sibling of 191 children with chronic disease and healthy sibling of 100 healthy children. The physical health, psychosocial health, and total health scores of healthy siblings of children with chronic disease were significantly lower than that of healthy siblings of healthy children (p<0.001). Among the healthy siblings of children with chronic disease, the lowest psychosocial health score was found in the siblings of children with cerebral palsy, hematologic/oncologic disease, and asthma (p<0.001). The global impact on the quality of life for healthy siblings of children with chronic disease was significantly higher in the self-report of the children than that of the parents (30.4% versus 15.1%, p<0.05).Conclusion:Most healthy siblings of children with chronic disease are physically and psychosocially affected and there is low parental awareness of this condition. This can increase the risk of emotional neglect and abuse of these children. Therefore, special support programs are needed for the families of children with chronic diseases.

The quality of life determination of children with chronic disease is closely related to treatment success. Quality of life assessment studies revealed that it was not limited to the individual, the quality of life of the family members also had to be assessed. Along with the child being diagnosed with chronic illness, some changes occur in the family structure, and in family roles. Quality of life assessment studies in healthy siblings generally indicate a global influence. These children live in different senses such as closure, aggression, depression, anxiety, guilt, and isolation. Psychosocial impact (short or long-term) of healthy siblings have been associated with disease type, severity, disease duration, age, sex, and ability to cope. Further comprehensive studies among healthy siblings of children with chronic disease about quality of life are needed. Building support groups (especially family support groups) to express feelings and thoughts freely for healthy siblings can positively affect the well-being and self-esteem of the child.

Background The Syrian crisis, which started in March 2011, has resulted in the displacement of 6.3 million refugees predominantly to neighboring countries in addition to the internal displacement of 6.2 million people. Turkey is the country hosting the largest number of refugees in the world with 3.6 million Syrian refugees 46 % of which are under 18 years old. Objective The purpose of this article is to conduct a narrative review and analyze the vulnerabilities of refugee children in Turkey from the lens of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), more specifically SDG Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, with a specific focus on Syrian refugee children. Moreover, this article explores the actions taken to prevent and mitigate issues that arise from these vulnerabilities. Method This narrative review article collected data from various primary and secondary sources on the Turkish refugee framework including national and international legislation, governmental and non-governmental data and reports, and scientific papers. Results Syrian refugee children in Turkey are facing a variety of risks in terms of their health and wellbeing including communicable and non-communicable diseases, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, family violence, child labor, and child marriage. The measures taken for prevention and response by governmental and non-governmental entities are multilateral and aim to address issues from multiple perspectives including medical, psychosocial, child protection, and legal. Conclusions The interventions and restructuring of the health system in Turkey contribute to the SDG number 3 for refugee children. The existence of a legal system which enables refugee access to health, protection, and other social services is key to achieve this goal. However, the existing system could be improved especially through solidifying the legal basis and centralizing the implementation for child and refugee protection. The engagement of all stakeholders to improve the health and wellbeing of refugee children remains vital.

Objective: Child abuse and neglect are considered public health issues by authorities such as the World Health Organization (WHO). This study evaluated the effectiveness of the trainings given to university students. Materials and Methods: In this study, we trained university students at Gazi University who are likely to deal with child abuse cases after graduation. By developing two scales, Child Abuse and Neglect Awareness Scale (CANA-S) and Child Abuse and Neglect Knowledge Test (CANK-T), to assess students' knowledge and awareness levels regarding child abuse and neglect, we evaluated the training's impact. Results: We assessed the knowledge and awareness levels of 43 students before and after training by using our scales, The knowledge level has improved significantly in all groups regardless of age, sex, and department. Similarly, the awareness level has also risen significantly, except regarding the physical abuse subscale. Conclusion: Overall awareness after education was significant among students from the health and social sciences departments. Total awareness scores did not increase significantly among law students. Measuring and disseminating the effectiveness of these trainings through proper prevention programs will be effective in reducing child abuse in the future.

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