The demand for smoking cessation services has risen in Turkey, as smokers planning to quit reached 35% in 2012. Communication technologies are used globally to support quitters, yet their integration to health services is rare. This study aims to evaluate the effect of support messages through WhatsApp application added to the usual care of a university hospital cessation unit, as compared to usual care alone, on abstinence rates at first month. A randomized controlled intervention study was conducted with 132 patients applying to Ege University Hospital’s Department of Public Health Smoking Cessation Clinic, between March and July 2017. Intervention content was prepared and 60 WhatsApp messages about having a plan of action and preventing relapse were developed through expert panels. These messages lasted for 3 months and follow-ups continued for 6 months. The primary outcome was abstinence rate at 1st month post target quit day. As secondary outcomes; the continuous abstinence rates at 3rd and 6th months, number of follow-ups, change in weight and continuity of medication were evaluated. Intention-to-treat analysis was used. Abstinence rate at 1st month was 65.9% in the intervention group and 40.9% in the control group (p = 0.007); 50.0 and 30.7% at 3rd month and 40.9 and 22.7% at 6th month, consecutively (both p < 0.05). Being in the intervention group increased abstinence rate by 3.50 (OR, 95% CI = 1.30–9.44) times in the 1st month. When controlled for all other factors in the multivariate logistic regression, the intervention was the only variable significantly associated with abstinence. For secondary outcomes, the intervention increased abstinence rate by 2.50 (OR, 95% CI = 1.08–6.40) times in the 3rd and 2.31 (OR, 95% CI = 1.03–5.16) times in the 6th month. In the intervention group, the number of follow-ups and face-to-face follow-ups were higher at 1st and 3rd months and continuity of medication was longer at 3rd month. WhatsApp support embedded in cessation service delivery increases the abstinence rate and has favorable effects on follow-up. This trial is retrospectively registered online at ClinicalTrials.gov with the identifier NCT03714971 .

Amaç: Bu çalışma kadınların serviks kanserinin tanısına ilişkin tutumlarını ve ilişkili faktörleri belirlemek amacıyla yapılmıştır.Yöntem: Kesitsel tipteki bu araştırmanın evrenini Aydın İli Çeştepe Aile Sağlığı Merkezine kayıtlı 18 yaş üzeri 2049 kadın, örneklemini ise okuryazar, 18 yaş ve üstü 314 kadın oluşturmuştur. Veriler, kişisel bilgi formu ve Servikal Kanserin Erken Tanısına Yönelik Tutum Ölçeği ile toplanmıştır. Araştırma verileri, temel istatistiksel testlerin yanı sıra Student T ve lineer regresyon testi ile değerlendirilmiştir. Bulgular: Kadınların %26.8’sı düzenli jinekolojik muayene olduğunu, %46.5’i pap smear yaptırdığı, %3.5’i ailede serviks kanseri olduğunu bildirmiştir. Katılımcıların yaş ortalaması 34.9(±10.8)’dur. Serviks Kanserinin Erken Tanısına İlişkin Tutum Ölçek toplam puanı 72.24’tir (±8.36). Ölçeğin Algılanan Duyarlılık Boyut puan ortalaması, çekirdek tipi ailede yaşayanlarda geniş ailede yaşayanlara göre 1.62 (%95 GA:0.27-2.97) puan, ailede serviks kanseri olmayanlarda olanlara göre 2.47 (%95 GA:0.27-4.67) puan, düzenli jinekolojik muayene olmayanlarda olanlara göre 2.17 (%95 GA: 1.21-3.13) puan fazla bulunmuştur. Pap smear deneyimi yaşamamış olanlarda yaşamış olanlara göre Algılanan Engel Boyut puanı 0.58 (%95 GA: 0.00-1.16) puan fazla, Algılanan Yarar Boyut puanı ise 0.69 (%95 GA:0.07-1.30) puan fazla bulunmuştur.Sonuç: Kadınların serviks kanserinin erken tanısına ilişkin tutum puanları ortalama düzeydedir. Kadınlara serviks kanseri tanı yöntemleri, risk faktörleri hakkında sağlık eğitimlerinin verilmesi, sağlıklı yaşam biçimi davranışlarının geliştirilmesi için desteklenmesi ve serviks kanseri hakkında farkındalığın artması sağlanabilir.

The objective of this study is to analyze the data of the 2018 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey and determine personal and demographic factors associated with elderly who are 60 and older and living alone. This cross-sectional study is the secondary analysis of the national data obtained with the 2018 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate differences in living alone based on gender, age, welfare status, region of residence, urban/rural residence, whether the person is working in a paid job and home ownership. Independent effect of every variable is observed in the first stage and then checked for all variables in the equation. There is a total of 37,897 participants’ data in the Turkey Demographic and Health Survey Database. In the study, there are 6244 (16.5%) older adults in 11,056 households and 9.79% of the elderly population is alone. The percentage of elderly women living alone is 13.62% while this percentage is 5.48% for elderly men (p < 0.001). The risk of living alone for elderly women is 2.74 times more than elderly men (95% Cl 2.28–3.31). Being poor increases the risk of living alone for elderly people 2.84 fold compared to being rich (95% Cl 2.17–3.71). Those who have high school and higher education level have 2.38 (95% Cl 1.73–3.29) fold higher risk of living alone than people with lower education. Older adults living in the Western region of the country have 3.18 (95% Cl 2.20–4.59) times higher risk of living alone than older adults living in the Eastern region of the country. The risk of living alone for older adults increases 1.90 fold (95% Cl 1.55–2.32) if the house they live in do not belong to a household member. Based on these findings, needs of older adults under risk should be met to allow them to be healthy and live their lives in better social, economic and cultural conditions.

Objective:To determine risk-group-specific rate of becoming COVID-19-positive among healthcare workers having had contact with COVID-19 cases. Methods: The retrospective cohort study was conducted at the Ege University Hospital, Bornova, Turkey, and comprised all healthcare workers who had come into contact with COVID-19 cases between March 11 and May 31, 2020. The contacts were classified as low-risk, medium-risk and high-risk using the guidelines of the Turkish Ministry of Health. The outcome measures were the incidence of infection among contacts and the incubation period and serial interval among the new cases. Data was analysed using SPSS 23. Results: Of the 845 cases, 312(37%) had high risk, 263(31%) medium and 270(32%) low. Overall, there were 490(58%) females, 355(41%) males, 565(67%) aged 40 years. Of the total, 27(3.20%) healthcare workers tested COVID-19-positive and distribution among the risk-based groups was significant (p=0.037). There was a significantly increased risk of incidence among repeated contacts, no mask use, and the source being a colleague (p<0.05). Conclusion: The detection of high-risk contacts was found to be important for controlling COVID-19 infection in a hospital setting.

Objectives: One Health approach to health considers human, animal, and ecosystem health as a whole and advocates cooperation across disciplines to reach the highest level of health. The aim of the study is to determine the attitudes of the medical interns’ toward the One Health approach and to evaluate related factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study targeted all interns of the Faculty of Medicine of 2019–2020 academic year (n=356). Sociodemographic characteristics, health status, habits, and attitudes toward One Health were asked in the questionnaire, which was created by the researchers using the literature. The study data were collected based on self-report during occupational health and safety training, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Chi-square and logistic regression analyses were also performed. Results: The study group included a fair gender distribution (47.8% female), and the average age was 23.6 ± 1.2. Out of the 316 participants, 40.2% had not heard the One Health concept before. In total, 85.4% of them declared a positive attitude toward the concept. The probability of high attitude was found to be 5.03 times (95% CI 1.10–23.12) higher in those with above-average success status and 4.08 times (95% CI 1.15–14.52) higher in those who had kept animals. In students’ responses to the attitude questionnaire items, the epidemic sub-dimension had the highest level as 86.1%, and the antibiotic resistance sub-dimension had the lowest level as 77.2%. Conclusions: The current study revealed that the awareness on One Health concept among medical interns is limited, however, students’ attitudes are positive. Recent SARS-CoV 2 pandemic showed us the urgent need for proper implementation of’ One Health approach in the medical education curriculum. Meanwhile, One Health focused courses should be introduced into the curriculum of final year medicine and related programs.

Aim: The objective of this study was to explore the potential correlation between COVID-19 infection or vaccination and levels of anti-nucleocapsid (anti-N) and anti-spike (anti-S) antibodies. Methods: Among 6050 healthcare workers at the Ege University Hospital, a cohort study with 162 participants divided into three arms with 54 participants each was conducted. The three groups were selected as follows: those diagnosed with COVID-19 and not vaccinated (group 1), those diagnosed with COVID-19 and subsequently vaccinated with CoronaVac (group 2), and those not diagnosed with COVID-19 but vaccinated with two doses of CoronaVac (group 3). Antibody levels measured at the sixth month of follow-up were defined as the primary outcome. Results: At the sixth month, all serum samples tested positive for anti-S. Anti-S levels were found to be significantly higher in group 2 than in the other groups (p < 0.001). There were no differences in antibody levels between groups 1 and 3 (p = 0.080). Average antibody levels were found to be lower in office workers and males. Anti-N antibodies were found to be positive in 85.1% of subjects at the sixth month. In group 2, anti-N antibodies were detected in all samples at the sixth month. Anti-N antibody levels were not significantly different between groups 1 and 2 (p = 0.165). Groups 1 and 2 had significantly higher antibody levels than group 3 (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Vaccination or infection provide protection for at least 6 months. Those who have previously been diagnosed with COVID-19 do not need to be vaccinated in the early period before their antibody levels decrease.