Undernutrition in hospitalized patients is a significant healthcare burden worldwide. Depression is a major global health problem characterized by symptoms such as altered mood, loss of interest and pleasure, and impairment in cognitive and physical functions. Patients hospitalized for medical conditions have a higher risk of depression than the general population. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between undernutrition risk and depression risk in hospitalized patients. The design of this study was an observational cross-sectional analytic. A questionnaire form created by the investigator including sociodemographic data, dietary patterns, presence of chronic diseases and anthropometric measurements, Nutritional Risk Screening and Patient Health Questionnaire-2 were applied to the patients. All quantitative data were expressed as the median and interquartile range and qualitative data were expressed as numbers and percentage. Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal–Wallis test were used to analyze nonparametric data; Chi-square and Fisher Exact test were used to analyze qualitative data. P < .05 was considered statistically significant. A total of 308 patients who met the criteria were reached. Undernutrition was detected in 28.6% of the participants, and depression was present in 37.3%. A statistically significant relationship was found between the risk of undernutrition and the risk of depression, with individuals without a risk of depression being found to have a lower risk of undernutrition. (P < .001). The risk of undernutrition was found to increase with advancing age. Moreover, individuals with higher values for arm muscle area, arm muscle circumference, mid-upper arm circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, calf circumference, and body mass index had a lower risk of undernutrition. No relationship was found between gender and the risk of depression. However, a statistically significant relationship was observed between age and the risk of depression, indicating that older patients had a higher risk of depression. In this study, a statistically significant relationship was found between the risk of undernutrition and the risk of depression in hospitalized patients. It was observed that the risk of undernutrition was lower in individuals without risk of depression.

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed obesity prejudice levels, attitudes, and perceptions of health care workers toward individuals with obesity and the relationship between health care workers' perceptions of own and society's weight bias, healthy lifestyle preferences, body mass index, and other factors with obesity prejudice levels. METHODS: This cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted with 700 health care workers in Turkey via an online survey addressing characteristics, perceptions, and attitudes toward obesity including an obesity prejudice scale. Categorical variables were expressed as frequencies and percentages. The chi(2) test was applied to compare categorical variables. The distribution of the data was evaluated by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Normally distributed data were compared by an independent sample t-test, while the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for comparing non-normally distributed data. RESULTS: Participants' mean age was 40.2 +/- 11.3 years and 67.9% were women. Notably, 57.9% worked at tertiary health care centers, 85.9% were physicians, and 64.8% were family physicians; 25% were prejudicial, while 58.1% tended to have prejudice toward individuals with obesity. Obesity prejudice scores were significantly higher among those who were in close contact with and who stated their preference for patients with obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Half of the participants tended to have prejudice, and one-fourth were prejudicial toward individuals with obesity. These results highlight the necessity of raising awareness of health care workers to reduce prejudicial attitudes that may negatively impact patients with obesity. Stigmatizing experiences might be detrimental, reducing the quality of life with long-term consequences for emotional and physical health.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of face-to-face education on pressure ulcer prevention and care provided to caregivers of patients with pressure ulcers in home healthcare services, specifically on the progression of the ulcers and their effects on the patients. Methods: This prospective, analytical intervention study assessed the training program implemented using the presentation teaching strategy for caregivers of patients with pressure ulcers, from the perspective of the patient and caregiver. The participants were 91 patients with pressure ulcers in the Home Health Care Unit and 91 caregivers. The data collection tool, consisted of questions regarding sociodemographic data prepared by researchers and questioning the knowledge of caregivers’ knowledge about pressure ulcer. The Barthel Index, Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing, Braden Risk Assessment Scale, and Care Assessment Inventory provided by family members were used to assess the level of dependence in patients’ daily living activities. Results: The patients’ average age was 77.21± 13.26 years and 58.2% of them were women. The caregivers’ average age was 53.32± 11.45 years and 83.5% of them were women. A statistically significant increase was observed between knowledge scores before and after training (p< 0.001). Indicating that the training positively affects the caregivers’ level of knowledge. Factors such as a private room, caregiver support, caregiver competence, and caregiving difficulties were significantly related to changes in knowledge scores. Conclusion: Training programs for caregivers on pressure ulcer handling in home health care patients are effective and should be planned from a broader perspective to include caregivers within the family.

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, aile hekimlerinin HPV aşısı bilgi düzeyinin belirlenmesi ve sahada aşı uygulama sıklıklarının saptanmasıdır.Yöntem: Çalışmamız Nisan-Eylül 2022 tarihleri arasında İzmir’de, Aile Sağlığı merkezlerinde çalışan 336 aile hekimleri ile yapıldı. Çalışmamızda, aile hekimlerinin sosyodemografik özellikleri, HPV aşısı hakkındaki tutum, davranışları ve bilgi düzeylerini ölçmek için 23 soruluk anket oluşturuldu. Bu anket Google form aracılığıyla Whatsapp üzerinden tek tek ve gruplar üzerinden aile hekimlerine ulaştırıldı.Bulgular: Araştırmaya katılan aile hekimlerinin %50,9’u kadın %49,1’i erkekti. Hekimlerin %7,7 kadarı kendine aşı yaptırmış, %72,9’u çocuğuna aşı yaptırmayı düşünen ve yaptıranlardan oluşmaktaydı. HPV aşısının pahalı olması nedeniyle yaptırılmadığı ve önerilmediği belirlenmiştir. Kırk beş yaş ve üzerindeki hekimlerin HPV aşısı olma oranı istatistiksel olarak anlamlı derecede daha düşük olarak saptanmıştır. Araştırmaya katılan hekimlerin HPV aşısı hakkında bilgi düzeylerini ölçen sorulara verilen yanıtlar incelendiğinde, yedi sorudan üç soruya daha yüksek oranda doğru yanıt verildiği gözlendi. Aile hekimlerinin HPV aşı çeşitlerini (%70), aşı uygulama yollarını (%87,5) ve kimlere uygulandığını (%76,5) daha iyi bildikleri ortaya çıkmıştır.Sonuç: Çalışmamız aile hekimlerinin HPV aşısı hakkında bilgilerinin beklenilen düzeyde olmadığını ortaya koymuştur. Özellikle genç kadın hekimlerin sorulara daha doğru yanıt verdiği gözlenmiştir. Ulusal aşılama programında olmayan aşılardan en düşük oranda önerilen aşının HPV aşısı olduğu saptanmıştır.

Objective: We aimed to determine the frequency, types of infections, and influencing risk factors in home healthcare services patients. Methods: This prospective, analytical study was conducted with patients receiving home health services. Over a four-month follow-up period starting from May 1, 2023, an average of 500 patients applied for home health services monthly. Among those, 307 patients showing signs of infection were included in the study. A 12-item questionnaire, prepared by the researcher after reviewing the literature, was applied to patients and their relatives through face-to-face interviews. Data were analyzed by frequency (n), percentage (%), mean, and standard deviation values. Results: The mean age of the participants was 77.71 ± 14.84 years (min-max=19-102), and 64.5% were female. Among the research group, 97.4% had chronic diseases. The most commonly observed infection among the participants was respiratory system infection, followed by urinary system infection. Most participants (86.6%) received outpatient treatment, while 5.2% were hospitalized due to infection. There was a significant relationship between the types of infection and age, gender, presence of pressure sores, and use of medical devices. Urinary system infections were more common in patients with urinary catheters. Conclusion: We conclude that the patients receiving home healthcare services have a high risk of infection, and the risk factors include advanced age, chronic diseases, immobility, and urinary catheter use. It is imperative that more measures be taken to reduce infection risks in this vulnerable population.

Aim: The study was to investigate the frequency of pressure sores, the risk factors causing their formation, and their relationship with nutrition in patients receiving home health services. Materials and Methods: After scanning all 4098 patients registered with the Home Health Unit of an Education and Research Hospital in İzmir, Turkey, it was discovered that 186 of them had pressure sores. The study concluded with 151 patients as 35 patients passed away during the data collection process. The questionnaire employed in the study comprised two parts: The first part examined patients' sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, while the second part utilized the Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing, Braden Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Scale, and Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool. Results: Pressure sores were found in 3.69% of the 4098 patients. The mean age of the patients was 78.29 (78.28±14.51), and 103 (68.2%) were female patients. Upon analyzing patients based on the presence of chronic diseases, it was noted that the risk of pressure sore development was notably higher in the high and very high-risk groups, particularly among those with neurological diseases. Approximately 44.4% of the patients utilized nutritional products. A statistically significant correlation was observed between the use of high-protein dietary products and the Braden scale score.. Conclusion: This study shows that the patients receiving Home Health Care Services are in the risky group in terms of pressure sores and malnutrition, but the incidence decreases with good care and caregiver education. The most important factors that increased the risk of pressure sore formation and the severity of pressure sores were neurological disease, nutritional status, and urinary and fecal incontinence.