The study aims to reveal Türkiye’s medical tourism destination image and its determinants from the perspective of healthcare professionals. The cross-sectional study population consists of healthcare professionals working in public hospitals in Türkiye (N=1.142.469). The research data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of two parts. The first part of the questionnaire consisted of statements aiming to reveal the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants. The “medical tourism image scale” was used in the second part of the questionnaire. The study data were collected online between July 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023. Of the participants, 64.9% were female, 58.1% were married, 37.7% were between the ages of 18-29, and 31.7% were physicians. 76.7% of the participants chose their profession willingly, 80.2% were dissatisfied with their lives in general, 23.9% were working in the Black Sea Region, and 56.9% stated that economic instability was the biggest obstacle to medical tourism. As a result of the study, the total score on the medical tourism scale was 94.270±12.751. According to the results of the correlation analysis, there was a relationship between service quality, safety and security, cost, tourism opportunities, hygiene, and accessibility (p<0.001). Türkiye’s medical tourism destination image is high, according to healthcare professionals. However, healthcare professionals think that economic instability is the biggest obstacle to medical tourism. The most important conclusion of the study is that service quality, safety and security, cost, tourism opportunities, hygiene level, and accessibility are essential factors in forming a medical tourism image.

Amaç: Gebelik, neşeli ve eğlenceli bir süreç olduğu gibi şiddetli korkulu bir süreç olarak geçebilir. Gebelerin önemsenmesi gereken yüksek oranlarda doğum korkusu yaşadıkları, bu korkuya bağlı doğum tercihi değişikliği ve doğumsal komplikasyon görülme olasılığında artış olduğu bilinmektedir. Prenatal gebe eğitimleri bu süreçteki korkunun azalmasına daha sağlıklı bir doğum süreci yaşanmasına olanak sağlayabilir. Bu çalışmada, gebelik okulu eğitimlerinin doğum korkusu üzerine etkisini araştırmayı amaçladık.Yöntem: Samsun Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Kadın Doğum Kliniği’ne bağlı gebe okulunda yürütülmüştür. Wijma-A doğum öncesi doğum beklentisi ölçeği (W-DEQ) gebe okuluna başvuru yapan ve çalışmaya katılmayı kabul eden gebelere eğiticiler tarafından yüz yüze görüşme metoduyla uygulanmıştır. Gebelere hastane bünyesinde çalışan gebelik okulunda halihazırda uygulanmakta olan 4 haftalık yapılandırılmış eğitim programı ile gebelik, doğum, anne sütü ve lohusalık gibi konularda eğitim verilmiştir.Bulgular: Çalışma 124 kişi ile yürütülmüştür. Ortalama yaş 27,13±5,07’dir. Eğitim öncesi doğum beklentisi W-DEQ skoru 76,88 eğitim sonrası W-DEQ skoru 48,78 olarak saptanmıştır. Aradaki fark istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bulunmuştur (p

Background: The COVID‐19 pandemic has adversely affected the physical and mental health of individuals. The elderly are a special group that is affected by this condition. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the COVID‐19 pandemic on older adults in terms of disability, state–trait anxiety and life satisfaction.Methods: The population of this cross‐sectional study consisted of individuals aged 65 and over who presented to a family health centre in Samsun a province of Turkey on the Black Sea coast (N = 3950). The study data were collected with the following five forms: Personal Information Form, Quality of Life Questionnaire, State–Trait Anxiety Inventory, Brief Disability Questionnaire and Life Satisfaction Scale. In the analysis of the study data, descriptive statistics, Student's t‐test, paired t‐test, analysis of variance, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis were used.Results: The mean age of the participants was 70.88 ± 4.818 years. There was a significant difference between the participants' pre‐ and post‐pandemic health status and quality of life levels. In the study, a significant relationship was determined between the scores obtained from the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Brief Disability Questionnaire and between the scores obtained from the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory and the variables such as income and marital status (P < 0.05).Conclusion: A significant result of the study is that the older adults' perceptions of health status and quality of life were adversely affected by the pandemic. Another significant result is that disability increased the level of anxiety. The other significant result of the study is that socioeconomic status was an important determinant of anxiety.

Objectives: Poor overall neonatal outcomes, small neonatal head circumference, neonatal hypoglycemia, need for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and late-onset neonatal sepsis are more common in adolescents. The aim of this study is to draw attention to the outcomes of adolescent pregnancies. Material and methods: This retrospective study was conducted in adolescent singleton pregnancies with maternal age < 15 years (n = 20, group 1), 16–19 years (n = 1929, group 2), and 20 years (n = 866, group 3). Age, gravidity, parity, and body mass index (BMI) measurements of mothers; mode of delivery, maternal and neonatal outcomes were evaluated and compared. Results: The rate of preterm birth, postpartum hemorrhage, asymmetrical intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR, as 3% percentile), macrosomia, and height of newborn of Group 3 was significantly higher. The rate of asymmetrical IUGR (as 10% percentile) was significantly lower in Group 3. The rate of severe preeclampsia and cesarean section was significantly higher in Group 3. The rate of Small for Gestational Age newborn, neonatal hypoglycemia, and late-onset neonatal sepsis was significantly higher in Group 1. Conclusions: Neonatal problems with poor obstetric outcomes are common in adolescent pregnant women, so that a family planning and baby care social trainings are important in achieving good long-term maternal and neonatal outcomes. Objectives: Poor overall neonatal outcomes, small neonatal head circumference, neonatal hypoglycemia, need for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and late-onset neonatal sepsis are more common in adolescents. The aim of this study is to draw attention to the outcomes of adolescent pregnancies. Material and methods: This retrospective study was conducted in adolescent singleton pregnancies with maternal age < 15 years (n = 20, group 1), 16–19 years (n = 1929, group 2), and 20 years (n = 866, group 3). Age, gravidity, parity, and body mass index (BMI) measurements of mothers; mode of delivery, maternal and neonatal outcomes were evaluated and compared. Results: The rate of preterm birth, postpartum hemorrhage, asymmetrical intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR, as 3% percentile), macrosomia, and height of newborn of Group 3 was significantly higher. The rate of asymmetrical IUGR (as 10% percentile) was significantly lower in Group 3. The rate of severe preeclampsia and cesarean section was significantly higher in Group 3. The rate of Small for Gestational Age newborn, neonatal hypoglycemia, and late-onset neonatal sepsis was significantly higher in Group 1. Conclusions: Neonatal problems with poor obstetric outcomes are common in adolescent pregnant women, so that a family planning and baby care social trainings are important in achieving good long-term maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Understanding SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among health care personnel is important to explore risk factors for transmission, develop elimination strategies and form a view on the necessity and frequency of surveillance in the future. We enrolled 4927 health care personnel working in pediatric units at 32 hospitals from 7 different regions of Turkey in a study to determine SARS Co-V-2 seroprevalence after the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. A point of care serologic lateral flow rapid test kit for immunoglobulin (Ig)M/IgG was used. Seroprevalence and its association with demographic characteristics and possible risk factors were analyzed. SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity prevalence in health care personnel tested was 6.1%. Seropositivity was more common among those who did not universally wear protective masks (10.6% vs 6.1%). Having a COVID-19-positive co-worker increased the likelihood of infection. The least and the most experienced personnel were more likely to be infected. Most of the seropositive health care personnel (68.0%) did not suspect that they had previously had COVID-19. Health surveillance for health care personnel involving routine point-of-care nucleic acid testing and monitoring personal protective equipment adherence are suggested as important strategies to protect health care personnel from COVID-19 and reduce nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

The aim of this research was to determine the effect of music on nonstress testing and pregnant women's satisfaction. The research, which was designed as a randomized controlled experimental study, was conducted between September 2021 and September 2022 at a training and research university hospital in the north of Turkey. The population of the research consisted of pregnant women who were requested to take a nonstress test, and the sample consisted of 111 pregnant women (music group: 56 and control group: 55). The pregnant women in the music group listened to classical music during the nonstress test, while no intervention was applied to those in the control group. Data were collected with a Descriptive Information Form, a Nonstress Test Form, and the Visual Analog Scale to evaluate satisfaction. Mann-Whitney U and chi-square test statistics were used for the statistical analysis of the data. The mean basal fetal heart rate and count of fetal movements, the presence of acceleration, and the nonstress test results of the pregnant women in the music group were statistically significantly higher than those of the control group (p<0.05). Besides, a statistically significant difference was found between the groups in terms of mean satisfaction scores (p<0.05). Listening to music during nonstress tests increases pregnant women's reactive nonstress test rates and satisfaction.