Quality and extent of informed consent for invasive procedures: a pilot study at the institutional level in Turkey.

Objective: To assess the quality of informed consent for patients undergoing invasive procedures and to reveal patient preferences for being informed about the potential risks of treatment and alternatives to treatment.

Design: This study was planned as a pilot study. Hospitalized patients' perceptions and expectations about the informed-consent process were explored in a general surgery department.

Contributions of Siegfried Oberndorfer to pathology and evolution of carcinoid.

The famous pathologist Siegfried Oberndorfer was born in Munich, Germany, in 1876, studied medicine at the University of Munich, and became the youngest Jewish physician to be appointed to its faculty (1907). He carried out innovative studies in the fields of pathology and evolution of carcinoid as the chair of the Department of Experimental Pathology at the University of Istanbul in Turkey, where he was a Jewish refugee escaping from the political situation in Germany before the Second World War with the rise of Nazism. This paper deals with Oberndorfer's very valuable contributions to the Department of Pathology of Istanbul University in Turkey and seeks to confirm his well-deserved place in the universal medical field of pathology and discovery of the carcinoid tumour.

Attitudes toward death and brain death among Turkey's physicians: a brief research report.

Brain death is a relatively new concept that became topical as a result of organ transplantation. Debate about this concept is currently continuing. This study was carried out to determine the attitudes of physicians toward brain death and to examine the effect of religion and education on the issue.

Patients' transcultural needs and carers' ethical responses.

Many Turkish people migrated to Germany between 1955 and 1975. This study was carried out in Göttingen, Germany. Fifty Turkish people (described as patients) were asked about the care they had received from German health care personnel, and 50 German nurses and 50 German physiotherapists were questioned about care they had given to Turkish patients.

Rudolf Nissen (1896-1981): his contributions to surgery and his role in Turkey.

Eminent surgeon Rudolf Nissen performed innovative studies in surgery during his time in Turkey, to which he fled from Germany before the Second World War. This paper discusses Nissen's invaluable contribution not only to Istanbul University's surgical department but also to the universal field of surgery.

Fetuses with neural tube defects: ethical approaches and the role of health care professionals in Turkish health care institutions.

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are very serious malformations for the fetus, causing either low life expectancy or a chance of survival only with costly and difficult surgical interventions. In western countries the average prevalence is 1/1000-2000 and in Turkey it is 4/1000. The aim of the study was to characterize ethical approaches at institutional level to the fetus with an NTD and the mother, and the role of health care professionals in four major centers in Turkey.

Nursing care of elderly people at home and ethical implications: an experience from Istanbul.

Elderly people are a particularly vulnerable group in society and have special health problems. The world population of older people is increasing. People who are 65 years or older constitute 6% of the Turkish population, 90% of whom have chronic health problems.