Inflammatory indexes predict mortality in non-malignant patients in palliative care.

Background: The literature on the use of inflammatory indexes for palliative care patients without malignancy is scarce.

Aims: To determine which inflammatory indexes are associated with the mortality risks of non-malignant patients hospitalised and receiving palliative care.

Methods: Discharged or deceased patients in a palliative care unit of a secondary care hospital were included.

The Effect of Video-Assisted Clean Intermittent Catheterization Training on Patients' Practical Skills and Self-Confidence.

Purpose: This research was carried out in order to examine the effect of clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) training with a video developed by the researchers on patients' ability to practice CIC and self-confidence.

Methods: The population of the study consisted of patients who had just started performing CIC in the urology polyclinic of a city hospital in Istanbul. The sample consisted of a total of 80 patients, 40 of whom were in the experimental group and 40 in the control group.

The Effect of Massage and Progressive Relaxation Exercises on Pain Intensity and Menstrual Symptoms in Students With Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

A total of 97 female students, 50 in the intervention group and 47 in the control group, were included in this pretest-posttest design randomized controlled study. Massage and progressive relaxation exercises are self-administered practices that are easy to adopt, with no side effects, and have beneficial effects on pain, sweating, fatigue, and gastrointestinal and central nervous system signs. So, it can be asserted that when applied together, massage and progressive relaxation exercises could be more effective in reducing menstrual symptoms than applying them separately.

Effects of Swallowing Training and Follow-up on the Problems Associated with Dysphagia in Patients with Stroke.

Aim: This study aimed to determine the effect of poststroke swallowing training and follow-up on swallowing function, nutritional status, and the development of problems associated with dysphagia.

Method: This study was designed as a single-group, pretest-posttest, quasi-experimental study and was conducted with 32 patients, who met the inclusion criteria for the study and were hospitalized with a diagnosis of acute stroke in the neurology clinic of a training and research hospital between June 2010 and September 2011. The patients were provided with swallowing training, followed up during meals, and given a training brochure.

Reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Barriers to Nurses' Use of Physical Assessment scale.

Aim: This study aimed to translate the Barriers to Nurses' Use of Physical Assessment Scale into Turkish and assess the new version's validity and reliability.

Methods: This was a methodological study to verify the linguistic equivalence of the scale through the translation/back-translation method. Twelve experts in health assessment confirmed the scale's content validity.