Assessment of rational use of drugs and self-medication in Turkey: A pilot study from Elazıg and its suburbs.

The concepts of "essential drugs" and "national drug policy" described by the World Health Assembly in 1975 were the first steps taken towards the rational use of drugs (RUD). According to WHO, more than half of all medicines worldwide are prescribed, dispensed or sold inappropriately and half of the patients fail to take them appropriately. The aim of this study has been to evaluate the habits of patients related to RUD with a specific aim to investigate the factors associated with self-medication.

Opinions of high school students in central Elazig about elderliness.

Methods: Students attending five different types of high schools in central Elazig (a city in Turkey) during the 2009-2010 school year constitute the study population. One class was randomly selected from each high school. Out of 650 students, 640 participated in the study.

Effect of urinary incontinence and its subtypes on quality of life of women in eastern Turkey.

Objective: To determine the bothersomeness and effect on quality of life (QOL) of different types of urinary incontinence (UI) in married women living in eastern Turkey.

Materials And Methods: A total of 1049 married women was evaluated in the present population-based, cross-sectional study. QOL was assessed using a validated form of the Turkish version of the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire Short Form.

The second report from Turkey: waist percentiles for 6-11-year-old children in Elazig Province, Eastern Anatolia.

Objective: To construct waist percentiles for 6-11-year-old Turkish children in Elazig Province, Eastern Anatolia.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed with 3342 (1708 boys and 1634 girls) children from March to June 2007. Waist circumferences (WC) were measured between the lowest rib and the superior iliac crest, and centile curves were constructed with the Lambda-Mu-Sigma (LMS) method.

Weight, height and BMI references in Elaziğ: an east Anatolian city.

The aim of this study was to produce the growth references for Elaziğ children aged 6-11 years. Data were collected in eight primary schools of Elaziğ in 2007. Age- and gender-specific height, weight and body mass index (BMI) references were produced with LMS (Lambda-Mu-Sigma) method and compared with reported values in an Anatolian and a metropolitan city.