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.

The knowledge, attitudes and practices of soldiers in a gendarmerie command headquarters about family planning and venereal diseases.

The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices of young male soldiers about family planning. This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the Gendarmerie Command Headquarters, Elazig City, eastern Turkey, carried out on 14 April 2004. One hundred ninety-one of 209 soldiers who were present at the Gendarmerie Command Headquarters were included in the study.

The prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Elazig, Eastern Turkey.

Background: To investigate the prevalence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in the urban and rural areas of the Elazig Region of Turkey.

Methods: A questionnaire was conducted and spirometric measurements were made, based on the BOLD protocol. A total of 1270 individuals, over 18 years of age, were included in the study, comprising 610 individuals from the city center and 660 from the rural area.

Prevalence and factors affecting the use of tobacco, alcohol and addictive substance among university students in eastern Turkey.

This study investigated the prevalence and factors affecting the use of cigarettes, alcohol and addictive substances among university students in Eastern Turkey. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 2258 students at Firat University in the city of Elazig, eastern Turkey. The subjects were students, randomly selected from each department of the university.

Prevalence and risk factors of overweight and obesity in Turkish academic staff.

Obesity and overweight are a significant public health problem that affects the quality of life of the individuals concerned. We studied the prevalence and related risk factors for obesity among academics. This descriptive cross-sectional study sampled 499 academic staff at Elazig Firat University, Turkey.

The frequency of depression and menopause-related symptoms in postmenopausal women living in a province in Eastern Turkey, and the factors that affect depressive status.

Background: This study was designed to determine depression in women in the postmenopausal stage in Elazig city, located in Eastern Turkey, and determine the factors affecting depressive status.

Material/methods: The sample included 546 women and of these, 519 could be contacted. A questionnaire was conducted with the women who were included in the study.

Prevalence and risk factors of overweight and obesity among urban school children in Elazig city, Eastern Turkey, 2007.

Background: The prevalence of obesity is increasing dramatically all over the world. Very little data are currently available on the prevalence of childhood obesity in Turkey, and more research on the risk factors is required before preventive public health programmes can be put into practice.

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity and related factors in primary school students in Elazig, a city in eastern Turkey.

The epidemiology and factors associated with nocturnal enuresis among boarding and daytime school children in southeast of Turkey: a cross sectional study.

Background: Nocturnal enuresis is an important problem among young children living in Turkey. The purpose of this study was to determine the possible differences in the prevalence of enuresis between children in boarding school and daytime school and the association of enuresis with sociodemographic factors.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey.

Prevalence and risk factors of female urinary incontinence in eastern Turkey.

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence of urinary incontinence (UI) and determine risk factors for its development in women living in eastern Turkey.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 2275 women aged between 17 and 80 years. A questionnaire examining demographic characteristics, parity and pelvic organ prolapse was given.

Experience of workplace violence during medical speciality training in Turkey.

Aims: To determine the type, extent and effects of workplace violence among residents during postgraduate speciality training in various departments of medical schools in Turkey.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in seven medical schools representing all geographical regions of Turkey. All physicians in speciality training in the selected medical schools were asked to complete a semi-structured 'violence questionnaire' addressing the type (emotional, physical and sexual) and extent of violence experienced, the perpetrators of the violence and the victim's reactions to the experience.

Prevalence and consultation behavior of self-reported rectal bleeding by face-to-face interview in an Asian community.

Background And Aim: Although rectal bleeding is a common gastrointestinal symptom, there are very few community-based studies, and all of these studies were conducted in the West. So far the epidemiologic characteristics of rectal bleeding have not been defined in an Asian country. We aimed to characterize self-reported rectal bleeding and its association with functional bowel disorders in Turkey.

Prevalence of domestic violence during pregnancy in a Turkish community.

This study was carried out to determine the prevalence and risk factors for domestic violence victimization of women during pregnancy by intimate partner throughout marriage in a Turkish community. Pregnant women living in the servicing area of selected health centers in Elazig were considered for the study and data were obtained through a questionnaire. A total of 249 pregnant women, mean age 26.

Presentation of a device used by elderly women with prolapse in eastern part of Turkey.

Objective: Presentation of a device used by three elderly women with prolapse in eastern part of Turkey.

Method: Information about device is obtained by face to face interview technique. Microbiologic examination of the device and vaginal cultures were performed.

Effectiveness of a diabetes education and intervention program on blood glucose control for patients with type 2 diabetes in a Turkish community.

This study was undertaken to determine the effects of patient education and other interventions (regular exercise and diet), combined with existing oral antidiabetic therapy, on blood glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Two out of 16 primary health care centers present in Elazig, an eastern Turkish city, were randomly selected for this study; the patients had type 2 DM, lived in the service area of these health centers. Of a total of 100 participants, 33 were instructed to follow the standard diet for type 2 DM patients, 28 performed exercise in addition to the standard diet, and 39 did not participate in either exercise or follow the diabetic diet; they served as the control group.

Level of knowledge and attitude of primary care physicians in Eastern Anatolian cities in relation to child abuse and neglect.

Background: Child abuse and neglect is not a new phenomenon. It has always existed in every nation and culture in one form or another. The aim of this study was to determine the level of knowledge and attitude toward child abuse and neglect of primary care physicians serving in eastern Turkish cities.

Hearing in workers exposed to low-dose radiation for a long period.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate changes in hearing thresholds with standard and high frequency audiometry in workers exposed to low-dose ionizing radiation for a long period. A total of 57 (49 male and 8 female) technical staff working in radiology-related jobs who were exposed to occupational radiation were included in the study. The control group consisted of 32 (27 male and 5 female) volunteer subjects with normal hearing.

Prevalence of otitis media with effusion in first and second grade primary school students and its correlation with BCG vaccination.

Objective: The object of this study was to determine the prevalence of otitis media with effusion (OME) in first and second grade primary school students, to analyze the causes of the difference in the prevalence, to define the effect of OME on the academic performance of the children and to investigate a correlation between the prevalence of OME and Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination. STUDY PLAN AND METHODS: The study was conducted during the September-November, 2002 period in Elazig. A total of 3675 clinically healthy primary school children attending primary schools in the central district of Elazig, living in the same region and of a similar socioeconomic status and age group were included in the study.

Epidemiological features of irritable bowel syndrome in a Turkish urban society.

Background And Aim: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a widespread functional bowel disorder and its prevalence in Western societies ranges from 3-20%. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of IBS in eastern Turkey, particularly in urban parts of Elazig where 250 000 people live.

Methods: Of the 18 primary care centers, four were randomly selected for this study.

The measurement of exhaled carbon monoxide in healthy smokers and non-smokers.

The measurement of exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) level may provide an immediate, non-invasive method of assessing smoking status. The aims of this study were to use a portable CO monitor to compare the exhaled CO levels in established smokers and non-smokers. The exhaled CO levels were measured in 322 subjects (243 healthy smokers, 55 healthy non-smokers, 24 passive smokers) who applied to healthy stand during the spring student activity of Firat University in Elaziğ.

[The knowledge, attitude and behavior related to the tuberculosis and approaches of tuberculosis therapy by the physicians providing first step service].

Before a performed education of tuberculosis for physicians who give first step treatment in our city center, a questionnaire was applied to the participants to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, behavior and approach to the treatment. The 66 practicing physician having an employment period of 64.88 +/- 39.

Investigation of the level of safety and appropriateness of playgrounds in Elazig city in Turkey.

This study was conducted to identify and evaluate the degree of appropriateness of children's playground standards and the level of compliance with the current safety specifications of the playgrounds in Elazig city in Turkey. This was accomplished by on-site observation and measurement in the total of 24 playgrounds present in this city centre. It was determined that 83.