Development of the Perceptions About Infectious Diseases Scale

Background and Purpose: When there is an infectious diseases, health behaviors demonstrated by individuals could have positive or negative effects on the spread of infectious diseases. Individuals' knowledge, beliefs, perceptions, emotions, attitudes, and behaviors about disease are formed according to their past and future experiences. Individuals' perceptions are considered to be important in terms of identifying their health behaviors. The purpose of the present study is to develop a measurement tool that identifies perceptions about infectious diseases. Methods: This study adopted a methodological design. It was conducted with the volunteer participation of 1,786 people who consisted of the staff and students of the university between June and September 2020. Results: The scale was found to consist of 34 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale and two factors. Cronbach's alpha value was found .98 for the scale. The correlation values showing the correlation of the items with the total scale score were found to be between .615 and .920. Conclusion: The scale that was developed in the present study was found to be a reliable and valid measurement tool.

The Relationship Between COVID-19 Fear and Prenatal Attachment of Pregnant Women in the Pandemic

AIM:

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between COVID-19 fear and the prenatal attachment of pregnant women in the pandemic.

METHOD:

The sample of this cross-sectional and descriptive study consisted of 377 participants aged 18–45. The study was conducted from August to December 2021 in the east of Turkey. The data were collected using the SocioDemographic Questionnaire, Fear of COVID-19 Scale, and Prenatal Attachment İnventory.

Results:

The mean Prenatal Attachment İnventory total score was 58.20 ± 10.61. The mean Fear of COVID-19 Scale total score of the women in the study was 24.43 ± 6.61. In this study, significant differences in prenatal attachment were observed for age, education, number of pregnancies, pregnancy week, and number of children. Moreover, the fear of COVİD-19 was detected as a statistically significant difference between the COVID-19 status and having several children (p  < .05).

Conclusion:

There was a link found between fear of COVID-19 and prenatal attachment in pregnant women. Health centers were recommended to provide training and support programs to solve the fear caused by COVID-19 and improve women’s prenatal attachment.

An investigation of smoking habits and mental well-being in healthcare personnel during COVID-19

AIM

This study aimed to the smoking levels of the healthcare personnel (n = 761) in Turkey, the changes in their smoking levels, and their mental well-being levels.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Data were collected via social networks from various cities in Turkey using a personal information form, the Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence, the Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale.

FINDINGS

Their mean nicotine dependence score was 3.50 ± 2.57 and mental well-being score was 25.01 ± 5.44. The frequency of smoking during the pandemic was increased in 22.4% of the participants and was the same as that before the pandemic in 57.4% of the smokers.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

It is an introductory study of the current situation for healthcare professionals and researchers. It suggests protecting mental well-being and reducing smoking.

Investigating the Factors Affecting Depression By Using Structural Equation Modeling

The objective of the research was to study the factors affecting depression in general population. Materials and Methods. A total of 1,291 individuals at the age of 15-68 years participated in this cross-sectional study. The Demographic Information Form, the Beck Depression Inventory for Primary Care and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale were used as data collection tools. The data obtained were evaluated in the SPSS 23 package program. Missing data were validated for extreme values, and, then, tested for normality and homogeneity. Testing for the research model was implemented by structural equation modeling using the AMOS program. Results. The following goodness-of-fit values were determined for the revised model predicting the factors influencing depression: χ2 = 535.62, χ2/df = 4.74, the normed fit index = 0.95, the Tucker-Lewis index = 0.95, the comparative fit index = 0.96, the goodness-of-fit index = 0.95, the adjusted goodness-of-fit index = 0.94, the root-mean-square error of approximation = 0.05, the root mean square residual = 0.12, which were within acceptable limits. According to our model, the generalized anxiety disorder-7 (t = 15.923; p < 0.001), gender (t = -5.866; p < 0.001), age (t = -8.193; p < 0.001) and marital status (t = -6.107; p < 0.001) had a significant effect on depression. However, there was no significant relationship between depression score and educational status, place of residence, family type, and smoking. Conclusions. In this model of our study, generalized anxiety disorder was found to have the greatest effect on depression, followed by age, marital status, and gender, respectively.