Burden of Diabetic Foot Patients' Caregivers and Affecting Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study

With the increase in the diabetic foot patients in recent decades, the caregivers of diabetic foot patients increase too. Most of these caregivers are informal caregivers. However, the studies examining the burden of the caregivers and affecting factors are limited. This study was conducted to determine the burden of the caregivers of diabetic foot patients and affecting factors. This cross-sectional study was conducted between the January and October 2020 in a diabetic foot council of a university hospital. Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale and a participant identification form were used for data collection. Most of the caregivers were female (75.2%) and the mean age was 51.27 ± 11.48 years. The burden of the caregivers was at moderate level in the current study. Factors affecting the caregivers' burden were caregivers' age, patients' family structure, caregivers' education level, caregivers' income level, hours per week spending for the care of the patients, and lack of choice.

Assessing psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale for Nurses

AIM

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S).

METHODS

The study used a descriptive design and was conducted between April and May 2020. The participants were 213 nurses who were working in 12 hospitals in eight cities in Turkey. Content validity index, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to evaluate validity. Cronbach's alpha, item-scale correlation and test-retest reliability were used to evaluate reliability.

RESULTS

The CVI was 0.92 (0.81-1.00). A one-factor solution was identified and the factor loading of items in scale varied from 0.377 to 0.909. The Cronbach's alpha value was 0.889 in the current study. Item-scale correlations ranged between 0.570 and 0.815. Intraclass correlation coefficient ranged from 0.71 to 0.93.

CONCLUSION

The Turkish version of the FCV-19S for nurses was found to be valid and reliable measure of the fear of nurses towards COVID-19.

Validation of the Reflux Disease Questionnaire for a Turkish Population

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Achieving the correct diagnosis and therapeutic success in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) depends on the patient's self-assessment. Therefore, valid and reliable patient-reported questionnaires are very important. When designing such measurement tools, researchers should focus on their validity, reliability, sensitivity, and, applicability. The reflux disease questionnaire (RDQ) largely meets these important requirements. This study aims to examine The RDQ's psychometric characteristics for the Turkish society (RDQ TR ) and its validity in symptoms' evaluation.

METHODS

The sample of this study comprised 81 patients who were admitted to our institution, GERD study group outpatient clinic. The data collection forms used in the study were the case report forms and RDQ. Three weeks after the first interview, 30 patients were re-interviewed by the phone and the RDQ was re-administered. For the validity studies of the scale, language validity, content validity, and construct validity studies were used, and for the reliability studies, internal consistency and test-retest reliability methods were used.

RESULTS

The content validity index of form was 0.95 (0.93-0.98). The performed factor analysis indicated 3 factors with an eigenvalue over 1.0. Those factors were responsible for 77.66% of the variance. The Cronbach's alpha values were 0.88 for regurgitation sub-dimension, 0.91 for dyspepsia sub-dimension, 0.86 for heartburn sub-dimension, and 0.92 overall. Intraclass correlation coefficient value of the scale was 0.94.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study highlights that the RDQ TR is reliable, valid, and responsive to change in Turkey patients with GERD symptomatology.

Nursing students’ willingness to care for older adults in Turkey in 2020

Background & Aim: The population of older adults is dramatically increasing in the world. This increase results in more demand for health care services from older adults. So, nurses’ and nursing students’ willingness to care for older adults gain importance. The aim of the study was to determine the willingness of nursing students to care for older adults and the factors affecting this in Turkey. Methods & Materials: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between November-December 2019 in the nursing faculty of a public university. 299 students were randomly selected and data were collected by using a demographic student form and the Willingness to Care for Older People scale. Data were analyzed via the SPSS version 25 program. Results: The great majority (90.3%) of the students were female and the mean age was 21.3±1.2 years. The mean score of the students' willingness to care for the elderly was 36.82±5.96. The willingness to care for the older adults was found to be affected by caring for the older adults in clinical practice (B=2.136, β=0.174, p=0.008) and wanting to live with an elderly relative (B=2.022, β=0.168, p=0.016). Conclusions: The experience of caring for an older adult in clinical practice and to be willing to live with an older relative in the same house is positively associated with the willingness of student nurses to consider geriatric nursing as an option.

Effect of an Educational Intervention Based on Bandura's Theory on Foot Care Self-Efficacy in Diabetes: A Prospective Quasi-Experimental Study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the foot care self-efficacy of diabetic foot patients and the effect of an educational intervention for improving it. This study was of a semi-experimental design and was conducted between January and December 2019 in a diabetic foot council of a university hospital. After power analysis to determine sample size, 33 participants meeting the inclusion criteria were included in the study. A Patient Identification Form and Diabetic Foot Care Self-Efficacy Scale (DFCSES) were used to collect data. Of the patients, 51.5% were male and the mean age was 54.91 ± 16.61 years. The mean score of DFCSES was 50.18 ± 20.88 before education and 72.67 ± 20.74 after education. The educational intervention has large effects on self-efficacy (d = 1.233), perceived knowledge level on diabetic foot (d = 1.102), perceived health status (d = 0.859), and perceived quality of life (d = 0.807). Educational intervention was found to be an effective way to improve foot care self-efficacy, perceived knowledge level on diabetic foot, perceived health status, and perceived quality of life.

Validity and reliability of the Quality of Life in Reflux and Dyspepsia (QoLRAD) questionnaire in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease for the Turkish population

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Gastroesophageal reflux disease negatively affects quality of life. The aim is to improve quality of life because of high recurrence rate. There is a strong need for patient-reported outcome measures. The present study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Quality of Life in Reflux and Dyspepsia Questionnaire (QoLRAD) to adopt it into Turkish.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 142 patients with complaints of heartburn or regurgitation once a week or commonly diagnosed with 24-hour intraesophageal impedance-pH monitoring and/or upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were included in this study. Sociodemographic Data Collection Form, QoLRAD-TR, and Short Form-36 (SF-36) were applied to patients who were off proton pump inhibitors.

RESULTS

The Cronbach's alpha coefficient value of the questionnaire was 0.97, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) value of the result of test-retest method was between 0.97 (Vitality) and 0.99 (Eating/Drinking Disorders). There was a positive correlation between all subdomains of QoLRAD-TR and SF-36 scales. The lowest correlation (0.10) was between Emotional Distress and Role-emotional Limitations, and the highest (0.34) was between Energy and Vitality.

CONCLUSION

The QoLRAD test measuring quality of life, except some subdomains in our study that we performed on patients diagnosed with GERD, was found to be valid and reliable.