Çiğdem Apaydın Kaya

Bio: Çiğdem Apaydın Kaya is an academic researcher from Marmara University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Medicine & Polypharmacy. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 22 publications receiving 125 citations.

Knowledge and attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine among medical students in Turkey

Abstract: This study aims to examine knowledge and attitudes towards Complementary and Alternative Medicine among medical students in Turkey, and find out whether they want to be trained in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). A cross-sectional study was carried out between October and December 2010 among medical students. Data were collected from a total of seven medical schools. The study included 943 medical students. The most well known methods among the students were herbal treatment (81.2 %), acupuncture (80.8 %), hypnosis (78.8 %), body-based practices including massage (77 %) and meditation (65.2 %), respectively. Acupuncture, aromatherapy, herbal treatment and meditation were better known among female participants compared to males (p < 0.05). Females and first year students, generally had more positive attitudes. A larger proportion of female students compared to male students reported that a doctor should be knowledgeable about CAM (p = 0.001), and this knowledge would be helpful in their future professional lives (p = 0.015). Positive attitudes towards and willingness to receive training declined as the number of years spent in the faculty of medicine increased. Majority of the medical students were familiar with the CAM methods widely used in Turkey, while most of them had positive attitudes towards CAM as well as willingness to receive training on the subject, and they were likely to recommend CAM methods to their patients in their future professional lives. With its gradual scientific development and increasing popularity, there appears a need for a coordinated policy in integrating CAM into the medical curriculum, by taking expectations of and feedback from medical students into consideration in setting educational standards.

Factors associated with adolescents' smoking experience and staying tobacco free

Abstract: Introduction It is not expected that those who did not smoke during their adolescent years will start to smoke later in life. This study was planned to learn the thoughts of Turkish adolescents about staying tobacco free. Methods A descriptive study was conducted in 2007 with 866 adolescents aged 11 to 14 years. On a self‐administered questionnaire, non‐smoker students answered both multiple choice and open‐ended questions about why they would not smoke in the future. The Chi‐square test and logistic regression analysis was used for statistical assessment. For the answers to the open‐ended questions, thematic analysis was applied. Results The mean age of the participants was 12.84 ± 1.14 years. The incidence of a smoking experience at least once in the participant's lifetime was 12% and the rate of current smoking was 3.6%. The most listed reasons for staying tobacco free were health problems directly related to smoking (64%), such as ‘it can cause diseases’ or ‘it kills’, negative effects of smoking other than health (51%), such as ‘it smells bad’ or ‘it is toxic’, and some subjective judgements related only with their self perceptions, such as ‘I am happy and healthy’ or ‘it affects growth negatively’ (20%). The most well‐known problem related to tobacco use was lung cancer and the least well‐known problems were bladder cancer and chronic bronchitis. Most of the smoking students (68%) were not aware that second‐hand smoking was harmful (p=0.003). There were significant correlations between smoking experience and male gender, having a smoker in the household and low educational level of the mother or the father (p=0.000, p=0.018, p=0.022, p=0.044 respectively). Conclusion We suggest that the beliefs and perceptions of adolescents about smoking should be given as much consideration as the negative effects of cigarettes in planning smoking free messages.

The incidence of falls and related factors in the elderly living in residential homes

Abstract: Introduction: The aim of this study is to explore the incidence of falls and related factors in the elderly living in residential homes (RHs). Materials and Method: This prospective study represents 1288 individuals living in 25 RHs in the Anatolian region of Istanbul. We included 183 volunteers aged ≥65 years, without any speech, understanding, expression disordersor any serious diseases who scored ≥24 in Mini Mental Status Examination and who were still living in the RH after one year. In the first visit we inquired socio-demographic features, health problems, assistive devices, falling history in the past 6 months and medication use and we evaluated daily living activities and blood pressure. The following year we inquired changes in health status, medication use and new falls and we evaluated vision, balance and gait problems. Results: The mean age was 77.1±7.2. The fall incidence was 33.9%. Falling history in the past 6 months and systolic hypertension were identified as risk factors related with new falls (OR 3.772, 95% CI 1.852-7.682, p <0.001; OR 2.184, 95% CI 1.052-4.534, p=0.036). Conclusion: In our study, falling history and systolic hypertension are identified as risk factors for new falls. Identifying these risk factors may help preventing falls and planning individual preventive procedures.

巴氏量表（Barthel Index）知多少？

Abstract: Barthel Index © MedChi, 1965. Všechna práva vyhrazena. Držitelem autorských práv na Barthelův index je Maryland State Medical Society. Může se používat zdarma pro nekomerční účely s následující citací: Mahoney FI, Barthel D “Functional evaluation: the Barthel Index.” Maryland State Med Journal 1965;14:56-61. Použito se svolením K úpravě Barthelova indexu nebo k jeho použití pro komerční účely je nutné povolení.

Medical Student Research: An Integrated Mixed-Methods Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Abstract: Importance Despite the rapidly declining number of physician-investigators, there is no consistent structure within medical education so far for involving medical students in research. Objective To conduct an integrated mixed-methods systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies about medical students' participation in research, and to evaluate the evidence in order to guide policy decision-making regarding this issue. Evidence Review We followed the PRISMA statement guidelines during the preparation of this review and meta-analysis. We searched various databases as well as the bibliographies of the included studies between March 2012 and September 2013. We identified all relevant quantitative and qualitative studies assessing the effect of medical student participation in research, without restrictions regarding study design or publication date. Prespecified outcome-specific quality criteria were used to judge the admission of each quantitative outcome into the meta-analysis. Initial screening of titles and abstracts resulted in the retrieval of 256 articles for full-text assessment. Eventually, 79 articles were included in our study, including eight qualitative studies. An integrated approach was used to combine quantitative and qualitative studies into a single synthesis. Once all included studies were identified, a data-driven thematic analysis was performed. Findings and Conclusions Medical student participation in research is associated with improved short- and long- term scientific productivity, more informed career choices and improved knowledge about-, interest in- and attitudes towards research. Financial worries, gender, having a higher degree (MSc or PhD) before matriculation and perceived competitiveness of the residency of choice are among the factors that affect the engagement of medical students in research and/or their scientific productivity. Intercalated BSc degrees, mandatory graduation theses and curricular research components may help in standardizing research education during medical school.

Medication safety in acute care in Australia: where are we now? (part 1)

Abstract: Background This paper presents Part 1 of a two-part literature review examining medication safety in the Australian acute care setting. This review was undertaken for the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care to update a previous national report on medication safety conducted in 2002. This first part of the review examines the extent and causes of medication incidents and adverse drug events in acute care. Methods A literature search was conducted to identify Australian studies, published from 2002 to 2008, on the extent and causes of medication incidents and adverse drug events in acute care. Results Studies published since 2002 continue to suggest approximately 2%-3% of Australian hospital admissions are medication-related. Results of incident reporting from hospitals show that incidents associated with medication remain the second most common type of incident after falls. Omission or overdose of medication is the most frequent type of medication incident reported. Studies conducted on prescribing of renally excreted medications suggest that there are high rates of prescribing errors in patients requiring monitoring and medication dose adjustment. Research published since 2002 provides a much stronger Australian research base about the factors contributing to medication errors. Team, task, environmental, individual and patient factors have all been found to contribute to error. Conclusions Medication-related hospital admissions remain a significant problem in the Australian healthcare system. It can be estimated that 190,000 medication-related hospital admissions occur per year in Australia, with estimated costs of $660 million. Medication incidents remain the second most common type of incident reported in Australian hospitals. A number of different systems factors contribute to the occurrence of medication errors in the Australian setting.