Göbeklitepe Medical Science Journal

DETERMINATION OF PAIN BELIEFS, PAIN COPING AND RATIONAL DRUG USE IN HEALTHCARE WORKERS WORKING IN THE BORDER REGION

Evin KIRMIZITOPRAK — 2025-10-26

Pain is a condition frequently experienced by healthcare workers, negatively impacting their quality of life. Healthcare workers' pain beliefs and inability to cope with pain affect their lives and work. Because borderline workers have a physically and psychologically intense workload, they can develop unique pain management strategies. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between pain beliefs, pain coping strategies, and rational medication use among healthcare workers working in the border region. This cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare professionals working at Ceylanpınar State Hospital in Şanlıurfa between April 2024 and June 2024. The study included 255 participants. A form developed by the researcher, the Pain Belief Scale, and the Pain Coping Inventory were used for data collection. The study was evaluated using the SPSS software package. Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U Test and Kruskal-Wallis Test. Necessary permissions were obtained for the conduct of the study. The median age was 27 years, and the mean Pain Coping Inventory scores were 49.00 ± 10.12. No significant relationship was found between sociodemographic factors and pain coping scores (p>0.05). No relationship was observed between pain coping and pain beliefs (p>0.05). A significant relationship was found between the organic and psychological subparameters of the Pain Beliefs Scale (r=0.52, p<0.01). A more detailed examination of pain coping strategies among healthcare workers and the evaluation of training programs for healthcare workers should be targeted.

EVALUATION OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVELS AND PHYSICAL FITNESS OF FIRST AND EMERGENCY AID ASSOCIATE DEGREE PROGRAM STUDENTS WITH EUROFIT TEST BATTERY

Fadile ÇİDEM — 2025-10-26

This study aimed to evaluate the physical activity levels of associate degree first and emergency aid students and their physical fitness status using the Eurofit test battery. This study was designed as a cross-sectional study. The study sample consisted of 54 students. A personal information form and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (short form) were used as data collection tools. The physical fitness parameters of the participants were determined using the Eurofit Test Battery. SPSS 23.0 was used in data analysis. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using Independent Samples T test according to normal distribution results, One Way ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests. In our study, significant differences were found in height, weight, body mass index, standing long jump, running, right and left hand grip strength, bent-arm hang, sit-ups tests, and vigorous physical activity level according to gender groups (p<0.05). Significant differences were found between age groups in standing long jump, running, right and left hand grip strength tests, but no significant differences were found in physical activity levels. It was concluded that students' physical activity and physical fitness were generally low, males engaged in more vigorous activity, and physical activity was similar across age groups.

COMPARING FATIGUE AND SLEEP QUALITY OF NURSES WITH COVID-19 AND THEIR HEALTHY COUNTERPARTS

Selva Ezgi AŞKAR — 2025-10-26

The study aims to compare the fatigue and sleep quality of nurses who had COVID-19 and their healthy counterparts. A cross-sectional design was employed at a university hospital. Data were collected between September 2 and October 29, 2021, using the “Socio-demographic Form”, “Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS)”, “Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)” via Google Forms. A total of 224 nurses took part in the study. Among the participants who were diagnosed with COVID-19, 76.8% were female, 57.3% were aged between 18 and 29 years, and 82.9% reported no chronic diseases. Overall, 36.6% of participants had been diagnosed with COVID-19, with 78% of these diagnoses occurring between July and December 2020. Total PFS and PSQI mean scores of the nurses who were diagnosed with COVID-19 were 6.2±2.2 and 10.1±3.2. Nurses who were not diagnosed with COVID-19 had a PFS total mean score of 5.6±2.4 and a PSQI total mean score of 9.5±3.3. Accordingly, no significant difference was found between the two groups (p>0.05). In conclusion, the results showed that the nurses experienced moderate fatigue and poor sleep quality. However, having COVID-19 did not affect the nurses' fatigue level and sleep quality.

TOPIC DISTRIBUTION AND TREND ANALYSIS OF THESES IN HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT: AN EXAMINATION USING THE BERTopic APPROACH

Fatih ORHAN — 2025-10-26

The primary aim of this study is to examine thesis data in the field of healthcare management through BERTopic, an advanced algorithm combining data mining and natural language processing techniques. A total of 6,514 theses obtained from the Council of Higher Education Thesis Center database were processed using natural language processing methods such as text cleaning, tokenization, stopword removal, lemmatization, and TF-IDF weighting. Subsequently, the Transformer-based BERTopic model was applied to analyze the topic distribution and thematic structures of the theses. The analysis revealed that master’s theses were predominant, with significant variations across universities, and identified 10 main topics of varying sizes. Moreover, the trend analysis showed a steady increase in thesis production until 2019, followed by a declining pattern in the last five years. This study highlights the diversity of academic production in healthcare management in terms of type and topic, and the findings provide valuable insights for shaping both academic policies and research strategies.

PATIENT PROFILES AND CLINICAL OUTCOMES IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT PRESENTATIONS OF LOWER GASTROINTESTINAL HEMORRHAGE: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Ayhan TABUR — 2025-10-26

Lower gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a significant cause of emergency department (ED) visits and hospital admissions, particularly among older adults. While most cases resolve spontaneously, a subset of patients requires intensive monitoring, interventional treatment, and prolonged hospitalization. This retrospective study analyzed 319 patients presenting with acute lower GI bleeding to the ED of a tertiary care hospital between February 2023 and February 2025. Patients were stratified into WHO/UN-aligned age groups (18–24, 25–44, 45–59, 60–74, 75–89, and ≥90 years). Demographics, presenting symptoms, laboratory findings, length of hospital stay (LOS), and in-hospital mortality were evaluated. Results showed a median age of 61 years (IQR 49–74), with 56.4% being male. Hematochezia was the most frequent presenting symptom across all age groups. LOS significantly increased with advancing age (Kruskal–Wallis H=44.27, df=5, p<0.0001; Spearman ρ=0.30, p<0.0001), but no significant sex-related differences were observed (Mann–Whitney p=0.73). Male–female comparisons within age groups did not reach significance after Holm correction. In-hospital mortality occurred in 1.6% of patients (n=5), all aged ≥60 years. In conclusion, lower GI bleeding was most prevalent in middle-aged and older adults, with hospital LOS strongly associated with age but not with sex. These findings highlight the importance of age-specific risk assessment and tailored management strategies for ED presentations of lower GI bleeding.

NURSING STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND AFFECTING

Fatma ERSİN — 2025-10-26

The aim of the study is to examine the attitudes of nursing students towards scientific research and the influencing factors. The study is of descriptive type and its sample consists of 202 students taking research courses in the Nursing Department of Harran University, Faculty of Health Sciences. Independent groups t-test and variance analysis were used in the analysis of the data. Permission was obtained from the University Ethics Committee, institutions and participants for the study. The total mean score of the attitude scale towards scientific research of the students participating in the study was determined as 89.45±12.08. It was determined that the students' gender, class, and willingness to participate in the research process affected the unwillingness to help researchers sub-dimension, gender, willingness to participate in the research process, and reading scientific publications affected the negative attitude towards scientific research, class, willingness to participate in the research process, reading scientific publications, and receiving postgraduate education affected the positive attitude towards scientific research, and gender and considering receiving postgraduate education affected the positive attitude towards researchers (p<0.05). It can be said that students' attitudes towards scientific research are at a moderate level. Therefore, it is recommended that trainings that will improve students' attitudes towards research be planned and the factors affecting attitudes be taken into consideration in these trainings.

THE LEVELS OF DIAGNOSING SAFETY MEASURES FOR HOME ACCIDENTS OF MOTHERS WITH 0–6-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN AND AFFECTİNG FACTORS

Merve Sefa ADIGÜZEL — 2025-10-26

The aim of this study was to examine the level of identification of safety precautions for home accidents and the factors affecting them among mothers with children aged 0-6 years. The study included 228 mothers with children aged 0-6 years registered in a Family Health Center. The data were collected using a questionnaire form and the “Scale for recognizing safety measures to prevent home accidents in children aged 0-6 years”. The frequency of home accidents in the study group was 20.2%. Falling/slipping (61.7%) and burning/scalding (17.0%) were the most common types of accidents. The mean score of the scale for diagnosing safety precautions for home accidents was 179.84 ± 11.21, and the mean scores of mothers who were primary school graduates, tradesmen, had four or more children, had children aged 0-3 years, and received training on home accidents were higher (p<0.05). Primary health care services can perform risk assessments and follow-ups for home accidents at regular intervals. They can also plan trainings for families to learn how to take the necessary precautions.

EFFECTS OF DIGITALIZATION AND DIGITAL ADDICTION ON ADOLESCENT HEALTH

Kevser KATKAYA — 2025-10-26

With globalization and technological advancements, the use of digital resources in every aspect of life is making people's lives easier and technology indispensable. However, this convenience is accompanied by the excessive and unconscious use of technology, leading to the emergence of the concept of "digital addiction." Today, the rate of use of digital tools and environments is significantly higher among adolescents than other age groups. This makes adolescents a potential risk group for digital addiction. Adolescents in this at-risk group face numerous physical and psychological problems, become isolated from daily life, withdraw into their inner worlds, and begin to live isolated lives, often withdrawing from school and social activities. The purpose of this study is to examine the negative effects of digital addiction, a significant public health problem and one of the negative consequences of technological advancements, on adolescents, who have not yet completed their developmental period. In this context, a total of 51 English and Turkish academic studies were used, and quotations from appropriate ones related to the subject were included in the study. This compilation consists of websites, compilation and research articles, book chapters and theses.