Evaluation of Individuals’ Perception of Health News in the Period of COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of individuals related to health news published in COVID-19 pandemic period in Turkey. It was also aimed to determine the factors that may affect this perception. The research population consisted of individuals in the 18–74 age range living in Turkey. Google survey method was used to collect data. A total of 1,073 people were reached from Turkey’s seven regions. ‘Health News Perception Scale’ developed by Cinar et al. (2018) was used to evaluate the perception of individuals about health news. Gender, generations, education level, marital status, the region where the city is located, number of children, time spent and trust in health news on internet, having chronic diseases, COVID-19 positive diagnosis of relatives, working status and frequency of following the health news during pandemic were variables that make a statistically significant difference in individuals’ perception of health news. As a result, it is thought that health news can make a significant difference on the health behaviour of individuals. It is important to pay attention to the quality of the news in this period, where the number of news reports on health and the interest of individuals in health news has increased.

The evaluation of mobbing cases in the healthcare sector based on Supreme Court case law in Turkey

PURPOSE

This study aimed to examine mobbing in the health sector based on the Supreme Court case law.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The data were accessed on the website of the Supreme Court. Searches were made using mobbing and health-related keywords and filters. As a result, 43 lawsuits were included.

CONCLUSIONS

Most of the cases occurred in private hospitals. Hospital managers were accused of mobbing in 88% of cases. In 30% of cases, nurses were plaintiffs. Also, 45% of cases involved an attack on the occupational situation of employees.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

It is important to develop policies specific to mobbing behavior in the workplace at the macro level and to consider legislation and management monitoring by health managers and especially nurse managers at the micro level.

Impacts of Economic Freedom, Health, and Social Expenditures on Well-Being Measured by the Better Life Index in OECD Countries

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has developed the Better Life Index (BLI), which is a multidimensional approach to well-being. This study aims to investigate the impact of health and social expenditures as well as the economic freedom index on well-being measured by BLI among 34 OECD countries for 2013-2017 period. We estimated panel models to observe the social and health expenditure effects according to their sources and the overall impact of economic changes among countries. We find that public and private social expenditures have a positive and statistically significant impact on BLI at 1% significance level. Additionally, whereas public health expenditure has a positive and statistically significant impact on BLI at 1% significance level, the effects of private health expenditure are statistically significant at 10% significance level. The economic freedom index has a positive and statistically significant impact on BLI in both models. Both social and health expenditures should take a prominent position in policy debates for a better life.

A conceptual framework of quality of life in chronic kidney disease in Turkey: A patient-focused approach

This study aimed to determine the quality of life of patients with chronic kidney disease who were receiving dialysis treatment. It also aimed to identify the factors affecting the quality of life of these patients. The independent variables analyzed were: patients' sociodemographic characteristics, organizational characteristics, adherence to treatment, patient-physician relationship, and patient activation level. The sample consisted of 328 patients with chronic kidney disease who received services from dialysis units of two university hospitals and two private dialysis centers. Data analysis was performed through multivariate regression. Results showed that receiving treatment from a hospital-based dialysis unit may have a positive effect in patients' quality of life; and patient-physician relationship, patient activity, and adherence to treatment may positively affect quality of life. Thus, planning of health service delivery that focus on improving the quality of life of patients who are more active by allowing them to establish positive relationships with their physicians and to have a better adherence to treatment should be adopted. These findings may provide health managers, health professionals, and individual patients with evidence-based information about treatment management and health service planning processes related to chronic kidney disease.