Access and equity is a major objective of most health care systems.
Globalization has had both negative and positive effects on health and
health care worldwide and in all coun tries, rich and poor, health and
illness follow a social pattern whereby the lower the socioeconomic
position, the worse the health. Despite developments in health
promotion and disease prevention, the advances in medical technology
and more effective therapies, and greater knowledge about health
determinants and the factors that influence health, there has not been
any change in the health effects of economic and social inequalities.
In this paper it is argued that nurses must develop a research, education
and political agenda that focuses on the social determinants of health
inequalities, and raises public awareness about the social determinants
of health.

Anatomical and physiological aspects of gynecological characteristics
of childhood is different from adults. Also in this period of the child,
self concept, coping strategies and social behaviors less developed
than in adults. Early diagnosis and treatment of delayed because of
gynecological problems are thought to be rare in sexually inactive
childhood. Follow-up healthy children have an important role for
early diagnostic of gynecological problems in this age group. For this
reason, it is important to know approaches that will protect and
improve the health infants and children in the pediatric period and
will contribute to the early diagnosis of gynecological problems.
Common gynecological problems in childhood are discussed in this
article. In addition, nurse’s roles are summarized that will protect and
improve the health of this age group and will contribute to the early
diagnosis of gynecological problems.

The level of maternal mortality as an indicator of multidimensional
development is closely related to the quality of reproductive health
services. Each day approximately three hundred and fifty thousand
maternal deaths occur worldwide. In order to reduce maternal mortality
rates, a well-equipped health service having a qualified health care team
is needed. Health services must include a critical care unit that provides
the observation and treatment of obstetric patients. Providing early and
effective treatment in the critical care unit is an important approach in
order to achieve the best outcomes for both mother and baby. In the
literature, critical care is a new concept for obstetric patients. Therefore,
studies on this subject in particular are needed. In this article, the
importance of obstetric critical care, the obstetric patients admitted to
intensive care, and the characteristics of these patients and critical care
team are discussed according to the literature.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to determine the effects of 0-1
month-old newborn babies’ post-feeding sleep positions on sleep
duration. This descriptive and analytic study was done at a private
hospital in Istanbul, Turkey.
METHODS: 198 pairs of mothers and babies from the maternity ward
and pediatric polyclinic of a private Turkish hospital participated in
this study between November 2008 and November 2009. The newborns
included in the study were healthy, breastfed babies having birth
weights between 2500 and 3500 grams. The data were obtained by
an observation form, a pre-training interview form and a post-training
interview form, all of which had been improved by the researchers
based on expert opinion in the literature. The socio-demographic
characteristics of the mothers and babies, the descriptive data about
recumbent positions, and the average, standard deviation, and frequency
between sleep duration and recumbent positions were analyzed. This
assessment was done with the one-way ANOVA test and chi-square.
RESULTS: All of the babies were breastfed and 19.7% (n=39) were fed
when they cried. Observation of the babies over a 24 hour period
showed that most of the babies slept on their side positions (34.2%,
n=149 on right side; 31.5%, n=137 on left side).
CONCLUSION: There is no statistically significant relationship between
babies’ post-feeding sleep position and sleep duration, daytime or
nighttime, (p> 0.05) in this study.

First step of a successful breastfeeding experience is early initiation
of breastfeeding. First breastfeeding should be within the first 30-
60 minutes, while the baby is alert and ready to be breastfed. If
this period is missed, the baby would be alert again at least 2-3
hours later. Invasive procedures may interfere with breastfeeding
and decrease the chance of a successful breastfeeding experience.
For this reason, minimal disturbing of the mother and baby during
and after delivery, would increase the success of breastfeeding.
Mother and baby may achieve this in an uncomplicated vaginal
delivery, but the first 30-60 minutes following delivery in a ceserean
section will be the period while the mother is still unconcious or
can not sit comfortably. Key point for a successful breastfeeding
experience in cesarean section, is a dedicated nurse/midwife in the
operation room or recovery room.

OBJECTIVE: How nurses use their working time has been a subject of
discussion over the past several years. The aim of this study is to
evaluate nursing activities in terms of dependent and independent
functions in a pediatric hematology-oncology unit.
METHODS: Nurses noted the time of all necessary nursing activities over
a period of 22 days, 24 hours per day by stopwatch. Nursing activities
were collected in four groups as “related to independent nursing
functions”, “related to semi-dependent nursing functions”, “related to
dependent nursing functions” and “other activities”.
RESULTS: It was determined that a large part of the nurse’s time was
spent with activities related to dependent nursing functions. Nursing
activities related to independent nursing functions took a short time.
It was determined that activities related to dependent nursing functions
and in particular, “preparation and implementation of treatment” were
the most time-consuming.
CONCLUSION: It was concluded that nurses devote insufficient time to
activities related to independent nursing functions. We think that this
situation can have a negative impact on quality of nursing care in this
unit.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to investigate the validity and
the reliability of Cervantes Personality Scale (CPS) and to adapt it into
the Turkish language. This simple personality scale is used as a
complementary tool for menopause-specific, quality-of-life
measurement.
METHODS: In this study there were 200 women between the ages of 45-
64 who visited menopause clinics. The participants filled in an
information form and the CPS. The measurement properties were
tested by conducting reliability and validation analyses. Scores ranged
from 0 to 35 (for extraverted personality-introverted personality), from
0 to 35 (for emotionally stable personality-emotionally unstable
personality), and from 0 to 30 (for consistent response-inconsistent
response).
RESULTS: The 20-item scale consisted of three domains: introversion
(seven items), emotional instability (seven items), and inconsistency
(control subscale, six items). Cronbach’s alfa coefficients for the
subscales of emotional instability, introversion, and inconsistency were
0.97, 0.81, and 0.71, respectively. The test-retest correlation was =0.90
for introversion, r=0.96 for emotional instability, and r= 0.680 for
inconsistency.
CONCLUSION: A self-reporting, 20-item scale for assessing three stable
personality traits (introversion, emotional instability, and inconsistency)
in menopausal women was presented. According to the present study,
the Turkish version of CPS has been proven to be a valid and a reliable
scale.

OBJECTIVE: The most common risky health behaviors in adolescents
include substance abuse, risky sexual behaviors, violence, and accidents.
This descriptive study determines the health behaviors of adolescents
studying at Anatolian high schools in fiiflli District of Istanbul.
METHODS: The study was conducted on 230 students studying at three
Anatolian high schools in the fiiflli district of Istanbul during the 2008-
2009 academic year. Written approval by the Provincial Education
Directorate, and verbal consent by both the school administration and
students were given for the study. The data were collected using a
survey prepared by the researchers and based on the literature, and
assessed using frequency, minimum/maximum value and standard
deviation on SPSS 11.5 package program.
RESULTS: The average age of the participants (N = 230) was 16.1±1.17
(minimum = 14, maximum = 18), and gender was proportioned at
50% (n=115). The risky health behaviors of the students were shown
to be alcohol consumption at 10.4%, smoking at 1.7%, paint thinner
inhalation at 1.3%, and drug abuse at 0.9%.
CONCLUSION: Although the rate of risky health behaviors in this study
is lower than the rate in the literature, the rate of demonstrating risky
behaviors is remarkably high in friends of the adolescents. It is suggested
that adolescents be given more education on topic s such as smoking,
alcohol and drug abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, family planning
and safe sex.