Esra Türker

Aim: The present study was conducted with the objective of examining the level of knowledge and self- efficacy of patients with hypertension regarding their disease.Methods: This descriptive study was carried out with 400 patients diagnosed with hypertension who attended the cardiology outpatient clinic at a university hospital in Ankara between January and July 2025.Results: The mean total score on the Hypertension Knowledge- Level Scale for patients participating in this study was 11.39±1.60, while the mean total score on the Hypertension Self-Efficacy Scale was 58.21±6.52. The findings revealed a positive and significant correlation between the total knowledge score and the total self-efficacy score (r=0.239; p

Earthquakes are among the most devastating natural events that can cause physical, socio-economic and psychological devastation. It is thought that the neg

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between levels of hopelessness and self-management of chronic diseases in older adults with chronic diseases who apply to a university hospital.Materials and Methods: This descriptive study included 150 older adults who visited the outpatient clinic between December 2024 and May 2025 for chronic disease follow-up. Data were collected using the Patient Identification Form, Beck Hopelessness Scale, and Chronic Disease Self-Management Scale. Parametric tests, Pearson correlation, and linear regression analyses were performed.Results: The older adults participating in the study were 58.0% female, 72% married, with an average age of 70.03±3.94. 62.7% of the participants lived in the provincial center, and 39.3% had a primary school education. Participants' Beck Hopelessness Scale total hopelessness score was 10.69±5.58, Chronic Disease Self-Management Scale subscales; Self-Stigmatization subscale 2.22±0.72, Treatment Adherence subscale 3.72±0.87; Coping with Stigma subscale 2.62±0.94, and the average score for the Effectiveness of Health Services subscale was 3.17±1.06. Hopelessness showed negative correlations with health care effectiveness, coping with stigma, and treatment compliance, and a positive correlation with self-stigma (p<0.01). Regression analysis indicated that higher hopelessness scores significantly predicted increased self-stigma (β=0.476, p<0.001), while negatively predicting coping (β=-0.592, p<0.001), health care effectiveness, (β=-0.650, p<0.001), and treatment compliance (β=-0.334, p<0.001).Conclusion: Findings demonstrate a significant association between hopelessness and self-management in older adults with chronic diseases. Reducing hopelessness may improve clinical management and coping with stigma, treatment compliance, and health perceptions, thereby strengthening overall self-management capacities.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the effect of self-management of chronic diseases on satisfaction with nursing care among elderly patients receiving inpatient treatment at a university hospital. Methods: This descriptive study included 150 older adults hospitalized due to chronic diseases between January and May 2025. Data were collected using a patient form, the Chronic Disease Self-Management Scale, and the Nursing Care Quality Satisfaction Questionnaire. Parametric tests, Pearson ’s correlation analysis, and linear regression analyses were used to analyze the data. Results: The analysis revealed a moderate negative and significant correlation between the self-stigma subdimension of self-management and nursing care satisfaction (r=-0.400, p<0.001). Conversely, coping with stigma was found to have a low-level positive and significant correlation with nursing care satisfaction (r=0.195, p=0.017). No significant correlations were observed between healthcare efficacy (r=0.039, p=0.632), treatment adherence (r=-0.092, p=0.261), and satisfaction. Regression analysis showed that including the subdimensions in the model significantly increased its explanatory power (R²=0.170, F=8.656, p<0.001). Self-stigma demonstrated a strong and negative effect on nursing care satisfaction (ß=−0.436, p0.05). Conclusion: Older adults had moderate levels of chronic disease self-management and high levels of nursing care satisfaction. Chronic disease self-management, particularly self-stigma, negatively affected satisfaction with nursing care. These results highlight the need for nurses to develop individualized counseling programs to support self-management in older adults and implement interventions to reduce self-stigma, which has been shown to adversely impact satisfaction with care.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a long-term and unpredictable condition that can cause considerable psychological distress, including perceived stress and death anxiety. Identifying psychological factors that may mitigate these effects is important for improving the psychosocial well-being of patients with MS. This study aimed to examine the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between perceived stress and death anxiety in patients with MS. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational study included 169 Turkish patients diagnosed with MS between October 2024 and April 2025. A regression-based mediation analysis using the Hayes PROCESS macro with bootstrapping was conducted to assess the mediating role of self-compassion. Results: Death anxiety scores were positively but weakly correlated with perceived stress scores (r = 0.172, p = 0.026). Perceived stress scores were strongly and negatively correlated with self-compassion scores (r = −0.704, p < 0.001), whereas self-compassion scores showed a weak-to-moderate negative correlation with death anxiety scores (r = −0.287, p < 0.01). In the mediation model, perceived stress significantly predicted self-compassion (B = −0.087, p < 0.001), and self-compassion significantly predicted death anxiety (B = −1.758, p < 0.001). The direct effect of perceived stress on death anxiety was not statistically significant (B = −0.058; p = 0.344), whereas the indirect effect was significant (B = 0.153; 95% CI [0.079, 0.232]). The total effect was also significant (B = 0.095; p = 0.036). Conclusions: The findings indicate that self-compassion mediates the relationship between perceived stress and death anxiety in patients with MS. Higher levels of self-compassion were associated with lower levels of perceived stress and death anxiety, suggesting that self-compassion may function as an important psychological resource in coping with disease-related stress and death-related concerns. From a clinical and nursing perspective, integrating strategies that support self-compassion within holistic care may contribute to improving the psychosocial well-being of patients with MS.

Objective: Our aim in this study was to evaluate the effects of education provided to family caregivers of patients with heart failure (HF) on the caregiver’s contribution to the patient’s self-care and on the patient’s quality of life and symptoms. Methods: This study utilized a pretest-posttest intervention design and was conducted with 380 patients and family caregivers. Data were collected using the Caregiver Information Form, Patient Information Form, Caregiver Contribution to Heart Failure Self-Care Index (CC-SCHFI), Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale-Heart Failure (MSAS-HF), and the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLWHFQ). After the preliminary interview, a pretest was administered to the patients and their caregivers. Then, caregivers were trained on HF. After the end of the education, the posttest was administered to the patients and their caregivers. Results: The difference between the mean (± SD) CC-SCHFI pretest (53.37 ± 1.73) and posttest (72.84 ± 1.08) scores was statistically significant ( p < .001). The differences between patients’ MSAS-HF pretest (1.08 ± 0.39) and posttest (0.53 ± 0.25) and MLWHFQ pretest (49.00 ± 12.69) and posttest (39.00 ± 14.06) scores were statistically significant ( p < .001). There was no significant correlation between the CC-SCHFI pretest scores of caregivers and the MLWHFQ and MSAS-HF pretest scores of patients, whereas a weak and significant correlation was found between the CC-SCHFI posttest scores of caregivers and the MSAS-HF posttest scores of patients ( r = 0.161, p = .002). Conclusion: Supporting caregivers in HF through educational program may increase their contribution to patient care and improve patient outcomes.

Background: Older adults with chronic health conditions, disease‐related self‐management is of great importance for maintaining the balance between daily activities and social interactions that are often disrupted by chronic disease. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between disease self‐management and social activity status of older adults with chronic disease. Methods: This descriptive and correlational study was carried out with 379 older adults between April and July 2024. Data were collected using three instruments: Patient Information Form, Self‐Management Scale in Chronic Diseases (CDSMS) and Social Activities Scale for Community‐Dwelling Older People Requiring Support (SASOS). Results: The mean age of the older adults with chronic diseases who participated in the study was 70.74 ± 4.91 years. Forty percent of the older adults had two or more chronic diseases, and 72.56% of them rated their health status as good. It was found that the total score of the social activities scale for the older adults showed a positive significant relationship with coping with stigmatisation ( r = 0.492, p < 0.001), health care effectiveness ( r = 0.290, p < 0.001) and treatment compliance ( r = 0.384, p < 0.001), and a negative significant relationship with self‐stigmatisation ( r = −0.350, p < 0.001). Four distinct ‘simple linear regression analyses’ were carried out to examine the structure of SASOS and CDSMS sub‐dimensions. All models were significant and explained the cumulative variance in the dependent variable. Conclusions: The results of this study lend support to the notion that an increase in chronic disease self‐management has a psycho‐social impact on social relationships. These results are deemed to contribute to the development of new interventions that facilitate self‐care practices and increase socialisation at both individual and social levels. To more accurately capture the dimensions of this experience and its consequences for health, measures of chronic disease self‐management should be developed based on the collaboration between patients and health professionals and aimed at providing social incentives for patients.

Background: The Heart Failure Somatic Perception Scale (HFSPS) is an 18-item scale used to evaluate the severity of common signs and symptoms of heart failure (HF) in patients. To date, psychometric properties of the HFSPS have been tested in samples of Japanese, Spanish, Farsi, Italian, and Arabic speakers. Objective: In this study, our aim was to determine the validity and reliability of the HFSPS in a Turkish population of patients with HF. Methods: This study was a cross-cultural adaptation of the HFSPS to evaluate its psychometric properties in a Turkish population diagnosed with HF, in accordance with the methodology and recommendations of the International Commission on Testing. Results: A total of 228 patients were included. The mean age of patients was 67.08 ± 8.53 years, and the mean duration of disease was 4.3 ± 2.9 years. Confirmatory factor analysis testing of the 4-factor (dyspnea, chest discomfort, early and subtle, edema) structure of the original HFSPS resulted in supportive fit indices. Confirmatory factor analysis findings showed that the factor loadings of the model indicated that the items had strong and significant relationships with relevant factors (P < .001 for all items). Cronbach's α reliability coefficients of the scale were calculated as 0.92. A positive moderate correlation of r = 0.887 (P < .001) was found between the HFSPS and the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that the scale is valid and reliable for use in Turkish patients with HF.

For many years there has been evidence of an association between heart disease and erectile dysfunction (ED). This is a health problem that affects patients both physically and psychologically. Individuals affected by coronary heart disease need a comprehensive care approach to achieve optimal health outcomes. However, there is a gap in nursing research on the sexual life of men with coronary artery disease. This descriptive research will identify the prevalence of self‐care and ED in Turkish men having coronary heart disease and examine potential interactions between them. This descriptive study conducted between March 2022 and March 2023 with 178 men aged 18–70 years who were followed up in the cardiology polyclinic of a hospital with a diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Data collected via face‐to‐face meetings using a Socio‐Demographic Questionnaire Form, Coronary Heart Disease Self‐Care Inventory and International Index of Erectile Function questionnaire. Ethical approval was obtained before starting research. The Declaration of Helsinki was complied with during the research period. Of the participating patients, 52.2% were older than 65 years and 37.6% had high school education or higher. A significant proportion of patients (42.1%) had been married for 20–29 years. The majority of the participants (59%) were still working and 88.8% reported that their income was equal to their expenses. The mean scores of the scales were found to be moderate and when the correlation between the scales was examined, a moderate positive correlation was found (p < 0.05). A regression was performed to determine the causal relationship linking self‐care scores and ED. The results yielded significant findings (F = 46.854; p < 0.05). The change in the level of ED was found to be explained by self‐care at a rate of 43.7% (R² = 0.437). This study showed that ED levels decreased with improving self‐care levels in men with coronary heart disease. While counselling these patients, health professionals should aim to increase their self‐care competencies related to cardiac rehabilitation and decrease their ED levels by considering the characteristics of the patients.

Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Hemşirelik Dergisi