The effects of daily alendronate,daily calcitonin and alendronate every other day on bone mineral density in osteoporotic men

Objectives. Biphosphonates have been widely used in the treatment of osteoporosis, but there is not enough data on their use in men. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of twelve months' treatment with daily 10 mg alendronate, every other day 10 mg alendronate and daily 200 IU calcitonin on bone mineral density (BMD) in men with osteoporosis.

Materials and methods. 46 men with osteoporosis were randomly allocated to three groups: 15 patients in the first group received daily 10 mg alendronate and calcium (1000 mg/day), 14 patients in the second group used every other day 10 mg alendronate and calcium and 17 patients in the third group were given intranasal salmon calcitonin and calcium. At the baseline, sixth and twelfth months, BMD was measured at lumbar spine (L_2–4), femoral neck and Ward's triangle zone by means of dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (LUNAR).

Results. In daily and every other day alendronate and calcitonin groups there was a significant increase in BMD at lumbar spine (p = 0.004, p = 0.001, p = 0.04), but no difference at the femoral neck (p > 0.05) at the end of twelve months. When the groups were compared with each other, no significant differences in BMD levels at lumbar spine, femoral neck and Ward's triangle were found (p > 0.05).     

Health-life agreement: Conceptualization of a new construct and measurement

Health-life agreement (HLA) is the ability to meet demands in three life domains (i.e. work, family, and self) to the level of personal satisfaction without experiencing emotions that can affect the self or the others negatively. In this study, the authors developed a scale to measure the construct of HLA. The results of the k-means cluster analysis revealed four different profiles of HLA (i.e. harmonious, carefree, exhausted, and nonharmonious). The authors found that harmonious people scored highest in positive outcomes (i.e. health-promoting lifestyle behaviors and life satisfaction) and nonharmonious group scored highest in negative outcomes (i.e. turnover intention and aggression in relationships).     

Preventing Child Sexual Abuse: Body Safety Training for Young Children in Turkey

The “Body Safety Training Program” is an education program aimed at ensuring children are informed about their body and acquire self-protection skills. In this study, a total of 83 preschoolers were divided into experimental and control groups; based on a power analysis, 40 children comprised the experimental group, while 43 children comprised the control group. The “Body Safety Training Programme” was translated into Turkish and content validity was determined regarding the language and cultural appropriateness. The “What If Situations Test” (WIST) was administered to both groups before and after the training. Mann–Whitney U Test, Kruskal–Wallis Variance Analysis, and the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test were used to compare between the groups and the Spearman correlation analysis was used to determine the strength of the relationship between the dependent and independent variable. The differences between the pretest and posttest scores for the subscales (appropriate recognition, inappropriate recognition, say, do, tell, and reporting skills), and the personal safety questionnaire (PSQ) score means for the children in the experimental group were found to be statistically significant (p < .001). The posttest–pretest difference score means of the experimental group children for WIST saying, doing, telling and reporting, total skills, and PSQ were found to be statistically significant as compared to that of the control group (p < .05). The “Body Safety Training programme” is effective in increasing the child sexual abuse prevention and self-protection skills in Turkish young children.     

Determining the Appropriateness of the “What If” Situations Test (WIST) with Turkish Pre-Schoolers

Measurement instruments are needed to assess the child’s sexual abuse prevention program. The purpose of the study was to determine the reliability and validity of the WIST (What If Situations Test) for Turkish culture. Participants were children of the 3–6 age group attending pre-school education institutions and the sample size was identified by means of a power analysis. Seventy children were identified as the sample with 0.85 power and 0.05 type I error according to the power analysis. Language validity, content validity, internal validity coefficient (Cronbach alpha coefficient), and test–retest analyses were conducted in terms of validity and reliability in the scope of efforts for adaptation to Turkish culture. Firstly, Kendall W = 0.83 was the score for the expert opinions concerning the content validity of the language validity scale. It was found that the Cronbach alpha coefficients were between 0.68 and 0.90 for the scale sub-dimensions of appropriate and inappropriate recognition, saying, doing, telling, and reporting. The test–retest reliability of the scale was found to be r = 0.89 and the test–retest reliabilities for the sub-dimensions (appropriate recognition, inappropriate recognition, say skills, do skills, tell skills, and reporting skills) were between r = 0.48 and r = 0.92. The test–retest reliability for the Personal Safety Questionnaire (PSQ), as having complimentary items to the WIST, was found to be r = 0.82. The reliability and validity analysis of the ‘What If’ Situations Test (WIST), used to evaluate pre-schoolers’ skills regarding self-protection against sexual abuse, showed that the Test’s adaptation to Turkish culture was reliable and valid.