In 1990 we carried out a survey on public attitudes toward organ donation in a Turkish community. We repeated this study 12 years later in order to evaluate the changes that had taken place in the meantime. Using the same questionnaire and method, we repeated the study in a different part of the city with similar socio-economic characteristics as in the former area, which had in the meantime ceased to be our research and training area. The 983 participants were chosen by a random stratified method. Of those interviewed, 57.0% were willing to donate, while 18.3% refused and 24.7% were uncertain. A total of 52.6% consented to donation. Twelve years later, some public attitudes toward organ donation had changed. Refusal to donate for religious reasons had diminished (16.1% versus 26.2%); uncertainty whether to donate had risen (24.7% versus 15.8%). Attitudes towards organ donation were clearly related to educational level, age and sex.

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GPs are aware of the subject's importance and want to learn more about CAM and improve their knowledge. It would be reasonable to provide training possibilities for GPs, primarily for the CAM types highly used by the population and most requested by the physicians.

The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of life of 123 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients who had been followed up after the initial treatment by the outpatient clinic for breast surgery of a university hospital. The Turkish version of QLQ-C30 (Quality of Life Questionnaire-Cancer 30) and QLQ-BR23 (Quality of Life Questionnaire- Breast Cancer 23) were used to measure the quality of life. The mean score for global heath status/ QOL was 64.43. Patients with localized cancer had higher scores. Those in the advanced stages of breast cancer had lower physical, social and sexual functioning than those in the early stages. Patients who were currently receiving chemotherapy had lower global health/QOL, significantly different from those receiving only hormone therapy. Breast cancer patients experience problems in multiple quality of life domains. Health professionals must recognize and take into consideration the importance of QOL, in order to improve the health of breast cancer patients.

A survey of the public attitudes towards organ donation in a Turkish community and of the changes that have taken place in the last 12 years Abstract In 1990 we carried out a survey on public attitudes toward organ donation in a Turkish community. We repeated this study 12 years later in order to evaluate the changes that had taken place in the meantime. Using the same questionnaire and method, we repeated the study in a different part of the city with similar socio-economic characteristics as in the former area, which had in the meantime ceased to be our research and training area. The 983 participants were chosen by a random stratified method. Of those interviewed, 57.0% were willing to donate, while 18.3% refused and 24.7% were uncertain. A total of 52.6% consented to donation. Twelve years later, some public attitudes toward organ donation had changed. Refusal to donate for religious reasons had diminished (16.1% versus 26.2%); uncertainty whether to donate had risen (24.7% versus 15.8%). Attitudes towards organ donation were clearly related to educational level, age and sex.