The subjects of this study were children aged 6-60 months living in villages in the Ulas Health Region, Sivas. The villages were divided into two groups according to the amount of strontium in the soil: region 1, >350 ppm, 650 children; region 2, <350 ppm, 1596 children. Overall, the prevalence of one or more clinical signs of rickets was 22.9%. The prevalence in region 1 was 31.5% and that in region 2, 19.5%. These values were significantly different (p<0.001). When other variables which may be relevant to the occurrence of rickets were taken into account, the difference in prevalence persisted. The results suggest that in villages where nutrition is mainly based on grain cereals the presence of strontium in the soil will increase the prevalence of rickets significantly. As a preventive measure, a greater proportion of the foods given to children in these villages should be derived from animal origin, and cereals and drinking water supplies should be obtained from villages with a low soil strontium content, or calcium supplements should be given. (Arch Dis Child 1996;75:524-526)

Background: Although all health benefits of breastfeeding are well established for mothers and newborns, the rates of exclusive breastfeeding of infants are lower than expected among Turkish mothers. Objectives: This research was conducted to investigate the effects of training and counseling services given to primiparous women and their spouses on the breastfeeding process, and maternal-paternal attachment. Methods:The research was conducted in two Hospitals in Sivas, a province in Turkey. Accordingly, 76 women and their spouses were separated randomly as "experimental" and "control" groups. Descriptive statistical methods, parametric and non-parametric tests were used in the statistical analysis of the data.Results: According to the data, the statistical difference between the two groups was not significant in terms of socio-demographic characteristics of pregnant women and their spouses (p>0.05). It was determined that while 94.7% of the experimental-group exclusively breastfed their babies, only 26.3% of the control-group mothers exclusively breastfed their babies for the first 6 months postpartum (p<0.05). The statistical difference between the two groups was significant (p<0.05). The rate of exclusive breastfeeding within the first 6 months postpartum among the participants given breastfeeding training was 50.4 times higher than that among those who were not given training. (Odds:50.400, %95 CI). Conclusion:In conclusion, in the present study, it was determined that the rates for the mothers' early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding continuation rates and the mean scores the participants obtained from mean scale scores increased when they were given training and counselling on breastfeeding from the prenatal period until the end of the first sixth month postpartum.This present study was designed as an intervention study and conducted to investigate the effect of breastfeeding training and counseling services given to both parents between the last trimester of pregnancy and six months postpartum on the breastfeeding process and maternal-paternal attachment. Materials and methods The study populationPrimiparous pregnant women who presented to the pregnancy outpatient clinics of two hospitals in Sivas between May 1, 2013 and August 11, 2013 and their husbands comprised the study population.

The social comparison scale scores were found to be higher in adolescents who consume alcohol and smoke tobacco. In contrast to this result self-concept scale scores were low. As a conclusion this study reveals that attitudes such as smoking and alcohol consumption are mostly influenced by self-concept of the adolescents and family attitudes towards adolescents.

The basis of planning, essential of high-quality management, in the field of health is to know the health criteria related to the area covered by the service unit. This study was carried out to meet the mentioned needs in Sivas province. The study was conducted in 870 households in the province of Sivas between 15 th November 1996 and 7 th March 1997, and the sample universe was all of Sivas city. Urban and rural areas in the sample selection are separated. The quarters of the city were selected by stratified sampling method. Villages were determined by simple random sampling method after creating a cluster of village groups in rural. In urban and rural areas, houses were determined by simple random sampling method. The questionnaire was obtained by subtracting some questions from the questionnaire form of TNSA 1993. The questionnaire application was made by the midwives of the health centers. 64.4% of households are in urban areas, 49.6% of them are male. The average household size is 5.27. 5.7% of men and 20.4% of women have no education. 76.5% of the houses meet the drinking water from the tap water, 70.5% of the houses are connected to the sewer.

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