Background Diabetes education in Turkey is provided by diabetes nurse educators in almost all healthcare organizations. However, the education is not standardized in terms of learning content, duration, and methods. This multi-center study was performed to assess the self-care behaviors and glycemic control following education provided to the patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus by diabetes nurse educators. Methods This was a descriptive and cross-sectional study and included 1535 patients admitted to 28 public hospitals for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The education was assessed by using a Patient Identification Form and Self-care Scale. Results The proportion of individuals who received diabetes education within the last year was 78.5%, with 46.7% of them having received it once. Of the patients, 84.8% reported that they received diabetes education individually. It was found that the proportion of individuals who received education about oral antidiabetics (78.5%) and glucose testing at home (78.5%) was higher than the proportion of individuals who received education about exercise (58.8%) and foot care (61.6%). The status of diabetes education, education intervals, and the correlation of the education method with self-care and glycemic control was evaluated. Self-care and glycemic control levels were better among the patients who received diabetes education thrice or more and in patients who received education both individually and in a group (p < 0.05). Conclusions Approximately three-quarters of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus received education by diabetes nurse educators in Turkey. Diabetes education is positively correlated with self-care and glycemic control levels among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Efforts for generalization and standardized education for all diabetes patients are necessary.

The aim of the study is to investigate the effects of intense anxiety and hopelessness experienced by healthcare workers during the pandemic on their quality of life. This cross-sectional, online questionnaire-based study was conducted between August 31, 2020 and October 31, 2020, with 729 healthcare workers in Turkey. The study showed that hopelessness, the weekly working time, fatigue, and the workload of healthcare workers negatively affected their quality of life, those who found the pandemic measures inadequate had a lower quality of life and higher hopelessness levels, and those who needed knowledge on various issues to improve their skills had lower quality of life and higher levels of anxiety and hopelessness. Increasing the measures to make healthcare workers feel competent and ready during the COVID-19 pandemic and meet their information needs to improve their skills will reduce their anxiety and hopelessness and improve their quality of life. Identifying the factors affecting anxiety, hopelessness, and quality of life will help achieve sustainable success in the delivery of health services and promote employee health and safety.

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Purpose In our study, it was aimed to evaluate the awareness of diabetic patients about vaccination status and vaccines. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted between January 2019 and February 2019. A survey questioning the level of knowledge about and vaccination status for influenza and pneumonia vaccines was applied by face-to-face interviews with patients with diabetes mellitus who admitted to the diabetes outpatient clinic. All results were evaluated with SPSS-20.0. Results A total of 202 patients [66 male (32.7%) and 136 female (67.3%) patients; with a mean age of 57.7 ± 11.3 years and mean duration of diabetes 10.7 ± 7.9 years] were recruited in the study. Majority of the patients (92.6%) were type 2 DM patients. 59.4% of the patients had never been vaccinated. The rate of those who had pneumonia vaccine was very low, only 14.7%. The vast majority of the patients had knowledge about vaccines and their most common source of information was nurses. 53% of patients believed that diabetic patients should be vaccinated regularly. 16.8% of the patients were reluctant to have the recommended vaccine. The factor with greatest impact on this was that they did not consider the vaccine necessary. 52.5% of the patients recommended to be vaccinated had the recommended vaccine. 26.4% of the patients who were not enthusiastic about the recommended vaccine had pneumococcal vaccine after being informed about the vaccine. Conclusion It was observed that the information given about vaccines positively affected the vaccination rate. The main barrier to vaccination was the lack of information about the need for influenza vaccination. Designing strategies and training programs for healthcare professionals and patients should be the main goal to improve vaccination coverage and vaccination rates.

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