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Abstract
Peace is a prerequisite for life, and in this respect public health specialists in particular and health care workers need to be aware of the meaning of peace for health and prepared to act for peace. Turkey is passing once again through a difficult period. Every day it is confronted with yet another problem and it stumbles through major issues in domestic and foreign policy. In this turmoil and confusion, doing science can be very difficult, and in some respects, even meaningless. In our understanding, peace and democracy are indispensable prerequisites for scientific development that serves our societies well. The link between peace and democracy on the one hand and good science on the other hand, goes in both directions. Good science will also serve peace and democracy. Peter Weiss' semi-documentary novel entitled "Aesthetics of Resistance", tells the resistance against fascism between 1937 and 1944. The book discusses the provisionary effects of science and art engagement of the working class in their struggle for more democracy. Engagement in science and art must not mean getting detached from or ignoring the social and economic conditions. On the contrary, it becomes a prerequisite for finding ways out of the darkness. Peter Weiss wrote about insensitivity and thinking of the bourgeois class while their society was approaching fascism as follows: "Apathy against the social, political, scientific and aesthetic problems was so dominant among the narrow-minded and bourgeois classes. Those masses excluded from cultural institutions and in heavy and monotonous working conditions were even more vigilant and more promising". Today, we need more science in Turkey to get out of our own dark times.
In this issue we have four research articles including a systematic review and a letter to the editor that criticizes a research paper published previously in TJPH. In the first research article Gökler et.al address the problems in the Community Health Centers (CHC) by the point of view of the leading physicians in CHC. In this study, 611 physicians were interviewed with a participation rate of 63%. Leading physicians describe problems such as having limited power that do not appropriate their responsibilities and duties, and that they do not have a permanent contract. In the second research article, the preliminary results from a project on oral health among pregnant women carried out in Izmir, are provided. Ocek et.al surveyed 298 pregnant women living in three districts of Izmir. The program increased the level of knowledge of the mothers but, was not sufficient to change the false beliefs and problematic behaviors. The authors reported that unless combined with socio-cultural improvements, interventions based on oral health education can only make a limited contribution in the improvement of oral health.
The other research article is a case-control study of a diarrhea outbreak occurred in the Tavsanli in Kütahya. In this study, Tavsanli district public health officials evaluated 684 gastroenteritis cases and determined the cause of the outbreak and transmission routes in June 2014. The study is important because it shows the different stages of a successful investigation of an outbreak based on the actual example.
Taskale et. al in their systematic review, evaluate studies which have used point of decision prompts to increase stair use, as a vigorous physical activity. Their systematic review includes articles related to increased use of stairs (versus escalators) which were published between 1995 and 2015. The authors conclude that the use of point of decision prompts is a helpful method to increase stair use; however, there is a need for future studies to evaluate the theoretical backgrounds of such prompts to develop messages that would address special needs of subgroups.
Letter to the editor written by Dedeoglu, includes critics about an article published previously in the TJPH. Dedeoglu is emphasizing the importance of the criticism and debate as the main method of science and he highlights that such writings can provide a chance for writers, referees and readers to create a healthy debate and education media.
We hope that you will enjoy this issue as we appreciated and thanks to the authors and referees for their invaluable contribution.
Prof.Dr. Sibel Sakarya
Prof.Dr. Yücel Demiral
Chief Editors
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