Statistical Analysis
SPSS version 11.5 statistical program was used in the analysis of the
data. For descriptive analyses; the quantitative variables were
summarized as mean ± standard deviation and median (minimum-maximum),
while the qualitative variables were summarized in percentiles. In order
to test whether categorical differences were present in the quantitative
variables with more than two categories; the one-way ANOVA test was used
when the normal distribution presumptions were met, whereas the
Kruskal-Wallis H test was used when the normal distribution assumptions
were not met. Differences between two dependent quantitative variables
were analyzed with the paired t-test when normal distribution
assumptions were provided or with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test when
normal distribution assumptions were not provided. The statistical
significance level was accepted as 0.05.