Life Satisfaction of Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland.

BACKGROUND: Health care practitioners are at highest risk of COVID-19 disease. They experience an enormous overload of work and time pressures. The objective of the study was to assess nurses' life satisfaction. METHOD: The study included professionally active nurses. The research method was an author's questionnaire and a standardized questionnaire, the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). RESULTS: The study group included 361 working nurses. The mean raw score and the sten score of the nurses' responses to the statements on the SWLS questionnaire were 21.0 (SD ± 5.6, range = 5-35) and 5.73 (SD ± 1.94, range = 1-10), respectively. It was shown that lower life satisfaction was experienced by nurses aged 51 to 60 (raw score: p = 0.003, sten score: p = 0.005), as well as nurses with secondary and undergraduate nursing education (raw score: p = 0.061, sten score: p = 0.043). Nurses who had a higher self-evaluation of the level of knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 infection experienced greater life satisfaction (raw score: p = 0.008, sten score: p = 0.022). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of Polish nurses surveyed during the COVID-19 pandemic had a low or medium level of life satisfaction. The low response rate to the survey was most likely due to work overloads during the pandemic. Working in a public service profession, a nurse is exposed to stressful conditions related to protecting human health. Constant difficult and stressful situations and total fatigue experienced by nursing professionals can be the cause of a lack of motivation, occupational burnout, listlessness and mental and physical disease. Further research is necessary to assess the factors positively influencing the level of life satisfaction.

Evaluating the potential of suburban and rural areas for tourism and recreation, including individual short-term tourism under pandemic conditions.

Limited mobility and restrictions in social life caused by the COVID-19 pandemic changed people's recreational behavior and made them seek more contact with nature. As a result, the provision of new recreational spaces in the vicinity of cities gained importance. In conditions of social distancing, rural and suburban areas can be an attractive alternative to individual short-term tourism, satisfying the need for recreation and mental and physical health restoration of urban residents. In the study a methodology for assessing the tourist and recreational potential of the area (METPRET) concerning the recreational behaviors identified in the pandemic was proposed. It includes the Recreational Potential Index (RPI), which comprises four criteria: landscape values and socio-economic conditions; environmental protection; air quality; transportation accessibility. The application of the methodology is exemplified in the Mazovia Voivodeship, Poland. The research allows the determination of characteristics that potential recreation areas should have under pandemic conditions. The RPI makes it possible to select new rural and suburban areas attractive for short-term tourism. Designating additional recreational areas may contribute to the dispersion of users in existing green areas in cities, which is particularly important during a pandemic.

Analysis of Strategies for Managing Stress by Polish Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic is having a negative impact on the mental health of nurses around the world. The aim of the study was to assess the sense of fear and the degree of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection and to estimate the influence of various factors on the fear of SARS-CoV-2. We analysed methods and strategies for coping with stress used by Polish nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: The study was conducted using a diagnostic survey, which included a self-constructed questionnaire and a standardized psychological questionnaire: Brief-Cope. RESULTS: A total of 361 nurses confirmed their participation in the study. Most of the nurses were ages 31 to 50 (48.2%), lived in a city (83.7%), and had a master's degree in nursing (45.7%). Nurses ≥ 51 years of age, with ≥ 21 years of work experience and with secondary education in nursing and master of nursing were more likely than other nurses to agree with the statement, I am afraid of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 (appropriately p = 0.009, p = 0.007, p = 0.014). During the outbreak of COVID-19, nurses most often took action to improve the situation, reflecting on and planning what to do. The most frequent means of coping with stress by Polish nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak were problem-focused strategies. The least frequent strategy was the use of substances (taking substances to alleviate unpleasant emotions), considered to be the least effective, but useful in some situations. CONCLUSIONS: Most nurses were afraid of being infected with COVID-19. The most frequently used strategies for coping with stress by Polish nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic were problem-focused strategies. Nurses should receive psychological support and assistance from the employer in improving their working conditions.

COVID-19 Pandemic-Knowledge, Attitudes, Behaviours, and Actions among Faculty of Health Sciences Students.

The aim of the study was to assess the level of knowledge about COVID-19 disease and preventive behaviour of undergraduate students of nursing, midwifery, and emergency medicine. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An electronic survey was conducted among students of nursing, midwifery, and emergency medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, from 8 April 2021 to 6 June 2021 in the Pomeranian Voivodeship. RESULTS: A total of 37 men and 238 women participated in the study. A moderate level of knowledge was found in 88% and high in 11% of students Midwifery students had a higher level than nursing students (p = 0.002) and students of emergency medicine (p = 0.003). The female gender is much more afraid of SARS-CoV-2 virus infection (p = 0.021). The most common preventive measure was to avoid people who coughed or had a cold (93%). Only 84% of students were vaccinated. Students who had a high level of knowledge more often avoided people who coughed or had a cold (p = 0.03) and gave up on meeting with friends (p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Constant education of students on the principles of dealing with the risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 is necessary. It is important to continually motivate students to adhere to the principles of prevention. In the face of the existing epidemiological threat, there is a need to change the curricula for the fields of health sciences by adding the subject infectious diseases-clinic and nursing, with special attention to practical aspects.