Effects of Mindful Self-Compassion on Psychological Well-Being in Psychiatric Rehabilitation: A Randomized-Controlled Trial

Introduction: The evidence for the positive effects of mindfulnessbased interventions on psychological well-being and physical health has been convincing in recent years. As a specific form of such an intervention, the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) training program was developed to promote self-compassion and mindfulness. An initial study on an adapted version of the MSC training program considered it to be beneficial in psychiatric inpatient rehabilitation. Objective(s): The present study aims to further evaluate the link between MSC and psychological symptoms as well as quality of life. Method(s): A randomized controlled trial was conducted from September 2020 to August 2021. A total of 228 patients (64% female, 36% male) participated in a six-week psychiatric rehabilitation program to assess the impact of an adapted MSC training program compared to the control intervention of Progressive Muscle Relaxation training (PMR) on psychological well-being. Both training programs took place once a week for 75 minutes as part of a standardized inpatient rehabilitation program. The participants completed the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18), and the Short-Form-Health-Survey-12 (SF-12) pre and post intervention. Result(s): At the moment, statistical analyses are being carried out. Detailed results will be presented on the poster. Conclusion(s): The results of this study will contribute to rehabilitation research as they provide further insight into the role of MSC in the treatment of mental disorders. In addition, the clinical implications, and possible effects of changes in the rehabilitation program during the COVID-19 pandemic on the protocol and the results of this study will be discussed.

Attitudes and preferences of visitors of Krka National Park, Croatia. (Special Issue: Benefits, challenges and opportunities of karst national parks.)

The primary function of national parks (NPs) is nature conservation, but for the majority of them, tourism also plays an important role. Tourism generates significant incomes, but the benefits are often unequally distributed in space, as are the disadvantages. The karst regions are generally less developed terrains in terms of traditional livelihoods, but due to their special morphology, tourism offers great opportunities. Nonetheless, mass tourism can also pose increased environmental risks. In this article, we examine the above questions on the example of Krka NP, especially from the perspective of tourists, as we conducted a questionnaire survey with visitors. The results confirmed that there is a high degree of spatial inequality both in the awareness of attractions and the distribution of tourist accommodation. This fact has already been recognised by the management of the NP, and serious steps have already been taken to reduce inequality, but their impact is not yet significant enough. Based on the survey, tourism in Krka NP is determined by same-day visits. Tourists who come here primarily consider waterfalls, lakes and rivers to be the most important values of the landscape, while cultural values are considered less significant and even less known. Local products are virtually unknown in the NP palette, so this could be a direction for development. Another point that could be developed is the awareness of visitors in the field of karstification. As the survey was conducted during COVID period, its impact on tourism was also briefly examined. This impact was manifested in the fact that the proportion of retirees and tourist buses was very small, whereas the majority of visitors (90%) arrived in the NP as independent travellers. For one third of foreigners, COVID played a role in choosing Croatia as a destination. As for domestic tourists, two thirds chose to find a destination in Croatia because of COVID.

[Algorithm for flexible decision-making in the intra-hospital management of patients with the changing requirements of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic]. / Flexibler Entscheidungsalgorithmus zum innerklinischen stationären Patient*innen-Management unter wechselnden Anforderungen der SARS-CoV-2-Pandemie.

After the initial fulminant outbreak, the SARS-CoV­2 pandemic has now taken a more protracted course which, nevertheless, challenges hospitals in returning to a "normal" mode and in preparing for a worst-case scenario of a second wave. Not only the organization of the first contact with the patient and the admission in the emergency department but also the admission as an in-patient and the subsequent management requires both flexibility and clear directions of action for the medical personnel involved. The aim of the algorithm was to develop a structured, easy to implement and easy to follow guideline while simultaneously preserving resources. The algorithm covers some key points of decision making such as clinical signs, first contact, admission for in-patient treatment, consequences of swab and computed tomography (CT) results, and allocation and isolation measures within the hospital. The algorithm is not intended to guide diagnostics, decisions and treatment in the narrower medical sense but to provide more general instructions for the management of in-patients considering specific aspects of SARS-CoV­2.