Drinking alcohol as a way of coping with stress in students of medical faculties. / Picie alkoholu jako sposób radzenia sobie ze stresem u studentów kierunków medycznych.

OBJECTIVES: The relationship between stress coping style and motivation to alcohol consumption was studied in the context of alcohol dependence risk in medical students. METHODS: Study group included 268 med students. Authors used the Alcohol Use Dependency Identification Test (AUDIT), Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) as well as self-designed questionnaire to collect demographic data and examine motivation and usual situations related to alcohol consumption in students. RESULTS: 94% of students reported alcohol consumption during past year. Risky or harmful alcohol use was found in 16% of med students and 22% of dentistry students, high risk of alcohol dependency was diagnosed in 2% of cases. More than 50% of students reported drinking for coping motives. Data on coping styles do not show statistically significant differences in terms of the main stress coping style: task-, emotion-, and avoidance-oriented. Medicine students used avoidance-oriented coping (social diversion subtype) more often than dentistry students. There was no correlation between stress coping styles, drinking motives and alcohol dependence risk in the studied group. CONCLUSIONS: Lack of correlations may indicate that the studied group used coping strategies other than alcohol drinking. It is essential to create environment for medical students, that would enhance healthy stress coping strategies and promote early prevention.

Influence of social competence of physicians on patient compliance with osteoporosis medications--a study on Polish postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to examine the impact of social competence of physicians on the effectiveness of patient compliance and persistence with therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included physicians and their patients, previously diagnosed with osteoporosis, and eligible to receive pharmacological treatment. The physicians were evaluated with the social competence questionnaire involving three dimensions: social exposure, intimacy and assertiveness, as well as in the combined scale. All patients in the study group were prescribed the same medication: alendronate once a week. Compliance and persistence of the patients were juxtaposed with social interaction skills of physicians during 7 scheduled appointments at 2-month intervals. RESULTS: Doctor's effectiveness in situations demanding close interpersonal contact was higher in the group with good compliance--group A (p < 0.001), as well as in the situations of social exposure, (p < 0.001). On the other hand, their assertiveness was higher in the group with poor compliance--group B (p < 0.001). Co-morbid conditions (group A: 76%, group B: 74%), as well as earlier fractures (40.43% vs. 36.78%) were comparable in both groups. Disease acceptance and suggested methods of treatment were more often accepted by patients from group A than group B (56% vs. 33%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: (1) Disease acceptance is essential for effective treatment. (2) Social skills of physicians influence patient adherence to therapy recommendations. (3) Close interpersonal contact between physicians and their patients eliminates the feeling of fear and

Reasons for visiting Polish primary care practices by patients aged 18-44 years: the largest emigrating age group.

Over 3% of the entire Polish population migrate for a job within the European Union, most are aged 18-44 years. The main destinations are Germany, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Immigration is connected with the use of many public services, including healthcare services. Assuming Polish immigrants require medical consultations in the countries they reside in, the authors have analysed the reasons for patients' visits to general practitioners (GPs) in Poland in order to predict possible reasons why Polish patients living abroad may make appointments with GPs in other countries. Data from 22,769 visits to GP practices between June 2005 and May 2006 by Polish patients aged 18-44 years were collected electronically. Age was categorised into three groups (18-24, 25-4 and 35-44 years) and the reason for the visit was categorised according to the ICD 10 coding system. Among the 12,535 patients registered with GPs, 73.1% of women and 68.6% of men required consultations during the year the study was conducted. The highest percentage of visits was recorded for women aged 35-44 years, while men of the same age were the least likely to visit a GP. The mean number of visits per patient ranged from 1.89 for men aged 25-34 years to 3.11 for women aged 35-44 years. The means were similar for 18- to 24-year-old men and women. Women aged 35-44 years had a higher mean number of visits compared with women aged 18-4 years, whereas the opposite was true for men. The analysis of reasons for visits within the age groups indicated that the percentage of appointments for respiratory problems and general and unspecified problems dropped by more than half from the 18-24-year-olds to the 35-44-years-olds, while visits for musculosceletal, cardiovascular, and mental and behavioural problems increased by a factor of four. The presented results intend to enable healthcare services meet Polish immigrants' healthcare needs.