'We're at war.' Healthcare workers' experience with organisational change, uncertainty and vaccine hesitancy in 2021 and 2022 during the COVID-19 vaccination programe in Poland.

This article analyses the organisation of the mass COVID-19 vaccination programme in Poland and its consequences for various aspects of the social identity of healthcare workers (HCWs). Based on 31 in-depth interviews with HCWs, our study reveals the following: (1) Certain elements of the programme (inclusion of other healthcare professionals like pharmacists and laboratory diagnosticians as vaccinators) and the provision of additional infrastructure (pharmacies and shopping malls) may prompt scepticism and criticism in physicians and nurses who feel challenged about their professional autonomy and hierarchies; (2) Given the high levels of professional uncertainty, the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination is forcing HCWs to revise their attitude to medical standards, resulting in specific responses and adaptation strategies (ranging from the active involvement in the programme due to the sense of mission, to more or less evident scepticism); and (3) Confronting vaccine hesitancy, both among patients and other HCWs, contributes to the feeling of helplessness, leading to criticism of policymakers.

Assessment of Oxidant and Antioxidant Status in Prepubertal Children following Vegetarian and Omnivorous Diets.

Oxidant-antioxidant balance is crucial for maintaining one's health, and the diet is possibly one of the most important factors affecting this balance. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the oxidant-antioxidant balance in children on a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet. The study was conducted between January 2020 and December 2021. The concentrations of total oxidant capacity (TOC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), reduced (GSH), and oxidized (GSSG) glutathione, as well as C-reactive protein (CRP) and calprotectin were measured in serum samples of 72 healthy prepubertal children (32 vegetarians and 40 omnivores). The oxidative stress index (OSI) and the GSH/GSSG ratio (R-index) were calculated. Children on a vegetarian diet had significantly lower median values of TOC, GSH, and GSSG, and higher TAC compared with the omnivores. OSI was significantly lower in vegetarians, while R-index, as well as median values of CRP and calprotectin did not differ between both groups of children. Significant negative correlations were observed between TOC and TAC levels in the whole group of children and in vegetarians. GSH and GSSG levels correlated positively in the groups of vegetarians, omnivores, and in all the children. There were significant positive correlations between TOC and GSH, as well as GSSG levels in all the studied groups of children. Our study results suggest that the vegetarian model of nutrition allows to maintain the oxidant-antioxidant balance in the serum of prepubertal children.

An Analysis of Factors Shaping Vaccine Attitudes and Behaviours in a Low-Trust Society Based on Structural Equation Modelling-The Case of Poland's Vaccination Programme against COVID-19.

This study focuses on factors that shape vaccine attitudes and behaviours in the context of a low-trust society. Our analysis focuses on the Polish vaccination programme against COVID-19, primarily on (1) the evaluation of the information campaign, (2) trust in the institutions, (3) trust in other people, (4) attitudes toward vaccine safety and efficacy, (5) attitudes toward restrictions related to vaccination (e.g., restricted access to certain services for unvaccinated persons) and the introduction of mandatory vaccination, (6) the evaluation of the government's actions during the pandemic, and (7) political preferences. The study was conducted with a sample of 1143 adult residents in Poland (CATI). The explanation of the factors determining the COVID-19 vaccine was based on structural equation modelling (SEM). The model showed that the declared fact of vaccination was largely determined by a positive attitude toward restrictions related to vaccination and trust in vaccines. The formation of the provaccine attitude was to an extent determined by the assessment of the government's campaign and actions during pandemic. While institutional trust had a positive effect on support for the ruling coalition (0.56), the latter on its own had the opposite effect (-0.61) on the formation of provaccine attitude. In the group who both trust institutions and support the parties currently in power, there are more of those who simultaneously reject the restrictions and mandatory vaccination and remain sceptical about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines than those who both trust in the vaccine safety and efficacy and accept the restrictions and mandatory vaccination. This indicates that in the context of strong political polarisation, ideological affiliations may play a greater role in shaping vaccine attitudes and behaviours than institutional trust.

Using affinity analysis in diagnosing the needs of patients as regards e-Health.

INTRODUCTION: E-Health tools allow a medical facility to set a given patient's data in order using ICT techniques, and the patient to use those techniques when contacting a given organisation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Secondary statistical data was used in the research. The study was carried out among primary health care patients. Mining for affinity rules was done in the R programme. The apriori and inspect functions from the arules package were used. Moreover, any redundant rules were removed from thoseobtained using the afero-mentioned method. Applying the general description of the affinity analysis method onto the survey described herein, it should be stressed that the aim of using affinity analysis was to discover the rules which contain the sub-transaction B={V_6=1} as a consequent. This was determined by the intention to discover associations regarding the knowledge about a uniform information system that the patients under study might have. RESULTS: In the discovered rules, the antecedent most often contained an indication of the need for introducing a uniform solution as regards telemedicine. Moreover, according to the opinions of 'conscious'patients, a uniform IT system should improve the work at primary health care institutions, introducing an on-line booking system for visits should improve the productivity and comfort of doctors, and an IT system should provide unambiguous identification of a patient. CONCLUSIONS: There is potential in using affinity analysis within e-Health. The example of affinity analysis described in his study led to the discovery of interesting and important (from the point of view of a medical facility) regularities regarding the knowledge and expectations of patients as regards e-Health.