Nudging Interventions on Stair Use: A Scoping Review.

Stair use is a physical activity that can be incorporated into the daily lifestyle of a majority of the population, resulting in several health benefits. Nudges are increasingly used in public health interventions to encourage healthy behaviours such as physical activity in a cost-effective manner. This scoping review aimed to investigate the effect and the characteristics of nudges used on interventions to promote stair use. We reviewed the relevant literature published in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Mendeley and Google Scholar, from January 2009 to May 2022. Eligibility criteria included original studies of any type of design, written in English, targeting healthy adults, reporting nudging interventions, using elevator or escalator as comparators and defining a baseline for comparisons. Initially, 118 publications were identified, and after applying exclusion criteria, 27 articles were included in the analysis. Results showed that most of the nudging interventions had significant positive effect on stair use in several settings. The evidence from this review suggests that incorporating nudges into public health interventions can effectively promote physical activity through increased stair usage. Emphasizing prevention measures in public health interventions may contribute to better health outcomes.

A systematic review of nudges on hand hygiene against the spread of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed the greatest threat to global health over the last three years. Due to the temporary shortage of appropriate vaccines, a systematic change in human behaviour is necessary to keep the spread of the virus under control, increasing the quality of basic hygiene practices, such as systematic hand hygiene. Nudges are increasingly used in public health interventions to promote critical preventive hygiene behaviours. This review aimed to investigate the effect and the characteristics of nudges on hand hygiene, as a COVID-19 preventive measure. We systematically reviewed the relevant literature from January 2008 to November 2020. A total of 15 articles met the inclusion criteria. The findings of this review showed that most of the nudging interventions had a positive effect on hand hygiene. Nudges should be included in the existing and future public health interventions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and future pandemics, rather than being an alternative and unconventional tool for public health policies.

Protective behaviors during COVID-19 confinement measures in Greece: the role of anxiety, perceived risk and risky-choice framing.

Confinement measures at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic imposed major changes on the global population. The aim of this study was to explore the level to which the public adhered to protective guidelines by adopting the most appropriate behaviors at that time (such as hand washing with soap and using sanitizer gel) and to identify the determinants of these behaviors. A purposive sample of 1013 individuals was invited and voluntarily participated in the online survey. The questionnaire collected information on demographic data, hand washing, risk perception, anxiety (through the S = Anxiety scale of STAI) and risky-choice framing. Results showed increased levels of anxiety, a moderate perception of the risk of catching coronavirus and increased adoption of protective behaviors, such as handwashing and cleaning surfaces with disinfectant/antiseptic products. Multiple ordinal logistic regression models showed that being female, more educated and cleaning home with disinfectant / antiseptic products predicted handwashing with soap. Additionally, having an increased perception of getting the coronavirus, being older and cleaning the home with disinfectant / antiseptic products predicted handwashing with antiseptics. Public health interventions should take into consideration the unified cleaning pattern and the combined effect of sociodemographic variables and risk perception on the adoption of protective behaviour in the context of a health crisis which is out of people's control.

Breastfeeding Self-efficacy and Related Socio-demographic, Perinatal and Psychological Factors: a Cross-sectional Study Among Postpartum Greek Women.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that breastfeeding self-efficacy constitutes a determinant used to forecast breastfeeding behaviours. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the factors associated to breastfeeding self-efficacy and identify its predictors among Greek women in their immediate postpartum period. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the General Hospital of Volos, Greece. A convenience sample of 120 postpartum women who gave birth at the hospital and met all the inclusion criteria were invited to participate; 100 responded. Questionnaires on socio-demographic, perinatal and breastfeeding-related characteristics, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and the Breastfeeding Self-Efficiency Scale were completed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed with the use of the linear regression model. RESULTS: Women reported a rather good level of breastfeeding self-efficacy (mean = 3.65; SD = 0.85) in the early postpartum period. 52% of women carried out exclusive breastfeeding in the hospital. The prevalence of postnatal depression was 25%. The best-fit regression analysis revealed four predictors (timing of the mother's decision to breastfeed, infant's feeding pattern, previous breastfeeding experience, levels of postnatal depression) explaining 44.7% of the variance in breastfeeding self-efficacy. CONCLUSION: Acknowledging the determinants which affect breastfeeding self-efficacy of women in the immediate postpartum period is a necessary condition in designing targeted intervention services.

Factors affecting parents' satisfaction with pediatric wards.

AIM: To explore the relationship of parental satisfaction with sociodemographic variables and to identify the possible determinants in pediatric and surgical wards of two public pediatric hospitals in Greece. METHODS: The validated Swedish Pyramid Questionnaire that measures parental satisfaction with the quality of care was used. A convenience sample of 352 parents (response rate: 88%) was collected from two major pediatric public hospitals in Athens, Greece, from February to April, 2016. The satisfaction questions focused on eight domains: information on illness, information on routines, accessibility, medical treatment, care processes, staff attitudes, parental participation, and the staff work environment. RESULTS: The parents of the hospitalized children were highly satisfied with the behavior of the healthcare providers and the medical and nursing care that was provided, but they were less satisfied with accessibility in the hospital. The marital status and child's length of stay in the hospital seemed to affect the most dimensions of parental satisfaction, with the married parents whose child's length of stay was short expressing higher levels of satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Healthcare providers' approaches should be modified for parental satisfaction to be improved and parents' sociodemographics while providing health care. Nurses should enhance the quality of nursing care.

Socio-cognitive factors influencing Greek lyceum female students' intention to receive a Pap smear and a vaccine against HPV.

BACKGROUND: The human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for 99.7% of cervix cancers worldwide. As this is a preventable and treatable cancer, if diagnosed early, it is important to explore not only young women's related knowledge, but also their intentions for prevention activities, through a theoretical perspective. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of the Health Belief Model (HBM) and the Health Locus of Control theory (HLC) (social cognitive models) to act as potentially influencing factors for the prevention intentions among lyceum female students. METHODS: This cross-sectional study took place from January to May 2014, among 1129 female students, who attended lyceums in six islands of the Cyclades Region, Greece. Students filled-in a self-complementary questionnaire, after the necessary approval was provided by the relevant authorities. RESULTS: Intention to take the Pap smear was determined by student's level of knowledge (p < 0.001) about Pap smears, their age (p = 0.004), HPV susceptibility (p < 0.001), subjective obstacles of taking the Pap smear (p < 0.001) and subjective benefits of the Pap smear (p < 0.001). The vaccination intention against HPV was influenced by the subjective benefit from vaccination (p < 0.001) and the level of knowledge of the vaccine (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge, age and HBM variables were significantly associated with students' intention for vaccination and screening on HPV. The study demonstrates the importance of raising awareness through specific education programmes in schools and theory-based tailored health programmes on HPV aspects (transmission, prevention, treatment) to increase the intention for prevention.

Factors associated with parents' levels of stress in pediatric wards.

Hospitalization of a child is a stressful experience, increasing parents' anxiety and deteriorating their satisfaction with the health-care services. This study aimed to assess the level of stress that parents of hospitalized children experienced and evaluate the association of parent's stress and satisfaction and identify its predictors. Three hundred and fifty-two parents whose children were hospitalized in two pediatric hospitals were enrolled in the study, from February 2015 to April 2015. The Perceived Stress Scale was used to estimate parental stress and the Pyramid Questionnaire was used for assessing parents' overall satisfaction with care. Parents expressed mild to moderate overall levels of stress. Less-stressed parents felt more satisfied. Being single ( p < .001), having lower educational level ( p = .005), one's child been hospitalized for more than 14 days ( p = .001), and one's have visited the hospital many times in the past ( p = .014) were the predictors of experiencing high levels of stress. During pediatric hospitalization, parental needs (communication, interpersonal health care, continuous information, involvement in child's care) should be considered, so as stress levels to be decreased and parents get more satisfied by the quality of health care provided.

Use of social media by healthcare professionals in Greece: an exploratory study.

The continuously and rapidly changing landscape in the fields of communications, Internet and social media make it imperative for professionals to better understand the role of Information and Communication Technologies and their impact on everyday activities. Several frameworks have been proposed in order to capture various dimensions of social media and measure their impact on people's social, professional and other activities. The effect of social media and Web 2.0 applications on the healthcare sector is also significant. This paper examines Greek healthcare professionals' attitudes towards internet, social media and mobile technologies, explores their familiarity with social networks and associates their answers with their professional profile. The results of this exploratory study are discussed within the context of the growing international relevant literature.

Sex differences in depression among older adults: are older women more vulnerable than men in social risk factors? The case of open care centers for older people in Greece.

This study examined depression, which, research has indicated, is the most common mental health problem affecting older people, especially women. Our objective was to estimate the prevalence of depression among older people in an urban Greek population and to investigate the covariates of depression symptoms prevalence by gender. The sample consisted of 360 individuals, 218 women and 142 men, aged 60 years or older, members of four open care centers for older people in Greece. A questionnaire for socio-demographic and medical data was used. Depression was probed by use of the geriatric depression scale short form. One-hundred and nine persons (30.3%), 32 men (22.53%) and 77 women (35.12%) were found to have depressive symptoms. The results indicated that women have more depression symptoms than men. Being currently unmarried and suffering from multimorbidity were associated with depression symptoms in both gender groups. Meetings with friends were found to be protective factors for both sexes; care of grandchildren and participating in outings and excursions seemed to be protective factors for women only. Unfavorable economic situations, and being childless, were associated with prevalence of depression symptoms among women only. This study confirmed the relationship between depression symptoms and gender and the importance of social and medical factors in the prevalence of depression symptoms, in both gender groups. It also indicated the greater vulnerability of women to some social factors.

Factors affecting adherence to antihypertensive medication in Greece: results from a qualitative study.

INTRODUCTION: Although hypertension constitutes a major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, research on adherence to antihypertensive treatment has shown that at least 75% of patients are not adherent because of the combined demographic, organizational, psychological, and disease- and medication-related factors. This study aimed to elicit hypertensive patients' beliefs on hypertension and antihypertensive treatment, and their role to adherence. METHODS: Transcripts from semistructured interviews and focus groups were content analyzed to extract participants' beliefs about hypertension and antihypertensive treatment, and attitudes toward patient-physician and patient-pharmacist relationships. RESULTS: Hypertension was considered a very serious disease, responsible for stroke and myocardial infarction. Participants expressed concerns regarding the use of medicines and the adverse drug reactions. Previous experience with hypertension, fear of complications, systematic disease management, acceptance of hypertension as a chronic disease, incorporation of the role of the patient and a more personal relationship with the doctor facilitated adherence to the treatment. On the other hand, some patients discontinued treatment when they believed that they had controlled their blood pressure. CONCLUSION: Cognitive and communication factors affect medication adherence. Results could be used to develop intervention techniques to improve medication adherence.