Informal carers' experiences and feelings during rehabilitation.

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences and feelings of people caring for patients with long-term diseases in a rehabilitation centre. A qualitative research approach was used. Fifteen informal carers were interviewed. The study was conducted in a rehabilitation centre in Greece. Three themes emerged. The first was feelings regarding the patient and the carers themselves, as well as the type of care provided and life at home after discharge from the rehabilitation unit. The second was experiences regarding health professionals and delivered care, and other carers. The third theme was expectations and thoughts about the future. Health professionals should plan and implement support interventions within rehabilitation settings in order to address carers' needs in terms of practical guidance not only within the framework of patient care but also relating to the psychological and physical wellbeing of informal carers.

Physical therapists' perceptions about patients with incomplete post-traumatic paraplegia adherence to recommended home exercises: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The overall purpose of physical therapy for patients with spinal cord injury is to improve health-related quality of life. However, poor adherence is a problem in physical therapy and may have negative impact on outcomes. OBJECTIVES: To explore the physical therapists' perspectives about patients with incomplete post-traumatic paraplegia adherence to recommended home exercises. METHODS: A qualitative content analysis was conducted. Data were collected in a convenience sample using semi-structured interviews. Thirteen registered physical therapists in Athens area participated in the study. RESULTS: Five categories emerged from the data: (1) reasons to recommend home exercise by the physical therapist; (2) obstacles to recommend home exercise by the physical therapist; (3) methods addressing these obstacles; (4) the family's role in the adherence to recommended home exercise; and (5) the impact of financial crisis in adherence to recommended home exercise. All participants found the recommended home exercises essential to rehabilitation and health maintenance, and they value their benefits. They also expressed the obstacles that need to be faced during rehabilitation process in order to promote adherence. CONCLUSION: Physical therapists should take into account the different obstacles that may prevent patients with incomplete post-traumatic paraplegia adherence to recommended home exercises. These involve the patients and their families, while, financial crisis has also an impact in adherence. In order to overcome these obstacles and increase adherence, communication with patient and family while taking into account the individual's needs, capacities, and resources are essential.

Health visitors' perceptions on their role to assess and manage postpartum depression cases in the community.

The present study gives an insight into the health visitors' perceptions on their role in assessing, managing, and supporting mothers with postpartum depression (PPD). The study took place in Cyprus among health visitors of a community Maternity and Child Welfare Clinic using qualitative approach. Data were collected through individual semistructured interviews. The findings showed that although health visitors are able to identify PPD cases, they stress the importance of protocols and evidence-based care as well as preventive interventions, and they also point out the importance of home visits. Finally, they support the need for education. It is concluded that health visitors can play an important role in women's health and their intervention on the prevention of PPD in the community especially through home visits is very important.

Exploring home care nurses' perceptions regarding their services in economic crisis: A qualitative approach.

This article explores the home care nurses' perceptions on the services they provide in Cyprus, which has been hit by a financial crisis. Semistructured interviews were conducted in Greek at the home care nurses' offices. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The participants' perceptions are described in terms of provision of home care nursing, administration of homecare nursing, job satisfaction, financial issues, and suggesting improvements. The financial crisis influences the home care services with regard to workload increase, staff shortage, and lack of resources. Home care nurses are well engaged in the provision of proper services in order to address the patients' needs. However, the financial crisis has set obstacles in the provision of care.

Exploring Religiosity, Self-Esteem, Stress, and Depression Among Students of a Cypriot University.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between Religiosity, Self-esteem, Stress, and Depression among nursing students, social work students, and early-education students of a Cypriot University. The data were collected using four questionnaires. The results indicate a significant positive association between Depression and Stress. Greater levels of Self-esteem were found to be associated with lower depression levels in correlation analysis, while strength of Religious and Spiritual Beliefs was correlated negatively with depression. The results of the current study highlight the need for early intervention in order to promote students mental well-being.

Quality of Life in Elderly Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy.

INTRODUCTION: As life expectancy increases, it is expected that 60% of all cases of cancer will be detected in elderly patients in the next two decades. Cancer treatment for older persons is complicated by a number of factors, thus negatively affecting patients' quality of life. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to investigate quality of life in elderly cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. MATERIAL AND METHOD: This study was descriptive and non-experimental. It was conducted in one large hospital in a major city of Northern Greece. The sample was convenience comprising 53 elderly cancer patients undergoing cycle 3 chemotherapy. The data was collected using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy scale and included questions related to demographic and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: The majority of participants were men (n = 27, 50.9%) who were married (n = 32, 79.5%). Their mean age was 70.07 ± 3.60. Almost half of the sample (n = 30, 56.6%) had colon cancer. There was a statistical significant difference between men and women pertaining to physical wellbeing (p = 0.004) and overall quality of life (p < 0.001). When comparing each subscale with the patients' marital status it was found that there was a statistical difference with respect to social/family wellbeing (p = 0.029), functional wellbeing (p = 0.09) and overall quality of life (p < 0.001). Moreover, the type of cancer affected overall quality of life (p < 0.001) and social/family wellbeing (p = 0.029). CONCLUSIONS: These findings call attention to quality of life and its related factors in elderly cancer patients. It is highly recommended to envisage measures for improving quality of life in this group of cancer patients.

Evaluating female nursing students' knowledge and attitudes regarding breast self-examination.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate female nursing students' knowledge and attitudes regarding breast self-examination (BSE). The sample consisted of 175 nursing students from a university in Cyprus. We collected data via a questionnaire that included the Greek version of the Champion Health Belief Model scale and questions regarding the participants' demographic characteristics. More than half of the participants (58.3%) said that they were knowledgeable about BSE and 29.1% of them had been taught about it during their studies. Nevertheless, 59.9% reported never having performed BSE, while 40.1% had performed it at least once. Only 10.9% of the students performed BSE every month for more than a year. Self-confidence had a positive and significant correlation (0.86) with BSE frequency. Also, we found quite a low level of BSE knowledge and practice levels, and this highlights the need for establishing breast cancer prevention programs.

Kuopio University Hospital Job Satisfaction Scale (KUHJSS): its validation in the Greek language.

AIM: Τranslation and validation of the Kuopio University Hospital Job Satisfaction Scale. BACKGROUND: Nurses' job satisfaction is crucial for the smooth functioning of the health-care system. METHODS: A Greek translation of the scale was made and administered to 126 psychiatric nurses; 60 filled it out again after 15 days. The structural validity and internal consistency of the scale were also studied. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were also conducted. RESULTS: A total of 69 (54.8%) of the participants were male and the majority (72.2%) were <40 years old. The exploratory factor analysis revealed a four-factor scale: Leadership, Working environment, Motivating factors and Team spirit (Cronbach alpha: 0.71-0.88). These factors were not identical to the factors of the Finnish version of the scale. The four-factor model created marginally fits the data and exhibits far better indices. Pearson correlation and intraclass correlation coefficient were near to 1, indicating the scale's high reliability. CONCLUSIONS: The scale's properties were very satisfactory indicating that the scale is a reliable measure of job satisfaction. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The Greek version of the Kuopio University Hospital Job Satisfaction Scale can be recommended to measure nurses' job satisfaction in Cyprus and Greece.

Fathers' feelings related to their partners' childbirth and views on their presence during labour and childbirth: A descriptive quantitative study.

This study examined Chinese fathers' feelings about their partners' delivery and views on their presence during labour and birth. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 403 fathers whose partners gave birth in one provincial hospital in China. Data were analysed by descriptive statistics, χ(2)-test and content analysis. The results indicated that more than 80% of fathers experienced feelings of pride related to fatherhood and of love towards their partners and newborns. Significant differences in fathers' feelings were found between subgroups with regard to age, education, employment, presence in the delivery room, method of birth and whether preparatory visits had been made to the hospital. The majority who answered an open-ended question on the meaning of fathers' presence in the delivery room held a positive attitude towards fathers' presence at labour and birth, as their presence could empower their partners and provide psychological support. This study indicates fathers' presence at delivery and birth is important and that younger fathers need more support. It also provides evidence for clinical practice and future interventions to improve fathers' psychological health and experiences.

Factors affecting the decision to quit smoking of the participants of a hospital-based smoking cessation program in Greece.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that affect people who are in the process of quitting smoking. METHODS: A randomly selected sample of 110 participants in a smoking cessation program (SCP) of a hospital in Thessaloniki Greece. Instruments of data collection were: i) the Demographic Data Lifestyle Questionnaire and ii) the Fragerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire. ANOVA tests between the Demographic Data Lifestyle Questionnaire and the Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire relating to the smokers' determination to quit smoking applied. RESULTS: Work satisfaction was related to whether the participants had difficulty to smoke in places that prohibited smoking and to how many cigarettes they smoked per day. If a non-smoker partner was urging the participant to quit smoking, it affected the hours of the day when the respondents smoked more cigarettes. Pressure from a non-smoking spouse was a deterrent from smoking many cigarettes during morning hours. Those participants who consumed alcohol smoked cigarettes containing higher levels of nicotine. CONCLUSION: Smoking cessation is a difficult process which is influenced by many factors such as educational level, work satisfaction and the presence of a partner.

Greek fathers' experiences from their wife's/partner's labour and delivery: A qualitative approach.

This study aimed at exploring Greek fathers' experiences from their wives/partners' labour and delivery, and their perceptions about aspects of delivery care that need to be improved. It took place at hospital maternity clinics at the greater area of Thessaloniki, Greece. Participants were fathers whose wife/partner had given birth one week to one year before the data collection. The data were collected with the use of the Kuopio Instrument for Fathers (KIF). In this article we present the data obtained by KIF's four open-ended questions, which were analyzed using the method of content analysis. Three core categories emerged: (i) Meaning of presence during the delivery process; (ii) Experiences of the delivery process; and (iii) Suggestions for improving delivery services. Fathers take their role seriously and seek an active participation. Healthcare professionals and health education interventions should take into account the fathers' perspectives and aim to meet their needs.

Religious and spiritual beliefs, self-esteem, anxiety, and depression among nursing students.

Research of the role of religious belief and/or spirituality has been conducted on a wide range of health-related topics, across many disciplines, and in many countries. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between religious beliefs, self-esteem, anxiety, and depression in nursing students in Cyprus. One hundred and twenty-three nursing students were asked to complete a survey consisting of four self-report questionnaires (Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, The Royal Free Interview for Religious and Spiritual Beliefs, and Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale). The lowest levels of depression were observed in the third and fourth study year. Normal self-esteem levels were found in the majority of the students (71.3%) and most of them perceived current stress at mild levels. No significant differences on the basis of sex were observed. The vast majority (98.2%) of the students stated a strong religious and/or a spiritual belief that was strongly positively correlated with increased self-esteem and negatively correlated with depression, current stress, and stress as personality trait.

Prevalence and risk factors of excess weight in school children in West Greece.

The present study estimated the prevalence of childhood obesity and identified risk factors in 10-13 year old children. A cross-sectional study was conducted, including 200 children and their parents, in seven randomly-selected primary schools across Patras, Greece. Height, weight, and waist circumference were measured, and self-reported information was collected via face-to-face interviews. Body mass index was calculated for the children and their parents. The effect of risk factors on overweight and obesity was analyzed using regression analysis. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 32% and 10.5%, respectively. The odds of being overweight/obese increased in children whose parents had a lower educational level and/or higher body mass index. Fewer daily meals and more time spent in front of the television and/or on the computer were significantly associated with obesity in 10-13 year old children. The prevalence of excess weight in primary school children in Patras is of concern, especially for boys. Children's nutritional habits, leisure activities, and parental characteristics influence their somatometric characteristics. These findings highlight the need for future weight loss interventions targeted at this population.

Mothers' experiences of pregnancy, labour and childbirth: a qualitative study in Northern Greece.

This qualitative study aims at describing the mothers' most positive and negative experiences during pregnancy, labour and childbirth, and at identifying the aspects of pregnancy monitoring and obstetric care that should be developed most urgently in the future. The sample consisted of 607 mothers. The data were analyzed using content analysis. Mothers who preferred vaginal delivery believe that they do not interfere with nature and, consequently, their convalescence is easier and faster. Those who selected Caesarean section stress that they feel much safer because the whole process is well organized and controlled. The mothers' experiences are closely related with their interaction with the health-care professionals. Psychological support, good education and delivery preparation courses are some of the factors that could contribute to the improvement of maternal services. The basis of prenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care should be influenced by the women's experiences of pregnancy, labour and childbirth.

In-hospital informal caregivers' needs as perceived by themselves and by the nursing staff in Northern Greece: A descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: Informal care is common in many countries, especially in Greece, where families provide care in hospitals. Health education and informational needs are important factors for family members which are often underestimated by nursing staff. The aim of this study was to compare the perceptions of the nurses and the in-hospital informal caregivers about the in-hospital informal caregivers' knowledge and informational needs, as well as the factors that influence these perceptions. METHODS: This was a non-experimental descriptive study conducted in three general hospitals in Greece. The sample consisted of 320 nurses and 370 in-hospital informal caregivers who completed questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using t-tests; group comparisons were conducted using ANOVA. RESULTS: The score of the questionnaire for health education and informational needs was significantly greater for informal caregivers (57.1 ± 6.9 and 26.6 ± 2.8) than for nurses (53.4 ± 5.7 and 22.4 ± 3.1) (p < 0.001). For the nursing staff, the factors that influence the informational needs of patients' caregivers were level of education and working experience, while for the caregivers the level of education was independently associated with the score for the health education needs. Finally, age, marital status, and level of education of informal caregivers' were independently associated with informational needs. CONCLUSIONS: The in-hospital informal caregivers perceived that they have more educational and informational needs than the nurses did. The findings of this study also show that the nursing staff has to identify the needs of in-hospital informal caregivers in order to be able to meet these needs.

Satisfaction from the 'Help at Home' programme in a prefecture of central Greece.

Greece is facing the issue of increasing elderly population and therefore local municipalities started the 'Help at Home' programme. The aim of this study is to investigate the elderly's satisfaction from the 'Help at Home' programme in a prefecture of central Greece. The sample consisted of 300 elderly people who receive services from the 'Help at Home' programme. Data were collected using a questionnaire. The majority of the participants were satisfied with the programme's services and reported high satisfaction from the interpersonal relations with the personnel, from the personnel's professional abilities and from the system's sufficiency in covering the elderly's perceived needs for care, but the satisfaction from the range of services is relatively low. The participants were overall satisfied; however, further research is needed at a national level in order to draw safer conclusion regarding the application of the programme in Greece.

Fathers' Feelings and Experience Related to their Wife/Partner's Delivery in Northern Greece.

OBJECTIVES: The study aims at exploring the feelings and the experience of fathers about their wife/partner's delivery. BACKGROUND: During the last decades birth attendance by fathers is a common phenomenon across many countries. Fathers' birth attendance may evoke both positive and negative feelings. METHODOLOGY: The study was conducted in a city of Northern Greece. The sample consisted of 417 fathers whose wife/partner had given birth during the previous one week to one year. Data were collected using the Kuopio Instrument for Fathers (KIF). RESULTS: Father's feelings about their wife or partner were very positive as nearly all (82.1%) of the participants were proud to become fathers and agree that they felt love and were grateful to their wife/partner. However, half of the fathers felt anxious and nervous. 40.7% quite agree that the staff was very professional, that they trusted the staff (45%) and that they were grateful to the staff (38.8%). There is correlation between the "feelings related to the wife/partner" and education (r=0.156, p=0.0047), "being afraid during the preparatory visit at the obstetric hospital" (r=-0.238, p=0.009), and "anxiety during the preparatory visit" (r=0.295 p=0.005). The subscale "feelings related to the environment and staff" correlates with "usefulness of preparatory visit" (r=-0.223, p=0.004) and the subscale of "experiences related to delivery" correlates with "usefulness of preparatory visit" (r=-0.357, p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the findings of previous studies, which indicated that birth attendance by fathers has evoked positive feelings about their wife/partner, the delivery, the staff and the hospital environment.

Test-retest reliability of the Kuopio instrument for fathers (KIF): a questionnaire to assess fathers' feelings, experiences and preparation for their wife/partner's delivery.

OBJECTIVE: to assess the test-retest reliability of the Greek version of the Kuopio Instrument for Fathers (KIF) questionnaire that explores fathers' feelings, experiences and preparation for their wife/partner's delivery. DESIGN: the KIF questionnaire was translated into Greek, back translated and adapted to the Greek population. After a pilot test, it was administered to a sample of fathers. Originally, 149 fathers completed the KIF questionnaire, and they were asked to complete it once again 1-2 weeks later. FINDINGS: out of a sample of 149 fathers, 72 (48.3%) returned the retest questionnaire. Sixty-five of these fathers had completed all the items, and thus only these cases were included in the data analysis. The mean age of the sample was 35.42+/-7.55 years. For 34 (52.3%) fathers, this was their first child. The mean total test score of fathers for the 35-item scale that assessed the feelings related to their wife/partner's delivery was 99.09+/-11.88 and the mean total retest score was 102.30+/-9.99. The correlation coefficient between the two scores was 0.975 (p<0.001). The mean total test and retest scores for the 19-item scale that evaluated the experiences related to their wife/partner's delivery were 50.78+/-17.57 and 49.59+/-18.21, respectively. The correlation coefficient was 0.947 (p<0.001). The intraclass correlation coefficients for the items of both scales ranged from 0.73 to 0.99, exceeding 0.85 in most cases. CONCLUSION: the test-retest properties of the KIF questionnaire in the Greek population proved to be very satisfactory. Future validation and longitudinal studies are necessary to refine the instrument.

Mothers' experiences of maternity services: internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the Greek translation of the Kuopio Instrument for Mothers.

OBJECTIVE: the Kuopio Instrument for Mothers (KIM) questionnaire assesses mothers' experiences of maternity services during pregnancy and delivery. The aim of this study was to translate the questionnaire into Greek, and to evaluate the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the Greek version of the KIM. METHODS: 77 mothers completed both the test and the retest questionnaire. The KIM includes the Utah Test for the Childbearing Year (UTCY) and four other scales. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Test-retest reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients, kappa coefficients (kappa) and Pearson correlation coefficients (r). FINDINGS: strong correlation (r = 0.793, p < 0.001) was found between the total test mean score (88.22 + or - 5.82) and the total retest mean score (87.49 + or - 6.16) for the UTCY. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.74 for the UTCY to 0.75 for the 26-item scale on discussion of topics in maternity welfare clinics, 0.85 for the 10-item scale on mother-obstetrician collaboration, 0.94 for the 14-item scale on mother-midwife collaboration, and 0.55 for the seven-item scale on provision of services for women. The kappa coefficients ranged from 0.325 to 0.924. CONCLUSIONS: the questionnaire appears to be a reliable measure of mothers' experiences in the Greek population. Further studies are needed to refine the instrument.

Nursing staff shortage and in-hospital informal care in an oncology hospital in Greece: the nursing staff's perceptions.

There is a broad variety of factors that are contributing to the nursing staff shortage. They include low wages, poor image of nursing, job satisfaction, ageing of the nursing workforce and cost reductions. In the Greek National Health System, there is a policy of open-visiting hours in hospitals. Family members stay with the patients for many hours and provide in-hospital informal care. The purpose of this study is to describe the perceptions of nursing staff about the nursing staff shortage and the in-hospital informal care in a Greek oncology hospital. For the data collection we used a 30-item questionnaire. The majority of the participants (82.9%) stated that most patients have a family member staying longer than the official visiting hours for assisting with care. A main reason according to the nurses' opinion (37.4%) is the nursing staff shortage. In addition, most nurses disagree with relatives providing some of the informal caregiving activities. The findings are consistent with the findings of other studies. They might be of interest to Greek health authorities, to nurses and to Greek citizens in order to implement possible solutions to improve the hospitalization in Greek hospitals.