Injuries treated in hospital among urban and rural inhabitants of eastern Poland.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Injuries are a serious medical and social problem, especially when accompanied by distant or deferred effects, often causing serious dysfunctions and permanent disability for life. The study aimed at presenting the incidence of injuries of urban and rural population treated in a district hospital in eastern Poland. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was carried out in the Independent Public Health Care Institution in Krasnik in 2011 among patients hospitalized in the Department of Trauma Surgery and Orthopedic Unit who sustained injuries. Medical records of 795 patients - 326 women and 469 men, aged 10-99 years, were analyzed. RESULTS: During the period considered among those hospitalized due to injuries, men (59%), those aged 50-59 years (19.0%), and living in rural areas (72.7%) predominated. Injuries most commonly affected the head (18.87%), elbow and forearm (16.86%), knee and lower leg (16.60%), and the hip and thigh (13.96%). Average hospital stay was 5.65 days and was the longest for hip and thigh injuries (11.86 days). CONCLUSIONS: Injuries occurred most frequently in the population of patients living in rural areas, often among men, usually on weekdays and in the morning.

[Assessment of nursing care quality in the prevention of hospital-acquired infections--the proposed method for quality assessment]. / Ocena jakosci opieki pielegniarskiej w zapobieganiu zakazeniom szpitalnym--proponowana metoda oceny jakosci.

OBJECTIVE: The main objective of the study was the development of a tool for evaluation of the quality of nursing care in the prophylaxis of hospital-acquired infections. METHODS: Due to the lack of a tool for assessment of the quality of nursing care in the prophylaxis of hospital-acquired infections an attempt was undertaken to construct own tool. This tool consists of 9 main and 83 detailed criteria, which are ascribed 1-5 scores. Occupational activity associated with the surveillance of hospital-acquired infections and the observations and assessment of the quality of nursing care allowed closer recognition of the factors determining the frequency of the development of infections. It was, therefore, possible to specify the most important nursing tasks, which exert a significant effect on the prevention of infections. This enabled the construction of own research method for assessment of the effect of nursing care on the occurrence of infections among hospitalized patients. RESULTS: A chart for the evaluation of the quality of nursing care in the prophylaxis of hospital-acquired infections was developed. Nine main criteria were considered referring to the basic areas of care of a hospitalized patient. The following of the above-mentioned criteria are the most important: observance of aseptic and hygienic procedures, prevention of infections of the vascular, urinary, and respiratory systems, as well as of the site of surgery, observance of the principles of isolation, medical standards and the organisation of structures for infections monitoring and surveillance. The main criteria were supplemented with the detailed ones, and ascribed a score scale facilitating the evaluation.