[Health promotion in enterprises counteracting the consequences of workforce ageing. How does it differ from interventions in other companies and what kind of barriers does it face?] / Promocja zdrowia w zakladach pracy przeciwdzialajacych skutkom starzenia sie personelu. Czym rózni sie od dzialan w innych firmach i jakie przeszkody napotyka?

BACKGROUND: The aim of the article is to address the question of whether companies implementing personnel's health promotion to counteract the consequences of workforce ageing differ in their health-related activities from enterprises not having such a motivation. The analyzed differences concern the frequency of implementing and evaluating selected health promotion interventions, assessing employees' health needs and expectations, managers' interest in population ageing, and other motives of health promotion implementation. Moreover, obstacles to health promotion in the context of ageing are analyzed. Directions of supporting enterprises in diminishing the consequences of this demographic process via health promotion are recommended. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Quantitative analysis: standardized computer-assisted personal interviews with representatives of management boards (October- November 2017). Sample: 940 companies from Poland implementing health promotion activities (including 424 organizations willing przedsiewzieto counteract the consequences of workforce ageing), selected from a representative sample of 1000 enterprises employing ≥50 people. Qualitative analysis: focus groups interviews (FGIs) with employers concerning their attitudes to managing personnel's health in the context of population ageing (March 2017). Sample: 64 respondents in 8 FGIs. RESULTS: Companies promoting employees' health to diminish the consequences of workforce ageing more often implement and evaluate most workplace health-related activities, and provide more reasons for promoting personnel's health. Their managers are more often interested in the issue of demographic changes, and they less frequently complain about the obstacles of health promotion implementation. Major obstacles are employers' reluctance or impossibility to pay for health promotion, low managers' awareness/know-how concerning health promotion, insufficient human and infrastructure resources, unfavorable employees' attitudes, and disadvantageous legal/fiscal issues. CONCLUSIONS: Companies' willingness to counteract implications of personnel's ageing is conducive to their engagement in health promotion. The dissemination/intensification of workplace health-oriented activities, which fosters minimizing the consequences of demographic changes, requires increasing employers' interest in the issue of population ageing and health promotion as a tool of coping with this problem, facilitating gaining the knowledge of workplace health promotion management by companies' representatives, and diminishing legislative/fiscal barriers to the implementation of workplace health-related activities. Med Pr. 2020;71(3):289-307.

[Health promotion in workplaces with a large share of older employees. The situation in Poland]. / Promocja zdrowia w zakladach pracy o duzym udziale starszych pracowników. Sytuacja w Polsce.

BACKGROUND: In the nearest decades, the ageing process in Poland is likely to intensify, leading to the shrinking of workforce. An increase in the share of older employees having worse health may deteriorate certain worksite parameters (i.e., resulting in increased sickness absence). Enterprises may face such challenges by promoting employees' health. The paper aims at answering the question whether enterprises with a large share of older employees (aged ≥55) are more aware of the ageing process and more interested in promoting health of their personnel than organizations hiring mostly younger employees. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The survey covered 926 companies selected from a representative sample of 1000 enterprises in Poland hiring ≥50 employees, which were aware of the share of employees aged ≥55 among their staff. The analyses were conducted in 4 groups of enterprises, depending on the share of ageing employees, i.e., enterprises not hiring such employees (N = 43), and enterprises with ageing employees accounting for less than one-fourth (N = 493), from one-fourth to a half (N = 335), or more than a half (N = 55) of their personnel. Standardized computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI) with delegates of the boards were held in October-November 2017. RESULTS: Organizations with the majority of older employees have the greatest awareness of population ageing, its consequences and the deepest sense of investing in employees' health. They are also more willing than worksites not employing people aged ≥ 55 to analyze the health needs of their personnel of different age and to implement health promotion measures. The problem is that they are less interested in the evaluation of such activities. CONCLUSIONS: Although enterprises employing mostly people aged ≥ 55 are the most aware of population ageing and likely to implement many health promotion measures, many of them appear to neglect this demographic process. Many companies promoting employees' health do so for other reasons than to diminish the consequences of population ageing. Thus, employers should be made aware of the inevitability of ageing and health promotion as a tool in coping with the outcomes of that process. They should also be encouraged to evaluate their health promotion measures. Med Pr. 2020;71(2):153-76.

[Health promotion in medium-sized and large enterprises in Poland, in the context of population ageing. The specificity of workplaces with a different size of employment and financial situation]. / Promocja zdrowia w srednich i duzych zakladach pracy w Polsce wobec procesu starzenia sie ludnosci. Specyfika firm o róznej wielkosci zatrudnienia i kondycji ekonomicznej.

BACKGROUND: Demographic projections indicate an inevitable intensification of the population ageing process. This situation causes significant challenges for employers due to the shrinking and ageing of the workforce. Workplace health promotion, adjusted to the needs and expectations of employees in different age groups, is one of the tools of preventing and minimizing the consequences of this demographic process. In Poland there is a lack of research showing employers' attitudes towards the demographic crisis, health promotion as a way of coping with the implications of ageing or the implementation of health promotion tailored to the specificity of younger and older employees. In addition, there is hardly any information on whether these issues are differentiated by the size and financial situation of enterprises. Therefore, the paper is aimed at filling in these knowledge gaps. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A national representative study of 1000 companies employing ≥50 people was conducted (October-November 2017), in a form of standardized computer-assisted personal interviews. RESULTS: There is a low awareness of the discussed demographic process (8% of the enterprises surveyed declare experiencing its consequences). Most organizations do not prepare themselves for facing the future challenges of ageing (only one-fifth discuss this topic during management meetings), nor do they respond to the first symptoms of this process (only one-fourth react to the observed consequences of demographic changes, and every second organization tends to finish its cooperation with employees once they attain the retirement age). Although half of the respondents believe in the effectiveness of health promotion in coping with the consequences of the ageing process, in reality the capability of these activities is not harnessed (few companies are interested in the diverse health needs and expectations of employees in different age groups, and in adjusting health promotion activities to these needs and expectations). The size and financial situation do not differentiate many issues analyzed in the study. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to make employers aware of the inevitability of population ageing and its implications for enterprises, shaping their skills in effective preventive/remedial actions (including health promotion) and supporting them in such implementations. Med Pr. 2020;71(1):17-31.

[Workplace health promotion as a tool for reducing the consequences of ageing of the working population]. / Promocja zdrowia w miejscu pracy jako narzedzie ograniczania skutków starzenia sie populacji pracujacych.

A significant intensification of the ageing process in Poland, projected for the upcoming years, will have serious socioeconomic consequences. This demographic process at the macro level will result in lower contributions to the state budget (due to decreased workforce) and higher public expenses (on pensions, healthcare and long-term care). Implications at the meso (workplace) level will include the diminishing and ageing of workforce, which will then cause troubles in recruitment. Decreased ageing personnel's productivity due to absence and presenteeism is also probable. One way of coping with such challenges by the state is to support social and occupational activity of the society. One of the tools to be employed within such a policy is workplace health promotion (WHP). In literature there are no thorough elaborations summarizing WHP advantages in this field. The aim of this paper is to outline the scientific evidence of WHP effectiveness in counteracting/reducing the consequences of the ageing process (the shrinking workforce and the declining productivity of the ageing personnel, associated with absence/presenteeism). A narrative literature review was conducted (Polish and English publications identified in the EBSCO/PubMed databases, using the Google engine and a snowball method). The potential of WHP stems from its effectiveness in enhancing employees' health/preventing health problems. A good health condition reduces the shrinking of workforce via sustaining workability/occupational activity. It also mitigates the impact of absence and/or presenteeism. Health problems have the opposite effect. Although the analysis of the WHP effectiveness in strengthening workability, extending occupational activity, reducing absence/presenteeism/related loss of productivity belongs to poorly developed scientific areas, the systematic literature reviews that have been gathered reflect the WHP potential in these fields. Med Pr. 2019;70(5):617-31.

How do pregnant women justify smoking? A qualitative study with implications for nurses' and midwives' anti-tobacco interventions.

AIM: To research the subjective lay justifications expressed by smoking pregnant women to explain why they use cigarettes during pregnancy and to determine a typology for these justifications. BACKGROUND: Smoking pregnant mothers' awareness of the detrimental effects of smoking on foetal health frequently is a source of stress and cognitive dissonance (stemming from the contrast between viewing themselves as responsible mothers and smokers). One possible way to reduce these unpleasant feelings is acceptance or creation of beliefs allowing them to explain rationally why they continue this behaviour during pregnancy. DESIGN: Qualitative design. METHODS: Thematic analysis of the content of posts from the three largest Polish parenting on-line forums written between the time they were founded and 12 November 2012. The data were collected between September - October 2012. During the analysis of the selected 73 posts, each of which included subjective explanations of smoking during pregnancy, 151 fragments, each containing one lay justification, were identified and analysed. FINDINGS: Thirty-five subthemes of lay justifications assigned to two main themes were developed. The first main theme includes convictions that undermine the need to break the nicotine addiction and the positive aspects resulting from quitting. The second main theme comprises beliefs that question the possibility to abstain from smoking and exaggerate the barriers in the process of quitting. CONCLUSIONS: The creation of a typology of lay justifications might help nurses and midwives perform more effective anti-tobacco interventions geared specifically towards the thought patterns typical of pregnant women.

Should we adjust health education methodology to low-educated employees needs? Findings from Latvia, Poland, Slovenia and Spain.

OBJECTIVES: The presented study explored health beliefs and experiences as well as health education needs of low-educated employees (LEEs) (incomplete primary, primary, lower secondary and basic vocational education) in comparison to those with higher education (secondary and tertiary education) in four European countries: Latvia, Poland, Slovenia and Spain. The main aim was to identify a specificity of low-educated employees (LEEs) by capturing their opinions, experiences, attitudes and needs concerning health education. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The sample consisted of 1691 individuals with the status of an employee (approximately 400 respondents in each of 4 countries participating in the project). The respondents were aged 25-54 (both the control group and the target group consisted in 1/3 of the following age groups: 25-34, 35-44 and 45-54). The respondents were interviewed during the years 2009 and 2010 with a structured questionnaire concerning their health, health behaviours as well as educational needs concerning health education. RESULTS: The study revealed substantial differences in the attitudes of people from this group concerning methodology of health education. LEEs prefer more competitions and campaigns and less written educational materials in comparison to those with higher education. Additionally, they more often perceive a fee, longer time, necessity to take part in a knowledge test and a concern that their health will be checked as factors that can discourage them from taking part in a health training. On the other hand, LEEs can by encouraged to take part in such a training by a media broadcast concerning the event, snacks or lottery during the training, or financial incentives. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study proved the need for specific health education guidelines to conduct health education for low-educated employees. These guidelines should take in account the sources of health education preferred by LEEs as well as the factors that can encourage/discourage their participation in trainings concerning health.

[Challenges for smoking cessation interventions targeted at women in Poland]. / Wyzwania stojace przed organizatorami dzialan antytytoniowych adresowanych do kobiet w Polsce.

The paper addresses the problem of smoking among women. Based on the literature review of research conducted on large representative samples of Poles to define the range of this unhealthy behavior and its gender differences, the groups of Polish women who should especially become the target of smoking cessation interventions were identified. Furthermore, an attempt was made to characterize factors contributing to the initiation and continuation of tobacco smoking among adult women and the specificity of this unhealthy habit among those planning a pregnancy and expecting mothers. This information was based on the outcomes reported in the available literature on this issue. Finally, the guidelines for organizing smoking cessation interventions targeted at women in Poland are provided.

[Activities of voivodeship occupational medicine centers in workplace health promotion in 2008]. / Dzialalnosc wojewódzkich osrodków medycyny pracy w zakresie promocji zdrowia w miejscu pracy w 2008 roku.

The paper aims to present the activities of the largest Voivodeship Occupational Medicine Centers (VOMCs) in Poland in the area of workplace health promotion in 2008. It was compiled on the basis of written reports concerning these activities sent by the Centers to the Polish National Center for Workplace Health Promotion, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lódz. Their analysis shows a greatly varied level of engagement in and understanding of health promotion--from simple single actions (in the field of health education and screening) to long-running programs, including various ways of influencing people the programs are addressed to. In 2008, there were 78 such programs in the country, the most popular of them were those focused on occupational voice disorders and tobacco smoke). VOMCs perceive external factors, unfavorable or indifferent attitudes towards promoting health of their employees on the part of employers as well as financial constraints, as the most common obstacles in undertaking activities in the field of workplace health promotion. At the same time, they link achievements in this field mostly with their own activities, including effective cooperation with various partners and their well qualified and experienced employees.