To be a midwife in Latvia - Midwives talking - Pilot study.

Introduction: For almost 20 years Latvia has been a member state of European Union. Accessible and constantly evolving information has led to a paradigm change in the woman - midwife relationship; nowadays, it should be horizontal - women's and her family orientated. The question is: how do the midwives perceive their professional identity, its core values, norms and beliefs in this new paradigm? Method and findings: Three interview rounds with 20 midwives were performed. Highlighted themes were asked to be explained in the next round of interview in order to compare them with authors' thematic analysis and formulated pre - understandings.The method of thematic analysis was used in frame of a pilot study to understand how practising midwives describe their professional identity.Eleven themes emerged and were categorised in three larger themes: integral part of midwife's professional identity - courage, patience, ability to provide intimacy, flexibility and creativity, the most beautiful profession; desirable part - the ability to evaluate yourself, the ability to draw boundaries, tolerance and acceptance of diversity, "go with the flow" - ability to allow physiological processes to take place, hindrances - struggle with bureaucratic norms and paperwork, struggle with the finances/salary. Conclusion: Within the present study midwives' voices have been conceptualised for the first time in Latvia. With the repeated reflection on their professional identity, midwives not only conceptualised it, but also let light shine on the shadowy side of its components.

Adaptation of the Intelligence Structure Test, Latvian version: psychometric properties.

The Intelligence Structure Test (IST-2000R) is created to measure reasoning abilities and knowledge through verbal, numerical, and figural domains. The qualities of IST-2000R have shown its potential to be adapted and standardized in a Latvian sample to be used in psychological evaluation and research, thus satisfying the need for reliable measurement. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Latvian version of IST-2000R. The adaptation sample consisted of 1,017 participants aged 15-65 (M = 31.8; SD = 10.94), of whom 36% were male. Participants were tested using the supervised offline administration mode (exploro.lv). The Ethics Committee of Riga Stradins University (RSU), Riga, Latvia, approved the study. The data show that the psychometric properties of the Latvian version of IST-2000R are in line with scientific norms. Thus, the test is considered to be reliable and may be used for psychological evaluation and research.

Motivators and barriers to COVID-19 vaccination of healthcare workers in Latvia.

This study aims to identify motivators and barriers regarding Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination among Latvian healthcare workers (HCWs). Data were collected from March to May 2021 using an online survey. Overall, 1,444 participants took part in the study. From this pool of respondents, 528 indicated motivating factors in favor of the COVID-19 vaccination (86.5% were women; aged between 20 and 75 years), while 198 mentioned barriers against the COVID-19 vaccination (92.9% were women; aged between 19 and 68 years). The thematic analysis was conducted on two open-ended questions. The main motivators reported for COVID-19 vaccination were belief in the effectiveness of the vaccine, benefits of easing COVID-19 restrictions, responsibility, and restriction or pressure in case of non-vaccination. The main barriers reported regarding the COVID-19 vaccination were concerns about the effectiveness and safety of vaccines, perceived health risks of vaccination, risk perception toward COVID-19, misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, belief that vaccination is being imposed, and belief in the conspiracy theories surrounding COVID-19. The results of this study help identify the existing motivating and hindering factors for COVID-19 vaccination among HCWs in Latvia. These results can be used to promote vaccination in HCW, develop information campaigns, and alleviate concerns of HCW.

The Development of Mindful-Based Dance Movement Therapy Intervention for Chronic Pain: A Pilot Study With Chronic Headache Patients.

Chronic pain is of significant global concern. There is growing evidence that body-mind therapies and psychological approaches can contribute toward changing chronic pain perceptions. This is the first model described in the literature that combines a mindfulness-based approach with dance movement therapy and explores the potential psychological and pain-related changes for this client population. In this paper, the results from the pilot study are presented involving patients with chronic headache recruited in an outpatient rehabilitation setting. Methods: In this pilot study, 29 patients (n = 29) with chronic headache were randomized to either the Mindful-Based Dance Movement Therapy (MBDMT) group or the waiting list control group (treatment as usual, TAU). The MBDMT group was offered 10 sessions in a clinical outpatient rehabilitation setting for 5 weeks. Data were collected pre- and post-intervention and 16 weeks after the intervention was finished. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) were used as outcome measures. Results: The working model of MBDMT identifies nine therapeutic mechanisms (safe therapeutic environment, mindfulness skills, body awareness, relaxation/releasing, distancing and staying with discomfort, meaning making, self-regulation, acceptance and integration, creative process). Per-protocol analysis reveals statistically significant reduction of pain intensity and depression scores in favor of the MBDMT group, and these improvements were maintained in the follow-up assessment. Conclusions: The results suggest that MBDMT is a feasible and promising therapy approach for chronic pain patients. The pilot study offered sufficient information and preliminary results in the desirable direction to enable the researchers to move to a randomized controlled trial (RCT) stage in order to establish the efficacy of the intervention. Clinical Trial Registration: The study was registered in the www.researchregistry.com, registry (5483).

Disability, pain catastrophizing and stress coping of patients with low back pain in rehabilitation practice in Latvia.

BACKGROUND: It is known that pain has emotional and behavioral consequences that influence the development of problems and outcome of treatment. Patients' attitudes and coping mechanisms seem to play a causal role in the chronification of low back pain (LBP) and augment a cycle of chronic pain and disability. OBJECTIVE: To examine pain catastrophizing, stress coping strategies and disability among patients with low back pain in rehabilitation practice in Latvia. METHODS: Seventy-four patients participated in the study. We used the Demographic questionnaire, Visual Analogue Scale, The Oswestry Low Back Disability Questionnaire, Pain Catastrophizing Scale and "The Ways of Coping scale". RESULTS: According to our data there is a strong interrelationship of disability and pain catastrophizing. The research data shows significantly higher scores of pain catastrophizing in patients with a more severe disability. CONCLUSIONS: Achieved research highlights the importance of a multifactorial approach to pain management and the enormous significance of pain catastrophizing in patients with low back pain.

Effectiveness of self-help groups and psychotherapy: self-assessment of patients with substance use disorders.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The basis of substance use disorders (SUD) is formed with regard to biopsychosocial aspects. By following the SUD biological model exclusively, the effectiveness of treatment is limited since all the formation aspects of SUD are not taken into account. By using the psychosocial model, however, the understanding and treatment of a substance use illness becomes enhanced and is more effective. A key role in this model is played by self-help groups and psychotherapy. The aim of this study was to determine the viewpoint of patients with substance use disorders in terms of the number of visits, duration of treatment, efficacy of self-help groups, and individual and group psychotherapy in different treatment methods. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The participants were approached by researchers at two drug and alcohol services in Latvia. In total, 587 patients received questionnaires developed by the authors of the study. RESULTS: All the 587 questionnaires of both outpatient respondents (n=200, 34.1%) and inpatient respondents (n=387, 65.9%) were analyzed. Of all the outpatient department respondents, 41.5% (n=83) attended self-help groups, 28.5% (n=57) individual psychotherapy, and 14.5% (n=29) group psychotherapy; the inpatient department respondents were 2 to 4 times less often involved in the measures. CONCLUSIONS: The outpatient respondents were more frequently employed. They attended self-help groups and psychotherapy and obtained longer remission comparing with inpatient respondents. This study has shown that patients had a greater success rate in staying in remission, maintaining outpatient care and shedding the need of inpatient care.