Psychometric properties of the Bergen Work Addiction Scale in a Greek sample of health professionals.

BACKGROUND: Work addiction it is an emerging topic in organizational research because it has a great impact on human resources, especially in the health sector, and has led to the development of a number of valid assessment tools. Among work addiction scales, the Bergen Work Addiction Scale (BWAS) has good psychometric properties and a small number of items, and comes with a recommended cut-off for categorization of work addiction. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the BWAS in a Greek sample of health professionals (HPs) and to measure their work addiction. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: A cross sectional study using an online questionnaire related to work addiction was completed by 542 HPs through the official websites of 8 secondary hospitals in Greece. RESULTS: The level of HPs' work addiction was moderate. The internal structure of the scale was satisfactory (α = .78). All seven items of the BWAS were significant and had standardized values above 0.48. Work addiction was significantly associated with older age and the profession of physician. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the findings of the present study, the Greek BWAS has good psychometric properties, such as good reliability, internal consistency and construct validity and is recommended as a suitable tool to assess work addiction in clinical settings and future research.

Comparative cross-sectional study of knowledge, attitudes and perceptions among mental health and ward nursing staff towards smoking.

AIM: The aim of the study was twofold: to estimate smoking prevalence among nurses and to compare their knowledge, perceptions and attitudes towards smoking. BACKGROUND: Given the critical role nurses have in the process of patients' smoking cessation both as counsellors and behavioural models, data are needed on their smoking rates and behaviour. DESIGN: A cross sectional, comparative study was conducted. METHODS: A convenience sample of 847 nurses working in various psychiatric and public hospitals in Northern Greece participated in the study. Data were collected between April and June 2020 using a battery of questionnaires. RESULTS: Mental health nurses were less likely to consider quitting smoking within the next 6 months (P < 0.001), despite the fact that they reported higher levels of the importance of stop smoking compared to ward nurses (P < 0.05). However, ward nurses were more likely to quit smoking because of the cost of cigarettes (P = 0.024) and for personal reasons (P = 0.040). CONCLUSION: Prevalence of smoking in nurses is high. Training and educational programmes are needed to develop the appropriate culture of health promotion among nurses, thus provide a more active support to patients who smoke.

The impact of anxiety and depression in the quality of life and psychological well-being of Greek hematological cancer patients on chemotherapy.

Recent evidence shows that psychological distress, including anxiety and depression, has an impact on the well-being and quality of life of cancer patients. A total of 76 haematological cancer patients (HCPs) were recruited from two major cancer treatment hospitals in Greece one in the capital and the other in the province and completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS), the Psychological Well-Being scale (PWB), the European Organization for Research and Treatment Quality of Life Questionnaire-C30 (EORTC QLQ-C36) and demographic and clinical characteristics. Clinically significant anxiety (HADS- a > 11) and depression (HADS-d > 11) was observed in 69.7% and 53.9% of the patients, respectively. Higher anxiety, fatigue, and financial difficulties scores were significantly related to lower PWB score. Multivariate analyses revealed that increased depression was associated with decreased quality of life score (p < .001), lower cognitive functioning (p = .003) and increased fatigue (0.002) while increased anxiety was associated with decreased social and emotional functioning (p < .001), decreased well-being (p < .001) and increased financial difficulties (p < .05). Early detection of anxiety and depression signs through routine screening in HCPs may provide information about the subgroups of patients that are more vulnerable. Findings emphasize the need for appropriate interventions to address psychological distress.

Psychometric Properties of the Revised Death Attitude Profile in a Greek Sample of Nurses.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Revised Death Attitude Profile (DAP-R) in a sample of Greek nurses and nursing students. METHODS: A convenience sample (n = 934) was used from six National Health System hospitals, and two University Schools of Nursing in central and northern Greece completed the Greek version of the DAP-R (Gr-DAP-R). RESULTS: Principal component analysis with varimax rotation revealed a six-factor solution, including approach acceptance, death avoidance, escape acceptance, neutral acceptance, fear of death, and after death concerns. The internal consistency for each of the subscales ranged from 0.64 to 0.88. Intercorrelations between the Gr-DAP-R subscales supported the relative independence of death attitudes dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: The Gr-DAP-R can be used as a research and clinical tool in assessing death attitudes among Greek nurses.