Experiences and Expectations of Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19: A Qualitative Study in Poland.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many new problems and challenges for medical personnel, patients and their families. The present study aimed to learn the difficulties and expectations of patients hospitalized for COVID-19. A descriptive qualitative research approach was adopted, and the study was carried out using semi-structured telephone interviews with 20 patients according to Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) guidelines. Two main themes were extracted from the experiences related by patients hospitalized for COVID-19: difficulties resulting from their poor health condition and difficulties resulting from hospital conditions and safety protocols. The patients' expectations referred to professionalism and family members' support. From the patient's perspective, a sense of humor in the care provider is important, apart from professionalism and the effectiveness of treatment, because humor helps the patient endure difficult situations. The findings indicate that patients hospitalized for COVID-19 experienced both positive and negative emotions. Their negative experiences concerned organizational barriers and medical personnel shortages, especially of clinical nurses. Patients' expectations are realistic and appropriate to the situation they are in. Learning the difficulties and expectations of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 may help care providers cope with this disease more effectively and ensure better care for patients, including nursing and psychological services.

Expectations of family nurses among residents of a midsize eastern European city: A population-based cohort study in Poland.

To improve the quality of care, patients' needs and expectations must be understood, and this can be achieved through learning their attitudes and expectations connected with using health services. The main aim of this study was to describe and analyse Bialystok residents' expectations of family nurses. This cohort study was carried out in association with the ongoing project "Bialystok PLUS" in Poland. The respondents (n = 412) were administered a multiple-choice questionnaire concerning family nurses and the responses were analysed in association with the respondents' socio-demographic data and health self-evaluation results. Data were collected between September 2017 and September 2019. Our research found that the respondents' socioeconomic status was associated with their expectations concerning the use of prevention services offered by family nurses. A statistically significant association was found between marital status and knowledge of their family nurses. The demand for medical counselling from family nurses (concerning diet, coping with stress, physical activity) was significantly negatively correlated with age, with younger persons expecting that service more often than older persons. A significant association was also observed between respondents' age group and their opinions concerning the need for home visits by family nurses. The respondents who expected home visits by family nurses declared lower self-evaluated health compared to the other respondents. Findings suggest that services by family nurses should include an assessment of each patient's situation, including their health self-evaluation and socioeconomic status. The fact that younger persons expect family nurses to provide counselling on health matters obliges nurses to learn how to provide health information tailored to patient needs.

Perspectives of older patients on the qualities which define a "good family nurse": A qualitative study.

Aim: To explore what the term "good family nurse" means to older patients. Design: A descriptive qualitative study design was used, and a purposive sampling method was adopted. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 patients aged 65 years and older who were receiving primary care in Bialystok (Poland). The interviews were recorded and then transcribed in verbatim. The data were analysed using content analysis. Data were collected between February 2017 and December 2018. Results: We identified six main categories of qualities that define a "good family nurse". These are as follows: (a) personal traits and attributes (sex and individual characteristics and behaviours not directly related to nursing); (b) providing care (caring attitude and patient support); (c) communicating with the patient (the ability to listen and inform the patient); (d) professional competence (knowledge, professional experience and good technical skills); (e) ethical attitude (respect, patience and vocation); and (f) availability (the frequency and duration of home visits, organization of the doctor's appointments).

Collaboration between the family nurse and family doctor from the perspective of patients: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: There is increasing focus on collaboration in primary health care, but there is insufficient patient perspective on collaboration between the family nurse and family doctor. OBJECTIVE: To explore how patients perceive collaboration between the family nurse and family doctor in primary health care in Poland. METHODS: A qualitative approach and an inductive, naturalistic inquiry strategy were used. Thirty-seven patients from eight general practice clinics in the north-eastern part of Poland participated in semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. The qualitative data were examined by means of thematic analysis. The study was reported according to the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) checklist. RESULTS: Four subthemes emerged in the context of nurse-doctor collaboration, namely: (i) carrying out the doctor's orders; (ii) visit preparation; (iii) the family nurse as a source of information and (iv) participants' perceptions of the status of the family nurse. Nurses performing instrumental activities connected with a doctor's orders was understood by the participants to be collaboration and prevailed in their responses. CONCLUSION: The perception of collaboration (or lack thereof) between the family nurse and family doctor results from patients' varied experiences and observations during their visits to a primary care clinic. The traditional model of nursing care and the hierarchical relationship, in which the doctor has the dominant role, are evident in the patients' remarks. The autonomy of nursing could be strengthened by expanding, and highlighting, the primary care activities that a nurse can perform on her own.

Polish Validation of the SarQoL®, a Quality of Life Questionnaire Specific to Sarcopenia.

Recently, SarQoL® (Sarcopenia and Quality of Life), a quality of life (QoL) questionnaire specific to sarcopenia, was successfully developed. For practical reasons, there is a great interest in validating this questionnaire in other populations. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to translate and adjust the SarQoL® into Polish and to standardize the validity of this method for the assessment of sarcopenic individuals in Poland with regard to psychometric properties. The English version was used for the translation process. A total of 106 community-dwelling Caucasian subjects aged 73.3 ± 5.94 years (65.1% females) were studied, with 60 participants being diagnosed sarcopenic. The translation and cross-cultural adaptation was carried out in five phases according to specific standard guidelines. There were no major linguistic issues in the translation process. The data confirmed a good discriminant validity, i.e., significantly lower scores for all domains (reduced global QoL in sarcopenic subjects compared to non-sarcopenic ones; 54.9 ± 16.5 vs. 63.3 ± 17.1, p = 0.013), and high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.92). The significant correlation of the SarQoL® scores with those of other questionnaires (SF-36v2® Health Survey and EuroQoL-5-Dimension) that are supposed to have similar dimensions indicated the consistent construct validity of the SarQoL®-PL questionnaire. No floor/ceiling effects were found. An excellent agreement was found between the test and the re-test (intraclass coefficient correlation (ICC): 0.99). The first Polish version of the SarQoL® questionnaire is valid and consistent and therefore may be used with reliability for clinical and research purposes regarding QoL assessment of sarcopenic individuals. However, further research, in particular prospective studies, is needed to determine potential limitations and the suitability of the new tool for the Polish scenario and specificity.