Perception of Old Age by the Inhabitants of Poland.

Introduction: People's self-esteem and public perception of senior citizens both play important roles in perceiving old age. The public perception manifests itself in adopting specific attitudes toward the elderly. Aim of the work: The work aimed at attempting to specify how adults and the elderly perceive old age. Material and method: The diagnostic poll method was employed as the main research tool, whereas the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Questionnaire by Morris Rosenberg and the Kogan's Attitudes toward Old People Scale, as well as authors' own sociodemographic variables metrics, were used as research tools. The investigation was administered in a cohort of 206 people living in Poland. Results: The average number of points on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Questionnaire by Morris Rosenberg (SES) was 29.01 (SD = 4.24). People over the age of 60 (M = 30.07 points), males (M = 32.05 points), those in a relationship (M = 30.22 points), declaring higher education (M = 30.33 points), and a good material situation (M = 30.12 points) enjoyed higher self-esteem. The average number of points on the Kogan's Attitudes toward Old People Scale (KAOP) in the research cohort was 126.48. The assessment of the elderly was higher among those below 60 (M = 127.06), females (M = 127.29), those in a relationship (M = 129.78), those declaring higher education (M = 128.56), and those in a good material situation (M = 126.99). Conclusions: Respondents perceived old age positively, albeit at a low level. It is necessary to review activities undertaken in the sphere of social policy in Poland because activities undertaken to date are failing to improve old age perception. Actions need to be undertaken aiming at raising self-esteem level in Polish senior citizens, and available financial, social, and psychological resources from the government and community associations should all be used to this end.

Lifestyle of the elderly living in rural and urban areas measured by the FANTASTIC Life Inventory.

INTRODUCTION: A healthy lifestyle can help older people maintain their functional ability and, therefore, satisfaction with life. An important aspect of health promotion is the assessment of lifestyle factors over which patients have some control. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the lifestyle of the elderly in urban and rural areas using the Fantastic Life Inventory (FLI). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research group comprised 138 people aged 65-94 years (M = 72.41, SD = 6.90). Participants were recruited from urban 78 (56.5%) and rural 60 (43.5%) areas. The FLI used in this study has 25 closed-ended questions that explore nine domains, including physical, psychological, and social lifestyle components. RESULTS: The overall lifestyle of most seniors was 'excellent' (45.7%) or 'very good' (41.3%); none of the respondents scored in the lowest category - 'needs improvement'. The domains that mostly demonstrated the need for a change were related to activity, nutrition, insight, sleep, stress. Participants from rural areas tended to have lower scores in the activity (p= 0.017) and nutrition (p= 0.015) domains. The lifestyle of the elderly is determined by several factors, including age, gender, health status, level of education, and the place of residence. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of older persons demonstrated an 'excellent' or 'very good' lifestyle with healthy habits. The adoption of healthy lifestyle patterns, in particular a regular balanced diet and proper physical activity, can help prevent functional limitations among the elderly in rural areas.

Assessment of differences in psychosocial resources and state of health of rural and urban residents--based on studies carried out on students during examination stress.

INTRODUCTION: Civilization changes of the environment shaping the psychosocial resources from rural to urban influence human health. AIM: The study aimed to identify the differences due to the place of residence (rural, urban) as far as health resources are concerned (social support, sense of coherence, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate concentration in plasma) and health in examination stress situations. The study also determined the concentration of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (health resource) and cortisol (stress indicator). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The psychosocial variables were assessed using the scales: ISEL-48v. Coll., SOC-29, SF-36v.2™ o and analogue scale (perception of examination stress). The study included, based on a stratified sampling (year of study) and purposive sampling (written examination, major), 731 students representing the six universities in Lublin, south-east Poland. Among the respondents, 130 students were rural residents. RESULTS: Health resources of students living in rural and urban areas generally differ statistically significantly in social support and the subscales of availability of tangible support, availability of appreciative support, the availability of cognitive-evaluative support and a sense of resourcefulness. The study recorded a sstatistically significantly larger network of family ties among students living in rural areas. The demonstrated diversity of resources did not substantially affect the perceived health, with the exception of pain sensation. Examination stress assessed by subjective opinion of the respondents and plasma cortisol levels vary relative to the place of residence. Students residing in rural areas showed significantly lower cortisol levels values, but subjectively perceived the situation of examation as more stressful. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in health resources and their mechanism of impact on health, to a limited extent, were conditioned by the place of residence, but they are so important in the light of human choices that they require further analysis.

Theoretical foundations of nursing practice in Poland.

This authors of this column explore the use of nursing theory in Poland. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study was conducted to explore what, if any nursing theories were used by nurses in Poland, and if an education program on nursing theory increased the use of nursing theory. The study found that while there were discrepancies between the nurses' theoretical knowledge base and their use of these theories in practice, there is evidence of the use of the ideas and theory of Nightingale, Orem, and Henderson in nursing practice in Poland.

Paediatric nurses' identification of violence against children.

AIM: This paper is a report of an evaluation of paediatric nurses' assessment and diagnostic skills and interventions used for child maltreatment. BACKGROUND: The use of violence against children occurs in all environments worldwide. Therefore, broader theoretical and practical knowledge related to this issue is needed in health care to facilitate more accurate identification of child maltreatment in order to instigate implementation of appropriate care for these children. METHODS: The study was based on cross-sectional data obtained with a convenience sample of 160 Registered Nurses employed at paediatric wards at two large cities in Poland (response rate 80%). Data collection took place between December 2005 and March 2006. The research tool was a questionnaire form designed on the basis of international literature concerning battered child syndrome. RESULTS: Battered child syndrome seems to be a relatively common phenomenon, as a great majority of participants (86·25%) had encountered it in their practice. The form of child maltreatment which was most often mentioned (by 30·00% of participants) was neglect. Almost three-quarters of the nurses (61·25%; n = 98) said that they had been involved in providing care for a maltreated child. CONCLUSION: Nurses should work with maltreated children on an individualized basis, combined with interdisciplinary cooperation with specialists from related disciplines concerned with the issue. There appears to be a need for specialized training for nurses to increase their competence in working with maltreated children and their families.

The opinions of students of the first cycle of undergraduate pre-registration bridging nursing teaching programme at the Medical University of Lublin.

OBJECTIVES: Determination of the scope and character of the opinions of investigated students in the organizational and substantial dimension concerning bridging studies carried out in the first experimental cycle of this form of education in Poland. STUDY GROUP: The study covered 116 students of nursing supplementing their nursing vocational education to licentiate level. METHOD: The study was carried out by the method of diagnostic poll based on own version of questionnaire inquiry. Study results were assessed by a team of competent arbitrators in order to precisely determine their category, positive or negative opinions, and also subjected to statistical analysis using chi(2) test. RESULTS: Study results point to a greater number of positive than negative opinions pertaining to bridging education. The type of nursing or midwifery school completed and period of occupational experience, irrespective of its duration, positively correlated with the respondents' opinions on the sense of 'bridging education' and the choice of satisfying syllabus content.

Moral obligations of nurses based on the ICN, UK, Irish and Polish codes of ethics for nurses.

A code of professional conduct is a collection of norms appropriate for the nursing profession and should be the point of reference for all decisions made during the care process. Codes of ethics for nurses are formulated by members of national nurses' organizations. These codes can be considered to specify general norms that function in the relevant society, adjusting them to the character of the profession and enriching them with rules signifying the essence of nursing professionalism. The aim of this article is to present a comparative analysis of codes of ethics for nurses: the ICN's Code of ethics for nurses, the U.K.'s Code of professional conduct, the Irish Code of professional conduct for each nurse and midwife, and the Polish Code of professional ethics for nurses and midwives. This analysis allows the identification of common elements in the professional ethics of nurses in these countries.

The need for health education among patients with psoriasis.

Psoriasis is one of the most common skin diseases with a chronic and recurrent course. The disease requires systematic treatment and appropriate care. Therefore, in the care of the patient with psoriasis, there must also be place for health education. The aim of this study was to determine the need for health education among patients with psoriasis by determining knowledge gaps occurring most frequently. Materials for this study were collected using an anonymous questionnaire created on the basis of the Psoriasis Disability Index (PDI). The study group included 149 patients with psoriasis. It has been proven in previous studies that patients with psoriasis see the need to improve their knowledge of the disease and self-care methods, and the greatest deficit of their education refers to the factors activating the process of the disease and to the methods of prophylactics in psoriasis.

[Nurses opinion on the necessity of educating psychiatric patients and their families]. / Potrzeba edukacji chorego psychicznie i jego rodziny w opinii pielegniarek.

AIM: To gather information on the need for educating psychiatric patients and their families by the nursing staff. METHOD: An anonymous questionnaire was especially constructed for this study. 628 nurses who worked in different health institutions (except for psychiatric departments) were asked to answer the questionnaire. RESULTS: Getting the patient ready for functioning in the normal world and showing him ways to cope with the illness were considered as the most important educational themes. It is disturbing to note that 14.01% of the responders did not answer this question at all. According to the nurses, the families should be educated well on how they should deal with their ill member. Most of those questioned declared a readiness to educate the ill, but only 31.8% of them felt only minimally prepared for the task. The best form of learning to be an educator were (according to 79.7% responders) training seminars in the preferable form of talks, lectures or lessons. The medical doctor should be the one who would help in the educational role. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of the nurses believe that they are not prepared well enough for this educational function. Only 4.5% of those studied did not show any need for educating patients and their families. Training seminars for nurses should be organized, so that the nurses feel competent to educate patients and their families. Interdisciplinary teams dealing with the issue of educating patients and their families should be formed.

Resistance of the yeast-like fungi strains isolated from different ontogeneses of patients.

The susceptibility of the yeast-like fungi strains was assessed using the Fungitest method. The yeast-like fungi strains isolated from 406 patients with symptoms of candidiasis (oral cavity, vagina, urethra, skin, nails, and stomach) were evaluated. Differences between the susceptibility of strains isolated from different sites of the body to tested drugs were found. High resistance of tested strains to several antimycotics were identified. Fungitest is an easy and effective method in assessing the susceptibility of yeast-like fungi strains to antimycotics.

[Prophylactic role of the specifics and dynamics of health-related behaviors in patients with lower limb arteriosclerosis]. / Specyfika i dynamika zachowan zdrowotnych chorych z miazdzyca tetnic konczyn dolnych oraz ich rola w profilaktyce rozwoju choroby.

The article presents longitudinal research into peculiarity and dynamics of health behaviours in patients suffering from atheromatosis of he lower limb arteries. The aim of the research was to show how the onset of the disease influenced patients to change their health behaviours. The survey was conducted in 2002-2003 and it included 114 patients of the Outpatient Vascular Clinic at Biziel Hospital in Bydgoszcz and a homogeneous group of 114 healthy people. The analysis shows that the level of health behaviours, considered to be the main cause of the disease, varies according to the health of surveyed people. The direction of changes (improvement in health behaviours) suggests that the onset of the disease is a traumatic event which leads to these changes. The dynamics of changes in health behaviours shows that the highest level of improper health behaviours is usually observed before the onset of the disease and then health behaviours improve. However, the dynamics slows down as the disease progresses. Additionally, patients tend to declare better health behaviours in the future but these declarations are not fulfilled unless patients are active or exposed to stress. The results of the research show that it is necessary to make use of the behaviour changes caused by traumatic event. They also show the need for an interactive prophylactic programme which will prolong the tendency towards changes in pro-health behaviour.

The needs of aphasic patients for verbal communication as the element of life quality.

The fact of using the language by man confirms the specific properties of his brain. Man is not able to learn this skill without a contact with speaking and human environment. This skill of linguistic communication with others allows man to get knowledge about the surrounding world and on the other hand it enables him to express his thoughts, feelings and needs. Therefore, people with serious speech disorders, i.e. aphasic patients, suffer not only from the problems connected with communication but mainly because of the deterioration of their social status that consequently will change their life quality. Generally, they cannot cope with the tasks they are lacking both in their personal and professional life. Speech is defined as the process of communication; the act in which the transmitter sends verbal structured message (statement), and the receiver perceives this message or understands its contents. The present paper presents the realised programme of 8-week speech re-education of 10 patients with motor aphasia and 10 patients with sensory aphasia. The examination of speech was performed on the basis of clinical-experimental tests developed by A. Luria. Diagnostic treatment in this test is focused on the qualitative analysis of the disorders structure.

The quality of women's life after mastectomy in Poland.

From the increasing number of women who recovered from breast cancer arises more academic interest in their subjective opinions about the quality of their life (QL), particularly the physical, psychological, and social aspects of it. Our aim in this study was to evaluate the QL of Polish women after mastectomy. The research was performed on 480 randomly chosen patients who had been subjected to surgical treatment. The functional assessment of cancer therapy (FACT) scale version 4 and hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) were used during the research procedure. The lowest results within the global opinion of QL were obtained within the emotional sphere. The most frequent mental states experienced by the examined patients were worry, sadness, nervousness, fear, and depression.

The value of health in the opinion of patients after myocardial infarction.

Health as the counter-value of disease is a vital value. The disease as a stressful situation affects the existing attitudes of man and his relations with the environment. This is as opportunity for changing the hierarchy of values and mobilising own creative potential. The study aimed at determining the attitudes of people after myocardial infarctions towards the value of health. Investigations were performed in 1999 in a group of 250 persons, who had had heart attack in the previous 4 years' period. Study results indicate that health is declared as the value "most important of all most important ones" and the most desirable in the category of "life goals endeavours". A stronger than earlier tendency is also observed in the situation of chronic disease for undertaking wholesome efforts. Generally, however, there is still found too small dedication to create a healthy lifestyle, both on the level of knowledge and skills and motivation necessary for carrying it out.

The fundamental values of nurses in Poland.

Polish society has found itself at a very important point in its history. The transformation from a traditional to a postmodern pluralistic society involves changes in many spheres of social life. These trends give rise to the question of which way the younger generation of Polish nurses will be going. The main objective of this research was to elucidate the opinions of nurses on life and health as basic values, and on their ethical and religious background regarding their nursing care. The study made use of a questionnaire for collection and interpretation of the data. Although this article shows some lack of consistency, and even contradictions, it is possible to conclude that life and health are cherished with affection by the great majority of nurses as positive factors of human existence.