Views and Attitudes of Patients in Mental Facilities Regarding Smoking.

INTRODUCTION: Smoking rates amongst people with a mental health disorder are significantly higher than in the general population and there is growing evidence to show a strong association between smoking and mental health disorders. The aim of the present study was to investigate views and attitudes of mental patients regarding smoking. MATERIAL & METHODS: The sample is composed of 356 patients treated in the Attica Psychiatric Hospital (a.k.a. "Dafni") as well as in other Units affiliated with the Hospital. The 'Smoking in psychiatric hospitals-a survey of patients' views' questionnaire was used in the form of semi-structured interviews. The PASW 18 (SPSS Inc.) package was used for the statistical analysis and statistical significance was set to p= 0.05. RESULTS: Overall, 40% of the participants were in-patients, the rest being treated in other settings, the average length of hospital stay was 4.4 years, and the most common diagnosis (61.5.%) was schizophrenia (F20, according to ICD-10), while almost all of the participants (97.5%) were smokers. Most patients (58.8%) said they had had a hard time trying to quit smoking although they had sufficient information and encouragement (≈90%); they also reported that watching the staff smoking did not affect them inasmuch as watching other patients smoking (41 % vs 54.8%). 75.5% of the patients felt that they had no particular difficulty to quit smoking. Men smoked significantly more cigarettes per day compared to females (36.70 vs 30.82, p=0.002). There were no significant differences among males and females regarding previous attempts to quit smoking. Information gathered from such studies should be taken into account when designing systematic smoking management plans in mental institutions. CONCLUSION: Although almost all mental patients smoke, they seem to be receptive to quitting smoking, since two thirds of them have already tried to quit, but one-third of the patients find smoking a little or not at all dangerous.

Measuring Health: Related Quality of Life in Hemodialysis Patients. Psychometric Properties of the Missoula-VITAS Quality of Life Index (MVQOLI-15) in Greece.

Different measuring tools have been used to understand the outcomes of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) therapies. However, survival, cost-effectiveness and quality of life (QOL) are the main parameters to evaluate treatment of ESRD. The current study meant to assess the psychometric properties (reliability and validity) of the Missoula-VITAS Quality of Life Index (MVQOLI-15) translation to Greek in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD). A total sample of 79 HD patients voluntarily participated in this pilot study. Domain analysis of MVQOLI-15-Greek was conducted based on the collected data at initial assessment. The reliability properties of the instrument were tested using the following measures; internal consistency, repeatability, test-retest reliability and convergent validity. Domain analysis demonstrated that all domains of the questionnaire had good variability. MVQOLI-15-Greek internal consistency was satisfactory with an overall Cronbach's a at 0.74. Pearson's r and intraclass correlation coefficient revealed strong correlations (ranging from 0.91 to 0.98) between initial assessment and re-assessment. MVQOLI-15-Greek convergent validity analysis indicated that the domains were strongly related to the same construct. The findings of the study indicate that the Greek version of MVQOLI-15 provided satisfactory psychometric properties supporting its use within pathological populations and in the context of national QOL measurement.

Measuring Pain Self-Efficacy and Health Related Quality of Life Among Hemodialysis Patients in Greece: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Patients suffering from end-stage kidney disease often complain about pain. It is also known that the presence of chronic pain greatly impacts upon patients' quality of life (QOL) and can play a crucial role in the co-morbidity of mental health symptoms such as depression and anxiety. The main aim of this study protocol is the investigation of pain self-efficacy, QOL as well as their relation in patients undergoing hemodialysis treatment. The final sample size will be around 70-80 patients. Each subject's QOL and pain self-efficacy will be measured using the following instruments: i) the Missoula- ITAS Quality of Life Index-15 and ii) the Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire. QOL is expected to be related to pain self-efficacy scores. This probable association will be indicated performing regression as well as correlation analysis after controlling for gender, age, education and marital status.

Tuberculosis in haemodialysis: a problem making a comeback.

Tuberculosis (TB) accounts for a significant proportion of all deaths by infectious diseases. Controlling tuberculosis is a major public health issue especially in the developing nations, where the rise of the disease's incidence varies between 5-30% and the rise reaches reduplication every 5-10 years. The consequences of the disease in renal dialysis patients vary between 3.7-6%, thus being 12-15 times higher than the rest of the population.

Omissions and errors during oxygen therapy of hospitalized patients in a large city of Greece.

Omissions and errors are commonly found concerning hospital oxygen use and the use of nebulizers. The aim of the study was to record oxygen use in seven hospitals located in a large district city of Greece. Another aim was to record the use of nebulizers in the same hospitals. We included 105 head nurses (HNs) working in seven hospitals of a large city district of Greece. Data were collected after interviewing each HN using a questionnaire and completing an anonymous data form. Data are expressed as percentages and analyzed using the chi-square test. We found that 41% of HN believed O(2) is a gas that improves patient's dyspnea. The majority of the nurses (88.6%) stated that there was no protocol for O(2) therapy in the departments in which they worked. We found that O(2) therapy was commonly started, modified, discontinued by nurses in the absence of a medical order. Oxygen therapy was commonly not guided by arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis. We also found that there are no guidelines to prevent O(2) therapy interruption during intra-hospital transportation, and that few measures were taken to prevent O(2) explosion. In 95.2% of the departments the nebulizers were filled with tap water and were not changed on a daily basis (81.2%). Our results indicate that educational programmes, nursing protocols and guidelines are becoming mandatory in our country in order to ensure the proper use of O(2) therapy and nebulizers.