Perception of stress and coping strategies in a group of people working on a farm - a cross-sectional study

Wstęp. Praca w gospodarstwie rolnym cechuje się wieloma niebezpieczeństwami, które mogą wynikać z oddziaływania czynników biologicznych, chemicznych, czy mechanicznych na ludzki organizm. Rolnicy wielokrotnie doświadczają obciążenia psychicznego i fizycznego. Cel pracy. Celem pracy była ocena ogólnego wskaźnika natężenia spostrzeganego stresu, strategii radzenia sobie ze stresem, poznanie czynników generujących stres w grupie osób pracujących w gospodarstwie rolnym, a także określenie zależności między wymienionymi zmiennymi, a czynnikami socjodemograficznymi. Materiał i metodyka. Badanie zostało przeprowadzone w 2019 roku i uczestniczyło w nim 165 osób pracujących w gospodarstwie rolnym zlokalizowanym na terenie małopolski. Zastosowano standaryzowane narzędzia badawcze - Skalę Odczuwanego Stresu (PSS-10), Inwentarz do Pomiaru Radzenia Sobie ze Stresem Mini-COPE oraz autorski kwestionariusz ankiety. Podczas analizy przyjęto poziom istotności a=0,05. Wyniki. Ponad połowa ankietowanych odczuwała przeciętny poziom stresu. Osoby pracujące w gospodarstwie rolnym najczęściej stosowały strategie: Aktywnego Radzenia Sobie, Planowania i Akceptacji, natomiast najrzadziej strategie: Zażywania Substancji Psychoaktywnych, Zaprzeczania i Zaprzestania Działań. Odnotowano istotne różnice w percepcji stresu pomiędzy grupami wiekowymi, posiadanym wykształceniem oraz statusem zawodowym. Wnioski. Większość badanych osób pracujących w gospodarstwie rolnym odczuwało przeciętny poziom stresu, z którym radzili sobie stosując głównie strategie zorientowane na problemie. Jednak wraz ze wzrostem napięcia spowodowanego stresem, respondenci istotnie częściej sięgali po mniej efektywne strategie zaradcze.Introduction. Work on a farm is characterized by many dangers that result from the action of biological, chemical and mechanical factors harmful to the functioning o f the human body. Farmers experience the psychological and physical burden a lot. Aim. The aim o f the study was to assess the overall perceived stress intensity index, coping strategies and stress generating factors in the group o f people working on a farm, as well as to determine the relationship between these variables and sociodemographic factors. Material and methods. The study was conducted in 2019 and 165 people working on a farm located in Lesser Poland participated in it. Standardized research tools were used - the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the Brief COPE Inventory and original questionnaire. During the data analysis the significance level was a = 0.05. Results. Over half o f the respondents fe lt average levels of stress. People working on a farm used the strategies: Active coping, Planning, Acceptance the most often, and the strategies: Substance use, Denial and Behavioural disengagement - the least. There is a relationship between the perception of stress and age, the level of agricultural education and the professional status of the respondents. Conclusions. Most o f the people working on the farm felt the average level o f stress and they were dealing w ith this mainly using problem-oriented strategies. However, w ith the increase in tension caused by stress, respondents significantly more often reached for less effective remedial strategies

Cigarette smoking by young people attending health promoting schools : selected causes and structure

Cel pracy. Palenie papierosów wśród młodzieży staje się coraz poważniejszym problemem. Rozwiązanie problemów związanych z paleniem papierosów może przynieść stała przebudowa wzorców postępowania, systematyczna zmiana obyczajów i wzorców kulturowych, wpisana w edukacyjne programy antynikotynowe Szkół Promujących Zdrowie. Celem tego badania była ocena struktury palenia papierosów, czynników demograficznych i środowiskowych determinujących palenie papierosów przez młodych ludzi w szkołach promujących zdrowie. Materiał i metody. Badanie przeprowadzono w pięciu szkołach promujących zdrowie w Tarnowie i okolicach (gimnazjum, liceum). W badaniu wzięło udział 663 uczniów w wieku 13-18 lat. Badanie zostało przeprowadzone dwa razy wśród tych samych osób: kiedy uczestnicy rozpoczęli naukę i pod koniec edukacji. Uczniowie wypełnili autorski kwestionariusz ankiety, w którym pytania zostały oparte na raporcie HBSC. Wyniki. W pierwszym badaniu palenie papierosów zadeklarowało 32,0% uczniów (chłopcy - S=1,15; SD=0,36; dziewczęta - S=1,12, SD=0,32). W drugim badaniu palenie zadeklarowało 37,3% uczniów (chłopcy - S=1,3, SD=0,36; dziewczęta - S=1,18; SD=0,39). Chłopcy kiedykolwiek palili znacznie częściej niż dziewczęta (pierwsze badanie - p=0,0131, drugie badanie - p=0,0028). Na wsi mieszkało statystycznie istotnie więcej osób palących papierosy (28,5%) w porównaniu do osób mieszkających na obszarach miejskich (19,9%) (p=0,006). Wnioski. Badanym szkołom promującym zdrowie nie udało się opóźnić i zapobiec inicjacji tytoniowej wśród młodzieży. Skutecznej profilaktyki nie sposób było realizować również bez wsparcia rodziców.Aim. Smoking among young people is becoming an increasingly serious problem. The solution to the problems related to smoking can be brought about by the constant reconstruction of behavior patterns, a systematic change of customs and cultural patterns, included in the educational anti-smoking programs of Health Promoting Schools. The aim was to evaluate the structure of cigarette smoking, the demographic and environmental factors that determine smoking among young people. Material and methods. The study was conducted in five Health Promoting Schools in Tarnów (Junior High School, High School). 663 students from five schools participated in the study, age 13-18. The study has been conducted two Times among the same sample: when the participants started school and in the end of education. The students completed an author's questionnaire based on the HBSC report. Cigarette smoking was declared by 32.0% of the students in the first study (boys - S=1,15; SD=0,36; girls - S=1,12, SD=0,32). In the second study, cigarette smoking was declared by 37.3% (boys - S=1,3, SD=0,36; girls - S=1,18; SD=0,39). Boys have ever smoked significantly more often than girls (1st study - p=0.0131, 2nd study - p=0.0028). There were statistically significantly more people living in rural areas and smoking cigarettes (28.5%) compared to people living in urban areas (19.9%) (p=0.006). During school education, both boys and girls increased the number of cigarettes smoked and the frequency of smoking. Conclusions The health promoting schools surveyed failed to delay and prevent tobacco initiation among adolescents. Effective prophylaxis cannot be implemented also without the support of parents

The Cross-Cultural Competence Inventory : validity and psychometric properties of a Polish adaptation

Due to changes in Polish society resulting from a significant inflow of immigrants to Poland, the need to develop the cultural competences of various professional groups who have contact with immigrants in their work has increased. These groups should include healthcare professionals, especially because of the significant increase in the number of culturally diverse patients. Therefore, medical education in Poland has had to rapidly adapt to this novel situation. For instance, the teaching process should be now more focused on the development and evaluation of the cultural competences of prospective health care workers. However, there is still a lack of standardized, valid and reliable instruments to assess cross-cultural competences among healthcare professionals. The purpose of the present paper was to describe, for the first time, the translation, adaptation, and psychometric evaluation of the Polish version of the Cross-Cultural Competence Inventory. Across two studies, we examined psychometric properties of the Cross-Cultural Competence Inventory (CCCI) such as reliability (i.e. internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factor structure) and validity (i.e. theoretical, criteria, convergent). In the first study, 408 participants (75% were healthcare professionals) completed the Polish version of the CCCI and the Positive/Negative Attitude Towards Culturally Divergent People Questionnaire. In the second study, 317 participants (97% were healthcare professionals) completed the CCCI twice, with an interval of at least 22 days. In addition, across two study sessions, participants completed questionnaires constructed to measure (a) cultural intelligence, (b) need for cognitive closure, (c) emphatic sensitiveness, (d) emotional intelligence, (e) self-esteem, (f) social desirability, and (g) personality. Finally, to additionally examine the theoretical validity, 36 professional cross-cultural competence trainers completed the CCCI during a one-session study. Our findings confirm the reliability and validity of the CCCI. More precisely, in study 1 we proved the theoretical validity and reliability (i.e. internal consistency) of the CCCI. While the assumed structure did not fit the data well, all items were significantly related to the general factor, thus providing strong support for the usage of the total score of the CCCI. In study 2, we additionally estimated the test-retest reliability and theoretical, criterion and convergent validity. Across two studies we were able to successfully confirm these psychometric properties. The reliability was satisfactory and ranged from .83 to .86. We also observed a high and significant positive correlation between CCCI and the Cultural Intelligence Scale, which measures a concept similar to the one measured by CCCI. In addition, a significant relationship between intercultural competences (CCCI) and other variables such as personality, empathic sensitivity, emotional intelligence, self-esteem (positive correlations) and the need for cognitive closure (mainly negative correlation) were demonstrated. The obtained results support the usage of the CCCI questionnaire in scientific research, such as, for example, among healthcare professionals (nurses, doctors) and students of medical fields (nursing, medicine)

Levofloxacin-induced life-threatening hypoglycemia in a type 2 diabetic patient with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and community-acquired pneumonia

Levofloxacin is a broad-spectrum, third-generation fluoroquinolone antibiotic used in the treatment of respiratory and urinary tract infections. Although it is usually well-tolerated, it may cause life-threatening adverse effects, including severe hypoglycemia. We present a case of levofloxacin-induced life-threatening hypoglycemia in a 87-year-old type 2 diabetic patient with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and community-acquired pneumonia. Hypoglycemia secondary to levofloxacin is a rare complication (< 0,1%), but can be more common among elderly patients, with type 2 diabetes (especially treated with hypoglycemic drugs) or renal dysfunction. Our patient was at high risk due to age, diabetes and chronic kidney disease (creatinine 149 μmol/L, estimated glomerular filtration rate 27 mL/min/1.73 m²). In the Naranjo probability scale, the patient scored 5 points, which indicates that hypoglycemia was a probable levofloxacin-related adverse effect. In conclusion, we suggest that levofloxacin should be used with greater caution, particularly in patients at increased risk of hypoglycemia