Ego-Resiliency and Parental Satisfaction Among Parents of Children with Down Syndrome

Parents of children with Down syndrome face many challenges related to their children’s disability. They manage to raise their children primarily thanks to their internal resources, protective psychological traits and help from other people. The aim of this study was to investigate the level of ego-resiliency as an important personality trait in a group of mothers and fathers of children with Down syndrome. The relationship between ego-resiliency and parental satisfaction was also studied. The sample consisted of 126 parents (75 mothers and 51 fathers). Our results show that there is no difference in the level of ego-resiliency between mothers and fathers of children with Down syndrome. Nevertheless, it is noticed that there is a difference in perceived stress, psychological well-being and some aspects of parental satisfaction between parents with high and low levels of ego-resiliency. These results give an interesting insight into the internal functioning of parents of children with Down syndrome

Analiza obsad pielęgniarskich w okresie transformacji na przykładzie polskich szpitali – znaczenie projektu badawczego RN4CAST

For many years, the optimization of the model of employment of nurses in hospitals has been sought for in theory and practice, in order to provide patient safety and quality of care.The objective of the study was the performance of retrospective analysis of nurse staffing in Polish hospitals on the background of tendencies observed in other countries, and the demonstration of the importance of the studies conducted within the EU project RN4CAST.To-date, both in Poland and in other countries, various methods have been applied, mainly the statistical method which related the number of nurses to constant values, i.e. the number of population or hospital beds, and the Patient Classification System (PCS), which assumes assignment adjusted to the patient status according to the adopted criteria of care. There are advantages and disadvantages with these methods. Both of them focus on instrumental nursing activities, consider the measurement of nursing time, are labour- and time-consuming, require periodical verification and adjustment to specificity of individual wards where care is provided. The report indicates other important factors which exert a potential effect on nurse staffing in a hospital. These factors cover: technical-organizational conditions, provision of equipment for nursing, outsourcing of auxiliary services, post-graduate education, degree of occupational burnout, number of undesirable events, job satisfaction, amount of payment and educational leave. These factors have been considered in the RN4CAST project, the goal of which is to compare employment in 12 European countries and to search for an optimum model of employment of nurses in hospitals for the subsequent 20 years.Przez wiele lat, w teorii i praktyce, prowadzono badania dotyczące modelu optymalizacji zatrudnienia pielęgniarek, w celu zapewnienia bezpieczeństwa pacjenta i jakości opieki.Celem pracy było przeprowadzenie retrospektywnej analizy obsad pielęgniarskich w polskich szpitalach na tle tendencji obserwowanych w innych krajach, oraz pokazanie znaczenia badań prowadzonych w ramach projektu UE RN4CAST.Dotychczas, zarówno w Polsce, jak też w innych krajach, stosowano różne metody, głównie metodę statystyczną, odnoszącą liczbę pielęgniarek do stałych wartości, tzn. liczby populacji lub łóżek szpitalnych, oraz Systemu Klasyfikacji Pacjentów (PCS), który zakłada przydział zadań dostosowany do stanu pacjenta zgodnie z przyjętymi kryteriami opieki. Metody te mają zarówno wady, jak zalety. Obie koncentrują się na instrumentalnych czynnościach pielęgniarskich, biorą pod uwagę pomiar czasu pielęgnacji, oraz praco- i czasochłonność, wymagają okresowej weryfikacji i dostosowania do specyfiki poszczególnych oddziałów gdzie świadczona jest opieka. Artykuł wskazuje na inne ważne czynniki wywierające potencjalny wpływ na planowanie obsad pielęgniarskich w szpitalu. Czynniki te obejmują warunki technicznoorganizacyjne, zapewnienie sprzętu do pielęgnacji, korzystanie z pomocniczych usług zewnętrznych, nauczanie podyplomowe, stopień wypalenia zawodowego, liczbę niekorzystnych zdarzeń, zadowolenie z pracy, wysokość wynagrodzenia i urlop szkoleniowy. Czynniki te zostały wzięte pod uwagę w projekcie RN4CAST, którego celem jest porównanie zatrudnienia w 12 krajach europejskich i poszukiwanie optymalnego modelu zatrudnienia pielęgniarek w szpitalach przez następne 20 lat

The self-assessment of the health condition versus personal resources and health behaviors of homeless people

Cel pracy. Celem pracy była analiza zależności między samooceną stanu zdrowia badanych osób bezdomnych a ich zasobami osobistymi oraz zachowaniami zdrowotnymi. Materiał i metody. Badania przeprowadzono w okresie od listopada 2016 r. do marca 2017 r. w sześciu ośrodkach dla bezdomnych w Polsce. Do zebrania danych wykorzystano: oryginalne kwestionariusz autorski, profil zdrowia Nottingham (NHP), inwentarz zachowań zdrowotnych (IZZ), wielowymiarowe umiejscowienie kontroli zdrowia (MHLC) oraz ogólną skalę poczucia własnej skuteczności (GSES). Badania przeprowadzono wśród grupy 58 osób bezdomnych Analizę danych przeprowadzono metodą t-Studenta, test U Manna - Whitneya i korelację rho Spearmana. Poziom istotności został przyjęty jako równy p=0.005. Wyniki Osiągnięte wyniki wykazały, że osoby bezdomne oceniają swój stan zdrowia jako średni lub wskazując jakość lepszą niż średnia. Mimo to osoby te wskazują niższe wartości wskaźników zachowań zdrowotnych niż średnie wartości w grupie normalizacyjnej. Właściwe nawyki żywieniowe, zachowania profilaktyczne i korzystne dla zdrowia praktyki znacznie rzadziej dotyczą osób bezdomnych niż pozostałych osób. Bezdomni deklarują poczucie zewnętrznej kontroli nad swoim zdrowiem a także niskie poczucie skuteczności. Osoby z niskim poczuciem własnej skuteczności czuły się bardziej wyobcowane niż osoby z wysokim poczuciem własnej skuteczności. Wnioski. Z punktu widzenia zdrowia osoby bezdomne wymagają profesjonalnej pomocy wielu przeszkolonych specjalistów, takich jak na przykład pielęgniarki. Istotne jest wzmacnianie poczucia skuteczności bezdomnych oraz kształtowanie pozytywnych nawyków zdrowotnych.Aim. The goal of the paper was to analyze the convergence between the self-assessment of health condition and personal resources as well as health behaviors of homeless people. Material and methods. The research has been carried out between November 2016 and March 2017 in six centers for the homeless in Poland. The following have been used to collect data from a group of 58 homeless people: an original survey, Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), Health Behavior Inventory (IZZ), Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC), and General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES). The data analysis has been carried out with the use of the t-Student method, Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman’s rho correlation. The level of significance has been accepted as a=0.05. Results. The achieved results have showed that homeless people assess their health condition as average or indicating a quality better than average. Despite that, these people indicate lower values of health behavior indicators than the average values of the normalization group. Proper eating habits, prophylactic behaviors, and health beneficial practices apply to homeless people much more rarely. Homeless people declare a sense of an external control over their health and a low sense of efficacy. People with a lower sense of own efficacy felt more socially alienated, whereas those with a higher sense of own efficacy were characterized by a higher positive mental attitude. Conclusions. In terms of their health, homeless people require professional help of many trained specialists, such as for example nurses

Evaluation of life quality and health behaviors of patients with stable coronary artery disease in the geriatric age

Polish society is aging, and the presence of stable coronary artery disease increased with age in both sexes. Lack of healthy behaviors is one of the factors affecting increase of lifestyle diseases increase, including coronary heart disease. In the era of modern medicine and human life time prolongation, an interest in older people life quality has gained on importance. Evaluation of life quality and health behaviors of patients with stable coronary artery disease in the geriatric age. I studies patients with diagnosed stable coronary artery disease. Overall, 72 patients were tested. During the research WHOQOL-BREF quality of life scale and the Health Behavior Inventory by Juczyński were used. Over half of the respondents (51.39%) were happy with their quality of life, and 19,44% were dissatisfied with their health. Average health behaviors studies were 5.58 (SD = 1,74). It is average result. Studies have shown a highly significant (p < 0.001) correlation (r = 0.3944) between the overall perception of quality of life of the represents and their positive psychical attitude. Represents were more satisfied with the quality of their life, than with the quality of healthcare. There are differences in the assessment of various aspects of life among the respondents. Top rated were the social relations, while the lowest rates concerned physical sphere. The quality of life of respondents had a statistically significant effect: stage of disease and a positive psychical attitude

In vitro effect of pentoxifylline and lisofylline on deformability and aggregation of red blood cells from healthy subjects and patients with chronic venous disease

Purpose. The aim of the study was to assess the in vitro potency of pentoxifylline (PTX) and one of its most active metabolites lisofylline (LSF) to improve rheological properties of red blood cells (RBC) from healthy individuals and patients with chronic venous disease (CVD). Additionally, the study aimed to compare the effects of PTX and LSF on RBC deformability and aggregation. Methods. Blood samples were collected from healthy volunteers (antecubital vein) and from CVD patients (varicose and antecubital vein). Deformability and aggregation of RBC were assessed using Laser-assisted Optical Rotational Cell Analyser (LORCA). Results. PTX and LSF increased RBC elongation significantly. Additionally, RBC incubation with PTX resulted in a marked decrease in RBC aggregation. PTX reduced the tendency towards the formation of RBC aggregates and of their stability. The beneficial effect of PTX on RBC aggregation was most apparent for those cells whose aggregation tendency and aggregate stability was the greatest. Conclusions. In vitro addition of PTX or LSF effectively increased deformability of RBC from healthy donors and patients with CVD. Thus, LSF may contribute to the in vivo hemorheological effects of pentoxifylline. On the other hand, there was no significant effect of LSF on aggregation of RBC in vitro. Hence, LSF has no contribution to this particular effect of PTX. Additionally, the present study demonstrated the use of RBC with impaired deformability and aggregation for the evaluation of in vitro rheological activity of xenobiotics

The relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being among mothers and fathers of children with Down syndrome

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being among parents of children with Down syndrome. The relationship between perceiving one’s parenthood and well-being was also studied. The sample consisted of 126 parents (75 mothers and 51 fathers, aged 25 – 69) of children with Down syndrome. Our results show that ego-resiliency is a partial mediator of the relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being. Moreover, there is a difference in well-being between parents who perceive their parenthood as a burden or challenge, and parents who report happiness and satisfaction

Perceived stress, ego-resiliency, and relational resources as predictors of psychological well-being in parents of children with Down syndrome

The objective of the present study was to examine the role of perceived stress, ego-resiliency, and relational resources in maintaining psychological well-being in parents of children with Down syndrome, in particular in groups of mothers and fathers. Being a parent of a child with a disability is stressful, and it can be a burden. Despite these negative aspects of child-rearing, mothers and fathers are supported by their own resources and help from other people. participants and procedurę The study included 126 parents of children with Down syndrome (75 mothers and 51 fathers). All parents were married at the time of the study (i.e. the study did not involve single parents). The subjects completed questionnaires of psychological well-being, perceived stress, ego-resiliency, quality of marital relationship, and perceived social suport[…

Knowledge of nurses in the collection of biological material for laboratory tests

Clinical diagnosis consists of several stages: medical history, physical examination and with diagnostic investigations, among which analytical examinations are most popular. Analytical results have a significant impact on the evaluation of the patient's health, therefore it is important to prepare professional nurses and compliance with available medical procedures. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of nurses in the collection of biological material for laboratory testing. In the study took part 188 nurses working in two malone hospitals. The author's questionnaire has been used to collect the data. The knowledge of respondents about the rules for collecting biological material was sufficient. Most respondents reported that the knowledge of the correct principles blood collection gain from the self education and training hospital. Masters and nurses which participated in training about the rules for collecting biological material gained significantly more points from questions assess knowledge in comparison with the other participants in the study. The nurses reported the need to participate in training/courses carried out by the staff from the laboratory. Respondents declared knowledge of the rules for the collection of biological material, despite they achieved a sufficient level of knowledge. They declared willingness to increase their skills in this area

Social support for parents raising children with disabilities and parents raising children with typical development : cross-sectional study.

Wstęp. Wsparcie społeczne odgrywa niezwykle istotną rolę w sytuacji, gdy w rodzinie występuje problem niepełnosprawności dziecka. Rodzaj udzielonego wsparcia społecznego należy dostosować wtedy do unikalnych potrzeb danej rodziny. Zindywidualizowane podejście (do rodzica i dziecka) wynika z konieczności uwzględnienia czynników różnicujących rodziny, do których można zaliczyć np. stan zdrowia dziecka czy stopień jego niepełnosprawności. Pomoc udzielana rodzicom skutecznie stymuluje ich potencjał opiekuńczy, który mogą wykorzystać w procesie opieki nad dzieckiem z niepełnosprawnością, ale również nad dzieckiem zdrowym. Cel. Głównym celem pracy było określenie rodzajów wsparcia społecznego, które otrzymują rodzice dzieci z niepełnosprawnością i rodzice dzieci zdrowych. Materiał i metody. W badaniu uczestniczyło 243 rodziców wychowujących dziecko z niepełnosprawnością oraz 264 rodziców dzieci zdrowych. W badaniu zastosowano metodę szacowania, wykorzystano narzędzie standaryzowane, jakim był Kwestionariusz Wsparcia Społecznego opracowany przez Barrerę, Sandlera i Ramsaya. Wyniki. Rodzice z obu badanych grup otrzymywali najczęściej wsparcie emocjonalne i wartościujące, a najrzadziej - informacyjne i instrumentalne. Rodzice dzieci zdrowych otrzymywali istotnie częściej wsparcie informacyjne (p = 0,011) i wartościujące (p = 0,002) niż rodzice dzieci z niepełnosprawnością. Wnioski. Z przeprowadzonych badań wynika, że rodzice dzieci z niepełnosprawnością i rodzice dzieci zdrowych rzadko otrzymują pomoc finansową z zewnątrz. Dodatkowo respondenci z obydwu grup deklarują deficyt w zakresie wsparcia informacyjnego.Introduction. Social support plays an extremely important role in a situation where a problem of child disability in the family occurs. The type of social support should be adapted to the unique needs of the family. The individualized approach (to parent and child) results from the necessity to take into account factors that differentiate families, such as the child’s state of health, or the degree of his disability. Help provided to parents effectively stimulates their caring potential, which can be used in the care process for a child with a disability, but also for a healthy child. Aim. The aim of the study was to evaluate the types of social support received by parents of children with disabilities and parents of healthy children. Material and methods. In the study participated 243 parents raising children with disabilities and 264 parents of healthy children. In the study the estimation method and the standardized research tool Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors developed by Barrera, Sandler and Ramsay were used. Results. Parents from both research groups received emotional and esteem support the most often, and informational and tangible support the least frequently. Parents of healthy children received signifi cantly more frequent informational (p = 0.011) and esteem (p = 0.002) support, than parents of children with disabilities. Conclusions. The study shows that parents of children with disabilities and parents of healthy children rarely receive financial support from others. Parents from both research groups declared a deficit in informational support