Aspects of precarity among employees of the Polish healthcare system

Introduction: Authors analyze aspects of social stratification proposed by Guy Standing with respect to key medical professions performing work in Polish publicly funded medical entities. Purpose: The aim of the paper is to assess how health care providers can be assigned to particular classes and if the precarity phenomenon occurs in their work environment. Materials and methods: An overview of statistical data was made on how health care providers performed their work in years 2005- 2014 and the pay rates in 2014. Results: The vast majority of medical staff employed on the basis of civil law contracts were doctors. A smaller number of civil law contracts has been concluded by nurses and midwives. The number of nurses performing work on this kind of contracts has increased considerably since 2005 and in 2014 there were 10.27% of them. A senior nurse earned PLN 2,600.00. It was very small in comparision with average gross remuneration in the national economy in 2014 amounted to PLN 3,783.46. Unemployment existed in population of nurses was 2.3–2.8%. It is called tyhe natural unemployment. Conclusions: It was found that precarity phenomena occur in the Polish healthcare system although none of the professions met all the criteria attributed to the precariat

Aspects of precarity among employees of the Polish healthcare system

Introduction: Authors analyze aspects of social stratification proposed by Guy Standing with respect to key medical professions performing work in Polish publicly funded medical entities. Purpose: The aim of the paper is to assess how health care providers can be assigned to particular classes and if the precarity phenomenon occurs in their work environment. Materials and methods: An overview of statistical data was made on how health care providers performed their work in years 2005- 2014 and the pay rates in 2014. Results: The vast majority of medical staff employed on the basis of civil law contracts were doctors. A smaller number of civil law contracts has been concluded by nurses and midwives. The number of nurses performing work on this kind of contracts has increased considerably since 2005 and in 2014 there were 10.27% of them. A senior nurse earned PLN 2,600.00. It was very small in comparision with average gross remuneration in the national economy in 2014 amounted to PLN 3,783.46. Unemployment existed in population of nurses was 2.3–2.8%. It is called tyhe natural unemployment. Conclusions: It was found that precarity phenomena occur in the Polish healthcare system although none of the professions met all the criteria attributed to the precariat

Evaluation of the quality of life of patients with osteoarthritis

Purpose: The tools for measuring objective quality of life include research regarding the conditions of a successful life and life satisfaction. Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by progressive degradation and loss of articular cartilage as well as abnormal bone growth and remodeling, located directly under the cartilage. The aim of this study is to answer the question on which level OA patients perceive their quality of life dependent on health. Material and methods: The Polish version of the HAQ questionnaire, assessing the quality of life over the past week, was used for overall assessment of quality of life. The Polish version of the AIMS-2 questionnaire was used as a specific questionnaire for assessing the health status of patients with osteoarthritis. Surveys were conducted in a group of 240 people. Results: The quality of life dependent on health is significantly reduced in the group of healthy people who take painkillers sporadically because of other reasons and in the OA pateints group compared to the control group, the same as in the OA pateints group compared to the group of healthy people who take painkillers sporadically for other reasons. Conclusions: According to the answers from the questionnaire, patients with OA seek different forms of improving their quality of life. It is important to change their lifestyle (weight reduction, using a bench-mounted bike, walking stick or walking frame), reducing the surface area of the joints, reducing the defective position of the limb axis. Exercises that increase muscle mass and exercises to improve joint mobility should be introduced. It is advisable to refer the OA patient for physical therapy and/or balneotherapy

Quality of life of osteoarthritis patients in the aspect of analgesic treatment

Introduction: Osteoarthritis an inflammatory process in the synovial membrane. These changes cause pain and joint deformities. Pharmacists can assess patients’ quality of life, which can be a good criterion for assessing analgesics treatment effectiveness and prevent the growing phenomenon of polypharmacy and self-treatment. Purpose: To answer these questions: 1) Is there a relationship between the quality of life of patients with osteoarthritis taking analgesics and those with osteoarthritis taking analgesics and implemented rehabilitation? 2) Do patients using analgesics practice polypharmacy? 3) Are patients with osteoarthritis the main consumers of painkillers? and 4) Does the use of analgesics affect the health-related quality of life of patients with osteoarthritis? Materials and methods: The study was conducted on 240 people who were divided into three groups: osteoarthritis, reference (generally healthy, occasionally taking analgesics), and control (generally healthy, no intake of analgesics). To assess the rise in analgesics consumption by patients with osteoarthritis and the phenomenon of polypharmacy, an original questionnaire was used. Results: There is a relationship between the quality of life of patients with osteoarthritis taking analgesics. Statistical analysis showed that in the years 2013-2015 the purchase of prescription analgesics and without a prescription systematically, significantly increased. Conclusions: Patients using analgesics unknowingly practice polypharmacy. In Ars Medica Pharmacies, analgesics purchases by patients with osteoarthritis grew significantly in the analyzed period, but they are not the main analgesics consumers. Use of analgesics by patients with osteoarthritis improves their health-related quality of life

Positive effects of subclinical depression in prospective memory and ongoing tasks in young and old adults

Results reported in the literature show that depression can have either negative or neutral effects on prospective memory (PM). The goal of the present study was to broaden the analysis of depression-related effects on PM, with regard to the possibility that subclinical depression may have positive influence on PM. A total of 120 participants from four groups (young/old, subclinically depressed/non-depressed) completed event-and time-based PM tasks embedded in the linear orders task or stories task, respectively. In the event-based PM task no effects of depression were found, whereas depressed participants were more accurate in the time-based PM task, where higher monitoring during the last minute of the task was observed. It was also found that depressed participants built a mental model in the linear orders task more accurately than controls. Results of the present study are discussed with reference to the analytical rumination hypothesis