Medical students’ perceptions of people with disabilities

Introduction: Little is known about associations of attitudes of medical students towards people with disabilities and their life satisfaction and empathy. Purpose: To assess the social perception of people with disabilities by medical students. Materials and methods: The present study interviewed 451 medical students of the Medical University of Białystok regarding their perceptions of people with disabilities, especially in light of their own satisfaction with life and empathy. We used the following questionnaires: the original questionnaire about attitudes towards people with disabilities, The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and Empathy Understanding Questionnaire (KRE). Results: Attitudes towards people with disabilities people were generally positive. Almost 40% of respondents expressed a willingness to help for people with disabilities. In general, disabled people do not have full access to all fields of social (63.4%) and professional (63.2%) life. At the same time, disabled people tend to marry (84.9%), have children (82.1%), work (88.2%), and drive cars (76.1%). Respondents were convinced that contact with a disabled person teaches ways to help others (42.1%), and in fact 58.6% of respondents reported having decided to participate with helping the disabled. The average life satisfaction of the students was 22.7 ± 5.3 which indicates that the respondents are satisfied with their lives. The empathy level of respondents was 66.97 points ± 2.98, which indicates average level of empathy. Conclusions: This study shows that students’ perception of people with disabilities depends upon how the students viewed disabled people’s, life satisfaction and empathy

Validation of a Greek version of the Trust in Physician Scale

Introduction: A sick person who trusts his or her physician feels safer and more easily complies with the physician’s recommendations. Purpose: To validate to validate a Greek-language version of the Trust in Physician Scale (TPS) for Greek patients. Materials and Methods: The validation of a Greek-language version of the TPS was performed with a group of 251 patients at Kavala Hospital in Kavala, Greece. Validation consisted of the translation and evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Greek TPS and its application among Greek-speaking patients. Results: The internal consistency of the Greek TPS was high (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.895). The highest mean scores were for the items “I trust my doctor very much, and I always try to follow his or her advice” (M = 3.63 ± 0.91), “If my doctor tells me that something is true, then it must be true” (M = 3.55 ± 0.89), “I trust my doctor’s judgment of my medical care” (M = 3.44 ± 0.86), and “My doctor is usually considerate of my needs and puts them first” (M= 3.41 ± 0.88). Conclusions: The Greek-language version of The Trust in Physician Scale fulfills all of the criteria of psychometric and functional validation with the original scale

Effects of religious beliefs on the assessment of nurses’ work in the perception of patients, nursing students and nurses

Introduction: Religious orientation is associated with psychological well-being resulting from treating negative life events as opportunities for personal and spiritual development. Purpose: To assess the impact of religious beliefs on the evaluation of nurses' work in the perception of patients, nursing students, and nurses. Materials and methods: the study included 150 patients, 150 nurses, and 150 nursing students, using our questionnaire. Results: 56.7% of patients, 46.7% of students, and 47.7% of nurses assessed the religious sphere of life as very important. Respondents identified good family life as the most important value in life (82.7% of patients, 76% of students, and 92% of nurses). Emotional needs were the greatest motivation for students (70.7%) and nurses (72.7%) to increase religious activities; for patients, it was an illness in the family (42.7%). Patients (62.4%), students (48.7%), and nurses (61.1%) were of the opinion that religion could affect performing work-related tasks. Blood transfusion was the most likely procedure to be affected by patients’ religious beliefs (50% of patients, 44.7% of students, 58% of nurses) or nurses’ religious beliefs (29.3% of patients and 18.7% of nurses). Conclusions: Patients more often reported that religion may have some effects on choice of profession, and most respondents did not consider religious beliefs an obstacle in making new acquaintances or performing work-related tasks. In the case of a conflict between a nurse’s therapeutic activities and a patient’s or nurse’s religious beliefs, the nurse should assign the patient to another nurse

Differing attitudes for various population groups towards homeless people

Introduction: People who are homeless are most often unable to acquire and maintain regular, safe, secure, and adequate housing, or they lack a “fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence”. Purpose: To assess the attitude of secondaryschool students, high-school students, university students, and working adults towards homeless people. Materials and methods: A survey of 420 randomly selected middle school students (n=120), high school students (n=100), university students (n=100), and working adults (n=100) was conducted. Nearly half of the participants reported a fear of homeless people. Results: According to the majority of respondents, a homeless person collects scrap metal and waste paper, and also begs. The first words that come to mind when a majority of people think of the homeless were: poor, unhappy, dirty, lonely, and smelly. The participants reported the main reasons for homelessness to be: joblessness, family problems, alcohol, helplessness, and avoiding work. The majority of respondents argued that social and legal problems are the main reasons that it is difficult for homeless people to extricate themselves from their situation. The groups surveyed had a variety of opinions about homelessness. According to most respondents, a homeless person is a poor, miserable, lonely, childless man with a vocational education who begs, collects scrap metal and waste paper, and is also usually dirty and smelly. Conclusions: In the survey groups, respondents’ opinions about homelessness varied

No evidence for the use of stem cell therapy for tendon disorders:a systematic review

Stem cells have emerged as a new treatment option for tendon disorders. We systematically reviewed the current evidence for stem cell therapy in tendon disorders. Randomised and non-randomised controlled trials, cohort studies and case series with a minimum of 5 cases were searched in MEDLINE, CENTRAL, EMBASE, CINAHL, PEDro and SPORTDiscus. In addition, we searched grey literature databases and trial registers. Only human studies were included and no time or language restrictions were applied to our search. All references of included trials were checked for possibly eligible trials. Risk of bias assessment was performed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool for controlled trials and the Newcastle-Ottawa scale for case series. Levels of evidence were assigned according to the Oxford levels of evidence. 4 published and three unpublished/pending trials were found with a total of 79 patients. No unpublished data were available. Two trials evaluated bone marrow-derived stem cells in rotator cuff repair surgery and found lower retear rates compared with historical controls or the literature. One trial used allogenic adipose-derived stem cells to treat lateral epicondylar tendinopathy. Improved Mayo Elbow Performance Index, Visual Analogue Pain scale and ultrasound findings after 1-year follow-up compared with baseline were found. Bone marrow-derived stem cell-treated patellar tendinopathy showed improved International Knee Documentation Committee, Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score subscales and Tegner scores after 5-year follow-up. One trial reported adverse events and found them to be mild (eg, swelling, effusion). All trials were at high risk of bias and only level 4 evidence was available. No evidence (level 4) was found for the therapeutic use of stem cells for tendon disorders. The use of stem cell therapy for tendon disorders in clinical practice is currently not advise