ROLE OF AGE AND EXTRAVERSION LEVEL IN SHAPING THE SELECTED SOCIAL SKILLS IN MIDWIFERY STUDENTS

Aim: The aim of the study was to characterize midwifery students in terms of the level of selected social skills such as empathy and the ability to work with emotions, assertiveness in a conflict situation and communication skills. The study was also an attempt to determine the role of age and extraversion level in shaping these competencies.Material and Methods: The study group consisted of 228 purposefully selected students of  Midwifery. Midwives' Social Competence Questionnaire was used to assess social skills. The level of extraversion was assessed by using the NEO Five-Factor Inventory.Results: The midwifery students significantly differed in relation to the level of communication skills. These differences were not observed in the context of empathy and assertiveness in a conflict situation. Students’ age significantly correlated with the level of their communication skills. In addition, this relationship was observed particularly in subjects with low and medium level of empathy. The level of extraversion played the key role in shaping communication skills and assertiveness in a conflict situation.Conclusion: Our results suggest the need for using individualised education forms, which will enable efficient acquisition of social skills by midwifery students, especially interpersonal communication skills and assertive behaviour

When is it worth to use agile methodologies in software development project management practice?

The article presents increasingly popular agile methodologies that are more and more often used for projects management of software development. The aim of this article is to analyze the concept of agility and agile methodologies, as well as to find an answer to the question when it is worth to use such methodologies which require organizational effort associated with their use, acquisition of the necessary skills and covering the necessary costs. We consider agile methodologies as the specific project management methodologies in software development. Therefore the article describes their role in the development of agile IT infrastructure, agile organizational culture, and issues related to the possibility of assessing the level of methodologies' agility, as well as the possibility of evaluation the purposefulness and benefits of using them in software development practice

Rola podatności na sugestię w zdrowiu i poczucie odpowiedzialności za zdrowie w emocjonalnym żywieniu studentów

Purpose of the article: The aim of this article was to evaluate the relationship between the selected psychological factors (sense of responsibility for one’s health, health-related suggestibility) and the level of emotional eating in students from the dietetics faculty. Research methodology/approach: The study procedure included a crosssectional study which was carried out in a group of 130 individuals between the ages from 17 to 47 years old (the mean age was 21.4 years old; SD = 3.95). The sample group consisted of 56.2% of physiotherapy students (n = 73) and 43.8% of dietetics students (n = 57). Key findings/analysis: The analysed groups did not differ in terms of the emotional eating. Dietetics students were characterised by a higher level of health-related suggestibility than physiotherapy students. There was a positive correlation between the intensity of emotional eating and the severity of media health-related suggestibility in the group of students with a lower level of global sense of responsibility for health. Practical implications: The results suggest that special courses in dietetics curriculum should be implemented. It could allow academic teachers an adequate response in the context of ‘new’ nutritional information in media. Social implications: The results of this study provided very important information for a better understanding of young adults’ behaviour in the context of emotional eating. Article category: research article.Cel artykułu: analiza związku między wybranymi zmiennymi psychologicznymi (poczucie odpowiedzialności za zdrowie, podatność na sugestię w zdrowiu) i nasileniem żywienia emocjonalnego wśród studentów z kierunku dietetyka. Rodzaj wykorzystanej metodologii badawczej/podejścia: procedura badania obejmowała badania przekrojowe przeprowadzone w grupie 130 osób w wieku od 17 do 47 lat (średni wiek wynosił 21,4; SD=3.95). Grupa osób badanych składała się z 56,2% studentów fizjoterapii (n=73) oraz 43,8% studentów dietetyki (n=57). Główne wyniki badań/analiz: analizowane grupy nie różniły się pod względem żywienia emocjonalnego. Studenci dietetyki cechowali się wyższym nasileniem podatności na sugestię w zdrowiu niż studenci fizjoterapii. Zaobserwowano dodatnią zależność miedzy żywieniem emocjonalnym a nasileniem medialnej podatności na sugestię w zdrowiu u studentów z niskim nasileniem poczucia odpowiedzialności za zdrowie. Implikacje praktyczne: wyniki sugerują, że w programie nauczania dietetyki powinny być wprowadzone specjalne przedmioty, które pozwolą nauczycielom akademickim na adekwatne reagowanie na nowe informacje żywieniowe w mediach. Implikacje społeczne: wyniki dostarczyły bardzo ważnych informacji dla lepszego zrozumienia zachowań młodych dorosłych w kontekście żywienia emocjonalnego. Kategoria artykułu: artykuł badawczy

Trudne sytuacje w pracy dietetyka-terapeuty

Occupational stress and burnout syndrome can lead to many negative individual, social and economic consequences. Dietitians’ occupational stress is associated with many aspects. One of them is the need for flexible responses to the needs of clients and patients. Another, related to the existing knowledge, is the capability to select and assess the dynamically growing media space content concerning the nutritional value of various products, as acquired through the use of modern technologies. Dietitians face the challenge of the stereotypes associated with eating; changing patients’ or clients’ bad habits of eating is a challenge, often causing frustration. Frustration, external and internal conflicts are the most difficult situations in the workplace. They can exacerbate the stress associated with the profession and consequently lead to unpleasant consequences in the form of occupational burnout. In order to counter this, it is necessary to increase the employees’ own resources and changing the conditions and organization of work.Stres zawodowy i zespół wypalenia zawodowego może prowadzić do negatywnych konsekwencji w wymiarze indywidualnym, społecznym i ekonomicznym. W pracy dietetyka- terapeuty stres wiąże się z wieloma aspektami. Jednym z nich jest konieczność elastycznego reagowania na potrzeby zgłaszających się klientów i pacjentów. Kolejnym, wiążącym się z posiadaną wiedzą, jest umiejętność dokonywania selekcji i oceny dynamicznie rosnącej w przestrzeni medialnej ilości informacji na temat wartości odżywczych produktów, pozyskiwanych z wykorzystaniem nowoczesnych technologii. Wyzwaniem są stereotypy związane z odżywianiem się; zmiana nieprawidłowych nawyków żywieniowych pacjentów czy klientów jest wyzwaniem, niosącym często poczucie frustracji. Najczęstszymi sytuacjami trudnymi w pracy zawodowej są frustracja oraz konflikty interpersonalne i intrapsychiczne. Mogą one nasilać stres związany z wykonywanym zawodem i prowadzić do przykrych skutków w postaci wypalenia zawodowego. Aby temu przeciwdziałać, konieczne jest zwiększenie zasobów własnych pracowników oraz zmiany warunków i organizacji pracy

Self-efficacy and selected aspects of life quality related to mothers of children with cerebral palsy

Birth of a child with cerebral palsy (CP) are usually associated with changes in the quality of life of his parents, especially mothers. This means reducing the current and antycipate quality of life for most families; it is a cause of severe psychological stress (trauma). Especially the mother take a number of obligations related to the treatment, rehabilitation and responsibility for the fate of the child. Self-efficacy is a factor that may affect the achievement of the challenges, the satisfaction of parental tasks, sense of control and influence on the situation, and thereby – this determine the activity and involvement in the treatment and upbringing the child. Aim of the study was assess the level of self-efficacy and the relationship between the belief in self-efficacy and selected determinants of quality of life of mothers (negative and positive feelings, physical and social situation). The study was conducted among 50 women aged from 23 to 52 years, who are mothers of children with cerebral palsy – the age of children was in the range from 1 to 16 years. Undertaken analysis showed statistically significant associations with significant strength between self-efficacy of mothers and some aspects related to their quality of live. A high level of self-efficacy related to: in the area of emotions – with lower levels of perceived negative emotions (but not associated with positive emotions); in the area if cognitive functions – with a high level of declared knowledge about their child's illness; in the area of social functions – the maintenance of interpersonal relationships, not giving up a social life outside and the realization of their hobbyUdostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00. Publikacja dofinansowana z budżetu Urzędu Miasta Łodzi w ramach Konkursu ofert na realizację zadania: „Współpraca z wyższymi uczelniami” w zakresie promocji Łodzi jako ośrodka naukowego i akademickieg

The role of gender in the active attitude toward treatment and health among older patients in primary health care—self-assessed health status and sociodemographic factors as moderators

Abstract Background Active attitude toward treatment and health (ATH) leads to improved cooperation and better health outcomes in patients. Supporting it in the population of older adults is a growing need in primary care. Recognising the role of gender, health and other sociodemographic factors can help to distinguish patients who need the most assistance in activation from general practitioners (GPs). The objective of the study was to investigate gender differences in ATH as well as the moderating role of self-assessed health (SAH) and selected sociodemographic factors (age, education, financial status, marital status). Methods A cross-sectional, multicentre study among 4936 primary care older patients (aged 50+) was conducted. The PRACTA-Attitude toward Treatment and Health questionnaire (PRACTA-ATH) was used to measure the cognitive, emotional (positive and negative affect), and motivational dimensions of ATH. Patients were approached before and after their visits in the primary health-care facilities randomly selected in Central Poland. Results Generalised linear models (GENLIN) revealed the main effects of gender, SAH, and sociodemographic characteristics, such as financial status, marital status and education. Interaction effects of gender and age (Wald’s χ2 = 24.767, p < 0.001 for ATH Global), as well as gender and SAH (Wald’s χ2 = 16.712, p < 0.002 for ATH Global) on ATH were found. The most assistance in regard to ATH was required by men aged 50–74 and men declaring good self-assessed health. Generally, women declared a more active attitude than men, showing more knowledge (M = 5.40, SD = 0.07 and M = 5.21, SD = 0.07, for women and men, respectively, p = 0.046), positive emotion (M = 5.55, SD = 0.06 and M = 5.33, SD =0.06, for women and men, respectively, p = 0.015) and motivation to be involved in their health issues (M = 5.71, SD = 0.07 and M = 5.39, SD = 0.07, for women and men, respectively, p = 0.001). The level of negative emotions related to health was not significantly different between genders (p = 0.971). Conclusions The need to create health promoting programmes taking account of particular gender differences in older adults emerges. In regard to clinical practice, building a sense of efficacy and individual responsibility for health, providing information about the means of health promotion and prevention, and recognising health-related cognitions, is recommended especially for men who feel well and are less advanced in age (50–74)

Additional file 1: Table S1. of The role of gender in the active attitude toward treatment and health among older patients in primary health care—self-assessed health status and sociodemographic factors as moderators

Pairwise comparisons in significant interactions for ATH. The table presents results of pairwise comparisons for significant interactions of gender and investigated variables in all dimensions of ATH (DOCX 18 kb