The process and the importance of motivation as a crucial compenet in activating the nursing abilities in a public hospital: the role of an efficient management.

Συχνά η αποτυχία ενός δημόσιου νοσοκομείου για εκπλήρωση της αποστολής του αποδίδε¬ται στην οργανωτική δομή και σε μεγάλο βαθμό στην αναποτελεσματικότητα της ηγεσία του. Η ηγεσία αποτελεί μια από τις πιο σημαντικές παραμέτρους που προσδιορίζει τη φυσιογνωμία, τη λειτουργία, την εξέλιξη, τη συμπεριφορά και το βαθμό ενεργοποίησης και χρησιμοποίησης της δυναμικότητας των εργαζομένων σε ένα νοσοκομείο. Βασικό μέλημα της ηγεσίας είναι η ενερoγοποίηση των ικανοτήτων των νοσηλευτών μέσω της υποκίνησης τους, εξασφαλίζοντας έτσι την αποτελεσματική συνεργασία τους, ώστε οι πράξεις τους και γενικότερα η συμπεριφορά τους να έχει ως αποτέλεσμα την επίτευξη των επιδιωκόμενων στόχων

Reliability and Validity of the full-length Greek-Cypriot version of the Children’s Depression Inventory 2 (CDI-2)

Background: The Children’s Depression Inventory is probably the most widely used and cited self-reported depressive symptoms scale for children. The present study aims to investigate the reliability and validity of the full-length Greek-Cypriot version of the Children’s Depression Inventory 2 (CDI-2) among schoolchildren in Cyprus. Methods: A methodological instrument validation design was carried out on a nationwide random sample of public elementary schools between 2020 and 2023. The internal consistency and construct validity of the CDI-2 was assessed. The internal consistency of the CDI-2 was assessed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Guttman split-half alpha for the entire scale, while Cronbach’s alpha was also calculated for each subscale. The CDI-2 factors were determined using the factor analysis approach with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Varimax rotation. The Bartlett's test was also assessed to examine the appropriateness of factor analysis. Results: The final sample consisted of 552 schoolchildren, of whom 73 (14.3 %) reported clinical depressive symptoms. The internal consistency reliability was α= .907 as well as the Guttman split-half coefficient (.884). In addition, Cronbach's alpha was equally adequate for the subscales, specifically, the measurements ranged from .698 to .853. Factor analysis with Varimax rotation resulted in six factors explaining 55% of the variance. Conclusion: As a result, the Greek-Cypriot version of the CDI-2 has excellent reliability and validity and is a reliable instrument for assessing depressive symptoms

Mental health and stressful life events among post graduate Cypriot University Students: A cross-sectional descriptive correlational study

Background: Previous findings suggest that stressful life events are linked with mental health status of university students. The aim of this study was to investigate the mental health status and its association with the number and the severity of self-reported stressful life events among post graduate university students in Cyprus. Methods: A descriptive correlational design with cross sectional comparison was used. The General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) for the assessment of mental health status and the Life Events scale for Students (LESS) for stressful life events were applied. Both scales were completed anonymously and voluntarily by 90 post graduate students. Results: The mean(± SD) age of participants was 25.03(±2.64) years. The frequency of clinical symptoms of mental distress (GHQ total score≥24) was 36.7% of participants. Statistically significant associations were noted between GHQ-28 subscales and gender. Specifically, males reported higher scores in depressive symptoms subscale (p<0.05). Furthermore, higher scores on both the intensity and number of stressful events were associated with clinical symptoms of mental distress (GHQ total score≥24) (p=0.01; p=0.001, respectively). Conclusions: The high frequency of clinical symptoms of mental distress among post graduate university students, as well as the association with stressful life events, highlights the need for psychological empowerment strategies towards students by institutional counselling services

The prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics correlates of depressive symptoms among schoolchildren in Cyprus: A cross‑sectional descriptive correlational study

Background and aims: Mood disorders appear for the first time in childhood, especially depression. The present study aims to: (a) explore the prevalence of depressive symptoms and related predictors in a national sample of primary school children in Cyprus and (b) investigate effect size for any significant group differences. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted. The data were collected from the final year students of elementary education schools, aged 11-13 years, on a nationwide random sample between 2020 -2023. Clinical depressive symptoms were reported as CDI-2 total score ≥20, regardless of gender, age, or nationality. Descriptive statistics for all socio-demographic characteristics and depressive symptoms were calculated and stated as frequencies, mean values, and standard deviation. The odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals of depressive symptoms by the sociodemographic characteristics were estimated in logistic regression models before and after controlling for potential confounders Results: The final sample consisted of 552 children. 14.3% of primary education school children in Cyprus, reported clinical symptoms of depression. Concerning the Effect Size (ES) it appeared that family income in combination with parental status had the greatest ES (n2=.047, small ES). Although, girls are 1.93 times more likely to report symptoms of clinical depression (p=.002), and children with mental health problems are also at greater risk of developing symptoms of depression (OR:5.56, p=.001). Conclusion: Our findings emphasize the importance of screening school-age children for depression in order to provide early intervention. Programs to prevent mental disorders in children may focus on vulnerable groups

Prevalence of depressive symptoms among schoolchildren in Cyprus: A cross-sectional descriptive correlational study

Background: Depressive symptoms in the young constitute a public health issue. The current study aims to estimate: (a) the frequency of depressive symptoms in a sample of final grade elementary-school children in Cyprus, (b) the association among frequency of depressive symptoms, gender and nationality and, (c) the metric properties of the Greek-Cypriot version of the children's depression inventory (CDI). Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study with internal comparison was performed. The occurrence of depressive symptoms was assessed with the CDI, which includes 5 subscales: depressive mood, interpersonal difficulties, ineffectiveness, anhedonia and negative self-esteem. Clinical depressive symptoms were reported as CDI score ≥19. CDI was anonymously and voluntarily completed by 439 schoolchildren [mean age 12.3 (±0.51) years old] from fifteen public elementary schools (217 boys and 222 girls), yielding a response rate of 58.2%. The metric properties of the CDI were assessed in terms of internal consistency reliability and construct validity via exploratory factor analysis (rotated and unrotated principal component analysis). Descriptive and inferential statistics were explored. Results: 10.25% of Cypriot schoolchildren reported clinical depressive symptoms (CDI score ≥19). Statistically significant differences were reported between boys and girls in all five subscales of the CDI. Girls reported higher scores in "Depressive mood", "Negative self-esteem" and "Anhedonia" subscales, while boys scored higher in "Interpersonal difficulties" and "Ineffectiveness" subscales. There were no statistically significant differences among ethnicity groups regarding the entire CDI or the subscales of it. Concerning the metric properties of the Greek-Cypriot version of the CDI, internal consistency reliability was adequate (Cronbach's alpha = 0.84). Factor analysis with varimax rotation resulted in five factors explaining 42% of the variance. Conclusions: The Greek-Cypriot version of the CDI is a reliable tool for the assessment of the severity of depressive symptoms in schoolchildren. Institutional counseling services, as well as interventions aiming to empower the young need to address the different psychological needs of boys and girls. Longitudinal studies within this cultural context may be warranted, with special attention to other factors related to depressive symptoms and low self-esteem in schoolchildren, such as suicidality or bullying