Principles of social security and health insurance for farmers in Poland and Germany – a comparative assessment

Introduction and objective. As landowners occupied with agricultural production comprise a sizeable part of the populations in mid- and western European countries, it seemed reasonable to assess the organization of health care systems concerning farmers and their families in Poland and Germany. Both countries have similar geographical conditions and rural environments. It so happens that in Poland the principles of the system of agricultural insurance (KRUS) is based on the experiences of Germany and France. State of knowledge. Basically, both in Poland and Germany, the agricultural health insurance companies provide the same insurance cover as other health insurance companies. In both countries, under certain conditions, in the case of illness, the insured farmers receive instead of sickness benefit operational assistance and home help. In spite of the similarities that characterize both administrations, many particular differences are to be noted, e.g. the farmers’ social insurance in Poland is subject to only one ministry, in contrast to Germany where two ministries are responsible for farmers’ social insurance. In Poland, KRUS is a monopolistic organization, whereas in Germany, nine similar independent structures fulfil the task of a health insurance company. Needless to say, many more funds are available for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation in Germany than in Poland, due to obvious differences in the overall national income

Nutritional behaviour of nurses working night shifts

Hintergrund Schicht- und Nachtarbeit beeinflussen das Ernährungsverhalten. Dies kann zur Entstehung von ernährungsmitbedingten Erkrankungen führen. Dennoch liegen für Gesundheits- und Krankenpfleger, als größte von Schichtarbeit betroffene Berufsgruppe, im Gesundheitswesen bisher kaum Daten vor. Ziel ist es daher, das Ernährungsverhaltens von Gesundheits- und Krankenpflegern (GKP) während des Nachtdienstes zu erfassen. Methode Das Ernährungsverhalten von 19 GKP wurde mithilfe eines „doubly labelled water“ validierten, offenen 3?Tage-Ernährungsprotokolls erfasst. Die ermittelte tägliche Zufuhr verschiedener Lebensmittelgruppen wurde mit den gesundheitsförderlichen Orientierungswerten verglichen. Ergebnisse GKP weisen Defizite bei der Umsetzung der Ernährungsempfehlungen auf. Dies betrifft insbesondere den zu geringen Konsum von Gemüse (1,43?±?0,88 Portionen [P]/Tag), Obst (1,54?±?1,21?P/Tag) und Getreideprodukten (2,36?±?0,93?P/Tag). Diskussion Hinsichtlich des Lebensmittelverzehrs wurden keine Unterschiede zwischen den GKP und der deutschen Bevölkerung erfasst. Stattdessen wurden während der Schichtarbeit eine Umverteilung der Mahlzeiten von Tag zu Nacht, ungewöhnliche und unregelmäßige Essenszeiten sowie ein geringer Verzehr warmer Mahlzeiten beobachtet. Aufgrund dieser Defizite sollten gesundheitsförderliche Maßnahmen auf Verhaltens- und Verhältnisebene in den Klinikalltag integriert werden

Metabolic disturbances due to a high-fat diet in a non-insulin-resistant animal model

OBJECTIVE: Shift workers have metabolic changes more often than day workers. It is also known that night workers prefer foods high in saturated fat. Such data suggest that shift workers are prone to cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the objective of this study was to propose an animal model to test the effect of high-fat diet (HFD) based on shift workers' diet. METHODS: This is an experimental study with 20 Wistar rats. Ten rats were allocated to the control group (CG) and were fed standard diet. Ten rats were allocated to the experimental group (EG) and were fed HFD (45% fat). Serum triglycerides (TG), glucose and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-cho) were measured 5, 10 and 15 weeks after the beginning of the study. The amount of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) was determined. Body weight was assessed weekly, and food and water intake were measured daily. Student's t-test was used for independent samples, and P<0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: After 15 weeks of intervention, the EG showed increased serum levels of TG (P=0.001) and glucose (P<0.001) and decreased HDL-cho (P<0.001) when compared with the CG. The EG showed increased VAT (P=0.005) and liver weight (P=0.01). Food intake and water intake were higher in the CG (P<0.001 and P<0.001, respectively), whereas energy intake showed no difference (P=0.48). No difference was found in the weight of adrenal glands (P=0.07) and body weight (P=0.63). CONCLUSIONS: The experimental diet was effective to show changes in the serum levels of glucose, TG and HDL-cho and visceral fat in spite of no change in body weight in 15 weeks

Parental recommendations for population level interventions to support infant and family dietary choices: a qualitative study from the Growing Up in Wales, Environments for Healthy Living (EHL) study

Background: Childhood obesity presents a challenge to public health. This qualitative study explored the main barriers to dietary choices faced by parents with infants, and the types of interventions and policy level recommendations they would like to see put in place, to promote a healthier food environment. Methods: 61 semi-structured interviews with prospective parents and parents of infants (61 mothers and 35 fathers) were conducted. Families were selected according to community deprivation levels using the Townsend Deprivation Index to ensure a representative sample from deprived and affluent neighbourhoods. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: Parents identified triggers which led to unhealthy dietary choices such as reliance on fast food outlets due to; shift work, lack of access to personal transport, inability to cook, their own childhood dietary experiences, peer pressure and familial relationships. Parents who made healthy dietary choices reported learning cooking skills while at university, attending community cooking classes, having access to quality food provided by church and community organisations or access to Healthy Start vouchers. They called for a reduction in supermarket promotion of unhealthy food and improved access to affordable and high-quality fresh produce in the local area and in supermarkets. There was a strong message to policy makers to work with commercial companies (food manufactures) as they have resources to lower costs and target messages at a diverse population. Provision of targeted advice to fathers, minority ethnic parents, and tailored and practical advice and information on how to purchase, prepare, store and cook food was requested, along with community cookery classes and improved school cookery lessons. Conclusions: There is a need for parent directed community/population level interventions that aims to reduce socio-ecological barriers to making healthy dietary choices. Parents desired improvements in meals provided in workplaces, schools and hospitals, as well as increased access to healthy foods by increasing local healthy food outlets and reducing unhealthy, fast food outlets. Knowledge and skills could then be enhanced in line with these improvements, with confidence gained around cooking and storing food appropriately.14 page(s