The formation of the wish for a child

Σκοπός της παρούσας ποιοτικής φαινομενολογικής μελέτης ήταν η διερεύνηση του βιώματος της επιθυμίας απόκτησης παιδιού, μητέρων που χρησιμοποίησαν σύνθετες μεθόδους αναπαραγωγής (δωρεά σπέρματος, δωρεά ωαρίων, παρένθετη μητέρα). Δέκα εννέα μητέρες αφηγήθηκαν τις εμπειρίες τους μέσα από ημιδομημένες συνεντεύξεις που πραγματοποιήθηκαν στη Θεσσαλονίκη και στην Αθήνα από το 2009-2012. Από την ανάλυση των αφηγήσεών τους, αναδύθηκαν τέσσερις βασικές κατηγορίες, οι οποίες αναδεικνύουν διαφορετικές εμπειρίες στη διαδικασία απόκτησης ενός παιδιού: α) επιθυμία όταν η ηλικία είναι οριακή, β) επιθυμία ως βασική πτυχή της εικόνας εαυτού, γ) επιθυμία υπό όρους και προϋποθέσεις και δ) επιθυμία ως αντιστάθμιση στις ενοχές για παρελθούσα έκτρωση. Η επιθυμία για την απόκτηση παιδιού είναι σύνθετη και περιγράφεται περισσότερο ως μια διεργασία, παρά ως κατάσταση ή πτυχή της προσωπικότητας των Ελληνίδων γυναικών. Αυτή η επιθυμία προοδευτικά διαμορφώνεται και συχνά τροποποιείται ως προς την ένταση και το περιεχόμενό της. Η κατάλληλη υποστήριξη των γυναικών και των συντρόφων τους μπορεί να συμβάλλει στη συνειδητοποίηση των κινήτρων που ωθούν τα ελληνικά ζευγάρια στην υποβοηθούμενη αναπαραγωγή, αλλά και στη διευκόλυνση των αποφάσεων που καλούνται να πάρουν στην προσπάθειά τους να γίνουν γονείς.The goal of the present retrospective qualitative study was to explore how women who had conceived a child through assisted reproduction technologies reflected in their narratives their wish for a child. In the study participated 19 women who had conceived through assisted reproduction technologies. Results showed the following four basic categories which reflect different experiences in the development of a desire to have a child. a) emergence of a desire with the realization that because of their age, women may not be able to reproduce, b) desire for a child as a fundamental aspect in the formation of their identity, c) desire for a child when life conditions were appropriate, and d) desire for a child, as a compensation for past abortion(s). The desire to have a child is complex and is described more as a process, than as a state or personality trait. It gradually develops, while its nature and intensity fluctuates over time. Appropriate support for women and their partner can help them develop an increased awareness of their motives to have a child by resorting to assisted reproduction technologies, and can facilitate the process of decision-making in their pursuit to become parents.

The Concept of Social Support and the Impact on Chronic Diseases Management

Worldwide, the chronic disease management is perhaps the major challenge for health care professionals, who are called to face patient’s problems in physical, psychological and social level. Social support, has an important role in the management of chronic disease, and according to the literature, it is positively correlated with physical and mental health. Many studies have demonstrated that social support is associated with low depression and anxiety, adaptation of health behaviors, adherence to therapeutic and dietary management, self-care and self-management, better quality of life and outcomes on patients with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, malignancies, diabetes mellitus and autoimmune diseases. The purpose of this literature review is to describe the concept and types of social support, and to explore the positive or negative impact on chronic disease management. Another aim is to identify strategies and interventions applied by health professionals to support the patient and his/her wider family network on emotional and practical level, making him/her able to effectively manage stress, disorders and other problems caused by the diseas

Depression and health-related quality of life of patients with diabetes mellitus type II: data from Serres province, Greece

Introduction: Diabetes Mellitus Type II (DM II) is a chronic disease that particularly affects the patients’ Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL). Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of various depression levels on HRQOL in DM II patients in Serres province of Northern Greece. Methodology: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted from January 2016 to March 2016. The study involved 100 patients diagnosed with DM II who were approached through the Diabetic Association of Serres province. Data were collected with the following research tools: a) a questionnaire with socio-demographic and clinical data, b) the questionnaire Audit of Diabetes Dependent Quality of Life Questionnaire (ADDQoL-19),and c) the Beck II depression scale. Statistical analysis of the results was performed using the statistical program IBM SPSS Statistics v23.0. Results: Forty five percent of the diabetic patients under study, present symptoms of depression which affected their HRQOL. Specifically, the more depression increases, the more the level of quality of life of the patients is decreased. Correlations between gender, age, marital status, educational level, place of residence and profession of the participants with the quality of the patients’ life showed that only the place of residence affected their quality of life (F=5.208, p=0.015). Conclusions: Patients with diabetes mellitus type II present low HRQOL levels and a high rate of depression symptoms. The results of the present research could help develop new integrated healthcare programs for patients with diabetes mellitus type II with emphasis to psychosocial interventions

Coping strategies used by nurses before, during and after work to deal with work stress: a literature review

The nursing profession is characterized by high levels of work stress and serious associated health problems. The aim of the present study was to explore the strategies nurses employ before, during and after work to cope with every day work stress. The literature review indicated that nurses use mechanisms which at the beginning of shift work as preparation mechanisms, during work as stress controllers and after the end of it as an opportunity for nursing staff’s emotional recovery. In terms of effectiveness, the use of stress coping mechanisms not only reduces job burnout but also increases nurses’ job satisfaction and wellbeing. However, evidence show that their duration is short and their effectiveness may be limited. Changes mainly in organizational level are required to create a more positive working environment and advocate for nurses’ good level of health and wellbeing

The Impact of Mobile Phone Dependency on Health and Biomarkers in a Greek University Student Sample

Introduction: Mobile phone use can be addictive for the young. However, little is known about the behavioral and biological effects of this addiction among the student population. Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of mobile phone use on the health behaviors and specific biomarkers in a sample of Greek students. Methods: Sample included 104 Nursing students from a stratified randomised sample. In 30 ran- domly selected out of the 104 students, melatonin and total antioxidant levels in saliva were also measured. Mobile phone dependence was estimated with the Mobile Phone Dependence Question- naire by Toda et al and general health with the GHQ-28. We used the Antioxidant assay kit-SIGMA to measure the total antioxidant levels and the anosoenzymic method ELISA (IBL kit) to measure melatonine levels. Analysis was performed with SPSS v15.0 software. All hypothesis were tested at a p<0,05 level. Results: No statistical difference between genders was detected (p=0.182). High dependence was apparent in 13.5% of the sample, which correlated with worse general health (p=0.004), greater alcohol consumption (p=0.007), sleep disturbances (p=0.02) and worse nutritional habits (p=0.032). Moreover, high mobile dependent students exhibited higher concentration of early morning mel- atonin (p=0.07) and lower antioxidant concentration (p=0.333) in saliva, compared to low mobile dependent students. Conclusions: Excessive use of mobiles among students seems to correlate with unhealthy habits and impaired health. The effect in well known biomarkers may suggest the burden of the health of the student population. However, the long term effects on health require further investigation

Psychometric properties of the Bergen Work Addiction Scale in a Greek sample of health professionals

Background Work addiction it is an emerging topic in organizational research because it has a great impact on human resources, especial-ly in the health sector, and has led to the development of a number of valid assessment tools. Among work addiction scales, the Bergen Work Addiction Scale (BWAS) has good psychometric properties and a small number of items, and comes with a recommended cut-off for categorization of work addiction. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the BWAS in a Greek sample of health professionals (HPs) and to measure their work addiction. Participants and procedure A cross sectional study using an online questionnaire related to work addiction was completed by 542 HPs through the offi-cial websites of 8 secondary hospitals in Greece. Results The level of HPs’ work addiction was moderate. The internal structure of the scale was satisfactory (α = .78). All seven items of the BWAS were significant and had standardized values above 0.48. Work addiction was significantly associated with older age and the profession of physician. Conclusions Based on the findings of the present study, the Greek BWAS has good psychometric properties, such as good reliability, internal consistency and construct validity and is recommended as a suitable tool to assess work addiction in clinical settings and future research

Exploring the psychosocial needs and satisfaction of the family of patients hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit

Introduction: The sudden admission of patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is considered an extremely stressful and painful experience for the whole family. In recent years, family has been recognized to have an important role to the outcome and particular emphasis has been given to the oriented approach of the patient’s family. Aims: To investigate the needs and the degree of satisfaction of relatives whose patients are hospitalized in ICU. Methodology: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in a Greek ICU of a public hospital from November 2015 to – February 2016. The sample consisted of 47 relatives of patients who had been hospitalized for more than 48 hours. They were administered a questionnaire including socio- demographic data and the following psychometric tools: Family Satisfaction in Intensive Care Unit (FS- ICU 24) and Critical Care Family Needs Inventory (CCFNI). Data were analyzed with the program SPSS version 23.0 . Results: A 72% and 80% of patients companions, expressed a great satisfaction in the caring and satisfaction with the decision making process scales of the FS-ICU 24. Basics are considered the need of reassurance for the better delivered care the knowledge of their patients’ outcome and the administration of sincere and understandable information. Statistically significant differences have been found on the relationship with the patient, in the approach subscale of the CCFNI (p=0,024). Concerning the ages of the participants, statistically differences have been found at a group of 26-40 years old, in reassurance subscales (p=0,049), information (p=0,006), approach (p=0,009), support (p=0,004) and the offer of comfort (p=0,005) of the CCFNI. Conclusions: The cooperation of ICU professionals with relatives, the training of personnel in the provision of holistic care and the family’s integration in the therapeutic process, may be beneficial in reducing stress and adequate and effectively fulfillment of their needs and therefore to the satisfaction of both sides

Psychometric Properties of the Revised Death Attitude Profile in a Greek Sample of Nurses

Background and Purpose: This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Revised Death Attitude Profile (DAP-R) in a sample of Greek nurses and nursing students. Methods: A convenience sample (n = 934) was used from six National Health System hospitals, and two University Schools of Nursing in central and northern Greece completed the Greek version of the DAP-R (Gr-DAP-R). Results: Principal component analysis with varimax rotation revealed a six-factor solution, including approach acceptance, death avoidance, escape acceptance, neutral acceptance, fear of death, and after death concerns. The internal consistency for each of the subscales ranged from 0.64 to 0.88. Intercorrelations between the Gr-DAP-R subscales supported the relative independence of death attitudes dimensions. Conclusions: The Gr-DAP-R can be used as a research and clinical tool in assessing death attitudes among Greek nurses