Psychosocial interventions as a form of assistance for traumatized persons

U ovome istraživanju razmatra se organizirana pomoć stanovništvu u poslijeratnim zajednicama, u obliku psihosocijalnih intervencija. Razmatrane su intervencije u okviru biopsihosocijalnog modela shvaćanja mentalnog zdravlja traumatiziranih osoba. Cilj ispitivanja je provjeriti postoje li razlike u vrsti i količni korištenih psihosocijalnih intervencija između sudionika različitih sociodemografskih karakteristika. Za registriranje broja i vrste primljenih psihosocijalnih intervencija korišten je Upitnik MACSI (Matrix for Recording Health Care and Social Interventions), konstruiran za potrebe istraživanja u međunarodnom projektu (Connect projekt, Priebe i sur., 2004). Dobiveni rezultati pokazali su da postoje razlike u vrsti i količini korištenih psihosocijalnih intervencija između sudionika različitih sociodemografskih karakteristika.This paper reviews organized assistance provided for the population in post-war communities in the form of psychosocial interventions. The interventions are considered within the framework of the biopsychosocial model used in understanding the mental health of traumatized persons. The aim of the study was to determine whether differences exist in the type and amount of psychosocial interventions among participants from different sociodemographic backgrounds. The Matrix for Recording Health Care and Social Interventions (MACSI), which was constructed for an international research project (Connect project, Priebe et. al., 2004) was used to register the number and type of intervention. The obtained results revealed differences in the type and amount of psychosocial interventions in different sociodemographic groups

Psychosocial interventions as a form of assistance for traumatized persons

U ovome istraživanju razmatra se organizirana pomoć stanovništvu u poslijeratnim zajednicama, u obliku psihosocijalnih intervencija. Razmatrane su intervencije u okviru biopsihosocijalnog modela shvaćanja mentalnog zdravlja traumatiziranih osoba. Cilj ispitivanja je provjeriti postoje li razlike u vrsti i količni korištenih psihosocijalnih intervencija između sudionika različitih sociodemografskih karakteristika. Za registriranje broja i vrste primljenih psihosocijalnih intervencija korišten je Upitnik MACSI (Matrix for Recording Health Care and Social Interventions), konstruiran za potrebe istraživanja u međunarodnom projektu (Connect projekt, Priebe i sur., 2004). Dobiveni rezultati pokazali su da postoje razlike u vrsti i količini korištenih psihosocijalnih intervencija između sudionika različitih sociodemografskih karakteristika.This paper reviews organized assistance provided for the population in post-war communities in the form of psychosocial interventions. The interventions are considered within the framework of the biopsychosocial model used in understanding the mental health of traumatized persons. The aim of the study was to determine whether differences exist in the type and amount of psychosocial interventions among participants from different sociodemographic backgrounds. The Matrix for Recording Health Care and Social Interventions (MACSI), which was constructed for an international research project (Connect project, Priebe et. al., 2004) was used to register the number and type of intervention. The obtained results revealed differences in the type and amount of psychosocial interventions in different sociodemographic groups

NON-ABUSIVE TRAUMATIC EVENTS IN CHILDHOOD AND PSYCHOSOCIAL FUNCTIONING OF YOUTH

Djeca i mladi su, kao i odrasli, izloženi traumatskim događajima. Prema postojećim klasifikacijama traumatskih događaja u djetinjstvu, razlikuju se događaji koji ne uključuju zlostavljanje i zanemarivanje u užem smislu od onih koji to jesu. Cilj je ovog istraživanja ustanoviti povezanost izlaganja nezlostavljajućim traumatskim događajima u djetinjstvu s nekim aspektima psihosocijalnog funkcioniranja mladih. Ispitivana je izloženost sljedećim traumatskim događajima: napad predmetom/oružjem, silovanje, ubojstvo, eksplozija bombe, teška bolest roditelja. Istraživanje je provedeno na 4 177 mladića i djevojaka. Veći doprinos psihosocijalnom funkcioniranju mladića i djevojaka imaju traumatski događaji koji se odnose na osobnu ugroženost, a potom događaji koji se odnose na ugroženost drugih (teška bolest roditelja i svjedočenje ubojstvu). Doprinosi ovih događaja na više aspekata psihosocijalnog funkcioniranja veći su kod djevojaka nego kod mladića. Pokazalo se da se mladići koji nisu doživjeli ni jedan nezlostavljajući traumatski događaj ne razlikuju značajno od onih koji su doživjeli jedan događaj, ali se razlikuju od onih s više doživljenih traumatskih događaja. Djevojke koje su doživjele jedan nezlostavljajući traumatski događaj razlikuju se od skupine bez traumatskih događaja. Nakon jednog i nakon više traumatskog događaja, djevojke su nesigurnije privržene, usamljenije u obitelji i lošijeg školskog uspjeha. Kod mladića se nalazi povezanost s poteškoćama u psihosocijalnom funkcioniranju nakon dva i više događaja.Just like adults, children and youth are exposed to traumatic events. The existing classifications of traumatic events in childhood differentiate between events which do not include abuse and neglect in the narrow sense from those that do. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between exposure to non-abusive traumatic events in childhood and some aspects of psychosocial functioning in youth. Exposure to following traumatic events was examined: assault with an object/weapon, rape, murder, bomb explosion, serious illness of a parent. The research was conducted on 4177 teenage boys and girls. The psychosocial functioning of boys and girls is affected more by traumatic events that pose a personal threat, and less by events posing a threat to others (serious illness of a parent and witnessing murder). The effects of such events on multiple aspects of psychosocial functioning are more common in girls than in boys. The research has shown that boys who have not experienced a non-abusive traumatic event do not significantly differ from those who have experienced one event, but differ from those who experienced several traumatic events. The girls who experienced one non-abusive traumatic event differ from those that have not experienced any traumatic events. After one or more traumatic events, girls tend to be more insecurely attached, lonelier within the family, and have poorer academic performance. As far as boys are concerned, the connection with difficulties in psychosocial functioning appears after two or more events

Zdravstvene teškoće i izvori zabrinutosti adolescenata tijekom prilagodbe na srednju školu

Iako normativni događaj, prelazak iz osnovne u srednju školu može biti stresan. Intenzivnije manifestacije stresa (npr. psihosomatske i emocionalne teškoće) mogu ometati osnovnu zadaću učenika, odnosno, uspješno svladavanje školskoga gradiva. Osnovni cilj istraživanja bio je utvrditi učestalost i perzistenciju psihosomatskih i emocionalnih teškoća tijekom prvog razreda srednje škole, ovisno o vrsti programa i spolu sudionika. Istraživanje je bilo longitudinalno: u prvome je mjerenju sudjelovalo 308 učenika, u drugome 291 učenik, a longitudinalni podaci prikupljeni su od njih 266. Sudionici su ispitani: Upitnikom psihosomatskih simptoma (Vulić-Prtorić, 2005), upitnikom CORE-YP (Twigg i sur., 2009) te Ljestvicom područja zabrinutosti (Kozjak Mikić, 2011). Rezultati su obrađeni analizom varijance mješovitoga dizajna. Izraženije teškoće ima 15% do 17% sudionika. Psihosomatske teškoće blaže su i smanjuju se s vremenom, dok su emocionalne teškoće češće i perzistiraju tijekom čitavoga prvog razreda. Učestalost je teškoća povezana sa spolom i vrstom škole. Djevojke i učenici iz gimnazija imaju učestalije teškoće, a za učestalost emocionalnih teškoća značajna je i interakcija ovih varijabli (mladići iz gimnazija ne razlikuju se statistički značajno od djevojaka). Najveći su izvor zabrinutosti i stresa tijekom čitavoga prvog razreda akademski zahtjevi. Dobiveni se rezultati mogu objasniti u okviru Transakcijskoga modela stresa, kao i Tripartitnog modela emocija. U svrhu je prevencije potrebno raditi ranu trijažu učenika koji imaju psihosomatske i/ili emocionalne teškoće tijekom prilagodbe, te senzibilizirati nastavnike i roditelje za uočavanje i adekvatan pristup takvim učenicima, što su praktične implikacije istraživanja

An Increasing Older Population Dictates the Need to Organise Palliative Care and Estabilish Hospices

The aim of this study is to assess population needs for the organisation of palliative care and establishment of hospices. An opinion poll was created to investigate these needs. The research was carried out in 2007/2008 among 1564 citizens not working in health services, and 789 health service workers – a total of 2353 people questioned in 7 towns of the Republic of Croatia. The significant results obtained using adequate statistical methods confirm that 90.6% of all respondents favour the introduction of a palliative care system and 88% favour the establishment of hospices. This leads us to conclude that the need to establish a palliative care system and hospices has been recognised by citizens and health service workers, thus their implementation in the Republic of Croatia without further delay should be recommended

Self-Assessment of Well-Being as an Indicator of Quality of Life of Former War Prisoners – A Croatian Study

The impact of war on the population is vast, especially when it comes to those who were directly affected by war, among other things as concentration camp detainees. Because of the specific war experience of this population it is important to better understand the possible contribution of key socio-demographic variables, war traumatization and acute disturbances in mental health to their subjective assessment of their own well-being, which represents a psychological category and is based on a subjective assessment. The starting point is a theoretical precept according to which individual characteristics, together with war experience, can have repercussions on mental health, and eventually on the general well-being of an individual and their quality of life. The study comprised 184 participants who had given their informed consent for participation and filled out complete questionnaires. The participants were a convenience sample of male persons who had survived war captivity in the Homeland War in the period from 1991 to 1995. The study was conducted as part of the physical examinations at the University Hospital »Fran Mihaljevi}« in Zagreb. The data was collected using several self-evaluation measuring instruments one of which served to collect socio-demographic data, two to collect data on the participants’ mental health, one for the data on the participants’ combat and war experiences and one to assess the participants’ well-being. The data obtained suggest that only avoidance and arousal symptoms and psychosomatic difficulties are predictors of the well-being of persons who have experienced war captivit

A global look at time: a 24-country study of the equivalence of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory

In this article, we assess the structural equivalence of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) across 26 samples from 24 countries (N = 12,200). The ZTPI is proven to be a valid and reliable index of individual differences in time perspective across five temporal categories: Past Negative, Past Positive, Present Fatalistic, Present Hedonistic, and Future. We obtained evidence for invariance of 36 items (out of 56) and also the five-factor structure of ZTPI across 23 countries. The short ZTPI scales are reliable for country-level analysis, whereas we recommend the use of the full scales for individual-level analysis. The short version of ZTPI will further promote integration of research in the time perspective domain in relation to many different psycho-social processes

Outpatient emergency medical procedures in case of mass accidents

Masovne nesreće su sve nesreće u kojima je broj ozlijeđenih osoba toliko velik da im se ne može pristupiti uobičajenim načinom rada potrebnih službi, već se način rada mora promijeniti i prilagoditi nesreći. Masovne nesreće se prema suvremenoj podjeli svrstavaju u tri vrste, a to su: nesreće nastale zbog tehnoloških dostignuća, namjerno nastale nesreće ljudskim djelovanjem, nesreće koje uzrokuju promjene u okolišu i klimi. Zbrinjavanje masovnih nesreća je samo po sebi izazov za stručni hitni medicinski tim koji prvi pristupa mjestu nesreće. Tim koji sudjeluje u zbrinjavanju provodeći hitne medicinske postupke treba biti dobro opremljen, objektivan i izrazito educiran. Oprema koju navedeni tim treba posjedovati obuhvaća zaštitnu opremu, sredstva za pomoć pri transportu, opremu za osnovno održavanje života i ampularij s potrebnim lijekovima. Trijaža masovnih nesreća je složen postupak kojim se određuje prioritet zbrinjavanja unesrećenih, a čija podloga leži u težini ozljeda istog. Glavni cilj trijaže je određivanje osoba s ozljedama teškim po život i pravodobno pružanje pomoći istima. Trijažni modeli koji se danas upotrebljavaju su ATS, CTAS, MTS, ESI. Republika Hrvatska u trijaži masovnih nesreća služi se modelom START. Kako bi odaziv na masovnu nesreću bio pravodoban, potrebni su kontinuirani treninzi i edukacije osoblja vezane uz trijažni postupak, zbrinjavanje ozljeda i o radu u dinamičkoj strukturi koja se odaziva na masovnu nesreću

Outpatient emergency medical procedures in case of mass accidents

Masovne nesreće su sve nesreće u kojima je broj ozlijeđenih osoba toliko velik da im se ne može pristupiti uobičajenim načinom rada potrebnih službi, već se način rada mora promijeniti i prilagoditi nesreći. Masovne nesreće se prema suvremenoj podjeli svrstavaju u tri vrste, a to su: nesreće nastale zbog tehnoloških dostignuća, namjerno nastale nesreće ljudskim djelovanjem, nesreće koje uzrokuju promjene u okolišu i klimi. Zbrinjavanje masovnih nesreća je samo po sebi izazov za stručni hitni medicinski tim koji prvi pristupa mjestu nesreće. Tim koji sudjeluje u zbrinjavanju provodeći hitne medicinske postupke treba biti dobro opremljen, objektivan i izrazito educiran. Oprema koju navedeni tim treba posjedovati obuhvaća zaštitnu opremu, sredstva za pomoć pri transportu, opremu za osnovno održavanje života i ampularij s potrebnim lijekovima. Trijaža masovnih nesreća je složen postupak kojim se određuje prioritet zbrinjavanja unesrećenih, a čija podloga leži u težini ozljeda istog. Glavni cilj trijaže je određivanje osoba s ozljedama teškim po život i pravodobno pružanje pomoći istima. Trijažni modeli koji se danas upotrebljavaju su ATS, CTAS, MTS, ESI. Republika Hrvatska u trijaži masovnih nesreća služi se modelom START. Kako bi odaziv na masovnu nesreću bio pravodoban, potrebni su kontinuirani treninzi i edukacije osoblja vezane uz trijažni postupak, zbrinjavanje ozljeda i o radu u dinamičkoj strukturi koja se odaziva na masovnu nesreću

Self-assessment of well-being as an indicator of quality of life of former war prisoners – a Croatian study [Samoprocjena dobrobiti kao indikatora kvalitete života bivših ratnih zatočenika - Hrvatska studija]

The impact of war on the population is vast, especially when it comes to those who were directly affected by war, among other things as concentration camp detainees. Because of the specific war experience of this population it is important to better understand the possible contribution of key socio-demographic variables, war traumatization and acute disturbances in mental health to their subjective assessment of their own well-being, which represents a psychological category and is based on a subjective assessment. The starting point is a theoretical precept according to which individual characteristics, together with war experience, can have repercussions on mental health, and eventually on the general well-being of an individual and their quality of life. The study comprised 184 participants who had given their informed consent for participation and filled out complete questionnaires. The participants were a convenience sample of male persons who had survived war captivity in the Homeland War in the period from 1991 to 1995. The study was conducted as part of the physical examinations at the University Hospital »Fran Mihaljevi}« in Zagreb. The data was collected using several self-evaluation measuring instruments one of which served to collect socio-demographic data, two to collect data on the participants’ mental health, one for the data on the participants’ combat and war experiences and one to assess the participants’ well-being. The data obtained suggest that only avoidance and arousal symptoms and psychosomatic difficulties are predictors of the well-being of persons who have experienced war captivit