Higher levels of psychiatric symptomatology reported by health professionals working in medical settings in Greece

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Psychological distress in healthcare workers may vary across different specialties. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in the rate of anxiety and depression between medical and mental healthcare workers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The sample was randomly selected and consisted of 229 workers from the medical health sector and 212 from the mental health sector, aged 39.8 ± 7.9 years old. Health workers from University and General Hospitals from all over Greece participated in the study. The Greek version of the Symptoms Rating Scale For Depression and Anxiety (SRSDA) was used. Statistics were processed with SPSS v. 17.0.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The medical health professionals showed statistically significantly higher scores in all the subscales in comparison with the mental health sector workers, independently of years serving in the department. The rates of a possible psychiatric disorder (score over cutoff points) were significantly elevated on the Beck-21, melancholy and asthenia subscales.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Medical healthcare workers appear to suffer from psychological distress more than their colleagues in the mental sector.</p

Borderline personality disorder and nursing approach

Introduction: Borderline Personality Disorder, is one of the ten Personality Disorders. These Disorders are split into three categories, with the Borderline being part of the second one where elements of dramatization and emotional instability are frequently evident. Purpose: The purpose of the present study is to investigate and highlight the characteristics, the treatment and nursing approach for people with this disorder. Methodology: The study material consisted of articles on the topic found in Greek and international databases such as: PubMed, Cochrane, Hellenic Academic Libraries Association (HEAL-Link), Scopus and PsycINFO, using keywords as: “Borderline Personality Disorder”, “Diagnosis”, “Therapy”, “Treatment”, “Holistic Care”, “Nursing Care”. Results: Bordeline Personality Disorder is characterized as a condition in which a person differs significantly from the average of people, about how he thinks, perceives, feels or relates to others. Treatment for this Disorder does not exist, however medication is used to remission the symptoms. Nurses are part of the treatment team. They’re going to help the patient learn to live with the symptoms of his disorder. As these people are special patients, nurses must learn from their training not to focus on the patient's problem, but on the patient himself. Conclusions: The key characteristics of Borderline are impulsivity and instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image and emotions. As there is no treatment, nurses as members of the treatment team must develop a relationship of trust with the patient in order to be able to help him in his recovery. It is important for nurses to be able to properly approach the person with Borderline Personality Disorder to learn to adapt according to his personalit

Techno-economic and uncertainty analysis of Biomass to Liquid (BTL) systems for transport fuel production

This work examines the technical and economic feasibility of Biomass-To-Liquid (BTL) processes for the manufacture of liquid hydrocarbon fuels. Six BTL systems are modelled and evaluated which are based on pressurised oxygen gasification of woody biomass, and specifically on circulating fluidised bed and entrained flow gasification systems. Three fuel synthesis technologies are considered: Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, methanol conversion followed by Methanol to Gasoline (MTG) and the Topsoe Integrated Gasoline (TIGAS) synthesis. Published modelling studies of BTL systems based on gasification have only used deterministic estimates of fuel production costs to assess economic viability without accounting for uncertainties of their model parameters. Unlike other studies, the present techno-economic assessment examines and quantifies the effect of uncertainty of key parameters on the fuel production costs. The results of this analysis show that there is a realistic chance (8–14%) of concepts based on Fischer-Tropsch synthesis meeting the cost of conventional fuels; that this probability could be increased to 50% with moderate tax incentives (an 8% reduction in the tax rate); but that deterministic estimates may be systematically underestimating likely production costs. The overall energy efficiency and production costs of the BTL designs evaluated range from 37.9% to 47.6% LHV and €17.88–25.41 per GJ of produced fuels, respectively. The BTL concept with the lowest production costs incorporates CFB gasification and FT synthesis. The model deterministic estimates of production costs of this design indicate that a BTL process is not yet competitive with conventional refineries since the biofuel production costs are approximately 8% higher than current market prices. Large scale biofuel production may be possible in the long term through subsidies, crude oil price rises and legislation

A Survey of Personality Trait Perceptions in Leadership Promotions in the Greek Armed Forces

Army personnel perceives character and personality traits as playing an important role in promoting high ranking officers to leaders. Whether the different categories of army personnel perceive the relative importance of such traits similarly is a question of significance for the morale, cohesiveness and efficiency of the armed forces. This paper addresses the documented scarcity of empirical research on such perceptions. The research literature on leadership traits was reviewed with emphasis on the armed and security forces. An online questionnaire was designed and 2702 responses of Greek armed and security forces personnel were collected, including 947 officers, 534 non-commissioned officers, 531 veterans, 81 security forces personnel, and 609 civil personnel. An 86.3% of respondents felt that leadership promotions failed to consider appropriate character and personality traits such as crisis management, integrity, perception, meritocracy, strategic proficiency, bluntness, and impartiality. Cooperation with the political leadership was considered unduly important. Cluster Analysis confirmed by Discriminant Analysis rendered four clusters: politically non-aligned; religious; authority-oriented conformist; and dissatisfied nonconformist. To maintain the morale and cohesiveness of military personnel, it was advised that the promotion to leaders of the armed and security forces be enriched with distilled elements of wisdom from the perceptions of all personnel clusters. Keywords: Leadership, armed forces, personality traits, Cluster Analysis DOI: 10.7176/JRDM/63-04 Publication date:March 31st 202

IMMIGRATION AND MENTAL DISORDERS

Introduction: Immigration is the movement of people into a country where they will remain as its permanent residents or future citizens without having citizenship. Purpose: The purpose of this review study is to highlight the impact of immigration on the mental health of immigrants and to identify the mental disorders from which immigrants are at risk of getting ill. Methodology: The study material consisted of articles on the topic, found in Greek and international databases such as: Google Scholar, Mednet, Pubmed, Medline and the Hellenic Academic Libraries Association (HEAL-Link), using the appropriate keywords: mental illness, immigrants, treatment. Results: It is estimated that two-thirds of refugees - migrants experience anxiety and depression. Studies show that these are populations with severe social problems, unmet needs, and a range of mental health problems such as depression, panic attacks, social phobia, generalized anxiety disorder, suicidal ideation, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Conclusions: Addressing the mental health problems of immigrants and refugees can only be holistic. It requires much more psychosocial interventions and practical solutions, always combined with culturally appropriate psychological support methods

The False Dichotomy between Positive and Negative Affect in Game Play

Most of the time games make us happy, but sometimes they are frustrating or make us feel sad. They allow us to experience pleasure, success and joy, but they can also yield feelings of frustration, failure, or sorrow as a result of darker themes. In games, we can experience the full range of emotions – both positive and negative. The workshop goals are to: 1) Investigate positive affect, negative affect, and the interplay between positive and negative affect as a means to create powerful gaming experiences; 2) Identify gaps in our existing knowledge regarding the full range of emotional experiences in games and their impact on the player and play experience; 3) Determine directions for research to advance knowledge in this space; and, 4) Create a community of people interested in developing games that involve powerful and meaningful player experiences. The organizers will provide the structure, questions, scaffolding of discussions, and workshop materials; whereas the participants will provide ideas through positions papers and discussion

Low-Grade Systemic Inflammation Profile, Unrelated to Homocysteinemia, in Obese Children

To investigate in prepubertal obese children (POC) the profile of chronic low-grade systemic inflammation (CLGSI) and its relation to homocysteinemia, 72 POC were evaluated for serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and amyloid A (SAA) levels, both markers of CLGSI, and plasma levels of total homocysteine (tHcy), an independent risk factor for adult atherosclerosis, in comparison to 42 prepubertal lean children (PLC). The main observations in POC were higher CRP levels compared to PLC, positive association of SAA levels to CRP levels, no association of CRP or SAA levels to tHcy levels. Thus, in POC, positively interrelated to each other, elevated CRP and unaltered SAA levels reveal a unique profile of the CLGSI, not explaining homocysteinemia-induced risk for future atherosclerosis

Alcohol Use and Mental Health Status Among University Students in Greece

Alcohol abuse is a common incident in college student’s communities. The purpose of this research study was to evaluate the rates of alcohol use among university students in Greece and to search if there is a relation between alcohol use disorders and mental health status (depression, anxiety, stress)

Impact of job burnout on mental health among social workers in public and private sector in Greece

Purpose: This study examines the impact of job burnout on the social workers’ mental health in public and private sector. Material and Method: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in which 103 social workers who were working in public (n=56) and private (n=47) sector of the Thessaly region in Greece. Data were collected with a questionnaire including socio-demographic and work-related characteristics, the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). Independent t-test, anova and Pearson coefficient were used in statistical analysis. Results: Emotional exhaustion was positively related to somatic symptoms (r=0.470, p&lt;0.001), anxiety/insomnia (r=0.429, p&lt;0.001), social dysfunction (r=0.365, p&lt;0.001), depression (r=0.252, p=0.010) and overall mental burden (r=0.518, p&lt;0.001) of social workers. Personal achievements were negatively related to somatic symptoms (r=-0.326, p=0.001), anxiety/insomnia (r=-0.266, p=0.007), social dysfunction (r=-0.321, p=0.001), depression (r=-0.444, p&lt;0.001) and overall mental burden (r=-0.444, p&lt;0.001). Also, depersonalization was positively associated with somatic symptoms (r=0.218, p=0.027), anxiety/insomnia (r=0.317, p=0.001) and overall mental burden (r=0.258, p=0.009). Conclusion: All dimensions of burnout had a significant effect on mental health disorders of social workers in labo