Comparative studies on promotion of health and life style of hospital staff in Sweden and Poland

Introduction. Recently, an increase has been observed in the number of patients suffering from diseases which are the consequence of an anti-health life style; therefore it is necessary to undertake proper actions in this area, including those addressed to hospital staff. Objectives. 1) Comparison of self-reported state of health and life style between hospital staff in Sweden and Poland, and the motivation of these employees to change the to-date life style for one that is more health promoting. 2) Presentation, based on Swedish experiences in the field of health promotion in hospitals, of the possibilities to implement these changes in Polish conditions. Material and method. The study covered the staff from the following hospitals: 1) hospitals in Ostergotland County, Sweden, and 2) the Ludwik Perzyna Regional Polyclinical Hospital in Kalisz, Poland. The studies were conducted in parallel in Sweden and in Poland during the fourth quarter 2010. The research instrument was a questionnaire form. Results. The following measures should be undertaken by the staff of Polish hospitals: an increase in the consumption of fruit and vegetables, physical activity, organization of workshops aimed at the shaping of skills of coping with stress and relieving stress, assistance in reducing body weight and increasing physical activity. Obligatory breaks at work should be introduced for the consumption of meals and intake of beverages, including water, promotion of fluid replacement would reduce fatigue. An obligatory lunchtime would allow each employee to consume a decent meal, and consequently have respite away from one's own work activities. In order to have a well-functioning staff an employer should, in his/her own interest, decrease potential sick absenteeism, provide incentives for motor activity, e.g. by the organization of groups, reduction of weekly working time on behalf of documented physical activity, or financial support for the purchase of tickets for various forms of physical exercises. Promotion of collective exercise, e.g. common nordic walking for 30 min. during lunch, competition in the largest number of steps made. Promotion of healthy nutrition by the preparation of recipes for meals, several exemplary healthy meals in the form of a healthy alternative breakfast. During this event, a basket of fruit is provided, instead of cakes and sweets. Conclusions. 1) The life style of the staff of health care facilities is more health promoting in Sweden than in Poland. 2) It is possible to change the life style of employees of health care facilities into one that is more health promoting. Changes in this area have been made in Sweden with a great success; therefore, it is worthwhile implementing in Poland these Swedish experiences which may function also in Polish conditions. 3) The foundations of health promotion in enterprises have been known for a long time; however, considering the fact that the comparative studies show that these foundations are more advanced in Sweden, it is necessary that Polish employers devote more attention to this problem, and become interested in Swedish experiences in this area

Pro Libris: Lubuskie Pismo Literacko-Kulturalne, nr 3 (2008)

152 s. : il.

European trends in breast cancer mortality, 1980-2017 and predictions to 2025.

Abstract Background Breast cancer mortality in European women has been falling for three decades. We analysed trends in mortality from breast cancer in Europe over the period 1980–2017 and predicted number of deaths and rates to 2025. Methods We extracted death certification data for breast cancer in women for 35 European countries, between 1980 and 2017, from the World Health Organisation database. We computed the age-standardised (world standard population) mortality rates per 100,000 person-years, by country and calendar year. We obtained also predictions for 2025 using a joinpoint regression model and calculated the number of avoided deaths over the period 1994–2025. Results The mortality rate declined from 15.0 in 2012 to 14.4 in 2017 per 100,000 women (−3.9%) for the European Union (EU)-27. This fall was greater in the EU-14 (−5.2%), whereas rates rose in the transitional countries during this period by 1.9%. Mortality rate predictions across Europe are expected to reach relatively uniform levels in 2025. During the studied period, favourable trends in mortality emerged in most countries, with the greatest decrease in Denmark, whereas Poland and Romania showed an upward trend. The largest predicted decrease in breast cancer mortality was estimated for the United Kingdom (12.2/100,000 women in 2025), leading to the estimated avoidance of 150,000 breast cancer deaths over the period 1994–2025 and 470,000 in the EU-27. Conclusions Favourable trends in breast cancer mortality were observed in most European countries, and they will continue to fall in the coming years. Less favourable patterns were still observed among the transitional countries than other European areas

Trends in smoking among secondary school and high school students in Poland, 2009 and 2011

Objectives: To determine the age and the most common circumstances for smoking initiation along with smoking rates and to evaluate smoking trends for secondary and high school students in Poland during 2009 and 2011. Material and Methods: In 2009, a pilot study was conducted in districts of Poland on high school students and their parents. For statistical analysis, correctly completed questionnaires from 999 students and 667 parents were qualified for use. After the pilot study, a nationwide study of secondary school students and their parents was also conducted in 2009. For statistical analysis, correctly completed questionnaires were used from 9360 students and 6951 from their parents. The research tool was a questionnaire developed by the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate. These studies were then compared to the nationwide research study from 2011. Questionnaires were obtained from a survey of 3548 students from secondary schools and 4423 of those from high schools. Results: Smoking initiation usually begins at ages 12–15 years. Rates of secondary school student smoking at least once in their lifetime were about the same level in the surveyed years (2009 – 9%, 2011 – 11%), whereas rates of high school student smoking increased (2009 – 15%, 2011 – 24%). Moreover, 34% of secondary school student smoked less than once a week, whereas in 2009, only 8% of students had done so. For high school students, a 1/2 smoked every day; similar to 2009. Students usually smoked in parks, on streets or any other open space areas. Conclusions: From analyzing the smoking trends over the survey period it can be concluded that the problem of smoking increases with respondent age. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(5):763–77

857-870 Part I -Cannabinoids and Cathinones

Biliński P, Hołownia P, Kapka-Skrzypczak L, Wojtyła A. Designer Drug (DD) abuse in Poland. A review of the psychoactive and toxic properties of substances found during seizures of illegal drug products and resulting legal consequences. Part I -Cannabinoids and Cathinones. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2012; 19(4): 857-870. Abstract Faced with the rapidly growing increase of designer drug abuse, particularly amongst the younger generation, various legislative strategies are currently employed world-wide for tackling this problem -however with mixed results. The key issue is that the producers of DDs are able to either exploit existing legal substances intended for other uses, but which have been found to possess psychoactive properties, or to synthesise new psychoactive substances by introducing chemical modi cations, often very minor ones, thereby avoiding the prohibited use of chemicals included on any banned lists. Some countries opt to ban new drugs as and when shown or considered to be harmful, while others introduce sweeping bans based on chemical structure. Nevertheless, an ever increasing diversity of new DDs are constantly appearing on domestic and Internet markets. Poland, together with the UK and Eire, has placed temporary bans on all DDs whenever they have been identi ed, thus enabling su cient time for assessing their potential hazards to health. Part of this 'holding' strategy entails a thorough review of the scienti c literature, including expert opinion when direct evidence is lacking, as well as information received from EU support organisations Europol and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). This paper, in two parts, therefore aims to provide an up-to-date summary review of available scienti c evidence on the harm caused by the six main chemical groupings of DDs found in drug seizures of illegal products recently made in Poland. The rst part is devoted to Cannabinoids and Cathinones derivatives. Ensuing legislation can therefore be rapidly formulated to make the bans permanent as appropriate

A novel Spatio-temporal principal component analysis based on Geary's contiguity ratio

Multivariate statistics have gained a respectable place in quantitative research, especially in the economic geography, socio-economic development, urban and regional planning and spatio-temporal analysis. The main goal is to reduce multidimensional data to simple, but meaningful representative information. One of the powerful methods in multivariate statistics is Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The aim of this paper is to define a novel Spatio-Temporal Principal Component Analysis (STPCA). It is the first solution that sensibly combines at the same time variability of the values of the observed features, time of observation of the considered features and place of observation. It is therefore a solution for spatio-temporal data and a very valuable tool for practitioners wishing to obtain useful inferences from a PCA. The inclusion of the time and place of observation, in addition to the variability of the values of features, results in more detailed division of the examined objects into homogeneous clusters. Space and time, which interact with each other, are used on equal terms in the construction of the STPCA. The definition of these principal components is based on the product of two factors. The first factor is equal to the variance of the functional principal components, and the second factor is Geary's contiguity ratio C. The proposed new method of Spatio-Temporal Principal Components was used to show the mutual location of 16 Polish regions characterized by 12 socio-economic features observed in the years 2002–2018 in the system of the first two principal components and to identify homogeneous clusters of these regions in the system of all 15 constructed principal components.</p

Monitoring risk behaviour in adolescent pupils regarding consumption of psychoactive substances

Introduction Taking psychoactive substances constitutes a significant problem for Public Health, particularly in preventing drug abuse and addiction. Objectives To estimate the amount and incidence of drug consumption in middle and high school pupils, including the circumstances in which drug taking first started, and to determine pupils’ knowledge about the consequences of taking psychoactive substances and designer drugs (DDs). Material and Methods A randomised study was conducted throughout Poland on 9,360 pupils attending middle school (junior high school) in 2009 and 7,971 pupils from middle and high school pupils in 2011. The survey consisted of a questionnaire devised by the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate (GIS) and the replies obtained were subject to the relevant statistical analyses. Results Drug taking was found to have increased between 2009–2011, especially among those attending high school; proportionally rising from 4% – 11%. The numbers who had ever taken designer drugs were 3% for middle school pupils and 4% from high school. Conclusions 1) Adolescent drug consumption has increased, particularly in those of older age and in boys. 2) Despite the only brief interval for which designer drugs were legal, they have gained high popularity among the young. 3) Adolescents have insufficient knowledge about the dangers of using DDs. 4) Faced with the growing threat of a dynamic designer drug market, appropriate counter-measures in education and prevention are therefore necessary