Η επιβάρυνση της φροντίδας παιδιού - άτομου με ειδικές ανάγκες

Ο ερχομός ενός παιδιού στη ζωή αποτελεί ένα από τα πιο χαρμόσυνα γεγονότα στη ζωή του ανθρώπου, το οποίο καθορίζει την υπόλοιπη ζωή και τις σχέσεις του. Υπάρχουν όμως περιπτώ σεις στις οποίες η γέννηση ενός παιδιού με νοητική στέρηση και όλες οι επακόλουθες δυσκολίες όπως είναι η εξάρτηση και η ανάγκη φροντίδας, προκαλεί στρες, άγχος, θλίψη και δυσκο¬λία στην αποδοχή της κατάστασης του παιδιού. Η παρούσα εργασία αποτελεί μια ανασκόπηση ερευνητικών μελετών στο θέμα της επιβάρυνσης που προκαλεί η φροντίδα ενός ατόμου με νοητική στέρηση. Θα αναλυθεί η έννοια της φροντίδας, η έννοια της επιβάρυνσης και η επιβάρυνση που προκαλεί η φροντίδα ενός ατόμου με νοητική στέρηση, οι πιθανές αιτίες της επιβάρυνσης, οι παράγοντες οι οποίοι συμβάλλουν στη μείωση της επιβάρυνσης και των επιπτώσεων της φροντίδας στην υγεία των πρωτοβάθμιων φροντιστών όπως είναι οι γονείς και γενικά της οικογένειας, και πως διαμορφώνεται η κατάσταση όταν τα παιδιά αυτά γίνονται ενήλικες

Statistics and society: a study on the burden experienced by caregivers of patients with Alzheimer

The cost of caring for people with Alzheimer-type diseases is enormous. Caregivers experience emotional, physical and financial stress, and their demands are central to decisions on patient institutionalization. We hereby investigate the burden experienced by caregivers of Alzheimer patients in Cyprus. We explore whether burden is related to variables such as patient psychopathology, caregiver gender, income and level of education. Moreover, we examine if there is a significant difference in the level of burden, depression, or reaction to memory and behavior problems when patients live in the community or in institutions and if the level of burden is associated with the use of different coping strategies by caregivers. Various statistical techniques are implemented for the analysis and all the conclusions are discussed. This work was partially funded by the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation

Bis(4,6-diaminopyrimidin-2-yl) disulfide dimethyl sufoxide disolvate

The title compound, C8H10N8S2·2C2H6SO, was obtained unintentionally during an attempt to prepare a thiol-ate derivative of trimethyl-tin. The complete disulfide mol-ecule is generated by twofold rotation symmetry and the C - S - S - C torsion angle around the S - S bond is -85.70 (10)°. The mol-ecules are connected via N - H⋯N hydrogen bonds into strongly corrugated layers parallel to (001), generating an R 2 2(8) motif. The solvent mol-ecule, which exhibits minor disorder of its S atom [site occupancies = 0.9591 (18) and 0.0409 (18)], is linked to this layer via a pair of N - H⋯O inter-actions

Medication adherence, self-efficacy and health literacy among patients with glaucoma: a mixed-methods study protocol

Introduction As the world population ages, glaucoma is becoming an increasingly significant cause of blindness. A key component in the management of glaucoma is the use of prescribed medications and the adherence to treatment. However, there is evidence of low adherence to prescribed medication in chronic diseases, such as glaucoma. This study aims to explore the level of medication adherence, self-efficacy, social support and health literacy among the patients with glaucoma and to determine if there are any correlations between them. The ultimate aim is to use the information to develop an educational programme for patients with glaucoma at a later stage. Methods and analysis This is a mixed-methods study which includes two stages: a descriptive study (stage 1) and focus group discussions (stage 2). Sample: Patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension, using at least one kind of drops, from two ophthalmology clinics. Selected measures include: The Glaucoma Treatment Compliance Assessment Tool, The European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire, The Glaucoma Medication Self-Efficacy Questionnaire and The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Two focus groups will be used for the collection of qualitative data, aiming to enrich the study with the patients' experiences. The data will be analysed with SPSS, using descriptive and inferential statistics for stage 1 whereas content analysis will be used for the data from the focus group discussions (stage 2). Ethics and dissemination Permission to conduct the study was received from the National Bioethics Committee and the board of management of the two ophthalmology clinics. All participants will be informed fully on the purpose and methods of the study. Consent forms will be signed and at any time participants will have the right to withdraw. Confidentiality and the protection of data will be respected at all times

Linking patient satisfaction with nursing care: the case of care rationing -a correlational study

Abstract Background: Implicit rationing of nursing care is the withholding of or failure to carry out all necessary nursing measures due to lack of resources. There is evidence supporting a link between rationing of nursing care, nurses' perceptions of their professional environment, negative patient outcomes, and placing patient safety at risk. The aims of the study were: a) To explore whether patient satisfaction is linked to nurse-reported rationing of nursing care and to nurses' perceptions of their practice environment while adjusting for patient and nurse characteristics. b) To identify the threshold score of rationing by comparing the level of patient satisfaction factors across rationing levels

A pretest-posttest pilot study for the development and preliminary validation of a tool for the clinical assessment of radioiodine induced sialadenitis

Objectives: The clinical assessment of radioiodine-induced sialadenitis is relied on the observer-defined toxicity grading model. However, this model has significant limitations, the major one being the lack of systematic assessment based on objective criteria. The main aim of this study was the development and testing of an assessment tool which could examine the severity of post-irradiation sialadenitis.Methods: The development of the Sialadenitis Assessment Tool proceeded through three phases. The first and second phases included a literature review and the development of the tool which derived from the review, respectively. The third phase involved a pilot testing of the Assessment Tool to a sample of 34 patients undergoing I-131 therapy. The assessment was carried out by two independent healthcare professionals, pre- and post-radioiodine therapy. The results of the assessment tool were compared with other scales, including the DIRIX and EORTC H&N35.Results: According to the Cohen's kappa test, the Sialadenitis Assessment Tool is a reliable tool for the assessment of sialadenitis (Cohen's kappa = 1). The concurrent and internal validity tests showed a tendency of association with most variables (p Conclusion: Preliminary evidence show that Sialadenitis Assessment Tool is a valid and reliable tool to assess radioiodineinduced sialadenitis in patients undergoing I-131 therapy post-thyroidectomy.</p

Developing and Assessing the Effectiveness of a Nurse-Led Home-Based Educational Programme for Managing Breathlessness in Lung Cancer Patients. A Feasibility Study

Introduction:Breathlessness is the most common and refractory symptom in lung cancer patients. Even though various educational programmes have been developed, only a few were intended for implementation in the home setting for its management. Aim:Feasibility of a study for implementing a nurse-led educational programme for breathlessness management of lung cancer patients at home. Method:A randomized feasibility study was undertaken between February 2017 and October 2018. Patients were recruited through referral from oncologists from two oncology centers in Cyprus under certain inclusion and exclusion criteria. Patients were randomized in the intervention or control group via a computer programme, and their named family caregivers (f.c.) were allocated in the same group. Participants were not blinded to group assignment. The intervention consisted of a PowerPoint presentation and implementation of three non-pharmacological interventions. The control group received usual care. Patients were assessed for breathlessness, anxiety, and depression levels, whereas f.c. were assessed for anxiety, depression, and burden levels. F.c. also assessed patients' dyspnea level. The duration of the study process for both the intervention and control group was over a period of 4 weeks. Results:Twenty-four patients and their f.c. (n= 24) were allocated equally in the intervention and control group. Five patients withdrew, and the final sample entered analysis was 19 patients and 19 family caregivers. In the intervention groupn= 11 + 11, and in the control groupn= 8 + 8. In the intervention group patients' breathlessness and anxiety levels showed improvement and their f.c.s in the anxiety and burden levels. Major consideration was the sample size and the recruitment of the patients by the referring oncologists. Attrition was minor during the study process. No harm was recorded by the participants of the study. Conclusions:The study provided evidence of the feasibility of the implementation of the educational programme. For the future definitive study major consideration should be patients' recruitment method in order to achieve adequate sample size. Moreover, qualitative data should be collected in relation to the intervention and the involvement of f.c. The feasibility study was registered to the Cyprus Bioethics Committee with the registration number 2016/16. There was no funding of the study.</div

Virtual Reality and Symptoms Management of Anxiety, Depression, Fatigue, and Pain: A Systematic Review

In recent years, virtual reality (VR) has become an interesting alternative to traditional exposure-based therapies for many symptoms. VR involves immersion in a computer-generated virtual environment that minimizes avoidance and facilitates emotional processing. The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate evidence on the intervention effect of VR on anxiety, depression, fatigue, and pain. The research strategy of this systematic review included three electronic databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, Cochrane Library, and ScienceDirect) based on predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Published quantitative studies from 2000 to 2020 were identified, which examined the effect of VR intervention on four different symptoms related to symptoms experienced by cancer patients. Quality assessments, data extractions, and analysis were completed on all included studies. A total of 882 titles and abstracts were screened, and 23 studies were included in the review. The studies were grouped according to the symptoms: anxiety and depression, fatigue, and pain. The review showed that VR intervention is more effective compared with the control (i.e., standard care) for anxiety, depression, fatigue, and pain. VR can reduce effectively these symptoms in different contexts and diseases, including cancer. The evidence suggests that there is value in exploring this intervention as a potential crossover treatment for these symptoms in patients. This study contributes to evidence that distraction is an effective symptom management mechanism. The findings are congruent with the theoretical framework, supporting the premise that VR, as an emotion-focused distraction intervention, decreases the severity of these symptoms

Exploring Nurses' Perceptions of Medication Error Risk Factors: Findings From a Sequential Qualitative Study

A focus group study was conducted to explore nurses' perceptions of medication administration error associated factors in two medical wards of a tertiary hospital. Nurses were invited to participate in focus group discussions. Thematic analysis was employed and identified four themes: professional practice environment related factors, person-related factors, drug-related factors, and processes and procedures. Staffing, interruptions, system failures, insufficient leadership, and patient acuity were perceived as risk factors for medication errors. The findings of this study complement the findings of an observational study which investigated medication administration errors in the same setting. Although some findings were similar, important risk factors were identified only through focus group discussions with nurses. Nurses' perceptions of factors influencing medication administration errors provide important considerations in addressing factors that contribute to errors and for improving patient safety

Unmet care needs of older people: A scoping review

The aim was to synthesize the findings of empirical research about the unmet nursing care needs of older people, mainly from their point of view, from all settings, focusing on (1) methodological approaches, (2) relevant concepts and terminology and (3) type, nature and ethical issues raised in the investigations. A scoping review after Arksey and O'Malley. Two electronic databases, MEDLINE/PubMed and CINAHL (from earliest to December 2019) were used. Systematic search protocol was developed using several terms for unmet care needs and missed care. Using a three-step retrieval process, peer-reviewed, empirical studies concerning the unmet care needs of older people in care settings, published in English were included. An inductive content analysis was used to analyse the results of the included studies (n = 53). The most frequently used investigation method was the questionnaire survey seeking the opinions of older people, informal caregivers or healthcare professionals. The unmet care needs identified using the World Health Organization classification were categorized as physical, psychosocial and spiritual, and mostly described individuals' experiences, though some discussed unmet care needs at an organizational level. The ethical issues raised related to the clinical prioritization of tasks associated with failing to carry out nursing care activities needed. The unmet care needs highlighted in this review are related to poor patient outcomes. The needs of institutionalized older patients remain under-diagnosed and thus, untreated. Negative care outcomes generate a range of serious practical issues for older people in care institutions, which, in turn, raises ethical issues that need to be addressed. Unmet care needs may lead to marginalization, discrimination and inequality in care and service delivery. Further studies are required about patients' expectations when they are admitted to hospital settings, or training of nurses in terms of understanding the complex needs of older persons