AWARENESS AMONG PATIENTS IN OUTPATIENT CARE IN NORTHEAST BULGARIA

Medical activities to be performed after the patient fully informed about upcoming treatments. He must be aware of the many factors that influence medical treatments and laboratory results. It is important to consult medical professionals for the conditions to be met by the patient before the research. The article is an analysis of the views of patients, laboratory physicians, laboratory and general practitioners for the level of awareness among patients of an impending investigation. The research was conducted in northeastern Bulgaria among 1039 respondents. There is a high degree of awareness among the urban population, unlike poor awareness among patients of smaller settlements.Medical activities to be performed after the patient fully informed about upcoming treatments. He must be aware of the many factors that influence medical treatments and laboratory results. It is important to consult medical professionals for the conditions to be met by the patient before the research. The article is an analysis of the views of patients, laboratory physicians, laboratory and general practitioners for the level of awareness among patients of an impending investigation. The research was conducted in northeastern Bulgaria among 1039 respondents. There is a high degree of awareness among the urban population, unlike poor awareness among patients of smaller settlements

INTERACTIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS OF MEDICAL LABORATORY ASSISTANTS IN TEAMWORK AT UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL „ST. MARINA – VARNA“

The relationship of medical staff raise many important issues in medical practice, which must include not only professional competence but also the implementation of effective professional communication, observation and interaction. Good professional communication in medical practice is achieved through the strict observance of the established rules of medical ethics. Compliance with both the universal and the specific rules for medical professionals to communicate. Creating an atmosphere of trust, support and empathy in the process of working with medical staff from different departments in the hospital environment. The article is an analysis of opinion on the interaction between technicians, nurses and doctors in a hospital environment. The study was conducted among 66 respondents in the University Hospital „St. Marina – Varna“The relationship of medical staff raise many important issues in medical practice, which must include not only professional competence but also the implementation of effective professional communication, observation and interaction. Good professional communication in medical practice is achieved through the strict observance of the established rules of medical ethics. Compliance with both the universal and the specific rules for medical professionals to communicate. Creating an atmosphere of trust, support and empathy in the process of working with medical staff from different departments in the hospital environment. The article is an analysis of opinion on the interaction between technicians, nurses and doctors in a hospital environment. The study was conducted among 66 respondents in the University Hospital „St. Marina – Varna

APPLICATION OF MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS FOR CHRONIC DISEASES - INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND SITUATION IN BULGARIA

Disease management programs (DMPs) are successful in different regions of the world and there are possibilities for their application in Bulgaria. A retrospective approach is used in the analysis of 11 articles, for the period 2002 – 2011. The data shows that the disease management programs improve the coordination between the different participants in the system and ensure comprehensiveness and continuity of the health care and, at the same time, early diagnostics, therapy and rehabilitation.Disease management programs (DMPs) are successful in different regions of the world and there are possibilities for their application in Bulgaria. A retrospective approach is used in the analysis of 11 articles, for the period 2002 – 2011. The data shows that the disease management programs improve the coordination between the different participants in the system and ensure comprehensiveness and continuity of the health care and, at the same time, early diagnostics, therapy and rehabilitation

ANALYSIS OF THE ABORTIONS IN BULGARIA FOR 2014

Every year, in Bulgaria nearly half of the pregnancies end up with an abortion. It is well known that every abortion hides a risk for every woman that had this kind of medical intervention. Also lowers the ability of having another pregnancy, having a healthy carrying and giving a natural childbirth. On other side, abortions are associated with being a significant factor which regulates the demografic features of the population. There is a tendency that most of the Bulgarian women use the abortion like alternative method for contraception. This is due to the fact that since 1956 there isn`t a law that prohibit the performing of abortion by choice of the pregnant woman. For the period from 1967 to 1998, many statistics show that the number of the abortions is significantly higher than the number of the actual childbirths. However, through out the next few years there is a stable tendency of dropping the number of abortions. Overall, in 2014 there is a solid tendency for the decreasing numbers of the abortions in Bulgaria between the period of 2000-2013.Every year, in Bulgaria nearly half of the pregnancies end up with an abortion. It is well known that every abortion hides a risk for every woman that had this kind of medical intervention. Also lowers the ability of having another pregnancy, having a healthy carrying and giving a natural childbirth. On other side, abortions are associated with being a significant factor which regulates the demografic features of the population. There is a tendency that most of the Bulgarian women use the abortion like alternative method for contraception. This is due to the fact that since 1956 there isn`t a law that prohibit the performing of abortion by choice of the pregnant woman. For the period from 1967 to 1998, many statistics show that the number of the abortions is significantly higher than the number of the actual childbirths. However, through out the next few years there is a stable tendency of dropping the number of abortions. Overall, in 2014 there is a solid tendency for the decreasing numbers of the abortions in Bulgaria between the period of 2000-2013

Cross-National Measurement Invariance of the Teacher and Classmate Support Scale

The cross-national measurement invariance of the teacher and classmate support scale was assessed in a study of 23202 Grade 8 and 10 students from Austria, Canada, England, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and Slovenia, participating in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) 2001/2002 study. A multi-group means and covariance analysis supported configural and metric invariance across countries, but not full scalar equivalence. The composite reliability was adequate and highly consistent across countries. In all seven countries, teacher support showed stronger associations with school satisfaction than did classmate support, with the results being highly consistent across countries. The results indicate that the teacher and classmate support scale may be used in cross-cultural studies that focus on relationships between teacher and classmate support and other constructs. However, the lack of scalar equivalence indicates that direct comparison of the levels support across countries might not be warranted

Measuring the positive psychological well-being of people with rheumatoid arthritis: a cross-sectional validation of the subjective vitality scale

Introduction: People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) frequently suffer from compromised physical and psychological health, however, little is known about positive indicators of health, due to a lack of validated outcome measures. This study aims to validate a clinically relevant outcome measure of positive psychological well-being for people with RA. The first study examined the reliability and factorial validity of the Subjective Vitality Scale (SVS), whilst study 2 tested the instruments convergent validity. Methods: In study 1, National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society members (N = 333; M age = 59.82 years SD = 11.00) completed a postal questionnaire. For study 2, participants (N = 106; M age = 56 years, SD = 12 years) were those recruited to a randomized control trial comparing two physical activity interventions who completed a range of health-related questionnaires. Results: The SVS had a high level of internal consistency (α = .93, Rho = .92). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the uni-dimensional factor structure of the questionnaire among RA patients [χ = 1327 (10), CFI = 1.0, SRMSR = .01 and RMSEA = .00 (.00 - .08)]. Support for the scales convergent validity was revealed by significant (p < .05) relationships, in expected directions, with health related quality of life (r = .59), physical function (r = .58), feelings of fatigue (r = −.70), anxiety (r = −.57) and depression (r = −.73). Conclusions: Results from two studies have provided support for the internal consistency, factorial structure and convergent validity of the Subjective Vitality Scale. Researchers and healthcare providers may employ this clinically relevant, freely available and brief assessment with the confidence that it is a valid and reliable measure of positive psychological well-being for RA patients

Determinants of different aspects of everyday outcome in schizophrenia: The roles of negative symptoms, cognition, and functional capacity

Cognition, negative symptoms, and depression are potential predictors of disability in schizophrenia. We present analyses of pooled data from four separate studies (all n>169; total n=821) that assessed differential aspects of disability and their potential determinants. We hypothesized that negative symptoms would predict social outcomes, but not vocational functioning or everyday activities and that cognition and functional capacity would predict vocational functioning and everyday activities but not social outcomes. The samples were rated by clinician informants for their everyday functioning in domains of social and vocational outcomes, and everyday activities, examined with assessments of cognition and functional capacity, rated clinically with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and self-reporting depression. We computed a model that tested the hypotheses described above and compared it to a model that predicted that negative symptoms, depression, cognition, and functional capacity had equivalent influences on all aspects of everyday functioning. The former, specific relationship model fit the data adequately and we subsequently confirmed a similar fit within all four samples. Analyses of the relative goodness of fit suggested that this specific model fit the data better than the more general, equivalent influence predictor model. We suggest that treatments aimed at cognition may not affect social functioning as much as other aspects of disability, a finding consistent with earlier research on the treatment of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, while negative symptoms predicted social functioning. These relationships are central features of schizophrenia and treatment efforts should be aimed accordingly