Awareness of diagnosis, and information-seeking behavior of hospitalized cancer patients in Greece

Purpose: The goal of our study was to evaluate the extent of disease-related knowledge and the need for further information of cancer patients in Greece. Materials and methods: We evaluated 203 mentally competent adult cancer patients hospitalized in general and oncological hospitals in the city of Athens and its suburbs. Data were collected by means of semistructured interviews. Patients were evaluated as to whether they had awareness of their diagnosis. Those who did so (n=83) were further questioned about additional disease-related information. Results: The majority of patients (59%) claimed to have no knowledge of their diagnosis. Women (p=0.004) as well as high school and university graduates (p=0.024) showed significantly superior levels of information when compared to men and graduates of elementary schools, respectively. Age was also a factor that influenced the level of the awareness of the diagnosis and the request for additional information: patients who were informed about the diagnosis and patients who asked for more information were significantly younger than their counterparts who ignored the diagnosis (p < 0.001) and those who didn’t ask for further information, respectively (p=0.03). Hospital specialization (oncological versus general, p < 0.001) and department specialization (medical versus surgical, p=0.004) were associated with significantly increased levels of information. The patient’s educational level was associated with increased request for additional information (p=0.006). Most patients with knowledge of their diagnosis requested detailed information about severity of their disease and prognosis. Only 13% of those in the informed group claimed they would have benefited psychologically by having been unaware of their diagnosis. Conclusions: Although Greek patients with diagnoses of malignancies want and need to be adequately informed, the amount of information they receive is inadequate. Over half of those patients evaluated were not aware of their diagnosis. Attitudes of health care professionals, preestablished family beliefs, “mind-set” difficulties, and organizational issues should not become barriers to the patients’ right to be fully informed of their diagnoses and choices of potential therapies

THE INVESTIGATION OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BURDEN OF PATIENTS AFTER HOSPITALIZATION FOR COVID 19

OBJECTIVE: The aim: The current Cross-Sectional study investigated the psychosocial effects on recovered Covid 19 patients in a General Hospital in Greece. It was investigated the impact of Covid 19 on levels of social support, loneliness, resilience & PTSD. Furthermore, the correlation between all the above factors was studied. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: 107 adult patients participated. The questionnaire was fulfilled after signature of consensus form. This happened after their discharge from the hospital, without exclusion of infected on previous time. The questionnaire included 5 particular sections: a) Socio-demographic characteristics, b) social support scale, c) IES Covid 19 scale, d) UCLA scale e) CD-Risc scale. In terms of statistical analysis, the comparison between two groups of quantitative variables was conducted through Student's t-test. Related to examination of relationship between two quantitative variables was used Pearson's correlation coefficient (r). The Statistical analysis package used was SPSS 22. RESULTS: Results: The 55,1% of sample were women, married (57,9 %) and (39,3%) university graduates. Moreover, the rate of overweight was significant (39,3%). Related to psychosocial factors, observed high level of resilience (70,6), moderate level of loneliness (39,1) and 57,9% of participants showed moderate social support. At last, PTSD level as a result of Covid 19 was moderate (33,5). A strong correlation was observed between higher mental resilience and lower feelings of loneliness. CONCLUSION: Conclusions: The levels of determining factors of negative psychological effects, reveal the need for a preparation of political improvement policies in relation to mental health of rehabilitated persons, as well as the promotion of actions that would contribute to the development of a more effective supportive framework

Emotional intelligence and professional boredom among nursing personnel in greece

Occupational (professional) boredom results in low performance at work. It has been positively associated with high levels of anxiety and depression as well as premature death. However, occupational boredom has not been extensively studied among working nurses. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and occupational boredom in nurses working in both public (52.9%) and private (47.1%) health units in Greece. A cross-sectional study was conducted among a convenience sample of 189 nurses (84.7% females) with an average age of 40 years. Emotional intelligence was evaluated with the use of The Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form and Professional boredom was assessed with the use of the Boredom Proneness Scale. The majority of Nurses showed relatively high values of total Emotional Intelligence (EI), and marginally low values of overall Professional Boredom. A statistically significant negative correlation was found between the overall Professional Boredom of Nurses and the Well-being, Self-control, Emotionality and Sociability subscales of EI, as well as total EI (p < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analyses showed that the three dimensions of EI (Well-being, Self-Control and Emotionality) explained 39.0% of the variability of the total Professional Boredom of the working Nurses. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Conflicts management in public sector nursing

We investigated the sources of conflicts in nursing and individual as well as nurse management strategies for conflict resolution, according to certain demographic and work-related characteristics. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a five-part questionnaire, which was administered to 100 nurses. The majority of nurses reported conflict with other professions, usually physicians, and this type of conflict was mostly reported by the more experienced and in managerial positions nurses. The most common style for conflict management was avoidance, followed by collaboration and also in significantly smaller percentages compromise, competition, mediation and accommodation. Age, work experience, education and managerial position significantly affected the strategy of choice for conflict resolution, with younger nurses, with less responsibilities and no previous conflict management education choosing avoidance as their primary strategy. Collaboration was a strategy chosen by the more educated nurses and the supervisor was the most appropriate person for conflict management. The majority of the nurses reported that the management style of choice was problem solving, indicating a more appropriate and integrated management style that often relates to better job satisfaction and work relations. The most effective way in conflict management is improving our understanding and clarifying the parameters that structure the situation in hand. © 2017, © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor &amp; Francis Group

Factors influencing the duration of hospitalization of patients with schizophrenia

Introduction. Severe mental disorders represent an important and large proportion of healthcare resource utilization and are associated with increased hospitalization rates and costs. Given the high percentage of total hospital days and costs associated with caring for people with psychotic disorders, a better understanding of the factors that determine the duration of hospitalization of patients with such disorders is imperative. Purpose. The aim of the present study was to investigate socio-demographic, clinical and psychosocial characteristics of patients with schizophrenia, admitted to a Greek public psychiatric hospital, and the relationship between these characteristics and duration of hospitalization among these patients. Methods. This is a cross-sectional study. The study sample consisted of 103 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (F-20). The collection of data was performed by using the NEO-Five Factor Inventory, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CDRISC25), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, (MSPSS), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Global Assessment of Functioning scale (GAF) for assessing key personality factors, psychological resilience, social support, symptom severity and the severity of the disease, respectively. Descriptive analyses and inferential statistic methods were applied. Correlation between sociodemographic, psychosocial or clinical characteristics with the length of stay were explored. In addition, linear regression analysis was performed in order to examine predicting factors for the duration of hospitalization. All statistical analysis was performed using SPSS v.25. Results. The mean age of the sample was 43.9 (SD = ±11.4) years, 67% of patients were men, and the mean length of hospitalization was 40.7 days. Factors found to be significantly associated with length of stay in the overall sample include the previous admissions (p=0.010), the type of admission (compulsory or voluntary) (p=0.017), bed rest (p=0.043) and duration of bed rest (p=0.002), and the existence of social support networks especially from friends (p=0.018). Conclusions. Our findings indicate that basic psychosocial and clinical factors were associated with the duration of hospital stay. Duration of hospitalization results from a complex interface between characteristics and activities of the health system, patient, and clinician’s influence on discharge timing, which requires additional study. Our findings further warrant the need for policymakers to consider sociodemographic status, psychosocial and clinical factors when allocating resources to hospitals caring for patients with severe mental disorders. © 2022. Medicine and Pharmacy Reports. All Rights Reserved

Οργανωτικοί παράγοντες και επαγγελματικές προσδοκίες ως κύριες αιτίες συγκρούσεων των νοσηλευτών δημόσιου ελληνικού νοσοκομείου

OBJECTIVE To explore the main causes and characteristics of conflict among nurses in public hospitals, and their suggestions for conflict management. METHOD The study population consisted of 100 nurses and nursing assistants in a Greek public hospital in Thessaloniki. A specially designed, reliable questionnaire on conflict in hospitals was completed voluntarily by nursing professionals working in the medical and surgical wards. Statistical analysis, including Chi-square and t-testing, was performed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS), version 19, with statistical significance set at 0.05. RESULTS The response rate was 70%, with the majority of the participants (79%) being female; 77% had a university education, 91% had no postgraduate studies and 63% had no training in conflict management. Regarding their working conditions, 69% considered that their work load was greater than that of other professionals and 73% that their wages were not in accordance with their work load. In addition, 58% reported that their job conditions were far from ideal, and that all of the above factors are important causes of conflict. Most of the participants reported unfair distribution of rewards across the various different professional groups and according to job performance (55% and 64%, respectively). The educational level and work experience appeared to be significant determinants of conflict. Suggestions of the participants as a good approach to conflict resolution included better distinction of roles and responsibilities (21%), followed by early detection of conflict sources (15%), institution of better communication (13%), and a fair approach by management to rewards and benefits (13%). CONCLUSIONS Organizational factors and unmet work expectations of the nurses lead to work-related conflict in the hospital setting. Staff training in conflict management, along with organizational and managerial reform may lead to creative and productive resolution of work conflict among nurses working in hospitals

Depression, anxiety and stress among patients with hematological malignancies and the association with quality of life: A cross-sectional study

Aim. To evaluate psychological distress and quality of life of patients with hematological malignancies, as well as to identify the prognostic factors that aggravate their condition. Methods. A cross-sectional, descriptive study including 87 patients with Hematological Malignancies was conducted. Data were collected with an anonymous questionnaire consisted by A) a sheet with socio-demographic characteristics, B) the Depression, Stress and Stress Scale (DASS21), and C) World Health Organization Life Quality Scale (WHOQOL - BREF30). The processing and statistical analysis of the empirical material of the research were done using the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) 22.0. Results. The results showed that the age of the sample averaged 71.22 years (SD = 8.71). Regarding their marital status, single mothers were 9.2%, married 62.1%. With regard to disease-related features, 28.7% of patients had Hodgkin's Lymphoma, 27.6% Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, 27.6% MDL and 16.1% of patients had myelodysplastic syndrome Multiple myeloma. In the investigation of the relationship between the Mental health Scale and the Quality of Life, negative correlations of Depression, Stress, Stress and the total DAS Scale with all dimensions of Patient Quality of Life were found. Conclusions. Higher levels of psychological distress and poor mental health are associated with a low level of quality of life. © 2020 Universitatea de Medicina si Farmacie Iuliu Hatieganu

Assessment of psychological distress in end stage renal disease: is it spirituality related?

Introduction. Patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) are faced with bearing this burden and report poor mental health. Spirituality can be a key factor in managing these problems among HD patients. Aim. This cross-sectional study aimed at exploring possible factors that are associated with psychological distress among HD patients and testing its relation to spirituality. Methods. HD patients were recruited from six dialysis units in Greece. Psychological distress was assessed using the scale Symptom Check List 90-R and spirituality using the Facit Sp-12 questionnaire. In addition, a special design questionnaire regarding demographic, social, and clinical characteristic was administrated. Results. According to the results, factors such age, gender, marital status and area of residence are associated with psychological distress, while dimensions of spirituality such Meaning in Life and Peace can have a positive influence on psychological distress. Conclusion. This study highlights the vital role of spirituality, which can act as a mechanism for managing stressful situations. In particular, this study highlights the positive effect of the meaning and purpose of life, as well as the role of peace and harmony. © 202

The Effect of Spirituality in Quality of Life of Hemodialysis Patients

This study aimed to assess the effect of spirituality on quality of life of end-stage renal disease patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD). A cross-sectional study was carried out in six HD Units. The sample consisted of 367 patients averaging 61.8 years of age. For the measuring of spirituality and the quality of life, the FACIT-Sp-12 and the Missoula Vitas Quality of Life Index-15, respectively, were completed. Social and demographic data were, also, collected. Spirituality and its dimensions such as Meaning in Life and Peace had a positive effect on Global QoL, Symptoms, Interpersonal and in Well-being. Spirituality can have a positive effect on the QoL of HD patients. Therefore, in the context of the holistic approach of the individual, health systems can include spiritual evaluation and care of HD patients. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC part of Springer Nature