Diabetic patients’ compliance to the recommended treatment: A qualitative study in Greece

Aims: This study aims at investigating which factors are related to the diabetic patients’ compliance to their hygiene,dietary and pharmaceutical treatment, which are able to influence the disease’ progress.Methodology: The sample consisted of 15 diabetic patients recruited at a private doctor’s office in a suburb of Athens,Greece. Data collection was done using participant-completed diaries, in which they described their perceptions.Qualitative analysis was performed. A list of categories and subclasses was created which were grouped and became the essentialcategories included in the final list. Then the diaries were re-read, but this time alongside the final list. In this way the degree towhich the categories covered the diaries’ content was checked, and adjustments were made when necessary.Results: Passivity, un-readiness, weakness to accept the disease, ignorance about the illness and its complications, poordoctor-patient relations, insufficient family supporting environment, insufficient variety of tasty foods, chronicexhaustion, and complexity of illness are shown to be detrimental for the patients’ progress. Health education can helpdiabetic patients address issues such as diet or exercise, and to recommend a healthy dietary programme whichregulates glucose levels and avoids complications

Growth, Physiological and Biochemical Responses of two Greek Cotton Cultivars to Salt Stress and their Impact as Selection Indices for Salt Tolerance

Soil salinity is a major constrain of crop productivity. Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is an important fiber crop worldwide and a major agricultural product in Greece. Two commercial cotton cultivars (‘Hersi’ and ‘ST 318’) were studied to compare their response under non-saline and saline conditions in a greenhouse experiment. Salt stress on plants was imposed by two different approaches: a gradual and an initial acclimatization to a non-lethal NaCl concentration (150 mM). To explore salt stress responses, growth (height of plants, roots, shoots and leaves dry weight, reproductive shoots, Salinity Sensitivity Index), gas exchange (Photosynthetic rate, Stomatal conductance, Transpiration rate and Water Use Efficiency) and biochemical parameters (proline, H2O2 and MDA content), were examined as well as ion homeostasis. ‘Hersi’ had significantly higher dry weight of roots, shoots and leaves, lower salinity sensitivity index of roots compared to ‘ST 318’.  In this regard, it appears that ‘Hersi’ cultivar performed better than ‘ST 318’ to increased salinity conditions, due to better control of gas exchange parameters and K+/Na+ homeostasis as well as better membrane integrity. Furthermore, the gradual acclimatization to the 150 mM NaCl concentration had a milder effect on both cultivars compared to the initial acclimatization

Physical therapists’ perceptions about patients with incomplete post-traumatic paraplegia adherence to recommended home exercises: a qualitative study

Background: The overall purpose of physical therapy for patients with spinal cord injury is to improve health-related quality of life. However, poor adherence is a problem in physical therapy and may have negative impact on outcomes.Objectives: To explore the physical therapists’ perspectives about patients with incomplete post-traumatic paraplegia adherence to recommended home exercises.Methods: A qualitative content analysis was conducted. Data were collected in a convenience sample using semi-structured interviews. Thirteen registered physical therapists in Athens area participated in the study.Results: Five categories emerged from the data: (1) reasons to recommend home exercise by the physical therapist; (2) obstacles to recommend home exercise by the physical therapist; (3) methods addressing these obstacles; (4) the family's role in the adherence to recommended home exercise; and (5) the impact of financial crisis in adherence to recommended home exercise. All participants found the recommended home exercises essential to rehabilitation and health maintenance, and they value their benefits. They also expressed the obstacles that need to be faced during rehabilitation process in order to promote adherence.Conclusion: Physical therapists should take into account the different obstacles that may prevent patients with incomplete post-traumatic paraplegia adherence to recommended home exercises. These involve the patients and their families, while, financial crisis has also an impact in adherence. In order to overcome these obstacles and increase adherence, communication with patient and family while taking into account the individual's needs, capacities, and resources are essential.</p

O R I G I N A L P A P E R New mothers&apos; perceptions regarding maternity care services provided in a prefecture of Northern Greece

Abstract Background: The use of health care services during pregnancy assists in decreasing neonatal deaths and improves the quality of life of pregnant women and their newborn children. Aim: To investigate the perceptions of new mothers in a prefecture of Northern Greece regarding the maternity services provided during pregnancy and childbirth. Methodology: The sample consists of 133 mothers of newborn babies who were hospitalised, after in-hospital delivery, between April and June 2008 in a prefecture of Northern Greece. The instrument used for the data collection was the Kuopio Instrument for Mothers (KIM). Results: 97% of participants were married, 42.2% had higher education and 23.3% were full-time employees. 42.9% of the mothers were primiparous and 57.1% were multiparous. 56.8% had vaginal delivery, while 42.9% had caesarean section. 84.2% of the participants stated that they would prefer to have their next delivery in a private maternity clinic, and 3% stated that they would prefer to give birth at home. 15.3% had participated in childbirth preparatory courses. Finally, the participants considered that maternity services, such as pregnancy monitoring, preventative examinations for foetal abnormalities, PAP-test and preventative examinations for breast cancer, should be provided by the state free of charge. Conclusions: It is necessary to further develop and modernize maternity services in such a way that they will correspond to pregnant women&apos;s needs

In-hospital informal caregivers' needs as perceived by themselves and by the nursing staff in Northern Greece: A descriptive study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Informal care is common in many countries, especially in Greece, where families provide care in hospitals. Health education and informational needs are important factors for family members which are often underestimated by nursing staff. The aim of this study was to compare the perceptions of the nurses and the in-hospital informal caregivers about the in-hospital informal caregivers' knowledge and informational needs, as well as the factors that influence these perceptions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a non-experimental descriptive study conducted in three general hospitals in Greece. The sample consisted of 320 nurses and 370 in-hospital informal caregivers who completed questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using t-tests; group comparisons were conducted using ANOVA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The score of the questionnaire for health education and informational needs was significantly greater for informal caregivers (57.1 ± 6.9 and 26.6 ± 2.8) than for nurses (53.4 ± 5.7 and 22.4 ± 3.1) (p < 0.001). For the nursing staff, the factors that influence the informational needs of patients' caregivers were <it>level of education </it>and <it>working experience</it>, while for the caregivers the <it>level of education </it>was independently associated with the score for the health education needs. Finally, <it>age, marital status</it>, and <it>level of education </it>of informal caregivers' were independently associated with informational needs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The in-hospital informal caregivers perceived that they have more educational and informational needs than the nurses did. The findings of this study also show that the nursing staff has to identify the needs of in-hospital informal caregivers in order to be able to meet these needs.</p

The experience of brace treatment in children/adolescents with scoliosis

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic scoliosis is a chronic illness with several different braces used for its treatment. Brace treatment during childhood/adolescence can produce stress. There are studies supporting that it can decrease body-image perception while other studies support that it has no such effect. The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of brace treatment in children/adolescents with scoliosis. The aim was to investigate which feelings are created by the bracing experience in children/adolescents with scoliosis and what are the children/adolescents' with scoliosis opinions of the support provided to them by health-care professionals and by their families. METHODS: We conducted interviews with the help of a semi-structured interview guide in order to address the topic of the experience of brace treatment. A convenient sample of twelve children and adolescents with scoliosis was selected from patients attending follow-up appointments at the Outpatient Scoliosis Clinics of two Greek hospitals. The data was analysed using the method of content analysis. RESULTS: Patients in the sample were 10–16 years old and they were mainly females (71%). Almost all of the participants reported having to deal with stress, denial, fear, anger, and shame. They were satisfied with the information they received regarding their condition and therapy. However, the information was not accompanied by support from the health care professionals. They reported that they were receiving support mainly from their families, friends, and classmates. CONCLUSION: The present study is contributing to the development of a better understanding of significant issues related to the experience of bracing therapy. It is clear that scoliosis children/adolescents have to be provided with support during the long period of bracing. It is apparent that those children/adolescents have unmet needs for care and health professionals and policy makers should try to find a way to address those needs

Η οικονομική κρίση μέσα από τα σχέδια και τον λόγο των παιδιών

Εξαιτίας των διαστάσεων που έχει λάβει τα τελευταία χρόνια το φαινόμενο της οικονομικής κρίσης στην Ελλάδα, πολλές έρευνες έχουν στραφεί προς τη διερεύνηση των επιπτώσεών της στην προσαρμογή και ψυχική υγεία των παιδιών. Ελάχιστες έρευνες όμως έχουν εξετάσει τις αναπαραστάσεις των παιδιών για την οικονομική κρίση. Στόχος της παρούσας έρευνας ήταν η μελέτη των αντιλήψεων των παιδιών που βρίσκονται στην ύστερη παιδική ηλικία για την οικονομική κρίση. Το δείγμα αποτέλεσαν 120 μαθητές της Ε’ και Στ’ τάξης δημόσιων δημοτικών σχολείων της ευρύτερης περιοχής των Αθηνών. Διεξήχθησαν ημι-δομημένες συνεντεύξεις με τα παιδιά, στις οποίες κλήθηκαν να εκθέσουν τις αντιλήψεις τους για την οικονομική κρίση, κατόπιν τους ζητήθηκε να αναπαραστήσουν μέσω σχεδίου την οικονομική κρίση και, τέλος, κλήθηκαν να απαντήσουν σε ερωτήσεις σχετικά με το περιεχόμενο του σχεδίου. Τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας, κατόπιν της θεματικής ανάλυσης των σχεδίων και του λόγου των παιδιών, έδειξαν τις εξής βασικές θεματικές που εμφανίζονται στις αναπαραστάσεις των παιδιών για την οικονομική κρίση: 1. αρνητικά συναισθήματα, 2. ένδεια, 3. επιπτώσεις της οικονομικής κρίσης στις κοινωνικές και διαπροσωπικές σχέσεις, 4. ρόλος των διαφόρων εξουσιών και κοινωνικός αναβρασμός και 5. η οικονομική κρίση ως ρωγμή στην ιστορία των ανθρώπων. Τα αποτελέσματα συζητούνται με αναφορά στα αναπτυξιακά χαρακτηριστικά της ύστερης παιδικής ηλικίας και στα πλαίσια της ελληνικής και διεθνούς βιβλιογραφίας για τις αναπαραστάσεις των παιδιών σχετικά με την οικονομική κρίση.In the context of the financial crisis taking place in Greece during the last few years, there is a growing research interest for the investigation of the consequences of the crisis on children’s adjustment and mental health. However, very few studies have focused on children’s representations of the financial crisis. Therefore, the aim of this research was to examine, through qualitative methodology, the representations of the financial crisis during late childhood. The sample consisted of 120 fifth- and sixth-grade students from public primary schools located in the broader area of Athens. In semi-structured interviews, children were asked to define the financial crisis and to represent it through their drawings as well as to answer questions on the content of these drawings. Thematic analysis of the children’s drawings and discourse indicated the following categories of representations: 1. negative emotions, 2. poverty, 3. impact of financial crisis on social and interpersonal relations, 4. the role of various authorities and social turmoil, and 5. the crisis as a rupture in human history. Results are discussed with reference to the specific developmental characteristics of this age period and in the framework of the research literature on children’s representations of the financial crisis