Factors conditioning pain control and reduction in post-cesarean section parturients: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Pain experienced by women in the perinatal period constitutes a complex and multifaceted phenomenon. The aim of the study was to assess conditions of pain locus of control and pain reduction in post-cesarean section parturients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional quantitative study with convenience sampling was performed among 175 hospitalized post-cesarean section women in hospitals in Eastern Poland in accordance with the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement. A self-design questionnaire regarding general information and obstetrics/gynaecology medical interview, The Pain Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ) and The Beliefs about Pain Control Questionnaire (BPCQ) were used. The inclusion criteria were as follows (1) age of ⩾18 years old; (2) cesarean section (CS); (3) period from the 13th hour to the end of the 72nd hour after the procedure; and (4) informed consent. The data was analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics. RESULTS: Internal locus of control (M = 14.02) was provided the highest value by the parturients and followed by chance events (M = 12.61) and doctors' power (M = 12.18). Dominant coping with pain strategies in the post-cesarean parturients were coping self-statements (M = 19.06), praying or hoping (M = 18.86). The parturients assessed their pain coping (M = 3.31) strategies along with pain reduction (M = 3.35) at the moderate level. Higher pain control was correlated with cognitive pain coping strategies (ß = 0.305; t = 4.632; p < 0.001), internal pain control ß = 0.191; t = 2.894; p = 0.004), cesarean section planning (ß = -0.240; t = -3.496; p = 0.001) and past medical history of CS (ß = 0.240; t = 3.481; p = 0.001). The skill of reduction of pain was positively associated with cognitive pain coping strategies (ß = 0.266; t = 3.665; p < 0.001) and being in subsequent pregnancy (ß = 0.147; t = 2.022; p = 0.045). Catastrophizing and hoping were related to lower competences of coping with pain (B = - 0.033, SE = 0.012, ß = - 0.206, T = -2.861). CONCLUSIONS: The study allowed for identification and better comprehension of factors conditioning pain control and pain reduction in parturients after the cesarean section. Furthermore, a stronger belief that pain can be dealt with is found in the parturients characterized by cognitive pain coping strategies and internal pain locus of control. The skill of reduction of pain is related to cognitive coping strategy and procreation status.

The relationship between socio-demographic factors and depression: a cross sectional study among civilian participants in hostilities in Ukraine.

There is still a gap in scientific knowledge in relation to civilian participants in hostilities. This is despite the fact that there is an extensive body of literature on major depressive disorder (MDD) in individuals who have experienced armed conflict. The purpose of this article is to identify socio-demographic factors which are related to levels of depression among civilian participants in the war in Ukraine, based on a cross-sectional study that was conducted in 2019 from a convenience sample of 314 Ukrainian adults (235 males). Depression was assessed via the Beck Depression Inventory. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify possible predictors of depression. Significant predictors were: loss of a loved one, place of residence, age, health insurance, financial situation, and marital status (F (6, 224) = 10.515, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.21; Adjusted R2 = 0.19). They also show that symptoms of depression resulting from the loss of a loved one due to war can be reduced through participation in an educational system. Having children is associated with a risk of more severe depression. Specialists are encouraged to engage in face-to-face interviews and to maintain a supportive and safe environment for participants in hostilities, e.g., in the area of education.

Turning to religion as a mediator of the relationship between hopelessness and job satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic among individuals representing the uniformed services or working in professions of public trust in Poland.

INTRODUCTION: During the COVID-19 pandemic individuals performing uniformed service or working in a profession of public trust were particularly exposed to chronic stress. The exposure to stress contributes to a decrease in quality of life across various domains, including professional performance. The perceived mental difficulties can lead to a feeling of hopelessness which, in turn can generate a decrease in job satisfaction. Religiosity is a factor which, in stress-inducing conditions, not only stops the spiral of perceived resource losses but also triggers gains in the resources possessed. AIM: The aim of the study was to assess the preference for positive religious coping strategies, namely turning to religion as a mediator for the relationship between perceived hopelessness and job satisfaction in the individuals declaring religiosity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis has been performed based on the Conservation of Resources theory (COR). METHODS: The study encompassed 238 individuals representing the uniformed services or working in professions of public trust in Poland. The Inventory for Measuring Coping with Stress (MINI-COPE) and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) were used in the research. RESULTS: The mediating role of turning to religion in relationship between perceived hopelessness and job satisfaction was confirmed only in the group of women. The relationship found in this group indicates that perceived hopelessness is alleviated by turning to religion, which simultaneously leads to an increase in job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The obtained results prove that counselling should be standard practice after potentially traumatic events in the workplace; moreover, emotional and/or instrumental support should be offered along with spiritual one.

Psychometric Properties of the Polish Version of the FACIT-Sp-12: Assessing Spiritual Well-Being Among Patients with Chronic Diseases.

BACKGROUND Spirituality plays a crucial role in enhancing quality of life. The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp) scale is a reliable tool to assess an individual's spiritual well-being, specifically in the context of chronic illness. Although the instrument is widely used worldwide, it has not yet been validated for Polish conditions. The aim of this study was to translate and investigate the reliability and validity of the Polish version of the FACIT-Sp-12 and examine whether it is associated with measures of religiosity and religious practice. MATERIAL AND METHODS The self-administered FACIT-Sp questionnaire, containing 12 spiritual well-being items, was translated into the Polish language, following the FACIT multilingual translation methodology. A group of 355 patients with chronic diseases were enrolled. Validation analysis was conducted. The reliability of the scale and subscales was evaluated with internal consistency coefficients. RESULTS A confirmatory factor analysis corroborated a 3-factor model (Meaning, Peace, and Faith) of the FACIT-Sp-12 Polish version, which showed moderate internal consistency. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.614 for the overall scale, 0.657 for the Meaning subscale, 0.873 for the Peace subscale, and 0.855 for the Faith subscale. The mean score was 29.46 (SD=6.69) for the overall spiritual well-being scale. Total scores of the FACIT-Sp-12 were strongly correlated with the Polish version of the Duke University Religion Index. CONCLUSIONS The psychometric properties of the Polish version of the FACIT-Sp-12 were satisfactory, and the scale can be used in Poland for assessing the spiritual well-being of patients with chronic illness.

Factors Determining the Quality of Life of Polish Women during Menopause Based on the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to present the process of cultural adaptation to Polish conditions and the validation of a scale assessing the quality of life of Polish women during the menopause and to identify the factors determining this quality of life. METHODS: The research tools were the menopause-specific quality of life (MENQOL) questionnaire and a standardized interview questionnaire comprising questions on the participants' characteristics. The study involved 516 women using health care services who had symptoms caused by the menopause. RESULTS: The value of the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.923. The discriminative power coefficients of all the questionnaire items were higher than 0.3. The study confirmed the validity and internal consistency of the Polish version of the MENQOL questionnaire for measuring the quality of life of postmenopausal women, suggesting that the tool can be used for screening menopausal symptoms in women. There was a relationship between general quality of life and age (p = 0.002), marital status (p < 0.001), education (p = 0.021), the impact of professional work (p < 0.001), the impact of physical activity (p < 0.001) and the impact of social life (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In the group of women who took part in the study, the authors observed a lower quality of life during menopause reported by older women who were married/in a stable relationship, with no formal education (no formal education) and who, according to their subjective assessment, negatively evaluated the impact of the accompanying menopause-related symptoms on their work, physical activity and social life.

PTSD as a Moderator of the Relationship Between the Distribution of Personal Resources and Spiritual Change Among Participants of Hostilities in Ukraine.

The theory of conservation of resources (COR) can be used to search for mechanisms that explain spiritual changes caused by trauma. The present study aimed to verify whether PTSD could be a potential moderator between the distribution of personal resources and spiritual changes. The study included a total of 324 adults (75 women and 243 men) aged 18-74. The mean age was 34.3 (SD = 9.9). The Polish adaptation of Hobfoll's Conservation of Resources-Evaluation (COR-E), the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Checklist-Civilian Version and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory were employed in the research. This study analyzed the spiritual change, which is one of the five domains of posttraumatic growth. The outcomes indicated the significant role of PTSD as a moderator of the relationships between 1) personal resources gain and spiritual change and 2) personal resources loss and spiritual change. PTSD is not a moderator in the relationship between assigning value to personal resources and spiritual change.

Hospital ethical climate survey - selected psychometric properties of the scale and results among polish nurses and midwives.

BACKGROUND: The hospital ethical climate affects the quality of nursing care. A positive ethical climate is likely to reduce the proportion of those who consider leaving the profession, so it is necessary to develop tools which will enable assessment and analysis of the hospital ethical climate. The aim of this study was to examine selected psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Hospital Ethical Climate Survey, assess the hospital ethical climate perceived by nurses and midwives from Polish hospitals, and to determine its correlations with job-related variables. METHODS: A cross-sectional study among 558 nurses and midwives working in hospitals in Poland. RESULTS: The 21-item model showed acceptable model fitness between the hypothetical model of ethical climate and the data in the study. Five items with low factor loadings were removed from the study. The internal consistency was satisfactory (0.93). The mean score for the overall hospital ethical climate was 3.62. The highest mean score of hospital ethical climate in the present study was found in the "peers" subscale and the lowest in the "physicians" subscale. A positive correlation was found between overall hospital ethical climate and respondents' satisfaction with work, salary, and working time. The hospital ethical climate was associated with problems found in nurses and midwives' work, such as: limited time for direct face-to-face care, the lack of equipment and resources to provide high-quality health care, strained relations with hospital managers and other health care professionals, limitations to one's own competences or those of other medical professionals, moral dilemmas related to patient care, the low prestige of nurses'/midwives' work, physical and mental burden, and the risk of making a mistake. CONCLUSION: The Polish 21-item version of the Hospital Ethical Climate Survey is a reliable tool. Correlations revealed that relationships with managers and physicians, and working conditions should be improved in order for the hospital ethical climate to improve.

The Mediating Role of Dispositional Optimism in the Relationship between Health Locus of Control and Self-Efficacy in Pregnant Women at Risk of Preterm Delivery.

Difficult situations during pregnancy, such as threatened preterm labor, trigger negative experiences in women. The levels of stress experienced and the way individuals cope with it depend on their personal resources, such as optimism, internal health locus of control, and self-efficacy, among other factors. The purpose of this paper was to determine the role of dispositional optimism in the relationship between health locus of control and self-efficacy in pregnant women with threatened preterm labor. Dispositional optimism plays the role of mediator in relationships between: (1) internal health control and self-efficacy; and (2) impact of random events on one's health and self-efficacy. Dispositional optimism does not mediate the relationship between the perceived impact of others on one's health and self-efficacy. For women with a high-risk pregnancy, dispositional optimism is a significant resource for coping with the problems they encounter. It changes the direction (from negative to positive) of the association between experiencing the impact of external factors (random events) on one's health and perceived self-efficacy. It prevents the cycle of loss caused by the interpretation of random events as having an impact on one's health, and acts as a mediator to initiate a cycle of gains that leads to greater perceived self-efficacy. Optimistic pregnant women maintain a positive outlook, even when confronted with difficult, negative experiences such as threatened preterm labor.

The level of spiritual care competence of Polish nurses and the psychometric properties of the spiritual care competence scale (SCCS).

BACKGROUND: Providing effective spiritual nursing care requires development of professional competence which, when regularly evaluated, allows one to direct undergraduate and postgraduate nursing education in order to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes of nurses in the scope of spiritual care. AIM: The aim of this study was to analyse the level of spiritual competence of professionally active nurses in Poland and, additionally, to analyse the psychometric properties of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale (SCCS). METHODS: A cross-sectional study among Polish nurses (n = 343) was performed in accordance with the STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology guidelines. RESULTS: An exploratory factor analysis identified five factors with 27 items explaining a total variance of 64.75%. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the subscales ranged from 0.70 for 'Attitude toward the patient's spirituality' to 0.92 for 'Professionalisation and improving the quality of spiritual care'. Nurses reported a high level of spiritual competence (104.39 points) with better results in 'Attitude toward the patient's spirituality' and 'Communication, personal support and patient counselling' than in the 'Assessment and implementation of spiritual care', 'Professionalisation and improving the quality of spiritual care', and 'Referral, consultation and spiritual care'. Significant correlation was found between nurses' age, job seniority and spiritual competence, and between religiosity and spiritual competence. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed satisfactory psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale, confirming its potential to measure the level of spiritual competence of nurses, both in education and research processes. SCCS-PL revealed five-factor structure with good internal consistency. The findings highlight the importance of providing professional education in respect of spiritual nursing care, especially in its practical dimension regarding skills development in which nurses obtained lower scores.

Relationship between Socio-Demographic Factors and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Cross Sectional Study among Civilian Participants' Hostilities in Ukraine.

BACKGROUND: Even though there is an extensive body of literature on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in individuals who have experienced armed conflict, there are still many grey areas, especially in relation to civilian participants in hostilities. This article evaluates how socio-demographic factors and the interactions between them have influenced PTSD among civilians involved in the recent war in Ukraine. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included a convenience sample of 314 adults, 74 women, and 235 men. The mean age was 34.08 years. We used the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C). RESULTS: Our findings show that predictors of posttraumatic stress are loss of a loved one, place of residence, gender, continuation of education, and health insurance. We demonstrated that PTSD produced by the loss of a loved one as a result of war is determined by participation in the education system, whatever the level of education. The literature emphasises the importance of social support, e.g., from the family. We demonstrated that having children is associated with a risk of more severe PTSD, causing serious mental strain among participants of hostilities. We discovered that material security lowers PTSD, but only among people who have no children. CONCLUSIONS: PTSD is the result of not only the violence and damage caused by war but also of other stressful circumstances associated with the social and financial conditions of life. Further research needs to focus on identifying modifiable risk factors and protective factors that could be embraced by intervention strategies. Our findings can inform the goals behind therapeutic support for civilian participants of hostilities, and implications for social work. Social work professionals are encouraged to engage in direct questioning and to maintain a supportive and safe environment for participants in hostilities, e.g., in the area of education. Trauma-affected people need to be given opportunities to build up their strengths and increase their psychological resources towards well-being. Social security (health insurance, savings, material security) should be taken into account when working with people affected by PTSD.

Translation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the International Questionnaire to Measure the Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (I-CAM-Q) for the Polish and Cross-Sectional Study.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) encompasses a broad set of health care practices that are not part of a country's traditional or conventional medicine and are not fully integrated into the prevailing health care system. The aim of this study is the linguistic and cross-cultural adaptation of the Polish version of the International Questionnaire to Measure Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (I-CAM-Q) and the assessment of the occurrence and factors related to CAM among patients in Poland. A methodological model of translation and cross-cultural adaptation of research tools according to Beaton et al. with a Delphi-Technique was used for the linguistic and cultural adaptation of the Polish version of I-CAM-Q. The Delphi consensus was achieved in the scale assessment between the experts in two rounds (with a score of above 80% of expert agreement). Data was collected using an online survey within 38 thematically different groups on Facebook, among 524 participants. Over half (59.7%, n = 313) of the respondents used the services of at least one CAM practitioner. On the other hand, 50.8% (n = 266) of the respondents declared using physician's advice. The use of herbs and plant products was reported by 84.7% (n = 444), and vitamins and minerals by 88.4% (n = 463) of respondents. The most commonly used self-help practices among the respondents were relaxation techniques (49.6%), praying for one's health (43.3%) and meditation (41.2%). The consensual methodology of validating the Polish version of the I-CAM-Q scale allowed for creation of a conceptually and linguistically equivalent tool with the original international instrument. A high frequency of CAM use was found among the respondents. Therefore, strategies should be implemented to improve patient-physician communication on the use of CAM in Poland.

Social support and subjective assessment of psychophysical condition, health, and satisfaction with quality of life among women after pregnancy loss.

BACKGROUND: The task of modern medicine is not just to heal, but also to improve the patient's well-being and achieve non-medical goals in the therapy process that enable effective physical, mental and social functioning of the patient. Social support in difficult situations mobilizes an individual's strength and resources to cope with problems. Research on social support and women's condition after pregnancy loss reflects a holistic approach to the patient and is important from the perspective of increasing the level of hospital care. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to assess the impact of social support on the psychophysical condition, health, and satisfaction with quality of life among women after miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was carried out in a group of 500 patients after miscarriage and 110 with ectopic pregnancy, hospitalized in hospitals in Lublin (Poland). The study was conducted with the use of a diagnostic survey, comprising the Berlin Social Support Scales (BSSS) and an original survey questionnaire (psychophysical condition, satisfaction with health and quality of life on a scale of 1-4, sources of support on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the poorest rating). RESULTS: Respondents after miscarriage and those after ectopic pregnancy assigned the highest scores to the degree of perceived available instrumental support (respectively, miscarriage: M = 3.79, EP: M = 3.77). Women after pregnancy loss assigned the highest score to the support obtained from their partner (respectively, miscarriage: M = 9.26, EP: M = 9.23). Social support was significantly correlated with the condition of patients hospitalized as a result of pregnancy loss (p < 0.05). The assessment of psychophysical condition, health, and QoL of the respondents is determined by their education, financial standing, and obstetric history (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Women hospitalized due to miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy assigned high scores to the level of perceived available instrumental, emotional, and actually received social support. There is a positive relationship between social support and subjective opinion about psychophysical condition, health and satisfaction with quality of life among women after pregnancy loss. The assessment is determined by sociodemographic factors and the respondents' obstetric history.

Relationship between psychological capital and quality of life among seniors working after retirement: The mediating role of hope of success.

INTRODUCTION: As a result of the increasing average human life expectancy and the related population growth in many countries, research on factors increasing seniors' quality of life is becoming particularly important. An event critical for seniors' functioning is retirement. A concept reflecting the dynamics of seniors' personality associated with the changes taking place in their life situation is psychological capital. This concept was identified as a factor that is constituted by four personality variables changing because of experiences: self-efficacy, optimism, psychological resilience, and hope of success. An interesting issue is the relationship between psychological capital and quality of life in seniors working after retirement. AIM: The aim of this paper was to analyze the relationship between psychological capital (self-efficacy, dispositional optimism, psychological resilience) and quality of life in seniors working after retirement, as well as the mediating role of hope of success in this relationship. METHODS: A total of 304 seniors-103 women and 201 men-participated in the study. The mean age was 65.24. The Quality-of-Life Scale (CASP-19), the Polish adaptation of Life Orientation Test (LOT-R), the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), the Hope of Success Questionnaire (KNS), and polish adaptation of the Resilience Assessment Scale (SPP-25) were employed in the research. A mediation model was applied to explore the pathway from psychological capital via hope of success to quality of life. RESULTS: The tested components of psychological capital correlate positively with working senior citizens' quality of life. The mediating role of hope of success between psychological capital and quality of life was confirmed. The study presented three mechanisms in which hope of success strengthens the relationships between the components of psychological capital and working senior citizens' quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: The mediating role of hope of success between the remaining components of psychological capital and quality of life confirms pattern posited in the COR theory, namely, that increasing one resource leads to the activation of others, which results in a spiral of personal resources being generated. One the one hand, people who have greater resources have a greater capacity for generating spirals of gains. One the other hand, individuals who lack personal resources are both more exposed to losing them and less capable of starting a spiral of gains in resources.

The Polish Version of the Nursing Delirium Screening Scale (NuDESC PL)-Experience of Using in Nursing Practice in Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit.

INTRODUCTION: Delirium is a common complication of patients hospitalized in Intensive care units (ICU). The risk of delirium is estimated at approximately 80% in intensive care units. In the case of cardiac surgery ICU, the risk of delirium increases due to the type of procedures performed with the use of extracorporeal circulation. The aim of this study was to provide an official translation and evaluation of Nursing Delirium Screening Scale (NuDESC) into Polish. The NuDESC scale is a scale used by nurses around the world to detect delirium at an early stage in treatment. METHODS: The method used in the study was the NuDESC tool, which was translated into Polish. The study was conducted by Cardiac ICU nurses during day shift (at 8 a.m.), night shift (at 8 p.m.) and in other situations where the patients showed delirium-like symptoms. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were observed between the first and second day in the studied group of patients in the case of illusions/hallucinations. Delirium occurred more frequently during the night, but statistical significance was demonstrated for both daytime and nighttime shifts. It was not demonstrated in relation to the NuDESC scale in the case of insomnia disorders. The diagnosis of delirium and disorientation was the most common diagnosis observed in patients on the first day of their stay in the ICU, followed by problems with communication. Delirium occurred on the first day, mainly at night. On the second day, delirium was much less frequent during the night; the biggest problem was disorientation and problems with communication. CONCLUSION: This study contributed to the development of the Polish version of the scale (NuDESC PL) which is now used as the Polish screening tool for delirium detection. The availability of an easy-to-use nurse-based delirium instrument is a prerequisite for widespread implementation.

The Risk of Self-medication among Students from Urban and Rural Areas.

Objectives: We assessed the influence of the risk of self-medication on health locus of control and the experienced symptoms - physical, psychological, and spiritual in a group of students from urban and rural regions. Methods: This cross-sectional study included a convenience sample of 200 students from urban (N=100) and rural (N=100) areas. We used 3 research tools: Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC); List of Noo-Psychosomatic Symptoms (LS-NPS); and Self-medication Risk Questionnaire (SMRQ). Results: We found a statistically significant difference between rural and urban residents in the area of the influence of chance (CHLC) on the control of health (p < .05). The correlations between the general assessment of the risk of self-medication and two health locus of control factors were statistically significant (p < .05). A greater tendency to undertake the risk of self-medication is connected to living in the city and prescribing importance in the control of one's health to others or chance. Conclusions: Predictors of the assessment of the risk of self-medication were 2 measures of health locus of control, ie, influence of others and chance and the residence of students.

Religiosity and Attitudes towards Health, Disease, Death and the Use of Stimulants among Jehovah's Witnesses.

Religiosity is considered as one of the many factors shaping an individual's health consciousness. The aim of the study is an analysis of the correlation between the religiosity of Jehovah's Witnesses and their attitudes towards health and disease. A cross-sectional study was performed on the convenience sample of 171 Jehovah's Witnesses from eastern Poland with the use of two research tools: the author's questionnaire, focusing on attitudes towards health, disease, death and the use of stimulants, and the Duke University Religion Index (DUREL). The research involved 99 females (57.9%) and 72 males (42.1%), with an average age of 37.25 (SD = 12.59) years. On average, they have been a Jehovah's Witness for 29.21 (SD = 13.22) years and are characterised by a high ratio of organisational religious activity (ORA) (M = 5.60; SD = 0.62) and intrinsic religiosity (IR) (M = 4.81; SD = 0.37). Those who had never smoked before becoming one of Jehovah's Witnesses had a higher IR (Z = -2.822; p = 0.005), similarly to those respondents who smoked cigarettes before they became Jehovah's Witnesses (Z = -2.977; p = 0.003) and those who did not abuse alcohol before they became Jehovah's Witnesses (Z= -1.974; p = 0.048). Jehovah's Witnesses are a group characterised by a high degree of consistency when it comes to religiosity, attitudes regarding health and disease and health behaviours. This means that they follow the teachings of their religion with regard to health issues. Knowledge about the association between religiosity and health behaviours is important to provide effective health education, health promotion and development of health prevention policy, specifically when dealing with more religious groups of clients.

Social support as a moderator between the perception of the disease and stress level in lung cancer patients.

INTRODUCTION: Many studies attempt to explain the relationship between living in highly industrialized societies and the development of various diseases among people. Nowadays, the incidence of lung cancer is increasing worldwide. This is a highly stressful situation, both psychologically and physically. The study investigates the variable of social support and its moderating role between stress level and the perception of the disease among patients diagnosed with lung cancer. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to verify the hypothesis that there is a correlation between the subjective appraisal of one's disease and the level of stress, as well as the hypothesis that social support is a moderator between the perception of the disease and stress level in patients diagnosed with lung cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study involved 97 respondents diagnosed with lung cancer - 50 men and 47 women. The following methods were used for the study: the Disease-Related Appraisals Scale, the Disease-Related Social Support Scale, and the Perceived Stress Scale. Socio-demographic data were also collected. RESULTS: The results show that informational support may increase the level of perceived stress in lung cancer patients. It can be concluded that social support fulfils its moderating function in forming a stress response to cancer. A statistically significant moderating effect was observed of social support on the relationship between the appraisal of one's disease as harmful and the stress level. CONCLUSIONS: The research findings demonstrate that social support plays a substantial role. It is important to diagnose the individual specific needs of lung cancer patients concerning the support they need.

Nurses' spiritual attitudes and involvement-Validation of the Polish version of the Spiritual Attitude and Involvement List.

BACKGROUND: Spirituality is vital in the holistic approach to nursing care. The personal spirituality of nurses has been documented to have an impact on the spiritual nursing care they provide. AIM: To validate the Polish version of the Spiritual Attitude and Involvement List (SAIL) among nurses and to describe spiritual attitudes and involvement of nurses as measured with the tool. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, validation study was performed according to the STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology guidelines. METHODS: Study involving 163 nurses, with the use of four tools: (a) the SAIL; (b) the Self-Description Questionnaire; (c) the Scale of Spiritual Transcendence; and (d) the Brief Religious Coping questionnaire. RESULTS: The Explanatory Factor Analysis identified six factors and 25 items were retained explaining a total variance of 67.96%. In the Confirmative Factor Analysis, acceptable index fit values were obtained. Correlations were found between SAIL and the Brief Religious Coping questionnaire, the Self-Description Questionnaire, and the Spiritual Transcendence Scale. Nurses reported the highest scores on 'Meaningfulness' (= 4.95 out of 6.0, Standard Deviation [SD] 0.56) and the lowest on the 'Transcendent Experiences' factor (= 3.21 out of 6.0, SD 0.93). A strong correlation was found between 'Spiritual Activities' and the religious involvement of nurses (r = 0.506), and between 'Connectedness with nature' and the nurses' age and work experience (r = 0.315 and r = 0.321, respectively). CONCLUSION: The Polish version of SAIL shows acceptable psychometric properties and construct validity. With the validation of SAIL, future studies can be undertaken with the aim of measuring the personal spirituality of nurses in various settings (hospital vs. community), cultures, and countries, thus increasing the opportunity to compare findings. Moreover, more studies should be performed in order to assess whether there is any connection between personal spirituality and the spiritual nursing care provided to patients.

The Level of Health Literacy of Seniors Living in Eastern Region of Poland. Preliminary Study.

Health literacy (HL) is recognised as an important, modifiable factor in the self-management and health performance of elderly people. The aim of this preliminary study was to identify and analyse the level of health literacy among the elderly living in one of the eastern regions in Poland. The cross-sectional study was conducted among a convenience sample of 200 seniors aged 65+ after cognitive pre-screening with the use of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale. To collect data, the Polish version of the HLS-EU-Q47 was used. More than half of the elderly surveyed presented problematic levels of general HL (GEN-HL), and also problematic levels of other dimensions: health care health literacy (HC-HL), disease prevention health literacy (DP-HL), and health promotion health literacy (HP-HL). The level of seniors' HL is dependent on the level of their education, place of living, participation in activities run by Daily Center for the Elderly, and their self-assessment of health condition (p < 0.05). These results imply the important message that there is a need to create initiatives and programs improving health literacy targeted at seniors living in rural areas, those with lower levels of education, and those with poor access to activities organised by institutions supporting seniors.

Lifestyle Practices, Satisfaction with Life and the Level of Perceived Stress of Polish and Foreign Medical Students Studying in Poland.

The adaptation of foreign students to a new country can be complicated due to different cultural values, language barriers and the way university courses are structured. The aim of the study was to analyze the lifestyle practices, satisfaction with life and the level of perceived stress of Polish and foreign students studying various medical disciplines in Poland with regard to chosen sociodemographic characteristics. The study included 231 foreign and 213 Polish students (n = 444) taking different medical disciplines at the medical university in eastern Poland. Three research tools were used: Fantastic Lifestyle Questionnaire (FLQ), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Additionally, students' sociodemographic data was collected. Two-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed and correlations between variables were also examined. Our research indicated that Polish students obtained higher results in FLQ than foreign students. It also demonstrated a significantly higher level of stress among Polish students in comparison to foreign students. The self-assessment of their health condition, lifestyle, and rank associated to being healthy correlated with FLQ, SWLS and PSS-10. The present research can aid the development of support programs for foreign students so that the cultural adaptation processes would more positively influence their lifestyle and an education environment.