Intensification of the phenomenon of violence in the family environment of teenagers.

Childhood and adolescence are the periods of life when the experience of violence accumulates. As socially weaker individuals, children and teenagers are exposed to violence. The factors that increase the risk of child maltreatment include, above all, social and cultural factors and the stress that family suffer from. The literature on this subject distinguishes four categories of child maltreatment, namely: emotional, physical, negligence and sexual abuse. The survey involved 250 representatives of high school teenagers aged 15-20, including 145 girls and 105 boys. The research method was the survey estimating the Scale of Battered Child Syndrome (for teenagers and adults). The results show that a big group of teenagers admitted to having experienced at least one of four kinds of domestic violence. The group is not uniform, however, and the socio-cultural factors that affect the kind and intensification of the phenomenon of violence have been revealed. The most frequent reasons for using violence are: low level of education, unemployment of parents and material status connected with this fact, low frequency of attendance to religious services, alcohol abuse, and place of living. On account of the intensification of the phenomenon of violence in the domestic environment and both direct and distant consequences of the phenomenon in the form of mental and physical disorders of individuals as well as the dangers for the proper development of the society that result from it, there is a need to continue doing research on this phenomenon.

[Satisfaction of need for health services among pensioners with reformed health care]. / Zaspokajanie potrzeb zdrowotnych emerytów i rencistów w zreformowanej opiece zdrowotnej.

The objective of this study was to determine the demand for health services and to assess the level of satisfaction of these needs in the new, reformed health care system with reference to pensioners and old age pensioners. The survey was carried out over the period of 4 months among patients undergoing a cure in the Municipal Sanatorium in Naleczów. The group consisted of people with chronic diseases, among which cardiovascular system diseases were the leading ones. All the respondents were pension services users. The study results show that patients at older age, chronically ill or disabled, limited the realization of their health needs and did not begin proper treatment, due to difficult access to health services and bad financial situation. The changes introduced in the functioning of health system during the reform period did not trigger the improvement of medical care in the population of pensioners.

Increasing level of prostate-specific antigen and prostate cancer risk factors among 193 men examined in screening procedure.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men, therefore has become recently an essential problem of public health. The factors influencing cancer include: androgens metabolism disorders, diabetes mellitus, overweight and obesity, smoking, alcohol and black coffee intake, diet rich in saturated fats and poor in unsaturated, lack of physical activity, geographical zone, race, such carcinogenic substances as: cadmium, materials used in rubber, painting, printing, ship industry etc., contagious factors and also older age and a positive family history of the disease. To diagnose prostate cancer in its early stage such screening procedures as physical examination--digital rectal exam (DRE) and determination of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level in blood serum are used. The aim of the study was to assess prostate cancer risk factors occurrence in the examined 193 men, aged 50-70 years, who reported to urology outpatient department at Clinical Hospital in Lublin, measure the PSA level in blood serum and examine the correlation between them. Respondents filled in a questionnaire about the presence of prostate cancer risk factors and urogenital symptoms. The questionnaire was completed with DRE and PSA measurement. The results led us to the following conclusions: 1/ in the studied population elevated PSA level is determined in 3.1% of 193 examined men, 2/ increased PSA occurs mainly in men from rural areas, with elementary education, divorced, older (>60 years), using fat-rich diet, smokers, black coffee drinkers, with overweight or obesity and non diabetic, 3/ a combination of PSA test with DRE seems to be useful and rather cheap for the detection of prostate cancer in the early stage of its development.

Health behavior among patients with type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus as reported from a regional diabetic outpatient department.

The cost of management of diabetes mellitus in Poland, which has become a very common disease recently, is estimated at over 1 milliard zloty a year. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the effectiveness of prevention and treatment of DM and its complications both by using improved methods and the promotion of positive health behaviours such as physical activity, rational diet, and reduction of harmful ones such as smoking, in diabetic patients. The aim of the study was to assess positive and negative health behaviours and the presence of diabetes mellitus complications in type 1 and 2 DM patients of provincial diabetic outpatient department. The study included 53 DM patients who reported to diabetic outpatient department in Biala Podlaska. The participants filled in a questionnaire consisting of some questions applying to the type of DM and a way of treatment, frequency of plasma glucose measurement, medical check-ups, DM complications, coexistent diseases, family history of DM and health behaviours (physical activity, appropriate diet, smoking etc.). The results allowed to draw the following conclusions: 1. the majority of diabetic patients of the studied population lead a fairly healthy life-style: they are physically active, use a suitable diabetic diet, do not smoke, regularly control weight, plasma glucose concentration and blood pressure, declare systematical ophthalmologist control and they take special care about their feet; 2. type 1 diabetic patients are more careful about DM management than type 2 diabetic subjects.

The influence of unemployment on functioning of the family.

The aim of the study was to determine the impact of unemployment on family welfare. It was conducted between April and June 2002 among 200 unemployed registered at the Regional Employment Bureau in Lublin. The method of choice was a questionnaire. The study results demonstrated that the most direct consequence of unemployment is financial impoverishment. Most participants claimed their income did not allow them to cover the basic needs. Managing a very limited budget, they had to give up buying new clothes, more expensive food and toilet items as well as spending money on cultural and leisure pursuits. They were unable to use paid medical services and to meet household payments deadlines. These consequences were borne not only by the unemployed themselves but also by their families. Those with school children had to cut their expenditures on education and in extreme cases the children were unable to attend junior or senior high school. The results indicate that unemployment had a negative impact on many different spheres of family life and in the long run it has a negative impact on the life of the whole society.

[Frequency of self-monitoring in relation to metabolic control in patients with type I and type II diabetes treated at the diabetic clinic of the Institute of Agricultural Medicine in Lublin]. / Wplyw samokontroli na wyrównanie metaboliczne u pacjentów z cukrzyca typu 1 i typu 2, leczonych w Poradni Diabetologicznej Instytutu Medycyny Wsi w Lublinie.

UNLABELLED: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) on metabolic control measured as glycated hemoglobin in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes treated in diabetic clinic of Institute of Agricultural Medicine in Lublin. The study was conducted from February to April 2002 and it involved 64 patients with diabetes, of whom 24.43% were patients with type 1 diabetes and 70.31% with type 2 diabetes. All patients were requested to complete a questionnaire investigating demographic data, diabetes history, self-monitoring of blood glucose practice. The glycated hemoglobin levels were obtained from medical history. Overall, 48.43% subjects tested their blood glucose levels at home > or = 1 time per day, 29.63% tested their blood glucose levels > or = 1 time per week and 7.81% tested their blood glucose levels < 1 time per week, whereas 14.06% patients never practiced SMBG. CONCLUSIONS: Younger people and those with more education are more likely to practice self-monitoring. The increase in frequency of self-monitoring of blood glucose in patients with type 1 diabetes was associated with better metabolic control. The ability to adjust insulin doses in patients with type 1 diabetes was associated with better metabolic control. No association was found between glycaemic control and the frequency of self-monitoring in patients with type 2 diabetes.

[Health problems of the unemployed--possibilities and forms of solving them]. / Problemy zdrowotne bezrobotnych--mozliwoci i formy ich zaspokajania.

The most painful price to pay for social and economic transformations in our country is high level of unemployment, triggering all kinds of negative consequences. Health consequences that the unemployed as well as their families and the whole society suffer from play an important role in social consequences of unemployment. The aim of the study was to recognize the health problems of jobless people as well as the possibilities and forms of solving these problems. The research was carried out in April 2002 among 200 unemployed people registered in the Regional and District Labour Office in Lublin. The instrument of the research was a survey questionnaire. The results of the research showed that the lack of job and worsening standard of living had a negative influence on the general state of health of the unemployed. Long-lasting unemployment also influenced the deterioration of physical health among the respondents. The most frequent psychosomatic ailments were: headaches, stomachaches, nausea and vomiting, pains in the chest, lack of appetite, sleep disorders. Unemployment also contributed to the occurrence of mental diseases, diseases of the circulatory and digestive systems.

Styles of coping with stress among patients with allergic diseases.

Each man has his own characteristic and individual mode of coping in stress circumstances. The mode constitutes a permanent, personal inclination to a certain form of struggling with difficult situations. A mode of coping is at the same time a set of strategies applied in real confrontation with stress. The objective of the study is an attempt at analyzing the sources and the level of intensity of stress among patients with allergic diseases. The large majority, as many as 88.5% of the respondents claimed that their ability to cope with experienced stress was low or very low. Only 10.6% of the total number of the patients answered that they could cope with stress in this situation.

Social support for patients with allergic diseases.

In recent years special attention has been paid to the issue of social support. So far there has been no special, applied, definition that would explicitly describe what social support is indeed. It results from the fact that the issue of social support has been of interest for numerous disciplines of science that have own fields of research and practical application. These are, among others, psychology, sociology, pedagogy, medicine. The objective of the study is an attempt to analyze the level of social support by people with allergic diseases. The research instrument was a self-structured inquiry sheet consisting of 25 questions and socio-demographic details. The strongest support for the patients was offered by the closest family (84%), followed by friends (51%), further members of the family (28.8%), acquaintances (26%) and institutions (14.4%).

The behaviours of the inhabitants of the Lublin region in the situations of sudden cardiac arrest as reflected in the opinions of the Ambulance Service doctors.

Diseases of blood circulation system constitute the major cause of sudden cardiac arrest and deaths in Poland. Approximately 70% of all the cases of cardiac arrest occurs outside hospitals, frequently at patient's home. In the case of applying immediate resuscitation by the event witness in the situation of sudden cardiac arrest the percentage of the victims' survival is estimated at approximately 43%. Each delay of the initiation of Basic (BLS) and afterwards Advanced Life Support (ALS) lowers the chance of survival. Thus, it is extremely significant to educate Polish society in the area of basic resuscitative actions, particularly due to the fact that laypeople are usually the first ones at the scene of an accident. The aim of the paper was to determine to what extent the inhabitants of the Lublin region are prepared to rescue victims of sudden accidents by means of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and proper response in the situation of the sudden cardiac arrest. As results from the executed survey the inhabitants of the Lublin region in the situation of sudden cardiac arrest mostly do nothing but call an ambulance. The witnesses of the sudden cardiac arrest more frequently apply only rescue breathing or only indirect heart massage rather than rescue breathing and indirect heart massage simultaneously. The competence for applying CPR among the inhabitants of the Lublin region is poor and the resuscitative actions are much more frequently taken up by men. Premedical aid trainings are considered insufficient to prepare witnesses of sudden cardiac arrest for applying first-aid. They should be conducted by doctors, in properly prepared and equipped training centers. The majority of the Ambulance Service doctors in Lublin indicated the demand for reminder premedical aid trainings.

General practitioners' opinions on the intake of painkillers among patients.

The goal of this paper is to evaluate the consumption of painkillers among patients on the basis of the opinions of general practitioners. The most frequent ailments including pain symptoms were the cases of long-continued pain (64.3%); less frequent were acute pain syndromes in the course of a disease (35.7%). The phenomenon of the excessive use of painkillers among patients with long-continued pain syndromes is observed by the GPs. Uncontrolled self-treatment is possible owing to an easy access to this type of medicaments. The excessive use of analgesic medicines in therapy frequently results from the lack of simultaneous application of other methods of pain treatment e.g., in physiotherapy, psychotherapy. Long lasting use of various types of painkillers can lead to drug addiction. This problem is observed by over a half of the GPs (67.1%).

Benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostate cancer and other prostate diseases diagnosed as a result of screening procedure among 1,004 men in the Lublin district.

Urological problems especially connected with prostate diseases appear in older men: prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostate cancer and others. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and the second leading cause of deaths in male population. Therefore, it seems important to early detect prostate cancer in general practice setting due to screening procedures such as digital rectal exam and prostate-specific-antigen test. The aim of the study was to examine the character of diagnoses of a prostate disease among 1,004 men of the Lublin district who reported to a doctor during screening procedure carried out in urology outpatient clinic at Clinical Hospital in Lublin in the year 2000. After physical examination urologists initially diagnosed a prostate disease and sent men suspected to have a prostate cancer to further investigations. There was studied age and place of living. Benign prostate hyperplasia was the most common diagnosis made in 77.1% of subjects. It occurred most often in men aged 51-70 years. Prostate cancer was suspected in 3.5% of subjects. Frequency of benign prostate hyperplasia and prostate cancer suspicion increased with age. On the basis of studies screening procedures seem beneficial in the early detection of prostate cancer in men over 50.

The demand for health education among patients with diabetes.

Education of the sick with diabetes has been a stable element of treatment for plenty of years. However, the system of trainings related to this disease is still not perfect and the knowledge of patients about this subject is insufficient. The objective of the study was to determine the demand for health education among patients with diabetes by means of evaluating the level of their knowledge. The study included 130 people suffering from diabetes at the age from 18 to 96 with the disease duration ranging from one year to above 20 years. The level of patients' knowledge about this disease was examined with the use of the survey questionnaire, especially designed for these reasons. The applied survey consisted of 54 questions of which a substantial part was concerned with general information about people suffering from diabetes. Further sections of the survey explored the knowledge about the nature of the disease, its complications, self-control, lifestyle and contained the questions concerning the sources of the acquired knowledge on this subject, participation in educational meetings and trainings concerning the issue of coping with diabetes as well as self-evaluation of the level of knowledge. The survey shows that 54.6% of the respondents cannot explain the mechanisms of type 1 diabetes, while 39.2% of the patients do not know the nature of type 2 diabetes. None of the patients was able to enumerate all the symptoms of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia or the organs and systems most frequently affected by complications. More than 1/3 of the subjects did not know the proper nutrition rules in diabetes. None of the respondents was able to specify correctly all the control examinations and tests that should be taken at least once a year or once every six months. Only 6.1% of the patients evaluated their knowledge about diabetes at a very good degree, while 53.1% of them defined it as good. They were mostly insulin dependent patients under the care of diabetology clinics. However, as many as 40.8% of the respondents considered their level of knowledge unsatisfactory. The research results showed that the leading source of knowledge about the nature of the disease and ways of coping with it were diabetologists (61.5%), followed by nurses (33.8%) and general practitioners (26.1%). The survey results indicate the need for the increased accessibility and intensity of the educational activities in diabetological health care.

Chlorfenvinphos Dermal Absorption in Rats: Histological and Ultrastructural Changes in the Skin and Internal Organs.

We studied the effect of chlorfenvinphos dermal absorption on the morphological picture of blood, on the histological and fine structure of tail skin, and on the histological structure of internal organs (lungs, heart, liver, spleen, and kidney) of rats. This study was conducted on 25 white Wistar rats, the tail skin of which was-or was not-hydrated before exposure. Rat tails were soaked in 0.5% or 0.05% chlorfenvinphos for 1 hr day for 3 months. Evident tendencies for a decrease in the absolute level of leukocytes and for an increase in the absolute level of erythrocytes in all experimental animals were observed. Histopathological changes in the internal organs were mildly manifested in only a few rats, mainly as liver and pulmonary hyperaemia. Rat tail skin at the direct exposure site showed hyperceratosis, intensive desquamation, and compensatory hyperplasia.