Cognitive Functioning and Psychological Well-being in Breast Cancer Patients on Endocrine Therapy.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Anti-cancer therapies may deteriorate cognitive functioning, affective functioning and psychological well-being. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective longitudinal pilot study, premenopausal and postmenopausal patients received adjuvant endocrine therapy (ET) (tamoxifen with or without LHRH analog or aromatase inhibitor) or were observed only (control group). At baseline testing and 6, 12 and 24 months thereafter, cognitive, depression and anxiety tests and quality of life (QOL) measurements were performed. RESULTS: Overall, 46 cases were evaluated. None of the studied cognitive parameters differed between the subgroups or changed by time. No differences were found regarding anxiety, depression or QOL measures either. Baseline cognitive test and QOL results were in association with later anxiety and depression. CONCLUSION: No cognitive impairment was found during the two years of ET. Baseline cognitive scores and QOL dimensions proved good predictors of later anxiety and depression.

Discriminating low-, medium- and high-burnout nurses: Role of organisational and patient-related factors.

AIM: To discriminate low/medium/high burnout in nurses by work and patient-related indicators and explore what factors characterize these categories best. METHODS: Cross-sectional, online survey with a representative sample of nurses. Measures assessed burnout, intragroup conflict, job insecurity, overt aggression and impact of patient aggression on nurses. RESULTS: Top nurse managers experienced more burnout than middle managers or staff, middle managers also reported greater burnout than staff. Those who had never suffered aggression experienced greater burnout but less intragroup conflict and job insecurity. Staff differed on job insecurity from top and midlevel managers. The first discriminant function differentiated high burnout from medium and low; this function was characterized by exhaustion, aggression and intragroup conflict. The second function differentiated medium burnout from others; job insecurity, years worked, over aggression and overtime dominated this function. CONCLUSIONS: Burnout affects managers and staff differently; top managers may be more susceptible to burnout than reported before. Low, medium and high burnout groups require tailored interventions because of their different characteristics. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: In the future, burnout assessment should focus on both organisational and care related factors. Determining levels of burnout will guide managers to improve the right aspects of practice and work environment.

[Violence against health care providers and its correlations with sociodemographic and workplace-related factors]. / Az egészségügyi szakdolgozókat ért agresszív cselekmények kapcsolata szociodemográfiai és munkahelyi tényezokkel.

INTRODUCTION: Violence against health care providers is getting more awareness nowadays. This topic is in the focus of international scientific attention also, although in Hungary exact data is lacking. AIM: The present study aimed to assess the correlations between violent acts against health care workers and their effects with different sociodemographic and workplace-related factors. METHOD: A quantitative cross-sectional online survey was conducted enrolling 1201 health care providers. Data were analysed trough chi-square, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests, where appropriate. RESULTS: Verbal and physical aggression was experienced more frequently by nurses who were males, above the age of fifty, working in in-patient care or in 12 hours shifts or constant night shifts. The same groups of health care providers suffered more from the negative emotional consequences of violent acts. CONCLUSIONS: Aggression is a serious problem in the Hungarian health care system, therefore employees have to be prepared for these acts. Orv. Hetil., 2017, 158(6), 229-237.

[Violent acts against health care providers]. / Egészségügyi dolgozók ellen elkövetett agresszív cselekmények.

Violence against health care providers is getting more awareness nowadays. These are usually deliberate actions committed by patients or family members of them resulting in short and long term physical or psychological debilitating harm in the staff members. The causes of the violent acts are usually rooted in patient-related factors, although some characteristics of the professionals and of the workplace may also play some role. The present article presents different definitions of violence and possible reasons for violence against health care providers based on relevant international and national literature. The paper discusses the different forms and frequency of violence, furthermore, details about the effects, consequences and some options for prevention in health care settings are also included. Orv. Hetil., 2016, 157(28), 1105-1109.

Temporal parameters of spontaneous speech in Alzheimer's disease.

This paper reports on four temporal parameters of spontaneous speech in three stages of Alzheimer's disease (mild, moderate, and severe) compared to age-matched normal controls. The analysis of the time course of speech has been shown to be a particularly sensitive neuropsychological method to investigate cognitive processes such as speech planning and production. The following parameters of speech were measured in Hungarian native-speakers with Alzheimer's disease and normal controls: articulation rate, speech tempo, hesitation ratio, and rate of grammatical errors. Results revealed significant differences in most of these speech parameters among the three Alzheimer's disease groups. Additionally, the clearest difference between the normal control group and the mild Alzheimer's disease group involved the hesitation ratio, which was significantly higher in the latter group. This parameter of speech may have diagnostic value for mild-stage Alzheimer's disease and therefore could be a useful aid in medical practice.