Perception of health, health behaviours and the use of prophylactic examinations in postmenopausal women.

BACKGROUND: Pro-health behaviours aim at disease prevention, recovery from an illness and maintenance of good health in a physical, mental and social sphere. The study had two main objectives: (a) to analyse health behaviours of postmenopausal women and their understanding of the notion of health, and (b) to analyse the relationship between individual categories of health behaviours and prophylactic activities undertaken by postmenopausal women. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among a convenience sample of 510 postmenopausal women. Three study instruments were used: an original questionnaire and two instruments designed by Juczynski: the List of Health Criteria and the Health Behaviour Inventory. RESULTS: In the view of the respondents health was primarily synonymous with a feature, because the following three associations were given the highest priority when defining health: to be healthy means 'have all body parts functioning well' (M = 1.82), 'do not experience any physical problems' (M = 1.43) and 'not be sick, only occasionally suffer from flu, cold or indigestion'. The score for health behaviours was average (M = 86.18). The highest score was achieved in the area of prophylactic behaviours. General indicator of health-related behaviours was higher in women who rated their health as very good (p < 0.05). Women whose general indicator of health-related behaviours was higher regularly performed prophylactic gynaecological examinations (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Results showed that women after menopause treat health mainly as a feature of their body and condition specific for this period of life. The analysis of postmenopausal women's health behaviours and their perception of health helped to identify areas that require the focus of medical personnel in regard to health promotion and prophylaxis. The average general indicator of health-related behaviours is positive for this group of women as it shows that they care about their health, especially in terms of prophylaxis.

Stress urinary incontinence after labor and satisfaction with sex life.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to assess the incidence of stress urinary incontinence in women after labor, its determinants,and to establish its effect on women's satisfaction with their sex lives. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research implemented the Gaudenz-Incontinence-Questionnaire and the Sexual Quality ofLife-Female scale (SQoL-F). The principal inclusion criterion was the time of 3 to 6 months after labor. RESULTS: The research was carried out amongst 193 women. Thirty-two of the participants (16.6%) showed symptoms ofstress urinary incontinence after labor that were statistically correlated with the number of experienced labors (p = 0.044)and the newborn's weight (p = 0.016). The participants' sex life satisfaction was on average 75.47 ± 24.68. The respondentssuffering from stress urinary incontinence obtained a significantly lower (p = 0.006) average score for general sex life satisfaction(64.38 ± 26.15) when compared with women without symptoms of stress urinary incontinence (77.67 ± 23.86). CONCLUSIONS: The problem of incontinence after labor affected one in six women. Occupation, number of pregnancies,damage to the perineum during labor, and the infant's birth weight significantly dependent on the incontinence occurrenceafter labor. The onset of incontinence symptoms in women in the reproductive age has an adverse effect on theirsex life satisfaction.

Place of residence and age as variables differentiating health behaviours and perception of health by women past menopause.

INTRODUCTION: Research on the meaning of health and health behaviors is important for the development of health education programmes which should be tailored to the needs of patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to determine whether the place of residence and age have an impact on health behaviours and the perception of health by women past menopause. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A survey method and three research instruments were employed: authors' questionnaire, the Health Behaviour Inventory and the Health Criteria List by Juczynski, and the Kupperman Index. The study was carried out among a sample of 102 women after menopause hospitalised in a hospital in eastern Poland. RESULTS: The overall health behaviour indicator (HBI) in the study group was found to reach an average value of 80.1±12.7points. A higher HBI indicator was found to be characteristic of urban rather than rural residents; however, there was no statistically significant difference (p>0.05). The age of respondents did not differentiate statistically their health behaviours (p>0.05). Women who reported their last menstruation before the age of 50 obtained higher results in the dimension of health practices (HPs) than those whose last menstruation ceased after the age of 50 (p<0.05). The respondents attributed the highest importance to health, understood as a property, a state and a goal. Statistically significant differences were observed in the importance of the statement according to which health is a process of "being able to work without tension and stress", as the respondents from urban areas assigned to it a higher average weight than those from rural areas (p< 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A higher overall HBI, as well as indicators for particular categories, were characteristic of women from urban areas. Age did not significantly differentiate the women's health behaviours. Rural residents were dominant in the group of women who rated their health to be very good or good. The respondents attributed the highest importance to health understood as a property, state and goal.

Evaluation of the health behaviors of women in multiple pregnancies - a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the paper was to assess which health behavior indicators were characteristic for women with a multiple pregnancy. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The study involved 35 women in multiple pregnancies. The inclusion criteria were: the completion of the 22nd week of pregnancy (22 Hbd, i.e., 22 weeks and 1/7) and the consent of the women to participate in the study. We used an original questionnaire devised by us specifically for our study, as well as a standardized research tool, Juczynski's Health Behavior Inventory questionnaire, for the assessment of the pregnant women's health behaviors. RESULTS: The overall rate of health behaviors was high and was on average 93.9 ± 10.8 points (7 sten scores). Indicators of the health behaviors of women in multiple pregnancies were high across all categories. However, the highest rate was observed in preventive behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: The overall rate of health behaviors of women with a multiple pregnancy and all the individual behavior category indicators were high. However, the highest rate was for preventive behaviors. The indicator values of the health behaviors of the pregnant women in the study were not dependent on the variables adopted in this paper.

[The influence of pregnancy on sexual satisfaction among women]. / Wplyw ciazy na odczuwanie satysfakcji seksualnej kobiet.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of study was to investigate if and to what extent pregnancy affects sexual satisfaction of women. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A group of 130 pregnant women were surveyed.Ihe women were seen for check-ups in a randomly chosen out-patient clinic for women over the period of 6 months in 2007. They responded to a questionnaire constructed for the purpose of the survey. RESULTS: More than half respondents (52.3%) presented positive attitude towards sexuality associating sex with pleasure; the rest (40.7%) perceived having sex as dutiful activity to their partners. Negative experience caused by sexual activity was mentioned by 6.9% respondents, having sex was annoying for them. The freguency of sexual contacts was evaluated as too small by 98 (75.3%) and 82 (63.1%) respondents in the first and second tnmesters respectively. Satisfactory intimate relationships before pregnancy were reported by 86.1% women however in the first trimester of pregnancy 68.5% women had highly satisfactory sex with their partners which increased by 17.6% in the second trimester CONCLUSIONS: 1. Pregnancy decreases sexual satisfaction of women during the first Trimester of pregnancy. 2. Decreased satisfaction of having sex during the first trimester of pregnancy results from adaptative processes that are manifested as lowered mood experienced at that time. 3. In the second trimester when the pregnant woman begins to feel better, her satisfaction of having sex improves.

The role of age, environmental and occupational factors on semen density.

UNLABELLED: The problem of effect of the environment on human reproduction has been in the focus of researchers' interest for many years. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between semen density in males with reproduction problems, and their age, living and working conditions. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The study covered 224 males with reproduction problems. The study had a prospective character and was conducted in three stages - the first stage was carried out using the questionnaire devised by the authors; the second and the third stages consisted in the examination and evaluation of male semen density. Statistical analysis was used to search for the relationship between these groups and variables adopted in the study, i.e. age, occupation performed, place of residence, self-reported housing conditions and material standard, reporting by the males in the study of arduousness of work or health hazards perceived by the males examined, and duration of employment in such conditions. RESULTS: The males in the study were divided into three groups according to their semen density. Group I (20 × 10(6) mln/ml or more) included 62 (27.7%) respondents, Group II (below 20 × 10(6) mln/ml) covered 121 males (54.0%), while Group III (only single spermatozoa or none) - 41 males (18.3%). Male semen density are significantly correlated with men's ages and jobs as well as the general evaluations of the jobs held by the men (p<0.05). No significant relationship is observed between living conditions, arduous work conditions and occupational hazards as perceived by males, or duration of employment in such conditions, and male semen density (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained encourage continuation of the studies and cover a larger group of males with reproduction problems.

[Awaiting elective gynecological surgery--opinions of patients]. / Oczekiwanie na planowana operace ginekologiczna w ocenie kobiet.

PURPOSE: To establish if and to what extend women find the time of waiting for an elective gynecological operation difficult, how it is manifested and what the conditioning factors are. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The investigation was carried out in the group of 272 women who during two months of 2008 were admitted to one of the four selected hospitals for an elective gynecological operation. A questionnaire has been designed solely for the purpose of the pilot study 25 women participated in the study. RESULTS: The respondents reported 717 concerns that occurred within the period of waiting for the surgery; the most frequent among them were fear of being diagnosed with cancer (27.6%), postoperative pain (26.7%) postoperative complications (19.1%). More than half of the respondents (58.5%) waited for the surgery for 2-3 months or longer. Every fifth woman complained about problems with being admitted to hospital and every fourth woman expected emotional support from medical staff. 91.2% respondents had searched for additional information about their disease. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Waiting for elective gynecological operation may create a difficult situation for many women what was confirmed by a vast number and nature of their concerns, frequent expectations of emotional support and search for additional information about their disease. 2. Problems with being admitted to a health care institution and long period of waiting for the operation (> 1 month) are quite common and these factors may contribute to further worsening of the quality of patients' life during the preoperative period. 3. Demographic parameters assumed for the purpose of this analysis do not differentiate the parameters tested, with the exception of the place of inhabitance factor that turned out to be associated with the expectations of emotional support. 4. The degree of hospital reference significantly differentiates tested parameters.