Assessment of Empathy as a Prerequisite for Holistic Nursing: Psychometric Analysis of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Profession Students for Croatian BSc and MSc Nursing Students.

Purpose: To translate the original Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Profession Students version in a group of nursing students and asses its psychometrical characteristics according to the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments guidelines. Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study. Methods: The study included 345 bachelor's and master's students in the nursing degree program. Construct validity was tested by exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis with varimax rotation. Convergent validity was tested using the Pearson correlation coefficient to test the relationship between empathy and emotional intelligence. The reliability of internal consistency was estimated using Cronbach's alpha. Findings: The final version of the 16-item scale with its three-factor structure has a high reliability with a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.86, and the Pearson correlation coefficient revealed a positive and significant relationship between emotional intelligence and the total score of the empathy scale and the three subscales. Conclusion: The contribution of the study is significant as the instrument is qualitatively validated and its content is clinically and educationally important for understanding the concept of empathy, especially in the education of nursing students. The correct assessment of empathy contributes to a better understanding and implementation of the components of holistic care.

Emotion recognition and social functioning in individuals with autism spectrum condition and intellectual disability.

OBJECTIVE: Most previous studies have examined emotion recognition in autism spectrum condition (ASC) without intellectual disability (ID). However, ASC and ID co-occur to a high degree. The main aims of the study were to examine emotion recognition in individuals with ASC and co-occurring intellectual disability (ASC-ID) as compared to individuals with ID alone, and to investigate the relationship between emotion recognition and social functioning. METHODS: The sample consisted of 30 adult participants with ASC-ID and a comparison group of 29 participants with ID. Emotion recognition was assessed by the facial emotions test, while. social functioning was assessed by the social responsiveness scale-second edition (SRS-2). RESULTS: The accuracy of emotion recognition was significantly lower in individuals with ASC-ID compared to the control group with ID, especially when it came to identifying angry and fearful emotions. Participants with ASC-ID exhibited more pronounced difficulties in social functioning compared to those with ID, and there was a significant negative correlation between emotion recognition and social functioning. However, emotion recognition accounted for only 8% of the variability observed in social functioning. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate severe difficulties in the social-perceptual domain and in everyday social functioning in individuals with ASC-ID.

Social participation and depressive symptoms among older adults during the Covid-19 pandemic in Serbia: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the predictors and level of social participation and depressive symptoms within the context of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigate if the residence and type of housing had a moderating role in the relationship between social participation and depressive symptoms. METHODS: This cross-sectional, comparative, and correlational study was conducted on a sample of 299 participants. Research instruments used in this study included: socio-demographic questionnaire, the Geriatric Depression Scale, the Maastricht Social Participation Profile, and Mini-Mental State Exam. RESULTS: Social participation was found to contribute negatively to symptoms of depression (ß = -0.245, p < .01), with a higher level of depression being found in older adults living in nursing homes (ß = -0.152, p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: The study confirmed a strong relationship between social participation and depressive symptoms in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Persons with Intellectual Disability: Sexual Behaviour, Knowledge and Assertiveness.

BACKGROUND: Persons with ID most often have incomplete, contradictory and imprecise knowledge of sexuality and sexual intercourse itself. They are not provided with sufficient information on their own body and sexuality, and are often discouraged from and sanctioned for trying to sexually express themselves. Sexual abuse due to low sexual assertiveness is also common. AIM: The principal aim of this study was to establish the presence or absence of sexual activity in adults with ID residing in institutional housing, as well as the level and structure of their knowledge of sexuality, their sexual assertiveness and preparedness to react in a sexually dangerous situation. METHODS: The sample consisted of 100 participants with ID residing in institutional housing. The instruments used included the General Sexual Knowledge Questionnaire, What-if test and Hulbert index of sexual assertiveness. Comparative statistics included coefficient of linear correlation and multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: The results showed that 82% of the participants are sexually active. Most participants admitted to sometimes having sexual intercourse against their wishes as well as to having difficulty asserting themselves. Their knowledge of pregnancy, contraception and sexually transmitted diseases was very low. Female participants and those that reported having sexual intercourse had more sexual knowledge and were also more sexually assertive. CONCLUSION: Knowledge of sexuality and sexual assertiveness of persons with ID residing in institutional housing is very low. Additional information on sexuality is necessary, as well as support in learning to express their own desires and to deal with unwanted sexual activity.

Associations of visceral fat thickness and anthropometric measurements with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease development in male patients mono-infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents the most common form of chronic liver disease in mono-infected (without concomitant hepatitis B and/or C virus infection) people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The proper and on time identification of at-risk HIV-positive individuals would be relevant in order to reduce the rate of progression from NAFLD into non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore visceral fat thickness (VFT) and anthropometric measurements associated with the development of NAFLD in patients mono-infected with HIV and on long-standing combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). METHOD: Eighty-eight (n = 88) HIV-positive male patients, average age 39.94 ± 9.91 years, and stable on cART, were included in this prospective study. VFT was measured using ultrasonography. Anthropometric measurements included body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (W/H), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), waist and hip circumference (WC, HC). Differences between variables were determined using the chi-square test. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the Youden index were used to determine optimal cut-off values of VFT and hepatic steatosis. The area under the curve (AUC), 95% confidence intervals, sensitivity and specificity are reported for the complete sample. Significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: Patients with steatosis had significantly higher values of BMI, HC, WC, W/H and WHtR. The VFT was higher in patients with steatosis (p < 0.001). Specifically, VFT values above 31.98 mm and age > 38.5 years correlated with steatosis in HIV-positive patients, namely sensitivity 89%, specificity 72%, AUC 0.84 (95% CI, 0.76-0.93, p < 0.001), with the highest Youden index = 0.61. The sensitivity of the age determinant above this cut-off point was 84%, specificity 73% and AUC 0.83 (95% CI, 0.75-0.92, p < 0.001), with the highest Youden index of 0.57. CONCLUSION: In the absence of more advanced radiographic and histological tools, simple anthropometric measurements and VFT could assist in the early identification of persons at risk of hepatic steatosis in low- and middle-income regions.

Differentiation of Cognitive Deficit Profiles in Multiple Sclerosis Patients: Latent Profile Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether the application of the Audio Recorded Cognitive Screen (ARCS) in cognitive functioning screening of persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) differentiates profiles of existing cognitive deficits (CDs) and whether this instrument can discriminate accurately between subjects who are cognitively intact (CI) and those with a cognitive disorder. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The research was conducted on a sample of 359 subjects, with two subsets of participants: 108 persons with a relapsing-remitting form of MS and 251 persons from the general population. RESULTS: We labeled the three profiles obtained by applying the ARCS questionnaire: the CI profile, the profile of CI with visuospatial difficulties, and the profile of persons with CD. CONCLUSION: ARCS has the ability to differentiate persons with a CD from those without, both in a sample of persons suffering from MS and in a sample of persons from the general population. This finding indicates that this instrument is well suited for profiling the cognitive status into specific categories, which puts it among the instruments with a wide range of implementation.