Rostrum of Asclepius Vol 8, No. 3 (2009): July - September 2009

The partner violence, and primarily the one that is perpetrated against pregnant women, constitutes in our days a recognized social problem and a field of study for the health professionals. In Greece the factors that lead to the partner violence have not enjoyed systematic investigation contrary to other countries. Aim: The aim of study is to offer governing lines to the health professionals that work in obstetrical and maternity departments, with reference to the ways of detection of violence against pregnant women and the support of these. Method: the literature search was performed on MEDLINE and CINAHL (1990-2008) databases. Conclusions: The literature search leads to the conclusion that it is important the women of high risk to experience partner violence to be detected by the health professionals in the obstetrical and maternal clinics. Various supporting measures have to be developed for the new mothers, and information to be provided with regard to the violence and its repercussions to the family. The women-victims of partner violence must be supported so they can express their experiences and the violence can be faced in an initial stage. The victims need to be informed and referred to social-supporting services where they could accept the right support. Finally the investigation of partner violence comes to underlie the work of maternal health professionals with a proportional questionnaire incorporated in the health history questionnaire. The studies show that a lot of incidents of violence could be eliminated if the health professionals had received special education and systematically asked the women for experiences of violent episodes.

Keywords: detection of partner violence, health professionals, obstetrical and maternal departments, violence against pregnant women

Introduction: The significance of applying a full-inoculation program from health-care professionals leads to a substantial decrease in the morbidity rate of infectious diseases between patients and employees. The immunization guidelines of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for health-care professionals should most certainly be taken into consideration, in an attempt to develop and implement an inoculation protocol in all health services. Aim: The aim of the current study was to check and confirm the inoculation rates of health-care professionals at the General Hospital of Korinthos. Method: The current study is a descriptive, cohort study of correlation. The participants of the study were 213 health-care professionals in the General Hospital of Korinth. The data capturing were collected using an anonymous questionnaire, which was provided for the purpose of the present study, on the basis of the bibliographic references and the inoculation recommendations, of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The statystical analysis was conducted using the statystical program SPSS 13. The self-coherence reliability of the study was tested on the coefficient alfa (Cronbach’s a), which was equal to 0,71. Results: The participants who finally answered the questionnaire were 78 doctors and 42 nurses. Only 1,7% of all the participants mentioned that they had not been vaccinated against any of the five vaccines which are recommended by the ACIP, whereas 20,8% of them had been fully vaccinated. The vaccines with the higher frequency rate among health-care professionals’ inoculation, were Tetanus 60%, Hepatitis B 55,8% and Hepatitis A 15,7%. Men report that they have been vaccinated more frequently than women, with a higher difference of statistical significance concerning the tetanus inoculation. Moreover, doctors report that they are more often vaccinated, especially against Hepatitis B and Tetanus, than the nursing stuff. Conclusions: According to our findings there is a poor protection of the health-care professionals, as far as inoculation is concerned. The continuous training and broadening of the knowledge spectrum of all health-care professionals, will most certainly lead to a more systematic inoculation, aiming at the reduction of the infectious disease rate between doctors / nursing stuff and in-patients.

Keywords: health professionals’ inoculation, vaccines, immunization

In the last 50-60 years, has been observed a significant decrease in human fertility which affects 10% of couples. Although infertility is often attributed to female cause, a male factor is solely responsible in about 20% of infertile couples and contributing in another 40-50% of cases. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the causes of infertility to men at reproductive age. Material – method: The sample study included 106 infertility married men that seeked medical help in a Centre for Reproductive Health. Data were collected by the completion of a specially designed questionnaire for the needs of the research which included both demographic data and questions about the causes of infertility. Results: From the 106 men οf the studied population, 56,6% were men 30-39 years old, 27,4% 40-49 years old,9,4% 50 and above years old and the 6,6% 20-29 years old. The results revealed that oligospermia was the first cause of infertility in approximately 19,8% of men, and the second cause was astenozoospermia in 17,0% of men. «Unexplained infertility» was responsible for another 10,4 % of cases, varicocele was identified in approximately 4,7% of cases and azoospermia was identified in the 3,8% of infertile men. Conclusions: The main causes of men infertility were oligospermia, astenozoospermia unexplained infertility, varicocele and azoospermia. It is important, an educational – informing strategy towards men population to be adopted, which will improve knowledge about the causes of an impaired male fecundity and will significantly contribute to the solution of the problem.

Keywords: infertility, men at reproductive age, etiologies, semen quality

The factors that determine the work conditions are the qualitative situation of buildings, the equipment, the material and technical infrastructure of working places. Purpose: The purpose of the present study was the investigation of Nursing Personnel’s working conditions regarding staffing, facilities, material and technical infrastructure as well as the investigation of the way that working conditions influence Nursing Personnel. Subject and method: The study population was nurses and nurse assistants). Data were collected with a specially designed, by the research team, questionnaire. Results: 56.4% of the sample (n=193) characterized the qualitative status of the buildings from very bad to bad. 78.7% (n=269) considered that their working place did not allocate the means and materials, 92.1 % (n=315) stated that they are not enough employed in order to cover the patients’ nursing needs. They also had the perception that they were forced to work without the essential staff, resources and equipment (92.7%, n=317). Nursing Personnel under the present conditions was compelled to make choices opposite to its professional judgment (60.2%, n=206) and to daily exceed all human bearing (94.4%, n=323). It was also unable to correspond to social (85.4%, n=292) and family (88.9%, n=304) obligations due to working conditions. Finally, problems at work often preoccupied them at their home (73.1%, n=250). Conclusions: The results showed the very difficult working conditions of nursing personnel in Greece, due to bad quality of buildings, insufficient equipment and understaffing.

Keywords: working conditions, building structure, ratio nurse/patient, quality

People with chronic diseases, deal with permanent changes in their everyday life. At the same time these patients appear to have different pathological behavior and personality disturbances as a result of the disorders of their biological functions. AIM: The aim of this study is the examination of the psychological behavior of patients with chronic renal failure who submit themselves to recurrent heamodialysis (CRH). MATERIAL-METHODS: The research was based on the completion of a questionnaire which has been used on foreigners and Greek patients who complained about chronic diseases. This questionnaire guarantees the highest reliability of all so that it will be possible to specify the negative influence of their disease upon the different sides of their life. Emphasis should be given on the fact that the personality questionnaire of Eysenck has been intensively evaluated on the Greek population as very trustworthy for secure conclusions. It included 84 questions in four different disorders (psychotism, neurotism, ex/introversion and check inversion for inaccuracies). The questionnaire has been proved very useful for the evaluation of the influence of the different interventions upon the quality of life of patients under heamodialysis. It appeared also that it was more reliable in comparison with the Sickness Impact Profile and with a test, which was about the exercise under stress conditions. RESULTS: It has been discovered that all the three scales of control of the personality disturbances have systematically been influenced according to the control group of 138 persons from different age and sex groups. Furthermore, it has been found that the men patients under the CRH were in lower region of the scale of neurotism while women patients appeared to be lower in the scale of psychotism. The T-test shows that there is no important statistic difference between the two sexes according to the quality of their job. There is also no important difference statistically between the educational level and the range of the disorder of psychotism, neurotism and introversion. Moreover, there is no important impact of the medical institution, which has been identified statistically from the variability analysis of the personality disturbance of patients with chronic renal failure under the CRH programs. In addition, those patients who visit the institutions have the same rate of psychotism and neurotism. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, this study reveals that the patients of chronic renal failure who ended up in CRH groups, showed the tense to develop neurotism, indecision and other serious psychological problems which affect negatively their personality.

Keywords: Chronic renal failure, chronic periodic haemodialysis, personality disorders with chronic heamodialysis

Aim: The purpose of this study was the meditation of stressful and depressive disorders and their relation to the halding of daily routine to patients with diabetes melitus type II. Material and method: 310 patients with diabetes mellitus type II took part in the study during programmed glucose control in Diabetological centers of Attica. Data have been collected with a form which concludes the questionnaire Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results: The sample has been comprised by 174(56%) women and 136(44%) men with middle age the 61, 7 years. The participants that esteem ¨too hard¨ until ¨impacticable¨ the arrangement of everyday life two to five higher stress level and 1,5 to 5 higher depression level, in relation to those that regard as easy the problems arrangement (p<0.001). The summary of people with thoughts or attempts of suicide reached 13%, whereas the 23% of the sample states that they’re not happy. The arrangement of everyday problems seems to be hard as for men (14%) just like as women (37, 9%). Conclusions: Anxiety and depression are strongly connected with the non satisfactory arrangement of routine problems, the selfdestencive behavior and the andelightment.

Keywords: Mood disorders, anxiety, depression, arrangement of routine problems, diabetes mellitus