Search Results (3)

The aim of the study was to evaluate patients’ satisfaction with the quality of provided services in private primary health care institutions in Kaunas.
Material and Methods. A questionnaire-based inquiry of 280 persons registered to family physicians at primary health care settings was performed. The study was carried out using 20-item anonymous questionnaires with questions about the quality of services provided in primary health care settings.
Results. More than 50.0% of the respondents stated that they waited for more than 15 minutes at the physician’s office, while 17.0% of the respondents stated that the waiting time exceeded 30 minutes. More than 25.0% of the respondents positively evaluated the possibility to consult their family physician by phone. In 67.0% of patients, the family physician determined the cause of the disorder and administered treatment; in 32.0% of patients, the family physician referred them to a specialist, and 1.0% of patients were urgently sent to hospital. More than 90.0% of the respondents were satisfied with the services provided by their family physicians. Those who were dissatisfied with these services indicated that the provided treatment failed to eliminate the disorder, that they wanted to be referred to a specialist, and that they expected more diagnostic tests to be performed for more effective treatment.
Conclusions. A greater part of the patients indicated that the main reason for long waiting at the physician’s office was physicians’ wish to serve too many patients. More than two-thirds (67.0%) of the patients stated that their family physicians determined the cause of the disorder and prescribed treatment. The overwhelming majority (more than 90.0%) of the patients were satisfied with the services provided by their family physicians. Full article

Objective. Employment in human service occupations as nursing is reported to display high risk for mental health, and occupational stress has been found to be one of the major work-related health problems. The objective of the study was to explore the associations between psychosocial job characteristics, social support, and internal resources as determinants of mental health status in a sample of Kaunas district nurses.
Material and methods. A survey was conducted among the nurses of Kaunas district community in 2008–2009. A total of 638 nurses were randomly selected, and 372 filled in the questionnaire (response rate, 58.3%). Mental distress was measured using the Goldberg 12-item General Health Questionnaire and psychosocial job characteristics using the Swedish version of the Karasek Demand-Control questionnaire. Sense of coherence was measured by the three-item version questionnaire. The logistic regression was performed.
Results. Less than one-third (23.0%) of nurses had symptoms of mental distress; 31.9% of nurses had weak sense of coherence. High job demands were associated with mental distress after adjustment for age, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, job control, social support, sense of coherence, family crisis, self-rated health as compared to one year ago (OR=2.15; 95% CI, 1.07–4.30), low job control (OR=1.22; 95% CI, 0.64–2.31), job strain-low social support at work (OR=3.78; 95% CI, 2.08–6.87).
Conclusions. Mental distress among the nurses of Kaunas district was associated with adverse psychosocial job characteristics. Job strain-low social support at work was the strongest risk factor for mental distress among nurses. Strong sense of coherence as personal characteristic served as a buffer, protecting nurses against the development of mental health problems. Full article

The article reviews the recent scientific literature and the authors’ studies on this topic. Occupational conditions and psychological factors have been shown to play an important role in the etiopathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Their effect is often indirect, through damage to the central nervous, respiratory, and neuroendocrine systems. Hot climate in the workplace and intense infrared radiation cause the water and electrolyte imbalance and chronic hyperthermia and manifests as neurovegetative dystonia. The long-term effects of low temperatures condition ischemic lesions in circulatory system, trophic organ destruction. The influence of ultrahigh-frequency electromagnetic radiation on the cardiovascular system is directly related to the central nervous system and neurohumoral lesions. “Microwave disease” often manifests as polymorphic dystonia. Exposure to occupational vibration causes “white finger” syndrome or Raynaud’s phenomenon together with cerebral vascular lesions. Recent studies have confirmed that noise as a chronic stressor causes the imbalance in the central and vegetative nervous systems and changes in homeostasis. Noise increases catecholamine and cholesterol concentration in blood, has an effect on plasma lipoprotein levels, increases heart rate, arterial blood pressure, and risk of myocardial infarction. Psychophysiological changes caused by long-term stress influence constant pathological changes in the central nervous system, endocrine and cardiovascular systems. The long-term effect of psychogenic stressors is very important in the etiopathogenesis of psychosomatic diseases. Full article