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Introduction Healthcare workers in anesthesiology departments often experience burnout syndrome, which may be combined with anxiety and depression. Aim The study aimed to assess the levels of burnout among nurses and physicians working in anesthesiology departments in public hospitals in Attica and to investigate a possible correlation between burnout, anxiety, and depression. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted on physicians and nurses working in anesthesiology departments in public hospitals in Attica, Greece. A questionnaire was distributed electronically using the snowball sampling method, including questions about demographic characteristics, burnout, anxiety, and depression. Results Physicians and nurses in anesthesiology departments were found to have moderate levels of burnout, and normal/low levels of anxiety and depression. More specifically, it was found that 2% of physicians and 14.4% of nurses had extremely elevated levels of burnout. On the other hand, 6.1% of physicians and 23.7% of nurses had high anxiety, while 6.1% of physicians and 15.5% of nurses had elevated levels of depression. Females (p = 0.008), staff aged 45–55 (p = 0.021), lower educational level (p = 0.025), nurses (p = 0.001), more than 21 years of service (p = 0.001), and having children (p = 0.008) were determinants of greater levels of personal burnout. Work-related burnout correlated with having children (p = 0.017), whereas client-related burnout was significantly higher for nurses (p = 0.002). In addition, a correlation was found between anxiety, depression, and increased levels of burnout (p = 0.000). Conclusions As physicians and nurses working in anesthesiology departments have stressful jobs and work long hours, it is important to further study their physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion as well as psychological resilience levels.

Students with General Learning Difficulties present low levels of social competence. In order to increase them, students participate in school psychological support programmes. There are no research data available in Greece regarding social competence in students with General Learning Difficulties in the first grades of elementary school. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the efficiency of an intervention programme, which focused on strengthening their social competence, in the first grades of primary school. The levels of social competence of the students were evaluated before and after the implementation of an 8-month social empowerment programme, following a mixed-methods approach with the use of semi-structured interviews and observation in the school context. The participants were 21 students with General Learning Difficulties, 18 education professionals, whose classes the 21 students attended, together with the 21 parents of these students (one parent per student). The results showed that the social competence of the participants was low before and that it increased after their participation in the intervention programme. In addition, girls had higher social competence than boys both before and after their participation in the intervention programme. These results highlight the benefits of classroom intervention programmes for children with General Learning Difficulties.

The study of independent living (IL) of individuals with disabilities during the last decades has been in the focus of scientific field of educational and social sciences. The conceptual framework formed around the concept of IL led to practices that have been supporting the idea that IL may be a significant option for individuals with disabilities. Specifically, for individuals with intellectual disability (ID), the goal focuses on the development and implementation of integrated programs of IL in the community. The purpose of this study is to explore the opinions of parents, educators, and individuals with ID about IL. The sample consists of 124 individuals with mild and moderate ID, aged 13 years and plus, 124 parents of individuals with ID and 193 educators. The research tool was exploring five elements: (1) meaning/characteristics of IL, (2) factors affecting IL, (3) limitations of IL, (4) IL skills, and (5) IL settings. An analysis of the results indicates that the concept of IL revolves around housing. Furthermore, the support systems, family and community, were proved as main influence to IL of individuals with ID. Knowledge of safety rules and self-care appears as primary skills. Finally, independent apartments in the city are the ones preferred by individuals themselves, whereas parents and educators prefer a more controlled environment under the supervision of an official body.

The study of independent living (IL) of individuals with disabilities during the last decades has been in the focus of scientific field of educational and social sciences. The conceptual framework formed around the concept of IL led to practices that have been supporting the idea that IL may be a significant option for individuals with disabilities. Specifically, for individuals with intellectual disability (ID), the goal focuses on the development and implementation of integrated programs of IL in the community. The purpose of this study is to explore the opinions of parents, educators, and individuals with ID about IL. The sample consists of 124 individuals with mild and moderate ID, aged 13 years and plus, 124 parents of individuals with ID and 193 educators. The research tool was exploring five elements: (1) meaning/characteristics of IL, (2) factors affecting IL, (3) limitations of IL, (4) IL skills, and (5) IL settings. An analysis of the results indicates that the concept of IL revolves around housing. Furthermore, the support systems, family and community, were proved as main influence to IL of individuals with ID. Knowledge of safety rules and self-care appears as primary skills. Finally, independent apartments in the city are the ones preferred by individuals themselves, whereas parents and educators prefer a more controlled environment under the supervision of an official body., (© The British Society of Developmental Disabilities 2018.)