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Background. The paper deals with the possibilities for implementation of professional competences of physical therapists working in different systems of education and health protection with regard to the holistic health concept, psychophysical education and interdisciplinary collaboration inside rehabilitation teams. Objectives. The main objective of the study was to compare the possibilities for implementation of professional competences of physical therapists working in rehabilitation teams of education and health protection systems. Material and methods. The survey encompassed 200 physical therapists working in the education (n = 98) and health protection (n = 102) systems of Lithuania. A questionnaire-based method employing closed-type questions was used, which was aimed at revealing whether implementation of professional competences of physical therapists working in different systems differed. Results. The competences of communication and collaboration, i.e. interdisciplinary activities inside rehabilitation teams, were more developed by physical therapists working in the education system (t = 23.483, df = 2, p = 0.001). In the process of physical diagnosis, physical therapists of the health system make a diagnosis of physical therapy independently. The same statistically significant difference was also noticed in the aspect of communication of groups of these specialists when psychosocial problems occur, specifically: t = 14.768, df = 3, p = 0.002. Physical therapists of the education system more actively participate in qualification development, delivery of talks at conferences and organising health promotion programmes, even though no statistically significant difference was found (t = 4.830, df = 3, p = 0.185). Conclusions. The competences of interdisciplinary collaboration are more developed by physical therapists working in the education system; whereas physical therapists working in the health system are more concerned with the making of a physical therapy diagnosis, design of a programme and application of more diverse methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cultural competencies are known as a multidimensionalconstruct; however, they usually refer to an individual's sensitivity orcultural attitudes, cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills. Aim: The aim of the study was to compare the cultural competences of nurses in Poland and Lithuania based on an adaptation of the Nurse Cultural Competence Scale (NCCS). Design: The design was a comparative cross‐sectional study. Methods: A total of 383 Polish nurses and 184 Lithuanian nurses took part in the study. The questionnaires of the NCCS—Polish version (NCCS‐v.PL) and the NCCS—Lithuanian version (NCCS‐v.L) were used after linguistic adaptation and an evaluation of psychometric properties. Results: As a result of the comparative analysis, a higher general level of cultural competences (based on the NCCS) was found in the Lithuanian group M‐148.09 (SD = 22.85). The results show statistically significant differences among the respondents in the subscale of Nurse Cultural Competence Scale‐Cultural Knowledge (NCCS‐CK; p ˂ 0.001); higher competences of the nurses were found in the Group LT (M = 31.05; SD = 6.75) than in the Group PL (M = 28.82; SD = 7.82). In the group of Polish nurses (Group PL), the intensity of cultural competences was found to increase along with age (NCCS‐v.P r = 0.157, p < 0.05); this, however, was not observed in the Group LT (NCCS‐v.LT, p > 0.05). Conclusions: Both the nurses in Poland and in Lithuania are characterised by an average level of cultural competences. Diversity in the level of cultural competences was found in both groups depending on age, education and work experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are little up-to-date data available on the duration of exclusive breastfeeding in Lithuania. The aim of our study was to examine the factors that could influence exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months of life. Methods: In 2016, a survey was conducted at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic of Vilnius University Hospital, Santaros Klinikos. Women in postnatal wards were opportunistically offered questionnaires and later followed up by telephone interviews at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months postpartum. We used binary logistic regression to determine the factors that impacted exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months following childbirth. Results: Of 475 eligible women that were approached, a total of 447 women were recruited, with response rates of 76.1, 71.4 and 67.0% at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months postpartum, respectively. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding through the 6 month postpartum period was 39.8%. Exclusive breastfeeding during days 2 to 4 postpartum was positively influenced by factors such as a natural childbirth, the practice of breastfeeding on demand and maternal self-confidence in breastfeeding. Subsequently, exclusive breastfeeding on demand in the immediate postpartum period and exclusive breastfeeding for up to 3 months were associated with successful exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months. However, the adverse factors that limited the success and duration of exclusive breastfeeding included free samples of human milk substitutes or advertising at primary healthcare centers 6 weeks after childbirth, pacifier use 6 months after childbirth, as well as amniotomy for labor induction. Conclusions: Our research demonstrated that exclusive breastfeeding is impacted in both directions by a range of factors during particular periods after delivery. One of the novel findings was the adverse influence of amniotomy for labor induction on exclusive breastfeeding rates. Taking into account diverse factors influencing exclusive breastfeeding and the absence of a single way to promote it, there is a crucial need to increase the incidence of exclusive breastfeeding until infants reach the age of 6 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]