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In 2020 it is estimated that 281 million people were international migrants. Migrants constitute a potentially vulnerable population in terms of facing discrimination, poor living and housing conditions, and insufficient access to healthcare services. Due to the armed conflict in Ukraine in 2022, almost 10 million people crossed the Polish border within a year of the outbreak of the conflict. The objective of this paper is to present the use of primary healthcare services by people migrating from Ukraine to Poland and identify the barriers in access to healthcare by this group of persons. This study used a qualitative research technique in the form of an expert interview using individual in-depth interviews (IDI). The study group consisted of professionally active primary healthcare providers (doctors, nurses, and facility managers) in Poland. Research was carried out in the areas regarding the availability of healthcare, the potential threats and challenges, and possible system solutions. The results showed that the most common cause for doctor's appointments among migrants are respiratory infections, including COVID-19. Many cases were related to back pain, mainly resulting from the physical work of the patients. Additionally, some barriers to access and the provision of healthcare services for patients from Ukraine were identified. The majority (75%) of respondents indicated language as a significant barrier when providing services. Based on the study results, we recommend creating a dedicated website and telephone hotline for this group of persons as well as the use of traditional media to distribute information about access to healthcare services. It is also essential to focus on assistance for older people, since they may experience more difficulties with language and navigating the healthcare system.

Alcohol addiction is characterized by extensive alcohol consumption that dominates other behaviours previously important to a patient. According to data from The State Agency for Prevention of Alcohol-Related Problems, up to 900,000 people in Poland are addicted to alcohol. On average, approximately 9.7 L of pure alcohol per capita was consumed in 2021. Alcohol addiction may cause severe health problems and is one the key risk factors for various diseases. Stress plays an important role in the process of alcohol addiction and is also a predictor for lower enjoyment in life. On the other hand, sense of coherence may be a stronger protective factor. The aim of our study was to verify the relation between the level of perceived stress among patients with alcohol addiction and satisfaction with life. Because sense of coherence is a disposition that allows for managing stress effectively, the latter should be reflected in the results of multivariate analyses that take both the level of stress and sense of coherence into account. In the present study, sense of coherence and perceived stress were negatively correlated; therefore, strengthening internal resources for managing difficult and stressful situations is recommended.

Introduction : Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common, preventable, and treatable disease. The first PREM (patient-reported outcome measure)-type questionnaire that has been dedicated to assess the experience of care in COPD is the PREM-C9. Aim : The aim of this study was to create a Polish version of the PREM-C9 and determine its psychometric characteristics. Methods : The validation procedure involved forward and back translation. We included 42 patients with COPD. The psychometric properties were assessed using Cronbach's alpha, Bartlett's test, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test, and Spearman's correlation coefficient. The validity of the questionnaire was assessed using a principal component analysis for the extracted principal components. The validity of the factor analysis was demonstrated using Bartlett's sphericity test and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test. A factor analysis was performed using the Oblimin and Varimax rotation. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Results : The Polish version of the analyzed questionnaire met all the validation criteria: face, translation, psychometric, functional, and reconstruction equivalence. Spearman's correlation results between the Polish PREM-C9 and CAT were as follows: rho = 0.44, p = 0.003539; HADS-Anxiety: rho = 0.370864, p = 0.015612; and HADS-Depression: rho = 0.387405, p = 0.011253. Conclusions : The developed Polish PREM-C9 questionnaire is a reliable and valid tool that assesses Polish COPD patients' experiences of their disease and the care they receive.

Alcohol consumption is linked to over 200 diseases and injuries. It is also classified as a risk factor for several types of neoplasms as well as infectious diseases (i.e., HIV and tuberculosis). In 2019, among people aged 25 to 49, alcohol use was the leading risk factor for attributable burden of disease. There are many factors that affect alcohol drinking patterns such as social and economic status, social norms, cultural customs, availability of alcohol, etc. Stress also plays a significant role in the process of developing alcohol addiction. The aim of our study was to examine health patterns and stress levels among patients undergoing alcohol addiction treatment. The study sample consisted of 104 patients who were treated in a hospital ward due to alcohol dependence. Three standardized questionnaire tools were used to measure the sense of coherence and the level of stress among those patients. The main results suggest that the level of perceived stress correlated negatively with all dimensions of sense of coherence and all indicators of health behaviors, however, age was positively correlated with positive mental attitude, proper eating habits, and health behaviors. In conclusion, it is worth noting that developing patterns for positive health behaviors will make it possible to avoid alcohol dependence or reinforce the treatment results if alcohol dependence syndrome occurs.

(1) Background: Acceptance of illness is a process in which a person with an illness accepts its presence and treats it as an integral part of their life. With regard to alcoholism, acceptance of illness is one of the important elements of the healing process. (2) Methods: The study group consisted of 104 residents in an addiction treatment ward. Questionnaires SOC-29, AIS and PSS-10 were used to check levels of coherence, stress and acceptance of illness. The analysis was based on regression analysis. Patient age was analysed as a moderator of correlations between perceived indicators. Moderation analysis was based on the simple moderation model. (3) Results: The level of perceived stress correlated negatively with all areas of the sense of coherence and with acceptance of illness. All areas of the sense of coherence correlated with acceptance of illness positively. (4) Conclusions: The acceptance of illness by the patient is a factor that can be motivating for further treatment, through a positive approach to illness and strengthening the sense of control in experiencing it. The combination of strengthening behavioural, cognitive and motivational resources can be used in the treatment of people experiencing the challenges of addiction to alcohol.

Healthcare effectiveness measurement and value in health have been common topics in public health literature since 2006 when value-based healthcare (VBHC) was first defined by Porter and Teisberg. The aim of this study was to identify the barriers and challenges related to the implementation of VBHC solutions in the example of Poland. A case presentation was used as a method. The national integrated care programs (KOS-Infarction, POZ-Plus, and comprehensive treatment of chronic wounds) were used to present general challenges, along with the Integrated Care Model (ICM) for patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), to determine specific difficulties. ICM has been operating since 2012 in Gdańsk and gradually adapted the value-based integrated care (VBIC) approach. An analysis of the available data showed that the greatest difficulties related to the implementation of the VBHC and VBIC concepts are a lack of legal and reimbursement solutions, staff shortages, a lack of educational standards for some members of the multidisciplinary team, and insufficient awareness of the role of integrated care. As the level of preparation to implement VBHC policies varies between individual countries, the conclusions drawn from the experience of ICM and other Polish projects may be a valuable voice in discussion.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly contributed to accelerating the development of telemedicine and eHealth. The main aim of this study was to assess the attitudes of patients towards remote care implemented in general practice (GP) during the pandemic., Methods: The study was a pilot study conducted in March-April 2021, considering technical aspects of using teleconsultations, and evaluating the difficulties, advantages and disadvantages for patients. When assessing opinions, a simple Likert scale was used, where a value of 1 meant the worst possible assessment or strong disagreement and the upper value the best or full agreement of the respondent., Results: The study covered 408 respondents. Their biggest organizational challenge reaching GPs by telephone, regardless of the patients' home location ( p = 0.23698). Obtaining e-documents was not problematic but was rated as worse by men ( p = 0.048295). Respondents rated the overall effectiveness of teleconsultations more highly if they could speak directly with a doctor ( p = 0.0005). There were no differences in willingness to recommend teleconsultations based on gender ( p = 0.2432), place of residence ( p = 0.7878), age ( p = 0.290355) or education ( p = 0.9109), but people assessing the overall effectiveness of telemedicine more highly were more willing to recommend it ( p = 0.000)., Conclusions: Respondents assess teleconsultations in a differentiated way, noticing both positive and negative features of the remote form of providing health services.

Background: The aim of the study is to analyze the prevalence of using patients’ reported outcomes measures and experiences (PROMs and PREMs) in relation to integrated care (IC). Material and methods: To select eligible studies (<10 years, full-text), PubMed was used. The general subject of the articles referring to the type of disease was indicated on the basis of a review of all full-text publications discussing the effectiveness of IC (N = 6518). The final search included MeSH headings related to outcomes measures and IC. Full-text screening resulted in including 73 articles (23 on COPD, 40 on diabetes/obesity and 10 on depression) with 93.391 participants. Results: Analysis indicated that authors used multiple outcome measures, with 54.8% of studies including at least one patient reported. PROMs were more often used than PREMs. Specific (disease or condition/dimension) outcome measures were reported more often than general, especially those dedicated to self-assessment of health in COPD and depression. PROMs and PREMs were most commonly used in studies from the USA and Netherlands. Conclusion: Using PROMS/PREMS is becoming more popular, although it is varied, both due to the place of research and type of disease.