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Introduction: The occurrence of a pressure ulcer constitutes a major psychological and physiological burden and it has been linked with a reduced quality of life and increased stress of the individual. Objective: The main objective was to investigate the impact that stress has on pressure ulcer healing process and on the psychophysiological environment of the individual suffering from them. Method: The scientific literature was reviewed through Cinahl, Pub-med, EBSCO, Medline and Google scholar. The articles were chosen due to their direct correlation with the objective under study and their scientific relevance. Results: Increased stress has been demonstrated to increase the glucocorticoids levels affecting negatively the production of wound healing cytokines (IL1α, IL1β and TNFα). Matrix metalloproteases has been identified to be unregulated in occasions of increased stress in acute wounds. Stress has also been correlated with poor health behaviors that may not have a direct link on the wound healing process, although they can in part explain or enhance some of the effects of stress on wound healing. Conclusion: The correlation between stress and wound healing in acute wounds has been thoroughly investigated and its negative effects have been established. The presence of a pressure ulcer can have a detrimental impact on the stress level of an individual although further investigation is needed to establish the role of stress in chronic wounds such as pressure ulcers.

Introduction: Empathy is the ability to perceive the feelings and experiences of the other personand the ability to communicate it to the other person. It is necessary to cultivate this concept among the Nursing students and other Health Professions during their studies. Aim: The aim of this paper was the systematic review of research studies of Empathy Levels of Undergraduate Students in Nursing and Other Health Professions. Method: A systematic review was performed on the MEDLINE and CINAHL online databases and the GOOGLE SCHOLAR search engine. The basic prerequisite for the introduction was that only primary studies where chosen which used as sample Nursing students or other Health Professionals and that the publication was in English or Greek, between the years 2008-2017. Results: The review produced 17 articles that met the admission criteria. The results of the studies were classified into 3 main categories, namely: a) Empathy Levels of Nursing Students (n = 7), b) Comparative studies of the Levels of Empathy among Nursing and Other Healthcare Professionals (n = 6) and c) Educational Programs for Improving and Enhancing Empathy N = 4). The results are quite contradictory with some studies showing high levels of empathy, others showing a decrease of empathy levels with the progress of studies, particularly in relation to clinical practice, while the comparison between the various health sciences seems to not differ significantly. In relation to the educational programs some have resulted in increased levels of empathy and some not. Conclusions: Empathy remains a multidimensional phenomenon, this why its treatment will also be multidimensional especially with regard to education, either within the whole theoretical and clinical education program, or in the form of support and improvement programs.

Background: The phenomenon of substance use, abuse and dependence is a serious problem with psychological, social, physical and economic impact. The co existence of two disorders, known as co morbidity or dual diagnosis and the relationship between a psychiatric disorder and substance dependence is complicated and many scientists support that psychopathology often forms the ground for the development of dependence. The aim of the study was to explore substance use in individuals with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and investigate whether the severity of PTSD is related to Substance Use Disorder (SUD) as well as the severity of drug addiction. Method and material: A cross sectional, correlational study with the use of 3 research instruments: The Treatment Demand Indicator (T.D.I.), the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) for measuring the severity of substance dependence and the Post Traumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale P.D.S. for the diagnosis of PTSD. The sample consists of 33 individuals, chosen by the members of a therapeutic program for drug dependence which combines inpatient and outpatient therapeutic interventions. The statistical analyses was performed by using the statistical program SPSS. Results: The results showed that a percentage of 40.6% of drug depended people reported symptoms of PTSD and were diagnosed with PTSD. From those, the level of impaired functioning showed that (23%) had a medium problem and the other (77%) had a serious impaired functioning level. A significant positive relationship between PTSD and severity of drug problems was found. The results showed that there was a statistically positive significant correlation between the PTSD symptom severity and the level of dependency from drugs (r=0.678, p-value=0.011). This finding shows that the higher the level of dependency, the higher the PTSD symptom severity index. Also the results showed that there was a significant correlation suggesting that those suffering from PTSD presented a bigger problem with drugs (Χ2=18.945, p-value