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Aims and objectives: To evaluate demographic and occupational factors of professional life on life satisfaction among nurses in Serbia and Poland. Background: Compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue, as aspects of a nurse's professional life, may affect their satisfaction with life in general. However, most studies on this topic have been conducted in Asian countries, and because there are differences in health care system performance across countries amid a global shortage of nurses, it is necessary to investigate professional quality of life in the European nursing context. Methods: This multicenter, comparative, and correlational study was conducted on a sample of 669 hospital nurses in Serbia and Poland. The survey data were collected between November 2019 and February 2020 using the Demographic and Occupational Questionnaire (DOQ), Professional Quality‐of‐Life Scale (ProQOL‐5), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). STROBE Statement guidelines for cross‐sectional studies were followed. Results: Most nurses from both countries reported having moderate compassion satisfaction, moderate risk for compassion fatigue, and an average life satisfaction. The predictive factors of life satisfaction that most stand out include country of origin, financial situation, education, job satisfaction, and compassion fatigue. Discussion and conclusion: Quality of professional life is significantly affected by shift duration, age, work experience, and job satisfaction. Negative aspects of professional life are significant predictors of life satisfaction. Implications for nursing policy: The findings of this study indicate a need for implementing flexible shift patterns and enhancing interventions that will improve job satisfaction and compassion satisfaction while reducing the risk of compassion fatigue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: This study aimed to analyse and evaluate the functioning of long‐term at‐home nursing care (LTHNC) based on the opinions of its service providers. Background: Long‐term at‐home nursing care is a form of care for patients who do not need hospital treatment but need systematic nursing care because of their health problems. LTHNC in Poland involves guaranteed care services financed from universal health insurance contributions pursuant to contracts with the National Health Fund (NHF); the program has existed since 2004. Design: A sequential‐explanatory mixed‐method design was used. The study was carried out using both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed amongst 1119 care providers (the response rate was 38.2%). The qualitative research comprised semi‐structured interviews with ten care providers, namely three nurses managing LTHNC facilities and seven nurses directly providing services as part of LTHNC. The STROBE checklist was used in reporting this study. Results: We found that the main reasons for contracting LTHNC services were the increasing demand for this form of care, financial motives and an opportunity to introduce new organisational solutions. Our study shows that LTHNC is beneficial not only for the patients, but also for the nurses who provide the care. On the one hand, LTHNC provides positive results for patients and their caregivers (family members), and on the other hand, it affords a sense of satisfaction to the nurses and contributes to the development of their professional independence. Conclusions: According to care providers, improving accessibility through increasing the number of contracted services as well as raising the pay for 1 day of care per patient may improve the functioning of LTHNC. Relevance to clinical practice: The results of our study are a source of information for those who organise health care and administer resources on how to improve the functioning of LTHNC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the quality of care, patients' needs and expectations must be understood, and this can be achieved through learning their attitudes and expectations connected with using health services. The main aim of this study was to describe and analyse Białystok residents' expectations of family nurses. This cohort study was carried out in association with the ongoing project "Bialystok PLUS" in Poland. The respondents (n = 412) were administered a multiple‐choice questionnaire concerning family nurses and the responses were analysed in association with the respondents' socio‐demographic data and health self‐evaluation results. Data were collected between September 2017 and September 2019. Our research found that the respondents' socioeconomic status was associated with their expectations concerning the use of prevention services offered by family nurses. A statistically significant association was found between marital status and knowledge of their family nurses. The demand for medical counselling from family nurses (concerning diet, coping with stress, physical activity) was significantly negatively correlated with age, with younger persons expecting that service more often than older persons. A significant association was also observed between respondents' age group and their opinions concerning the need for home visits by family nurses. The respondents who expected home visits by family nurses declared lower self‐evaluated health compared to the other respondents. Findings suggest that services by family nurses should include an assessment of each patient's situation, including their health self‐evaluation and socioeconomic status. The fact that younger persons expect family nurses to provide counselling on health matters obliges nurses to learn how to provide health information tailored to patient needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Patient satisfaction is a complex and difficult concept to measure, thus precluding the use of exclusively quantitative methods for its description. The purpose of this survey was firstly to identify particular healthcare dimensions that determine a patient's satisfaction or dissatisfaction; and secondly to attempt to typologise the patients' responses based on their evaluation of healthcare. Methods Using a qualitative research design, thirty-six in-depth interviews with patients of family physicians were conducted: four patients from each of 9 family practices in different regions of Poland were interviewed. The main outcome measure was factors associated with patient satisfaction/dissatisfaction. Results In their evaluations of their contacts with family doctors, the patients cited mostly issues concerning interpersonal relationships with the doctor. Nearly 40% of the statements referred to this aspect of healthcare, with nearly equal proportions of positive and negative comments. The second most frequent category of responses concerned contextual factors (21%) that related to conditions of medical service, with two-thirds of the evaluations being negative. Statements concerning the doctor's competencies (12.9%) and personal qualities (10.5%) were less common. Conclusion To improve the quality of healthcare, family doctors should take special care to ensure the quality of their interactions with patients.

Background: There is increasing focus on collaboration in primary health care, but there is insufficient patient perspective on collaboration between the family nurse and family doctor.Objective: To explore how patients perceive collaboration between the family nurse and family doctor in primary health care in Poland.Methods: A qualitative approach and an inductive, naturalistic inquiry strategy were used. Thirty-seven patients from eight general practice clinics in the north-eastern part of Poland participated in semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. The qualitative data were examined by means of thematic analysis. The study was reported according to the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) checklist.Results: Four subthemes emerged in the context of nurse-doctor collaboration, namely: (i) carrying out the doctor's orders; (ii) visit preparation; (iii) the family nurse as a source of information and (iv) participants' perceptions of the status of the family nurse. Nurses performing instrumental activities connected with a doctor's orders was understood by the participants to be collaboration and prevailed in their responses.Conclusion: The perception of collaboration (or lack thereof) between the family nurse and family doctor results from patients' varied experiences and observations during their visits to a primary care clinic. The traditional model of nursing care and the hierarchical relationship, in which the doctor has the dominant role, are evident in the patients' remarks. The autonomy of nursing could be strengthened by expanding, and highlighting, the primary care activities that a nurse can perform on her own. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Requests by patients for antibiotics are known to strongly affect doctors' decisions to prescribe them.Objective. The aim of this study was to establish how frequently patients presenting with respiratory tract infections (RTIs) express their expectation not to be treated with antibiotics, which symptoms and physical findings are related to their perception of antibiotics not being helpful, and to what degree their expectations influence doctors' decisions.Methods: This was a direct observational study set in primary care practices in Bialystok, Poland. The observers completed a checklist while observing a patient with RTI visiting a family doctor.Results: Overall, 80 (5.5%) out of 1456 patients with RTIs openly requested not to be prescribed antibiotics. Patients not wanting antibiotics were prescribed antibiotics significantly less frequently [25/80 (31.3%)] than the remaining patients [765/1376 (55.6%), P < 0.001]. Univariate logistic regression revealed that cough and runny nose significantly increased the odds of patients not wanting antibiotics [odds ratio (OR) 1.8, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.01-3.20 and OR 1.6, 95% CI: 1.01-2.6, respectively] while the presence of tonsillar exudates significantly decreased the odds (OR 0.3, 95% CI: 0.08-0.86). Belief in a self-limited course (20%), recent treatments with antibiotics (16.3%), suspected viral aetiology (12.5%), and concerns about possible harm (12.5%) were the principal reasons for not wanting antibiotics.Conclusions: A patient's wish not to be prescribed antibiotics leads to less frequent antibiotic prescribing. Antimicrobial resistance, though important from a public health viewpoint, is not seen as a priority for individual patients with infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: To evaluate the influence of long‐term at‐home nursing care (LTHNC) on patient functional status. The specific aims were as follows: (1) to analyse the influence of LTHNC on patient functional status in terms of activities of daily living; (2) to evaluate the risk of pressure sores and pressure sore prevention in patients receiving LTHNC. Background: LTHNC is a form of care for chronically ill persons staying at home who do not need hospitalisation, but due to their health problems they require regular nursing care that can be provided at home. Design: A retrospective descriptive study. Methods: A document research method was used. We collected data from the medical records of 1,058 patients receiving LTHNC at the Non‐Public Health Care Centre OMNI‐MED in Bialystok (Poland) for the years 2005–2012. Results: Detailed analysis of scores on the Barthel Activities of Daily Living Index revealed significant improvement in patient functional status as a result of LTHNC. In patients aged 65–80, the Barthel score increased by 8.83 points, and in patients aged 64 years and younger, the score increased by 6.58 points (p < 0.001). In the oldest patients (>80 years), functional status improved the least, gaining a mean of 4.97 points on the Barthel scale. Overall, the demonstrated improvement of patient functional status and reduced risk of pressure sore development provide evidence that LTHNC is an effective form of care for elderly and chronically ill persons staying at home. Conclusion: The findings of our study represent a positive example of the way good nursing care can benefit patients while promoting the autonomous nature of nursing. Relevance to clinical practice: The results add to our understanding of the functioning of LTHNC by providing relevant scientific evidence which may contribute to the development of community nursing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Antibiotic overprescription is a worldwide problem. Decisions regarding antibiotic prescription for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are influenced by medical and non-medical factors. Methods: In family medicine practices in Bialystok, Poland, family medicine residents directly observed consultations with patients with RTI symptoms. The observing residents completed a questionnaire including patient data, clinical symptoms, diagnosis, any prescribed antibiotic, and assessment of ten patient pressure factors. Results: Of 1546 consultations of patients with RTIs, 54.26 % resulted in antibiotic prescription. Antibiotic prescription was strongly associated with rales (OR 26.90, 95 % CI 9.00-80.40), tonsillar exudates (OR 13.03, 95 % CI 7.10-23.80), and wheezing (OR 14.72, 95 % CI 7.70-28.10). The likelihood of antibiotic prescription was increased by a >7-day disease duration (OR 3.94, 95 % CI 2.80-5.50), purulent nasal discharge (OR 3.87, 95 % CI 2.40-6.10), starting self-medication with antibiotics (OR 4.11, 95 % CI 2.30-7.30), and direct request for antibiotics (OR 1.87, 95 % CI 1.30-2.80). Direct request not to prescribe antibiotics decreased the likelihood of receiving antibiotics (OR 0.34, 95 % CI 0.27-0.55). Conclusion: While clinical signs and symptoms principally impact prescribing decisions, patient factors also contribute. The most influential patient pressure factors were starting self-medication with antibiotics, and directly requesting antibiotic prescription or no antibiotic prescription. Interventions aiming to improve clinical sign and symptom interpretation and to help doctors resist direct patient pressure could be beneficial for reducing unnecessary antibiotic prescribing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]