Evangelos Fradelos

Introduction: Responding to the coronavirus pandemic, Greece implemented the largest quarantine in its history. No data exist regarding its impact on PM2.5 pollution. We aimed to assess PM2.5 levels before, during, and after lockdown (7 March 2020–16 May 2020) in Volos, one of Greece’s most polluted industrialized cities, and compare PM2.5 levels with those obtained during the same period last year. Meteorological conditions were examined as confounders. Methods: The study period was discriminated into three phases (pre-lockdown: 7 March–9 March, lockdown: 10 March–4 May, and post-lockdown period: 5 May–16 May). A wireless sensors network was used to collect PM2.5, temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, and wind speed data every 2 s. Results: The lockdown resulted in a significant drop of PM2.5 by 37.4% in 2020, compared to 2019 levels. The mean daily concentrations of PM2.5 exceeded the WHO’s guideline value for 24-h mean levels of PM2.5 35% of the study period. During the stric...

Background: We aimed to estimate the SARS-CoV-2 antigen and antibody seroprevalence in one of the worst-affected by the pandemic semi-closed communities in Greece, Deskati, and evaluate the sociodemographic and clinical correlations of functional antibody responses. Methods: The Ag2019n-CoV V1310/V1330 Rapid Test (Prognosis Biotech, Greece) was used for antigen detection. The Rapid Test 2019-nCoV Total Ig, V1210/V1230 (Prognosis Biotech, Greece), and the SARS-CoV-2 IgG II Quant method (Architect, Abbott, Illinois, USA) were used for antibody testing. Results: None of the participants had a positive antigen result. SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity ranged from 13% to 45% in the study population, depending on the method. One-third of the participants with known past infection had a positive antibody test result 77 ± 13 days after infection. Two-fifths of infections determined by serology were asymptomatic. The advancing age and hospitalization predicted seropositivity among patients with past...

Background: We aimed to estimate the SARS-CoV-2 antigen and antibody seroprevalence in one of the worst-affected by the pandemic semi-closed communities in Greece, Deskati, and evaluate the sociodemographic and clinical correlations of functional antibody responses. Methods: The Ag2019n-CoV V1310/V1330 Rapid Test (Prognosis Biotech, Greece) was used for antigen detection. The Rapid Test 2019-nCoV Total Ig, V1210/V1230 (Prognosis Biotech, Greece), and the SARS-CoV-2 IgG II Quant method (Architect, Abbott, Illinois, USA) were used for antibody testing. Results: None of the participants had a positive antigen result. SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity ranged from 13% to 45% in the study population, depending on the method. One-third of the participants with known past infection had a positive antibody test result 77 ± 13 days after infection. Two-fifths of infections determined by serology were asymptomatic. The advancing age and hospitalization predicted seropositivity among patients with past...

Introduction: Responding to the coronavirus pandemic, Greece implemented the largest quarantine in its history. No data exist regarding its impact on PM2.5 pollution. We aimed to assess PM2.5 levels before, during, and after lockdown (7 March 2020–16 May 2020) in Volos, one of Greece’s most polluted industrialized cities, and compare PM2.5 levels with those obtained during the same period last year. Meteorological conditions were examined as confounders. Methods: The study period was discriminated into three phases (pre-lockdown: 7 March–9 March, lockdown: 10 March–4 May, and post-lockdown period: 5 May–16 May). A wireless sensors network was used to collect PM2.5, temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, and wind speed data every 2 s. Results: The lockdown resulted in a significant drop of PM2.5 by 37.4% in 2020, compared to 2019 levels. The mean daily concentrations of PM2.5 exceeded the WHO’s guideline value for 24-h mean levels of PM2.5 35% of the study period. During the stric...

Background: Levels of stress (both trait and state) have been found to significantly increase during the exam period for students as this period has been considered to be really demanding for students. Objective: This study was aimed to examine whether the exams’ evaluation might be affected by the level of state/trait or total anxiety at the time of exams. Methods: An observational pilot study was conducted among nursing students using the Greek version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for adults (STAI). We enrolled 145 first-year students (mean age 19.2±2.5 years old, 81.4% female). Chi-square and Student’s ttest were used to explore associations between students’ demographics and other characteristics and exams’ evaluation, whereas the associations between student’s characteristics and courses’ rating were controlled using linear r-Spearman and multiple linear regressions. Pvalues ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant using the SPSS version 19.0. Results: The mean ag...

This literature review highlights the social impact of various diseases, and more specifically their negative consequences to the patients. Stigma caused by these diseases is diachronic and leads all the sufferers, both adults and children, to social exclusion. Moreover, the measures that have to be taken for the prevention of these situations and the rehabilitation of the above mentioned patients are identified. At the end ethical aspects of stigmatization and social exclusion in health services are discussed.

Introduction: Borderline Personality Disorder, is one of the ten Personality Disorders. These Disorders are split into three categories, with the Borderline being part of the second one where elements of dramatization and emotional instability are frequently evident. Purpose: The purpose of the present study is to investigate and highlight the characteristics, the treatment and nursing approach for people with this disorder. Methodology: The study material consisted of articles on the topic found in Greek and international databases such as: PubMed, Cochrane, Hellenic Academic Libraries Association (HEAL-Link), Scopus and PsycINFO, using keywords as: “Borderline Personality Disorder”, “Diagnosis”, “Therapy”, “Treatment”, “Holistic Care”, “Nursing Care”. Results: Bordeline Personality Disorder is characterized as a condition in which a person differs significantly from the average of people, about how he thinks, perceives, feels or relates to others. Treatment for this Disorder does ...

Health Care Workers are at the front line of the fight against Covid-19. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acceptability of vaccination against COVID-19 among health professionals (physicians, dentists, pharmacists) two weeks prior to the start of the Greek vaccination campaign against COVID-19. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted over the period 15–22 December 2020 in 340 health professionals in Central Greece. We found a high level of acceptance for COVID-19 vaccine (78.5%) and a high vaccination coverage for the influenza vaccine (74%). Age > 45 years (OR = 2.01; 95% C.I. = 2.01−4.3), absence of fear over vaccine safety (OR = 4.09; 95% C.I. = 1.36–12.3), and information received from the Greek public health authorities (OR = 11.14; 95% C.I. = 5.48–22.6), were factors independently associated with the likelihood of COVID-19 vaccination acceptance. Our study indicates a high level of the COVID-19 vaccination acceptance among physicians, dentists and pharmacists...

Introduction: Elderly suffering from hypertension may also experience other psychological disorders in their daily life, such as depression and anxiety. Moreover, they use spiritual practices to relieve symptoms or comorbidities of hypertension. All these practices produce a calming effect on them. Aim: This study aims at investigating the relation between spirituality and mental health among older adults with hypertension and their sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in Greece. A questionnaire consisting of the sociodemographic characteristics, the FACIT-Sp-12 scale and the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) was completed by a total of 134 hypertensive elderly (≥65 years of age) persons. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used. Results: The sample consisted of 42,5% males and 57,5% females, aged 65 to 95 years, with a mean age of 78,38 years (SD= 6,68). A statistically significant correlation was found between FACIT-Sp-12 total score and the “physical discomfort (r=-0,562 p<0.001), “anxiety” (r=-0,735 p<0.001), “social disfunctioning” (r=-0,650 p<0.001), “depression” (r=-0,735 p<0.001) and the total score of GHQ-28 (r=-0,735 p<0.001). Specifically, the higher the total score of spirituality among older hypertensive adults the lower the rates of psychosomatic disorders and the total burden of mental health (and vice versa). Conclusion: Results showed that younger elderly, living in urban areas and not experiencing any other chronic health conditions, have higher levels of spirituality compared to older. Also, a negative correlation was found between spirituality and mental health.

Caring is a key component of nursing. Exploring patients' perceptions of caring behaviors is essential to providing high-quality health care. This study aimed to investigate the validity, reliability, and internal consistency of the Greek version of the Caring Behaviors Inventory-16. This descriptive cross-sectional study involved hospitalized patients from six major hospitals in Greece who completed the Caring Behaviors Inventory-16 scale. This is a self-completing questionnaire whose answers range from one to six on a Likert-type scale. The overall score ranges from 16 to 96. To study the reliability of the scale, 50 patients completed the scale twice within two weeks, and then the repeatability was tested using the Pearson’s r correlation coefficient and the intraclass correlation coefficient. Construct validity and internal consistency were tested among 180 patients. Construct validity was tested through the principal component analysis. The internal consistency was tested through Cronbach’s alpha index. The statistical analysis was performed through the IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Statistics Version 21.0 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). The level of statistical significance was set at 5%. The study was conducted in the period October-December 2019. According to the results, the average age of patients was 58 years old and 50.6% were men. The mean value of the scale was 79.31 (standard deviation ± 15.75). The principal component analysis showed that the scale is unidimensional highlighting one factor that explains 68.24% of the total variance. Questions loadings ranged from 0.575 to 0.912 on the same factor. This means that all questions measure the same structure and are strongly concentrated in the same construction. Regarding the repeatability test, no statistically significant differences were observed between the two measurements. Pearson's r coefficient was 0.82 while the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.91 (p<0.001) and indicate the very good reliability of the scale. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.967 and indicates the excellent internal consistency of the scale. Data analysis showed that the Caring Behaviors Inventory-16 is a valid, reliable, simple, and short tool for assessing patients' perceptions of caring behaviors. Further tests are suggested to confirm the construct validity, reliability among patients, nurses, or nursing students.

Diversity of teaching curriculum in vocational subjects requires the application ofdifferent didactic-methodical approaches to teaching, and thus different methods forstudents’ knowledge evaluation. Objective assessment of knowledge is the imperativeof the quality vocational education of healthcare professionals; in the evaluation ofstudents’ progress and final assessment of students’ knowledge, the formative andsummative methods are commonly used during or after the course of a particularsubject. Modern higher education insists on objectivity and scientific foundation ofthe evaluation process, which is the main reason why the didactic docimology hasfinally received a deserved place in the pedagogical practice in the last decades. Theaim of this paper is to emphasize the importance of the unconditional appliance ofscientific principles in students’ knowledge evaluation, critically analyze elements ofthe existing objective methods of assessment in vocational education of healthcarepr...

Chronic kidney disease is characterized by persistent renal impairment and/or loss of renal function. This condition is associated with high morbidity and mortality, and despite progress in prevention, diagnosis and treatment, CKD remains an important public health problem. Emotional discomfort, manifested by symptoms of anxiety and depression, is common in chronic illnesses with incidence/prevalence rates and the severity of symptoms being significantly higher among patients with chronic health problems such as heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis or chronic renal disease, compared to the general population. While the estimate accuracy may vary due to methodological differences and differences in measurements between studies, there are indications that chronic disease with coexisting depression is associated with increased symptom burden and functional impairment, poor quality of life, non-observance of treatment and worse clinical outcomes. Psychosocial issues among these patient g...

The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life (QoL) in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients undergoing hemodialysis and to examine the clinical and demographic attributes associated with it.This is a multicenter, cross-sectional study, conducted in 2018, in which 367 patients with ESRD undergoing hemodialysis were recruited. Data were collected through a two-part anon-ymous, self-completed questionnaire. The first part contained questions regarding demographic, social, and clinical information, and the Greek version of Missoula–Vitas Quality of Life Index-15 (MVQoL-15) scale was used to assess QoL. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were applied. All reported p-values were two-tailed, and the statistical significance level was set at 0.05. Of the study participants, 62.1% were male, with a mean age of 61.80 ±15.11. Of the participants, 67.3% were living in urban areas and 59.1% were married. The majority of the Hemodialysis (HD) patients evaluated possessiv...

Introduction: Quality of Life (QoL) among elderly is an important issue that reflects the status of well-being of this vulnerable population. Aim: This study aims to assess quality of life among elderly population and to examine possible correlations with associated demographic, social and health factors. Material and Method: A cross sectional study was conducted, in which 257 elderlies from Greece were participated. For the data collection the WHOQOL-BREF (30-items Greek version) questionnaire was used as well as a questionnaire with questions about demographic data, social & health factors. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, means, percentages and standard deviations have been utilized. Inferential statistics such as t-test and pearson r correlation have been used to determined correlations between relevant variables. Level of significance accepted is p < 0.05. Results: From the total 257 elderlies 55.6% (n=143) were women and 44.4% (n=114) were men with a mean age 75....

PurposeThe purpose of the study was to assess the impact of an educational intervention on the level of knowledge, quality of life (QoL) and adherence to the treatment regimen among haemodialysis (HD) patients as well as to describe the association between these variables.MethodsIn this quasi-experimental interventional study, 50 HD patients at a HD centre in Western Attica were randomly assigned into intervention (N = 25, received education and a booklet) and control (N = 25, received only the booklet) groups. Knowledge, adherence and quality of life were measured pre- and post-intervention using the Kidney Disease Questionnaire, the GR-Simplified Medication Adherence Questionnaire-HD and Missoula Vitas Quality of Life Index—15, respectively. The statistical analysis of the data was performed with the help of the Statistical Program SPSS version 19.0. The statistical significance level was set up at 0.05.ResultsThe increase of knowledge, adherence and QoL levels in the intervention group was significantly higher compared to the control group. There was no significant correlation between knowledge and adherence scores after the intervention. However, a significant positive correlation was found between the change in the overall QoL and the changes in the total adherence score as well as the adherence to the fluids and dietary behaviour.ConclusionsAn educational intervention can improve knowledge, adherence and QoL among HD patients. The increase of knowledge level is not associated with increased adherence. However, the increase of adherence may improve some dimensions of QoL.

The nursing profession is characterized as one of the most stressful and emotional dementing professions. It is widely agreed that many nurses are experiencing anxiety and depression as a results of their profession. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of depression and anxiety among mental health nurses working in public psychiatric hospitals, in order to identify independent predictors of mental health disorders risk. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in which 110 mental health nurses who were working in public psychiatric hospitals of Greece participated. The Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 (GAD-2) questionnaire along with a sheet with basics demographic, social, and work characteristics, including gender, age, marital status, educational level, working experience in nursing, working position and shift, were used as instrument for data collection. The mean age of the nurses wa...

Mounting literature on stress and coping in nursing students are available; however, most of the findings are confined to a single cultural group. This study was conducted to determine the level of stress, its sources and coping strategies among nursing students from three countries: Greece, the Philippines and Nigeria. Using a descriptive, comparative research design, 547 nursing students (161 Greek nursing students, 153 Filipino nursing students, 233 Nigerian nursing students) participated in the study from August 2015 to April 2016. Two standardized instruments were used, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Coping Behavior Inventory (CBI). Findings revealed that the degree of stress and the type of stressors and coping styles utilized by nursing students differ according to the country of origin. The year of study predicted overall stress (β = -0.149, p < 0.001) while advanced age predicted overall coping (β = 0.008, p = 0.037) in the nursing students. Strengthening nursi...

Motivational Interviewing provides the opportunity to health professionals to have an effective strategy to increase the level of readiness to change health behaviors. Along with the Transtheoretical Model (Stages of Change Model) compose the theoretical base of intervention in psychiatry settings. This study was aimed to change nutritious behavior of psychiatric patients using a specific Model of Change and Counseling implementing a health education program. A quasi-experimental design was adopted on a random sample of 60 psychiatric patients at Military Hospital of Athens. Patients were divided into two groups as follows; (a) Intervention Group (four sessions of counseling and encouraging motivation for modification of their nutritious habits), and (b) Control Group (simple information sessions about the principles of healthy alimentation). The mean age of Intervention Group (IG) was 43.9 ± 9.5 and Control Group (CG) 46.1 ± 9.1, ranging from 40 to 55 years old. Also, 26.7% of the ...

Proper use and evaluation of the pulse oximeter readings in everyday clinical practice are related to patient safety and quality of provided patient healthcare. Purpose of this study was the evaluation of Greek registered nurses' knowledge in pulse oximetry before and after an educational intervention implemented in a 2-h educational intervention (workshop). Anonymous self-administered validated questionnaire consisted of two parts was used to collect the data, after the written consent of the author, in a sample consisted of 78 participants (12 men and 66 women) and the output data were analyzed with SPSS v. 19.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). The quantitative variables are expressed as mean values (SD) or as median values (interquartile range = IQR) while the qualitative variables are expressed as absolute and relative frequencies. For the comparison of the proportions of the correct answers before and after the intervention, Mc Nemar tests were used. A knowledge score was computed...

Geriatric depression is more common in nursing homes and social support is a mechanism that mitigates the stressors of life factors and simultaneously promotes wellness and health. The purpose of the study was to assess the levels of depression and social support among elderly in nursing homes. During the period February 2016-March 2016 170 elderly residents in nursing homes completed the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). Statistical analysis was conducted with IBM SPSS Statistics 23. 37, 1% of the sample had depressive symptoms. Depression is statistically correlated with age and it is affected by the years of education (p = 0.003), the number of the children (p = 0.006), whether the elderly person is bedridden or not (p < 0.001), the frequency of visits by family members (p < 0.001) and whether the elderly performs activities outside the nursing home (0.001). Higher GDS score had those who were illitera...

One of the most investigated areas is the study of job stress and anxiety and its effects on the professionals' mental health status. The purpose of this study was to research the levels of anxiety and depression in staff that works in mental units and if burnout is related with these mental health parameters. The sample consisted of 217 mental health care professionals from mental health care units of all over Greece. The Greek version of the Symptoms Rating Scale for Depression and Anxiety (SRSDA) questionnaire was used to evaluate the levels of anxiety and depression and the Greek version of Maslach's Burnout Inventory (MBI) were used. Descriptive statistics were initially generated for sample characteristics. General linear models with MBI dimensions as independent variables and the anxiety and depression subscales of SRSDA as dependent variables were used to determine the relation between burnout and mental health parameters. Statistics were processed with SPSS v. 19.0....

This study was conducted to compare perceptions of stress and quality of life (QoL) among nursing students from three countries (the Philippines, Greece, and Nigeria) and to examine the impact of stress on their QoL. A comparative, cross-sectional research design was used in this study. Data were collected from 547 nursing students from three countries using the perceived stress scale (PSS) and the quality of life evaluation skill (QOLES). Students' perceptions of stress and QoL were different across the three countries. Furthermore, higher stress perceptions were identified from taking care of patients, the clinical environment, and faculty, peer, and staff encounters, which predicted a negative QoL. The findings emphasized the need for empirically tested and culturally tailored interventions to effectively reduce stress and enhance the QoL in nursing students.

Introduction: The latest developments in the treatment of mental disorders include systematic education of patients and their families on mental disorders and treatment. Psychoeducation is considered an integral part of modern and integrated treatment for mental disorder. It is the principal intervention in the application of the theory of psychosocial rehabilitation in practice. It is a model adapted to the needs of the chronically ill patient family. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to highlight the active involvement of the family members throughout the course of the disease, mainly due to the long-term interaction and patient care. Results: All family psychoeducational models in studies of intervention compared with usual supportive intervention of the individual patient, always in combination with drug therapy proved highly effective not only in reducing relapses and reduce tension and stress in the family, reducing the expression of negative emotions as well as relieve th...

Medical researches as well as the study of the Earth’s surface, better still, geography are interlinked with each other; their relationship dates from antiquity. The science of Geographic Information Systems and, by extension, Geomatics engineering belongs to a discipline which is constantly developing at a global level. This sector has many applications regarding medical / epidemiological research and generally, the social sciences. Furthermore, this discipline may act as a decision making tool in the healthcare sector and it might contribute to the formulation of policies into the healthcare sector. The use of GIS so as to solve public health issues has an exponential increase and has been vital to the understanding and treatment of health problems in different geographic areas. In recent years, the use of various information technology services and software has lead health professionals to work more effectively.

Background: According to World Health Organization (WHO), spirituality is an important domain of quality of life especially in terminal, life threatens chronic diseases. For many people spirituality and religion are not just very important dimensions of their existence, but also a source of support that contributes to wellbeing and coping with everyday difficulties of life. Aim: Aim of the study was the translation of the Facit Spiritual Well Being Scale (Facit-Sp12) in Greek language and the validation of the scale for the Greek population. Material and Methods: The Facit-Sp12 questionnaire is an anonymous self-administered questionnaire that contains twelve, four point Likert scale, closed questions (0=Not at all, 1=A little bit, 2=Some-what, 3=Quite a bit, 4=Very Much). The questionnaire was translated into Greek language and then back translated in the English in order to be checked for any inconsistencies. The sample of the study was 183 chronic kidney disease patients, undergoing hemodi-alysis. Exploratory factor analysis, with principal components analysis with Varimax rotation was performed for checking the construct validity of the questionnaire. The test–retest reliability and the internal consistency were also examined. Statistical analysis performed by the use of SPSS 21.0. Statistical significance level was set at p=0.05 Results: The final Greek version of the questionnaire includes all of the twelve questions. The mean age of the participants was 61.81±13.9. Three factors were exported from the statistical analysis. The Cronbach-α coefficient was 0.77 for the total questionnaire and for each subscale was 0.70 for " meaning " , 0.73 for " peace " and 0.87 for " faith ". Between the three subscales " meaning " had the highest score (mean 12.49, SD=2.865). Conclusions: The Facit Spiritual Wellbeing Scale–Facit-Sp12, is a valuable and reliable questionnaire of three dimensions that can be used for assessing spirituality and spiritual wellbeing in Greek population.

Introduction: Mental disorders are the most stigmatized diseases. Despite the progress in social psychiatry and the adoption of mechanisms that raise awareness in the public, mentally ill patients are continuing to be victims of discrimination. Nurses and health care professionals are working together with patients and their families in order to address issues that are raised by those behaviors. Propose: The present study aims to investigate the nurses’ attitudes towards mental disorders and their relation to the following factors: age, gender, education and working experiences in mental health settings. Material and Method: A group of 160 nurses are recruited who work in psychiatric or general hospitals as well as in community based on rehabilitation facilities. Data are obtained by an anonymous self-administered questionnaire that is consisted by demographic questions and the Opinion on Mental Illness Scale (OMI). Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, means, percentages and standard deviations is been utilized. Inferential statistics has been used to determine relations between relevant variables. The level of significance which is accepted is p < 0.05. Results: The sample of the study consists of 160 health professionals. The vast majority of the respondents are women (75.3%), while men number to 24.7% of the total. The age of the participants ranges from a low end of 24 years of age, to high end of 56 years, with the average age being 39.40 years a standard deviation of 7.04. Age level of education and working environment yield a statistical significant difference among the respondent scores. Conclusions: Factors such as, age, level of education and working environment seem to be shaping the perceptions that nurses have about mental illness.

This literature review highlights the social impact of various diseases, and more specifically their negative consequences to the patients. Stigma caused by these diseases is diachronic and leads all the sufferers, both adults and children, to social exclusion. Moreover, the measures that have to be taken for the prevention of these situations and the rehabilitation of the above mentioned patients are identified. At the end ethical aspects of stigmatization and social exclusion in health services are discussed.