Reduction of excessive alcohol consumption still remains a significant challenge to the actions in the scope of public health of European citizens. The aim of this study is to present the prevalence of alcohol consumption and to estimate the occurrence of risky drinking among college students from the Polish, Slovak, Romanian, and Ukrainian parts of the Carpathian Euroregion, taking social contexts into account. The consumption of alcohol was estimated on the basis of the respondents' statements regarding the quantity and frequency of their consumption of beer, wine, and vodka. The study included people from the first year of undergraduate studies. The analysis used the Chi-square independence test and odds ratios (ORs). There were significant differences in the frequency of alcohol consumption, as well as the individual types consumed, among the respondents from the analyzed countries. Of the examined college students, 70% admit to occasional drinking. The pattern of dangerous alcohol consumption occurs in the case of approximately every seventh person. Risky drinking occurs with much greater frequency among male students rather than their female counterparts. In Romania, a very small percentage of female students engage in risky drinking. The analysis did not show statistically significant differences in the frequency of risky drinking between countries. The coexistence of other adverse health behaviors, such as smoking and alcohol abuse, was confirmed.

Background: Taking care of a child with Cerebral Palsy (CP) may be linked with adverse effects in the parents’ physical and mental health. The causes of anxiety and depression symptoms associated with childcare are still not fully understood. Aim: To assess the intensity of anxiety and depression symptoms in parents of children with CP compared to a control group and to identify selected mental health predictors. Design and Methods: Data were collected from 301 respondents, including 190 parents of children with CP (study group) and 111 parents taking care of children developing normally (control group). Intensity of anxiety and depression was rated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) scale. Gross Motor Function Classification System for Cerebral Palsy (GMFCS), Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29), Berlin Support Social Scales (BSSS) scales and a specially designed questionnaire were used to assess the predictors. The investigated variables included the children’s and the parents’ characteristics, as well as environmental factors. The analyses applied Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, M(SD) as well as multiple regression. Results: The level of anxiety and depression was clearly higher in the parents of children with CP–the mean levels of anxiety and depression in the study group and the controls amounted to 8.1 vs. 4.7 and 6.8 vs. 3.7, respectively. The factors associated with intensity of anxiety and depression in the parents of children with CP included lack of social support, mainly perceived and received support, unsatisfying parental health status, poor economic status of the family, as well as difficult living conditions, sense of coherence, loneliness, the parent’s gender, and the child’s intellectual disability. Conclusions: Identification of significant anxiety and depression predictors, understood as modifiable factors, should be considered in determining and planning comprehensive support for a child with CP and his/her primary parental caregiver.

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Introduction: Self-efficacy in nurses appears to be of great importance, and is one of the indicators of behaviour Purpose: Nurses’ self-assessment of their generalized self-efficacy in relation to their workplace. Material and methods: The study involved random sample of 570 nurses. A diagnostic survey was carried out using the standardized Generalized SelfEfficacy Scale (GSES). Results: The average value of self-efficacy amounted to 29.3±30. Among the respondents, 56.8% represented category of “high efficacy”, whereas others were of “average efficacy” (32.3%) and “low efficacy” (10.9%). The overall assessment of the nursing profession was higher in participants who presented higher values on GSES scale (R=0.12). The average general level of satisfaction in terms of 20 aspects of professional work was connected with self-efficacy which proved statistically significant. Analysis of self-efficacy score did not indicate statistically significant differences among workplaces. Conclusion: Over half of the participants represented the category of “high efficacy”. The group of nurses employed in district hospitals presented the least instances of low self-efficacy assessment. Individuals who were satisfied with their nursing professional development opportunities had a higher self-efficacy. The higher the perception of self-efficacy, the higher the workplace satisfaction. The average level of satisfaction resulting from various aspects of nursing profession depended on the perception of selfefficacy in the following areas of assessment: professional development opportunity, decisionmaking autonomy, sense of purpose at work, and, to a lesser extent, occupational safety, maintaining work-life balance, and the possibility of communicating with people.

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Introduction. The nursing profession in Poland is subject to continuous transformations, but it should follow the directions based on the common framework for the development of specialist nursing, drawn up by international specialist nurses associations in Europe. A change in the nursing education system in Poland has provided an opportunity for progress based on consistent framework.Summary. Nurse education organised in a system of first cycle and second cycle university courses was a milestone towards improving the status of the nursing profession. The improved position of Polish nurses paved the way for further advancements in this profession and in the related scientific research, which in the past was rarely conducted by Polish nurses; today more and more research teams are launched and operate both at universities and in nurses’ scientific associations.

ACTN3 encodes the protein α-actinin-3, which affects the muscle phenotype. In the present study, we examined the association of ACTN3 R577X polymorphism with body somatotype and cardiorespiratory fitness in young, healthy adults. The study group included 304 young adults, in whom cardiorespiratory fitness was evaluated and the maximum oxygen uptake was determined directly. The somatotype components were calculated according to the Heath-Carter method. Genotyping for the ACTN3 gene was performed using a polymerase chain reaction followed by high-resolution melting analysis. In the female group, a lower maximal heart rate (HRmax) was more strongly associated with the RR genotype (p = 0.0216) than with the RX and XX genotypes. In the male group, the ACTN3 RX genotype, as compared with other genotypes, tended to be associated with a lower percentage of adipose tissue (p = 0.0683), as also reflected by the body mass index (p = 0.0816). ACTN3 gene polymorphism may affect cardiorespiratory fitness. Our analysis of ACTN3 gene polymorphism does not clearly illustrate the relationships among genotype, body composition, and somatotype in young, healthy adults.

Introduction: In the nurses group, it is required to have great psychosocial skills, guaranteeing the high quality of professional services. Purpose: To assess the psychosocial working conditions of nurses, depending on their place of employment. Material and methods: The study involved 570 randomly selected nurses. It was based on a diagnostic survey using a standardised questionnaire of Psychosocial Working Conditions (PWC). Results: Correlation factors between the overall and average level of satisfaction with the work were quite high – exceed 0.30 and even 0.40. The greater was the need for change, the lower was the job satisfaction. High sense of self-control at work, social support, or wellbeing was linked with better ratings. Psychophysical requirements were assessed as the worst, and the least frequent were the additional requirements resulting from the conflict nature of the job and overload. Nurses from voivodeship hospitals rated their work lower in the category of intellectual demands, and nurses from the Primary Health Care - in the category of requirements resulting from the conflict nature of the job and overload. Behavioural control and the need for change were different for PHC and the other two hospitals. Psychological wellbeing in district hospitals was worse than in the other two types of medical institutions. Conclusions: The larger was the sense of work control, or sense of social support, the higher was the job satisfaction. The higher the level of requirements and the need for change, the lower was the satisfaction of the assessed aspects of work. There were clear differences in the assessment of the psychosocial working conditions of nurses from hospitals and nurses from PHC.