The aim of the study was to investigate the physician and nursing perceptions regarding communication and collaboration as well as the factors that may influence these activities. A self-administered questionnaire survey was sent to a random sample of 93 physicians and 197 nurses based in two large public hospitals in Athens, Greece. Descriptive statistics, t-test and chi square test were performed with the SPSS 19.0 statistical package. Years of experience, the size of the clinic, the university degree and the postgraduate studies were found to be significant factors according to nurses' view (p < 0.05). For the physicians, age, sex, years of experience and the size of clinic affected the communication and collaboration with the nursing staff significantly (p < 0.05). In summary, these findings suggest that nurses and physicians do not share the same views concerning the effectiveness of their communication and nurses' role in the decision-making process of the patients' care. The most important barrier for the establishment of good relations between these professions, according to the physicians, was that they did not recognize the nurses' professional role. The study also indicated that the absence of interprofessional collaboration may result in a higher possibility of errors and omissions in patients' care. Therefore, in everyday practice, both nurses and physicians should acknowledge the importance of their effective communication and they should develop and implement interprofessional teamwork interventions to improve collaboration. Moreover, nurses have to constantly consolidate their role in the decision process and patients' care, especially in countries with limited interprofessional collaboration culture. In addition, factors that improve physicians' attitudes toward collaboration and effective communication should be further explored.

Parental presence is considered to be important in decreasing children's pain, stress and their negative behaviour in general during invasive procedures.

Background:  Diabetes is a significant challenge for pediatric health care professionals because it affects youths’ psychoemotional functioning and, consequently, the quality of life (QOL). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the QOL in young patients with diabetes, as well as the factors affecting it. Methods:  The study was conducted from April to September 2008 in 98 young patients, 11–18 years of age, who were under the supervision of Diabetological Center, General Pediatric Hospital (Athens, Greece). The Diabetes Quality of Life for Youths Questionnaire was used to evaluate the QOL of youths with diabetes. Results:  The mean QOL score was 97.5. There was a negative correlation between the QOL and age (P = 0.02), the duration of diabetes (P = 0.05), body mass index (BMI; P = 0.04), and comorbidities (P = 0.03). In contrast, there was a positive correlation between QOL and increased metabolic control (P = 0.03), participating in sports activities (P = 0.007), and a greater number of insulin infusions (P = 0.04). Conclusions:  The QOL of young diabetics was influenced by demographic, somatometric, and other characteristics of diabetes. Increased metabolic control, participating in sports activities, and a greater number of insulin infusions resulted in better QOL. Increased patient age, duration of diabetes, HbA1c values, BMI, and the coexistence of various health problems, as well as the use of an insulin pump, decreased QOL.

The aim of this study was to evaluate quality of life of children and adolescents with different types of cancer in all phases of treatment and its completion. Patients and methods: The sample of the study was 112 children and adolescents aged 8-20 years. Of these, 56 were new patients with any type of cancer who were receiving treatment and 56 were survivors who had successfully completed at least five years before treatment protocols for childhood cancer. Results: For children and adolescents, new patients with any type of cancer, during the first measurement at baseline score on the scale for quality of life was 3.44 and 3.88, respectively, in the middle of treatment 3.36 and 3.89, respectively, and with the completion of treatment 3.43 and 3.89 respectively. Conclusions: The quality of life of the studied population was not significantly changed during the treatment and after its completion.

define it. However, we need to investigate their real perceptions about this philosophy of care. Aims:The aim of this research paper is to analyze how nurses from Gaslini Hospital perceive FCC practices. We use data taken from a questionnaire and compare these results with those obtained from other studies carried out in different countries. Method:Qualitative study of data analysis from CYPAPT questionnaire. Results:There is worldwide agreement about the features of FCC. Such agreement holds both for the positive sides, such as family individuality and trust in involving parents, and in weak points, such as structural and organizational problems and education paths for health professionals.Conclusions: FCC is well rated worldwide from a theoretical point of view, but it needs further studies and multidisciplinary experimentations to be implemented in practice in the best way. PO08 -Perceptions of children and their parents about the pain experienced during their hospitalization and its impact on parents' quality of lifeVasiliki Matziou (Greece)1; Pantelis Perdikaris (Greece)2;Efrosyni Vlahioti (Greece)3; Vasia Dimitriou (Greece)1; Konstantinos Tsoumakas (Greece)1