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The health of an individual depends on both his/her physical and psychological condition. In recent years it has been observed that chronic patients have frequently an affected psycho-emotional state. The purpose of this study is to investigate anxiety and depression in patients with chronic diseases and the correlation of the results with daily physical activity levels and individual health levels, as well comorbidity. This study included patients with chronic diseases that were treated in a local general hospital or were visiting often outpatient clinics of the same hospital due to their condition. The sample in this particular study included 204 patients; 118 of them were women and 86 men. From the total sample that participated in our research, 118 (57.8%) were females and the majority of the participants were secondary/basic education graduates (67%), married (71%), living in urban areas (53%). Hypertension was the most frequent chronic disease in our sample, followed by hypercholesterolemia and diabetes mellitus. Comparing the occurrence of depression and anxiety symptoms in both questionnaires in relation to the expected frequency in the general population, significant levels of depression and anxiety symptoms were recorded. Taking into consideration the findings of this research, anxiety and depression symptoms can have profound effects regarding the control of chronic diseases, the patients’ quality of life and their general health.

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INTRODUCTION One of the greatest challenges in the healthcare field is planning the health workforce under limited financial resources while being fully capable of responding to an affordable, fair and efficient healthcare system. This study aimed to demonstrate the implementation process of the health workforce planning tool 'Workload Indicators of Staffing Needs' introduced by the World Health Organization. METHODS A descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out at four (two public and two private) hospitals in Greece, to estimate midwifery staff requirements at ward level during 2015-2016, using the WISN software tool. Focus group discussions, structured interviews and annual service statistics from the hospitals' records were used to obtain data. RESULTS Results for both private hospitals showed a shortage in the number of midwives. However, after combining the interpretation of the results, as indicated by the WISN methodology and the structured interviews, current and required staffing is in balance in both. On the other hand, both public hospitals indicate a surplus of midwives (1.83 and 1.33 ratios for the General hospitals in Korinthos and Kalamata, respectively). CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated the implementation process of the WISN methodology through its application in midwifery staff at four hospitals in Greece and confirmed its usefulness in estimating staffing requirements. The application of the WISN methodology should be viewed as a vital tool in assessing overstaffing and understaffing through the estimation of workload pressure among different categories of health staff, thus providing the basis for effective health workforce redistribution in Greece. AFFILIATION

Aim. The aim of the present study was to record habits and attitudes of primary school students in Greece regarding sun-protection measures. Materials and Methods. 2,163 students with an average age of 9.9 (±1.1) years, studying in 14 schools of a Greek region, constituted our sample. The SPSS 17.0 software was used for the statistical analysis and significance level was set to P ≤ 0.05. Results. Our sample had an equal gender distribution. 16% of the students belonged to the high-risk group, 70.2% of the participants lived 0–5 km away from the sea (urban area), 84.2% of the students were Greek, and 15.8% had non-Greek nationality. Half of the participants said they wear a hat when under the sun and 72% of them said they use sunscreen. 33.1% of the students said they had a sunburn last summer. Greek students as well as those who lived near the sea had better behaviour patterns regarding sun protection. Finally, children who did not use a sunscreen systematically had suffered sunburns more often than the rest. Conclusions. Health education programmes are necessary for students and parents/teachers alike, in order to raise awareness about everyday sun protection.

Background: Clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) currently recommend pirfenidone and nintedanib. However, there is a lack of evidence from head-tohead comparisons. Objectives: To perform a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) to access the efficacy and tolerability of two new treatments for IPF, pirfenidone and nintedanib. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) selection (CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase), data extraction, risk of bias analysis, and GRADE assessment were carried out by two authors separately. Direct estimates were calculated using standard pairwise meta-analysis. A Bayesian mixed treatment comparison approach for NMA estimates, with 95% confidence intervals (CI), was used to compare the treatments, calculating odds ratios (OR) and number needed to treat (NNTB) or harm (NNTH). Results: The NMA on 10 randomized controlled trials showed that each drug had a positive effect on percentage of forced vital capacity (FVC) decline 10% (pirfenidone OR ¼ 0.54 [95% CI ¼ 0.37-0.80], NNTB ¼ 9 [95% CI ¼ 7-22]; nintedanib OR ¼ 0.59 [95% CI ¼ 0.41-0.84], NNTB ¼ 9 [95% CI ¼ 6-23]), but no significant differences were noted when comparing pirfenidone and nintedanib with respect to acute exacerbations, mortality, and serious adverse events (FVC decline OR ¼ 0.91 [95% CI ¼ 0.45-2.03]) or dropouts (OR ¼ 0.75 [95% CI ¼ 0.33-1.27]). Nintedanib showed an effect on dropouts, OR ¼ 1.61 (1.13-2.28) and . Conclusions: Based on RCTs of 12 month duration in patients with IPF, a positive effect on FVC decline was noted for both treatments and on dropouts for nintedanib, but no significant differences were noted between treatments. ARTICLE HISTORY

Objectives To explore rates and factors associated with mandatory vaccination support overall and intentions to get vaccinated specifically for COVID‐19 among individuals in Greece. Methods Using data from a nationally representative cross‐sectional survey conducted in October 2020 among 855 adults (≥18 years) in Greece, we estimated support rates for mandatory vaccination and respondents' intention to get vaccinated for COVID‐19 as well as associations thereof with individual sociodemographic, clinical and contextual characteristics. Results About 74% of respondents supported mandatory vaccination and 62% intended to get vaccinated for COVID‐19. The most prevalent reasons against COVID‐19 vaccination were safety concerns related to the duration of clinical trials and potential side effects. Individuals who reported increased trust in healthcare authorities' recommendations, who revealed that their trust in the State increased due to the way the COVID‐19 pandemic was handled, who used preventive services more often, and those with higher income were more likely to both support mandatory vaccination and to indicate intention to get vaccinated for COVID‐19. Participants with worse or better self‐reported health status (compared to average), younger adults, and females were less likely to intend to get vaccinated for COVID‐19. Conclusion The survey revealed that the majority of the Greek citizens favour mandatory vaccination overall and intend to get vaccinated for COVID‐19, driven mostly by utilization of preventive services and trust in healthcare authorities. However, intention to get vaccinated for COVID‐19 was lower relative to mandatory vaccination support. This suggests a need to intensify evidence‐based yet simplified messaging by esteemed healthcare providers to inform the public on the risks and benefits of vaccines.