Objective: To validate a Greek version of the structured self-reported 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) and determine its psychometric properties in patients with chronic illnesses. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a small public hospital and a public health care centre, in a rural town in western Greece. The sample consisted of 100 patients with various chronic illnesses. Data were collected between January-May 2011, on the Greek version of the MMAS-8 and Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ). Results: Scale's reliability analysis revealed an overall Cronbach's alpha of 0.753 and the corrected item to total correlations, were greater than 0.30 for each of the 8 items comprising the medication adherence scale, showing good internal consistency. Convergent validity was supported by a significant correlation between the present scale's total score and the BMQ-Specific Necessity score (Spearman's rho = 0.492, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The current study showed acceptable reliability and validity of the Greek version of the 8-item MMAS to measure adherence to medications for various chronic illnesses. The validated Greek version of the MMAS-8 can help towards understanding adherence barriers in Greece so as to develop effective strategies to increase adherence and reduce the costs.

It has been widely suggested that depression negatively affects patients with cardiovascular disease. There are several pathophysiological mechanisms as well as behavioral processes linking depression and cardiac events. Improvements in nursing and medical care have prolonged survival of this patient population; however, this beneficial outcome has led to increased prevalence of depression. Since mortality rates in chronic heart failure patients remain extremely high, it might be as equally important to screen for depression and there are several valid and reliable screening tools that healthcare personnel could easily employ to identify patients at greater risk. Consultation should be provided by a multidisciplinary team, consisting of cardiologists, psychiatrists, and hospital or community nurses so as to carefully plan, execute, and evaluate medical intervention and implement lifestyle changes. We aim to systematically review the existing knowledge regarding current definitions, prognostic implications, pathophysiological mechanisms, and current and future treatment options in patients with depression and cardiovascular disease, specifically those with heart failure.

Objective To investigate possible correlations between stigma and burnout of nurses and non‐graduate professional caregivers of elderly with dementia in nursing homes. Background Research on dementia stigma in health care professionals as well as its relationship with their well‐being is seriously lacking. Methods This cross‐sectional study involved a convenience sample of 171 nurses and other professional caregivers in 16 Greek elderly care units who responded to Maslah Burnout Inventory (ΜΒΙ) as well as the Family Stigma in Alzheimer's Disease Scale (FS‐ADS). In order to find adjusted associations between independent variables and the stigma and burnout of professional caregivers, multiple linear regression analysis was used. Results Cognitive, emotional and behavioural attributions of the three dimensions of stigma were found to be independent predictive factors of burnout's dimensions which indicate that stigma nurses deposit on patients, contributes towards their burnout. Conclusion Educational preparation of geriatric nurses should provide them with the option of seeing dementia as a normal stage of life since reducing stigma can contribute towards preventing and managing professional burnout. Implications for Nursing Management In order to reduce burnout, nurse managers should design lifelong learning programs on the basis of changing the stigmatizing negative cognitive and emotional attitudes of professionals towards dementia.

Managers ought to establish ways of improving the regulation and monitoring of illegal private duty nurses, in order to optimize the health, safety and wellbeing of patients.

Schoolchildren with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) need supervision in the management of their disorder by the school nurse, securing proper care and safety in the school environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the parents’ perceptions regarding the care and safety of their children with T1DM at school. In this cross-sectional study, 356 parents of children with T1DM attending primary and secondary school (convenience sample) completed the “Parents’ Opinions about School-based Care for Children with Diabetes” and the “Safety of children with T1DM at school”. The majority (58.8%) noted that their children received some care from a school nurse, less than half (44.6%) declared feeling very safe concerning diabetes care, and 42.5% reported high levels of diabetes management satisfaction. Younger age of the child (p < 0.001), school nurses’ advanced diabetic care skills (p < 0.001), existence of school nurse’s office (p < 0.05) and higher educational level of the father were positively correlated with higher parental feelings of safety and satisfaction. The presence of a school nurse was associated with higher academic performance (p < 0.001), significantly fewer absences due to the disorder (p < 0.001) and better diabetes management (p < 0.043). The daily presence of a school nurse in school decreases absenteeism, greatly improves school performance and enhances diabetic management of schoolchildren with T1DM.

Objective and aim. Cancer and its treatment have substantial physical and psychological consequences that severely affect the patients’ quality of life (QoL) and emotional status. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between distress, anxiety, depression, and QoL of ambulatory cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Methods. A descriptive, cross-sectional study of 150 cancer patients who were receiving chemotherapy in the outpatient unit of a central anticancer hospital in Athens. The data were collected through convenience sampling between November 2017 and January 2018, using a demographic and clinical characteristics questionnaire, the Distress Thermometer (DT) and Problem List (PL), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the European Organization for Research and Treatment for Cancer QoL assessment Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30). Results. Variability characterized the sample’s demographic and clinical characteristics. The majority of patients were women (64%), married (66%), high school graduates (43%), had breast cancer (35%), with a mean age of 60.07 ± 11.42. 83% reported anxiety, 75% reported fear, 51% nervousness and sadness, 34% depression and 84.7% fatigue. The DT was positively correlated with HADS (p<0.001) and with almost all EORTC QLQ-C30 functional subscales and symptoms (p<0.001). The HADS-Anxiety was significantly correlated with overall QoL and with almost all the EORTC QLQ-C30 functional scales and symptoms (p<0.001). HADS-Depression was significantly correlated with overall QoL and all the EORTC QLQ-C30 functional scales and symptoms (p<0.001). Women tended to have higher level of distress (p=0.003). There was a statistically significant relationship between educational level, the cognitive functioning scale (p=0.017) and financial difficulties (p=0.026). Conclusions. Ambulatory cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy are at risk of facing distress in all aspects of daily living, along with anxiety and depression, which decreases their QoL. Oncology nurses as members of multidisciplinary teams should assess the affected aspects of patients’ QoL and appropriate interventions should be implemented at community level.

School nurses promote pupils' health, and their balanced physical, mental and social development. School nurses working in the Greek public sector are only employed in special schools and are supervised by the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, Culture and Sports.

Background and PurposesThe present study was undertaken in order to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Family Stigma in Alzheimer’s Disease Scale (FS-ADS) in the Greek population.MethodsThe Greek version of the FS-ADS as well as the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was administered to 171 healthcare professional caring for people with dementia. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to examine the factor structure of the FS-ADS. Test–retest reliability was measured by administration of the FS-ADS in 20 individuals.ResultsPrincipal component analysis revealed 5, 8 and 3 factors (subscales) for each dimension of the original questionnaire, respectively, similar to other previously reported results in the literature. The overall Cronbach’s α was .899, yielding a high internal consistency. Test–retest reliability was very high (r = 0.903, p < .001). Statistically significant relationships were found between most of the FS-ADS dimensions and Maslach subscales.ConclusionThe findings favor the use of FS-ADS in nurses and professional caregivers in general, for measuring stigma in dementia in Greece.