IntroductionContemporary people do not follow the civilisation development in every life domain, their lifestyle is not always healthy. Self-efficacy is the factor that plays an important role in undertaking actions towards struggling with the disease.The aim of the studyThe aim of the study was to determine the relationship between the general self-efficacy level and health behaviours as well as chosen sociodemographic features in women over the age of 45 years who have undergone osteoporosis treatment.Material and methodsThe study comprised 151 women over the age of 45 years. The research was conducted in 2016 in health care centres in Lublin, a city in south-eastern Poland. The Generalised Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) by R. Schwarzer, M. Jerusalem and Z. Juczyński and an original questionnaire were used as research tools. The obtained material was subjected to descriptive and statistical analysis. χ2 test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney Test and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were all applied.ResultsThe analysis of obtained results showed that as much as 73.5% of the respondents showed very low and low generalised self-efficacy level. On the other hand, only 22.5% of the examined were characterised by high and very high generalised self-efficacy level. The longer the duration of osteoporosis treatment (rho = 0.251; p = 0.002) and the better the self-estimation of health status (rho = 0.473; p = 0.000), the higher the respondents’ generalised self-efficacy level. The women’s self-efficacy level declined with increasing ailments (rho = –0.190; p = 0.019).ConclusionsThe generalized self-efficacy level and the health behaviours are not satisfactory.

The impact of selected factors on acceptance of illness and life satisfaction among female residents of rural areas treated for osteoporosis. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2019; 26(4): 592-599. AbstractIntroduction. Osteoporosis is a chronic condition with serious sequela, including primarily bone fractures, and impacts on almost all spheres of human life. It is important for patients undergoing treatment to accept their health status and feel satisfied with life.

The aim of the studyThe aim of the study is to evaluate the impact of sociodemographic factors on the quality of life (QOL) in 45-65-year-old women.Material and methodsThe research by means of a survey method, postal questionnaire technique, comprised 2143 women – a representative sample of the female population living in Lublin Province. Three standardized questionnaires – WHOQOL-BREF, Women's Health Questionnaire and SF-36 – as well as an original questionnaire were used as research tools. In statistical analysis Student's t-test for two groups, an analysis of variance, Dunnett's T3 test for multiple comparisons, a one-way analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) and a stepwise logistic regression analysis were used.ResultsIn the population of peri- and postmenopausal women a significantly better quality of life in comparison with the rest of the studied women was established in women aged 45-49 years, respondents living permanently in urban areas as well as better educated women, those with full-time employment, especially those doing intellectual work, women remaining in a long-lasting relationship, and women assessing their financial situation and living conditions as well. Logistic regression analysis showed that the strong predictors of poor quality of life were as follows: self-assessment of living conditions as poor, self-assessment of financial situation as poor, permanent place of residence in the country, lower education level (incomplete primary education, primary education).ConclusionsThe group of women with worse quality of life should become the main addressee of preventive programmes and health policy programmes designed for peri- and postmenopausal women.

SummaryIntroduction: The need for pro-health behaviour emerges most frequently in situations of a life change, a disease or an increased risk of falling ill. Cancer usually leads to abandonment or limitation of the life activity pursued so far. Pro-health behaviour is one of the necessary conditions of returning to fitness. Poland belongs to a group of countries with an average incidence of breast cancer, but the awareness level of disease prevention is still insufficient. Mastectomy is a strenuous treatment for a woman, both physically and psychologically, and the new situation demands change in the previous way of life.Aim of the study: The main objective of the paper was to evaluate health factors among women after mastectomy.Material and methods: The researched material was collected using standardized research tools: Health Behaviour Inventory and List of Health Criteria. The research was conducted among 104 women after radical treatment of breast cancer.Results: The dominant type of health behaviour was preventive behaviour (M = 3.72), while correct dietary habits were the least valued (M = 3.01). Differences were pointed out in valuing health by the respondents, depending on the examined demographic features.Conclusions: The general health behaviour was at a level above the average (M = 86.09). A relation of demographic features to preferred health behaviour was observed, according to the education level (r s = -0.22) and duration of the disease (r s = 0.24). The respondents put the highest value on health understood as a condition (M = 1.36) and not as an effect of conscious actions, and identified it with the ability to enjoy life.Key words: mastectomy, health behaviours, health determinants, lifestyle, women. StreszczenieWstęp: Potrzeba zachowań prozdrowotnych pojawia się najczęściej w sytuacjach zmiany życiowej, choroby lub zwiększonego ryzyka zachorowania. Choroba nowotworowa powoduje zwykle zaniechanie bądź ograniczenie dotychczasowej aktywności życiowej. Zachowania prozdrowotne są jednym z niezbędnych warunków powrotu do sprawności. Polska należy do grupy krajów o średniej zapadalności na nowotwór piersi, jednak poziom świadomo-ści profilaktyki w tym zakresie wciąż jest niedostateczny. Mastektomia jest zabiegiem obciążającym dla kobiety zarówno somatycznie, jak i psychicznie, a nowa sytuacja wymusza zmianę dotychczasowego trybu życia.Cel pracy: Ocena uwarunkowań zdrowia wśród kobiet po mastektomii. Materiał i metody: Materiał badawczy zebrano, wykorzystując narzędzia standaryzowane: Inwentarz zachowań zdrowotnych oraz Listę kryteriów zdrowia. Badania przeprowadzone zostały wśród 104 kobiet po radykalnym leczeniu raka piersi.Wyniki: Dominującym rodzajem zachowań zdrowotnych były zachowania profilaktyczne (M = 3,72), zaś najniżej ocenianym: prawidłowe nawyki żywieniowe (M = 3,01). Wykazano istnienie różnic w wartościowaniu zdrowia przez respondentki w zależności od badanych cech demograficznych.Wnioski: Respondentki osiągnęły ogólny wynik zachowań zdrowotnych na poziomie ponadprzeciętnym (M = 86,09)....

Aim. Presentation of quality of life of post-stroke patients treated in the Neurology Ward of the District Specialist Hospital. Material and methods. The research covered 80 patients after stroke, treated in the Neurology Ward of the District Specialist Hospital. The study used the diagnostic survey method, the questionnaire technique and the standardized research tool: the Polish version of the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale (SS-QOL), authored by Williams et al. The scale comprised 12 subscales and an overall result, all of which ranged between 1 and 5 points. Higher scores corresponded to higher quality of life. Differences between the variables were verified with nonparametric tests. The significance level was established at p<0.05. Results. Quality of life of post-stroke patients treated in the Neurology Ward of the District Specialist Hospital was at the level of 2.64, that is below the average established in the middle of the 1-5 scale. The overall quality of life was higher among women (3.02) than among men (2.39). Patients after ischemic stroke had significantly higher quality of life (at the level of 2.83) than patients after hemorrhagic stroke (at 2.23). Conclusions. The problem of patients after stroke is not only limitation of mobility due to paresis. Identification of bio-psycho-social disorders and help in overcoming them can radically change the patient’s situation. The assessment of quality of life is an indispensable task because it enables evaluation of the patient’s condition, not only in terms of effectiveness of therapy, but above all, in terms of a possibility for improvement of the patient’s quality of functioning, in the mental and social aspects.

From the increasing number of women who recovered from breast cancer arises more academic interest in their subjective opinions about the quality of their life (QL), particularly the physical, psychological, and social aspects of it. Our aim in this study was to evaluate the QL of Polish women after mastectomy. The research was performed on 480 randomly chosen patients who had been subjected to surgical treatment. The functional assessment of cancer therapy (FACT) scale version 4 and hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) were used during the research procedure. The lowest results within the global opinion of QL were obtained within the emotional sphere. The most frequent mental states experienced by the examined patients were worry, sadness, nervousness, fear, and depression.

IntroductionUntil recently osteoporosis was seen mainly as a woman’s problem. However, in the last ten years there has been rising awareness in society that osteoporosis constitutes an inseparable element of getting old for men as well. The aim of the research was to evaluate men’s knowledge about osteoporosis and its risk factors contributing to the development of the disease.Material and methodsThe study included 205 men aged 20-60. The examined men were patients of selected healthcare centres in Lublin Voivodeship. The study was conducted between September 2014 and April 2015. The research was performed by means of the survey method, using a poll technique. Purposive sampling and an original questionnaire were used. Gathered material was subjected to descriptive and statistical analysis. The Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were applied. The statistical significance level was set at α = 0.05. IBM SPSS Statistics software was used to perform the statistical analysis.ResultsThe respondents’ level of knowledge about osteoporosis and its risk factors can be estimated as average. The polled men showed better knowledge on osteoporosis risk factors (M = 59.78) than general osteoporosis knowledge (M = 53.71). Significant differences were found between the respondents’ education and their general osteoporosis knowledge as well as between the respondents’ living conditions and their knowledge about osteoporosis risk factors.ConclusionsBecause of the insufficient level of knowledge about osteoporosis and its risk factors in the male population it is advisable to launch prevention programmes aimed at men focusing on this issue.

IntroductionOsteoporosis as a chronic disease, affecting especially women in postmenopausal age, is an important, social and economic health problem especially of women of today's world. The aim of the study was to assess the level of knowledge of women in the peri- and postmenopausal period about the prevention of osteoporosis and show the influence of chosen risk factors on the level of this knowledge.Material and methodsA group of 300 women aged 45-65, being patients of healthcare centres in Chełm, Lublin and Zamość (Lublin voivodeship, south-eastern Poland) were included in the study. The purposive sampling was used. Osteoporosis Knowledge Test (OKT) 2011 was the research tool. Gathered material was subjected to descriptive and statistical analysis. Tukey's test, t-student test and variance analysis (ANOVA) were all applied. An accepted p materiality level was < 0.05 and p < 0.01.ResultsRespondents presented the average level of knowledge about the role of physical activity in the prevention of osteoporosis (M = 13.93) and a low level of knowledge about well-balanced diet rich in calcium (M = 9.77). The knowledge about risk factors, screening and treatment remained on the average level (M = 8.00). An influence of socio-demographic factors on the level of knowledge was shown. Also some behaviours, associated with the lifestyle indeed influenced the level of this knowledge.ConclusionsProfessional educational programs on osteoporosis should be implemented in the population of Polish peri- and postmenopausal women.