Background: Sleep disorders can result in sleepiness, fatigue, and apathy, and may contribute to serious occupational consequences such as errors at work. The aim of the study was to examine the level of insomnia, sleepiness, and fatigue in a sample of Polish nurses. Methods: The research was conducted among nurses employed in the Lublin region of Poland. A sample of nurses were invited to participate in a survey in which we measured insomnia, sleepiness, and fatigue using the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). Findings: Among the 200 nurses that were surveyed, 141 (70.5%) responded. The findings indicated that a total of 47.8% of the surveyed nurses reported insomnia. Half (50.0%) exceeded the threshold for fatigue relative to the general population. Although no differences in fatigue and sleepiness were observed by level of insomnia between those who did and did not work night shift, we observed an overall correlation between insomnia (AIS) and sleepiness (ESS), as well as between insomnia (AIS) and fatigue (FSS). Conclusions/Application to practice: This sample of Polish nurses displayed problems with sleep quality. The consequences of insomnia and fatigue challenge occupational health workers to go beyond traditional care and standard diagnostic tests. Undertaking preventive measures aimed at reducing health hazards, and the risk of making a mistake at work due to increased sleepiness and fatigue, in nurses are warranted.

Introduction. Central nervous system tumours establish a group of benign and malignant tumours stemming from various nervous system cells [1]. In every stage of cancer the patient needs help and support compensating the deficits in psychophysical health. The term "social support" is used interchangeably with the following expressions: help, relationships, bonds, social relationships, connections [5,6]. Objective. The aim of the study was to assess the need for social support for patients suffering from brain tumour. Results. For patients suffering from brain tumour the most needed form of support is emotional. Conclusions. There is a relationship between certain sociodemographic data (marital status, family type) and the need for a certain kind of social support (personal or professional/formal support).

Introduction. The rapid transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has prompted government officials from many countries around the world to introduce severe epidemic restrictions to reduce the risk of developing coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, apart from the necessity to protect somatic health, it turned out in a relatively short time that the pandemic also posed a serious threat to the mental functioning of many people.Aim. The aim of the study is assessing the structure of stressful experiences of women and men in the pain syndrome of the lumbar spine during the COVID-19 epidemic in Poland.Material and Methods. The study sample consists of 102 patients hospitalized in the Department of Neurosurgery and Pediatric Neurosurgery of the Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 4 in Lublin. The first group is women, the second is men. The research used the KPS Questionnaire and a proprietary questionnaire. Statistical analyses were carried out using the IBM SPSS 25 program using the two-factor analysis of variance in the mixed schema included in the multivariate OML model.Results. In the group of women, 49.0% of patients feel high stress, 31.4% — moderate, and 19.6% — low. In the male population, 37.3% of the respondents exhibited high stress, 51.0% — average and 11.7% — low. Women exhibit lower emotional tension but higher external stress than men. In addition, the patients have the highest emotional tension and external stress, and the lowest — intrapsychic stress. In men, emotional tension dominates, next is external stress, and intrapsychic stress is significantly lower than them.Conclusions. The obtained data suggest that when designing interventions supporting the mental functioning of this group of patients, consideration should be given to taking into account individual differences identified in the studies. (JNNN 2021;10(3):96–104)

Introduction. Alcoholism is a phenomenon with multi-factorial conditions and numerous health and social consequences, which makes its treatment a real challenge not only for the addict himself and his relatives, but also for the entire medical team involved in the therapy process. For this reason, in order to strengthen the therapeutic effects of alcoholic disease, it is important to conduct research aimed at determining the factors that shape the effectiveness of the implemented methods. With this in mind, it has been assumed that the aim of the research is to determine the relationship between the therapeutic methods used in the Clinical Alcohol Dependency Therapy Unit (COTUA), taking into account the tasks of a nurse, and the assessment of their effectiveness in the perception of patients after craniocerebral trauma with a diagnosis of alcohol disease. Material and Methods. 100 COTUA patients were tested, in which the diagnostic survey method was used and a questionnaire was chosen as a technique. Results. The conducted analyses showed that, in the opinion of the respondents, the leading tasks of the nurses at COTUA include informing patients about the principles and methods of therapy, familiarizing them with the topography of the ward, the Charter of Patient’s Rights, the regulations of the ward, the schedule of the day and its specifics, administering medicines, providing a sense of safety, providing psychological support, transferring knowledge and learning how to live with the disease and cooperating with the therapeutic team. In addition, three quarters of the respondents indicated that the nurses working in the ward are willing to talk to patients about alcohol dependence, and a comparable percentage of the respondents assessed the effectiveness of the therapeutic methods used by the therapeutic team in relation to their own alcohol dependence problem very well and well. Conclusions. Patients’ assessment of the effectiveness of the therapeutic methods used depends on the nurses’ tasks of conducting therapeutic conversations with patients, providing them with knowledge, learning how to live with the disease, cooperating with the therapeutic team and the nurses’ readiness to talk to patients about alcohol dependence. (JNNN 2021;10(1):26–34)

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