Introduction. Identification of the process of decision making by nurses is a basis for better preparation of future nurses to an independent, and at the same time, effective decision making. This is related with the provision of high quality nursing services. Aim. The objective of the presented study was identification of the decision making models applied by Polish nurses, and investigation of the relationship between specificity of work in individual wards and the applied model of decision making. Material and methods. The research instrument was the Finnish 56-item questionnaire form examining decision making by nurses. This questionnaire was translated and adjusted to the Polish conditions, and its psychometric properties were confirmed concerning validity and reliability. The study covered nurses employed in conservative treatment wards (n=977), surgical wards (n=361) and intensive care units (n=293); a total number of 1631 Polish nurses employed in the hospitals was examined. Results. Analysis of data showed that nurses from various wards in the study applied four models of decision making: analytical, intuitive, analytical-intuitive, and intuitive-analytical. Selection of the model used was associated with the specificity of work in individual wards. Conclusions. The studies confirmed that during the process of decision making the nurses used both analytical and intuitive approaches, according to the type of ward and the specificity of the work of a nurse.

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).

Background. Providing care to patients with low function agility in the home environment becomes a burden and leads to the worsening of the informal caregiver's quality of life. Objectives. aim of the research was to assess the quality of life of informal caregivers in the context of their burden linked to the care provided to chronically ill patients with low function agility in the home environment. Material and methods. research was conducted in five public healthcare facilities, from september 2016 until February 2017, and included 138 informal caregivers. the wHoQol-aGE scale was used to assess caregivers' quality of life, and the CoPE index was employed to assessed caregivers' burden. Results. according to wHoQol-aGE, the average value of caregivers' quality of life was 70.14 points. Caregivers' burden according to the CoPE index negative impact of Care subscale was: m = 11.80; Positive Value of Care subscale: m = 13.71; and in Quality of support subscale: m = 12.46. statistical importance was at p ≤ 0.01 for wHoQol-aGE scale, and the burden according to the CoPE index. Conclusions. informal caregivers' quality of life according to the wHoQol-aGE scale corresponds significantly with caregivers' burden according to the CoPE-index, in all of the analysed domains. along with the increase of the negative influence of the care, general quality of life with all its subscales, as well as satisfaction, decreases. Caregivers' quality of life increases along with the increase of the satisfaction connected to the provided care, and with receiving support from informal and formal healthcare.

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Introduction: Family members as informal caregivers are the most common and important providers of caring services in the home environment of patients suffering from chronic diseases.The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between the functional and mental performance of patients being provided long-term nursing home care and the burden of their caregivers.Materials and methods: The study was carried out in the Lublin region from September 2016 to February 2017. The study group included 149 patients with chronic diseases under long-term nursing home care and their 150 informal caregivers. The burden of the caregivers was assessed by means of the Carers of Older People in Europe (COPE) Index questionnaire which is used to check different aspects of the caregivers’ roles, life situations and relationships with the care recipients. The patients’ functional performance was measured by means of the Barthel Index for Activities of Daily Living, while their mental performance was checked using the Abbreviated Mental Test Score.Results: According to the COPE Index, the caregivers’ burden for particular subscales was as follows: Negative Influence of Care (NIC) 11.80 (SD = 3.75), Positive Value of Care (PVC) 13.71 (SD = 2.07), Quality of Support (QS) 12.46 (SD = 2.69). It has been indicated that the worse the functional and mental performance of the patient under care, the greater the burden of the carers – NIC (p < 0.01), the lower the satisfaction with care – PVC (p < 0.01) and the lower the quality of support given – QS (p < 0.01). The deterioration of a patient’s mental performance correlates with the female gender of the caregiver and the longer duration of care.Conclusions: The lower functional and mental performance of patients who are being provided long-term nursing home care has a relationship to the experience of the negative effects of care by informal carers, lower satisfaction with care and lower quality of support.