There is a well-documented link between infectious diseases, especially HIV, armed conflict, lack of respect for human rights and migration. War leads to disruption of services, increased vulnerability to violence and social hardships that put individuals and especially women at risk of infections such as HIV. HIV in Europe is highly associated with migration, with over 40% of new infections being diagnosed among migrants. Our aim was to provide an overview of the factors that put migrant populations, and especially migrant women, at risk for HIV infection and to illustrate this from three different perspectives: 1) recent migration from the Ukraine, and Polish experiences in provision of HIV care to Ukrainian migrants; 2) successful HIV programs targeting African migrant women in the United Kingdom (UK); 3) the impact of the prolonged crisis and women’s rights violations during the internal Afghanistan conflict. We conclude that although they may be dramatically different, situations having detrimental health effects in women often share common underlying causes, and therefore may potentially be addressed by applying universal principles that emphasise the importance of self-management of health needs, empowerment of vulnerable communities and building community strengths. As crisis situations are often unpredictable, and shortage of resources common, empowerment of communities and creation of systematic policies that proactively address women’s specific needs is crucial to ensuring that vulnerable populations are able to thrive in their new environment, thereby becoming contributors to, rather than being seen as burdens to society. This can only be achieved by continuous dialogue between women’s communities, health care providers, policy makers and other stakeholders involved in the care of women.

INTRODUCTION. In Poland, like in many other countries, guidelines and certain restrictions were introduced in order to reduce the impact of the pandemic and curb the spread of the virus. These related to such behaviours as washing and disinfecting hands, wearing face masks in designated places, keeping social distance and frequently ventilating rooms. However, not all people follow the guidelines, which can lead to both health and social ramifications. The key objective of this study was an in-depth analysis of how safety rules (SR) were complied with in Poland during the initial pandemic period before the vaccines were rolled out, as well as determining factors that could affect the compliance with SR. METHODS. The study was conducted in the form of a series of cross-sectional surveys using the CATI method on a representative Polish sample in 8 rounds of interviews. Random sampling was applied. The first round was carried out from 2 to 6 July 2020, the last from 17 to 21 August 2020. The authors’ original survey questionnaire was used. Factors affecting the compliance with SR were analysed using the multivariate logistic regression method on a combined group of participants from all the study rounds. RESULTS. In total, 4,800 subjects participated in the study, of which 2,512 were women (52.3%) and 2,288 were men (47.7%). Compliance with guidelines was defined based on four survey questions relating to: disinfecting hands when not at home, not touching items with bare hands when not at home, wearing face masks or covering mouth and nose, as well as washing hands after coming back home. Two affirmative answers to these questions or wearing a face mask alone (covering mouth and nose) were interpreted as compliance with SR. SR were more frequently followed by women OR=1.234 95% CI (0.988-1.543), persons over the age of 65 OR=2.098 95% CI (1.409-3.122), people with university education OR=1.315 95% CI (0.950-1.820) and residents of large cities OR=2.179 95% CI (1.382-3.437). Factors that supported compliance with SR were older age, fear of contracting COVID-19 and knowledge of SR. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. During the first wave of the pandemic, the SR compliance level was high. Nevertheless, the study identified social groups with a higher risk of non-compliance. This indicates a need for properly addressing communication to these groups, especially that, as was demonstrated, the knowledge alone of pandemic-related messages significantly increased the likelihood of following SR and restrictions. The study of infection-preventing behaviours and their context may provide essential information to guide public policies and communication strategies that would support these behaviours in order to control the spread of the virus more effectively.

BACKGROUND. The year 2020 in the extent of HCV infection was set for the first milestones on the road to the eradication of HCV infection in 2030. In addition, in 2020 there was a global public health crisis – the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this paper was to assess the epidemiological situation of HCV infection based on epidemiological surveillance data in Poland in 2020. MATERIAL AND METHODS. Analysis of: 1) individual data from surveillance in 2020 conducted by EpiBaza system; 2) diagnosis rate from bulletins “Infectious diseases and poisonings in Poland” for the years 2014-2020; and 3) data about deaths due to hepatitis C from the Demographic Surveys and Labour Market Department of Statistics Poland. RESULTS. In 2020, there was a significant decrease in the number of reported cases and thus in the diagnosis rate of HCV infection in Poland – 955 HCV infections were reported (2.49/100,000 – in comparison with 2019, 3.5 times less). The decrease occurred in all voivodeships (ranging from 0.50 to 6.37/100,000), we observe more districts in which HCV infections were not detected (in 2020 – 35.3%; in 2019 – 16.8%). The diagnosis rate of HCV infection in women and men was at a similar level. However, large disproportions are visible if age groups are considered in addition to gender. For years, we have observed a variation of the diagnosis rate of HCV infection depending on the environment of residence – also in 2020, higher values were reported overall in residents of urban than in rural areas (2.90 vs. 1.88/100,000). In 2.9% of newly diagnosed HCV infections, at the same time cirrhosis was already present, 0.4% had liver failure, and 0.1% had hepatocellular carcinoma. Among exposures of HCV infection, those related to nosocomial transmission still dominate (59%), also in acute hepatitis C (60%). One-third of reported infections were diagnosed in primary health care, and one in four were diagnosed during hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS. The data presented in this paper show that the COVID-19 pandemic deepened the inequalities observed for years in HCV areas. Establishing a diverse system of testing and linking to care in Poland, reaching those in the greatest risk of ongoing transmission of HCV infection, and providing methodologically correct studies to assess progress in the eradication of HCV infection is becoming increasingly urgent to achieve the planned 2030 WHO targets.

Occurrence of infectious disease in a woman is an interdisciplinary area of medicine. The common problem of lower recruitment of women to clinical trials leads to the necessity to rely in clinical practice on the exchange of practical experiences, specialist consultations and individualization of treatment. As the COVID-19 pandemic shows, there is a close relationship between infectious diseases and civilization diseases. People suffering from chronic diseases are both more susceptible to infection and the more severe course of an infectious disease. On the other hand, infection may accelerate or initiate the onset of a noncommunicable disease. Women, especially those living with HIV, are a group with an underestimated risk of high blood pressure or some cancers. Therefore, one of the main goals of the conference is to break the stereotypes of thinking about health, in which gender is the main determinant of some screening tests. Late presentation of women to medical care is a significant problem that is of great importance in the diagnosis and treatment of both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Women put family and professional responsibilities in the first place, and they are known to downplay their own health problems. It leads to the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases or cancer at the stage of advanced changes, limiting the possibilities of effective therapy. Understanding gender attributed differences in the etiology and epidemiology of diseases allows for the improvement of patient care, as well as determines the right direction of reforms in the area of healthcare. It is essential to build models of care based on an interdisciplinary and patient-centered approach, with broad support from both stakeholders and NGOs. Each contact of the patient with the health care system should be seen as an opportunity for screening both in the area of civilization diseases, women’s health, and infectious diseases corresponding to her lifestyle.