Purpose The World Health Organization indicated vaccine hesitancy as one of the top 10 threats to global health. The success of a vaccine depends not only on its efficacy but also on its acceptance. Our study aims to define COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in a sample of pregnant and lactating women in Poland. Since mothers are often key decision-makers for whether their children will receive vaccination, it is vital to measure vaccine confidence among this group. Patients and Methods An anonymous online survey was distributed to assess the level of acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination among pregnant and lactating women for themselves and their children in Poland. Results The trust of pregnant and breastfeeding women and women who have offspring in government, in healthcare professionals, in scientific authorities, and sound scientific data is strongly associated with vaccine acceptance and may influence an individual’s decision to perceive recommended actions as beneficial to the society as a whole. Conclusion Acceptance and confidence in receiving the COVID-19 vaccination among pregnant and lactating women and mothers with young children is strongly associated with feelings of trust in government, health professionals, scientific authorities, and sound scientific data. The dissemination of professional and reliable information regarding the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccine uptake by qualified health care personnel can significantly increase the level of trust and public awareness regarding the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccine uptake in pregnancy, while breastfeeding, and mothers with young children.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the impact of pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain on every day functioning and evaluate how effective Kinesio Taping is in reducing pain for pregnant women.Material and methods: 24 women filled the author's questionnaire, Oswestry Disability Index Questionnaire and Pelvic Girdle Questionnaire before starting the therapy. Elastic tape was applied onto the lumbosacral area for 5 days and was evaluated 1 st day of the test immediately before application, day 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10 day of the examination.Results: ODI score was 20.09 and showed major disability resulting from severity of the pain. PGQ score was 19.909. Significant pain reduction was registered on the 3 rd day after tape was applied, significant pain reduction on the day of tape removal, and 5 days after tape removal. Conclusions:Elastic tape decreases pain in pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain. Pelvic girdle pain deteriorates the quality of life for pregnant women.

In Poland, there is a lack of documented data on the use of medical and non-medical services by the elderly during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The FIMA questionnaire assesses the use of medical and non-medical services by the elderly. The authors compared the demand for these services during the ongoing pandemic with similar months in 2017. It was confirmed that in the group of 61 surveyed elderly people, the number of individuals who had a medical visit decreased significantly in the three-month period. In the analyzed pandemic period, patients had significantly fewer visits to their general practitioner only. The pandemic had no significant impact on the use of other medical and non-medical services analyzed by FIMA. The limitations may include the small number of respondents, the relatively short period from the beginning of the pandemic covered by the survey, and the nature of the studied patients’ diseases. Further observation of elderly patients’ access to the abovementioned services can improve the efforts of governments and caregivers in this field, which is of particular importance in the group of chronically ill elderly patients.

No abstract

Purpose The aim the study was to assess the impact of the lockdown due to COVID-19 on diabetes control. Methods The HbA1c value from a pre-lockdown visit (V1) from patients with diabetes was compared to the lockdown visit one (V2) after 3–5 months of its duration. Additional information on how the HbA1c changed and which variables can modify HbA1c during lockdown was also studied. Results Records from 65 patients (type 2 diabetes −96,9%) were eligible and revealed that: HbA1c was at the target in 60% of the patients at V2 compared to 40% at V1; HbA1c decreased and normalized in 19, but worsened in 4 participants during the lockdown. No impact on HbA1c of: sex, age, diabetes duration, therapy type and modification before the pandemic, abandonment of the treatment, previous problems with glycemic control, or change in body weight and physical activity during the lockdown, was found. The previous macrovascular complications were the only variable that affected the increase in HbA1c (p = 0.0072), OR = 5.33. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic has not revealed worsened glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes, in general. The patients with macrovascular complications turned out to be at risk of the harmful impact of the restrictions on the HbA1c.