The survey confirmed rather neutral up to slightly positive attitude of the Slovak population towards people with mental illness. Existence of attitudes burdened with fear was revealed in some cases, indicating the need for continuous education of the society in this subject matter.

This study examines the effect of 2 indicators on quality of life (QOL): social support and meaning of life for terminally ill patients. These 2 indicators are very important from a psychological and spiritual point of view. The findings suggest that there is a statistically significant correlation between meaning of life and QOL (r = .610, P < .001). Results have also demonstrated that more frequent patient visits increase the sense of life fulfillment for dying patients. A significant relationship exists in survival of life meaningfulness and satisfaction with social support. In conclusion, experiencing one's life as meaningful is positively related to the well-being for dying patients. Social support provided by a close relative had a positive influence on the patient's meaning of life and overall life satisfaction.

Objective: This study discusses the social and existential aspects affecting patients during end of life care. It examines the impact of specific indicators on patient perception of the purpose and meaning of life. Methods:This study was conducted directly on the terminally ill patients receiving palliative care (N=32). A standardized Logo-test was used in the research to measure specific indicators of care.Results: There was a significant correlation between the level of satisfaction with social support from relatives of the dying client and the degree of meaningfulness of his or her life. Significance of results:The results of the study suggest that social support, awareness, and meeting patients' needs are among indicators that significantly affect patients' meaningfulness of life. Extending the care given to terminally ill patients beyond pain management and symptom control to include the treatment of other problems associated with the psychosocial, existential, and spiritual status appears to have efficacy.

Objective: The objective of the research was to identify the current needs of parents who have children with Down syndrome (DS); needs which were not satisfied at the time when DS was diagnosed in the child, and to describe the nature of the relationship between the needs of parents who have children with DS and their quality of life. Methods: Two valid standardized scales were applied in the research: the Family Needs Survey (FNS) and the Family Quality of Life Scale (FQOL). The research sample consisted of 102 parents of children with DS. The obtained data were processed using content analysis of data and statistical data processing through SPSS. Results: The research shows that it was right after the birth of their DS child that parents felt they most lacked information and psychological assistance. As their children grew older, they needed more formal or informal support, financial assistance, engagement of their DS child in the educational process, and they also felt a shortage of time. At the same time, a strong factor with a positive impact on the needs of parents of DS children (U = 448; p < 0.05) and their quality of life (U = 146; p < 0.05) was the support of grandparents and self-help communities (α = 52.78; p < 0.05). The higher the quality of the parents life, the lower the needs in terms of family functioning (r s = -0.267; p > 0.01), use of community services (r s = -0.278; p > 0.01) or the necessity to acquaint the community with the child's disability (r s = -0.280; p > 0.01). Conclusions: In order to satisfy the needs of families with DS children, formal and informal support is equally important. The types of support vary throughout the children's lives. Services provided to these families should not only be complex, but also coordinated and continuous.

The quality of life of sufferers of chronic and serious diseases is a phenomenon which has come to the attention of contemporary medicine, nursing and other supporting professionals working with cancer patients. This research set out to determine whether there is a difference in the self-perception of the quality of life of hospitalized cancer patients and cancer outpatients. This study deals with the comparison of quality of life in 128 outpatient and hospitalized cancer patients in the curative stage of cancer. The QLACS (Quality of Life in Adult Cancer Survivors) "How do I live with the disease?" questionnaire was used in the survey. To ascertain the total value of the quality of life we used scoring with a potential spread of responses from 1 to 7 in the QLACS questionnaire. Using this scale, various items in the questionnaire measured the level of each frequency of problems (1 = never, 7 = always). The resulting value of quality of life of the patient was higher when the final score was lower. A significance level of 0.005 in the resulting value of quality of life (sig. = 0.000) in the study group of patients confirmed the hypothesis, which assumed that the quality of life of hospitalized cancer patients is significantly lower than the quality of life of cancer outpatients. The quality of life of hospitalized cancer patients is significantly lower than the quality of life of cancer outpatients (sig. = 0.000) since admission to hospital with all the accompanying negative factors for the patient-the separation from family and loved ones, unfamiliar environment, undergoing often difficult and invasive diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, which amongst others, are very stressful for the patient, with a potentially negative impact on the patient's quality of life.