Wprowadzenie: Fundamentalnym prawem człowieka jest prawo do życia. Eutanazja definiowana jako przyspieszenie śmierci w celu skrócenia cierpień chorego na jego życzenie, czyli śmierć zadana, sprzeciwiająca się śmierci naturalnej jest bardzo kontrowersyjnym tematem. Celem badań było poznanie opinii studentów na temat eutanazji. Materiał i metody: W badaniach zastosowano metodę sondażu diagnostycznego, jako technikę wykorzystano kwestionariusz ankiety własnej konstrukcji. Badania przeprowadzono wśród 100 studentów studiów niestacjonarnych II stopnia, kierunku Pielęgniarstwo, Wydziału Zdrowia i Nauk Medycznych Krakowskiej Akademii im. Andrzeja Frycza Modrzewskiego. Wyniki: Analiza materiału badanego wykazała, że większość ankietowanych sprzeciwia się prawnej legalizacji: eutanazji czynnej (60%), eutanazji biernej (56%), eutanazji dzieci (83%), samobójstwa wspomaganego (82%), eutanazji dokonywanej bez zgody i wiedzy chorego (95%). Stwierdzono istotną zależność między popieraniem legalizacji eutanazji czynnej a uznawanymi wartościami chi 2 (1) = 6,42; p = 0,011 oraz między popieraniem legalizacji samobójstwa wspomaganego a uznawanymi wartościami chi 2 (1) = 8,63; p = 0,003.

Introduction: The process of occupational burnout develops slowly; its initial symptoms are discreet, they increase progressively and become manifest suddenly, with great power. The burnout syndrome constitutes a serious personal and social problem whose cause lies in the workplace or is work-related. Aim of the research: To assess occupational burnout of nurses and the sense of satisfaction with career. Material and methods: The study covered 100 nurses working for the Health Care Unit in Dąbrowa Tarnowska. The method of a diagnostic poll was used in the research. A survey questionnaire regarding career and the standardised Maslach Burnout Inventory were the research tools used. The calculations were made with the use of the IBM SPSS Statistics 20 software. The adopted statistical significance was p < 0.05. Results: As many as 48% of the nurses felt job satisfaction. Among 41% of the nurses a high level of a burnout related with emotional exhaustion was determined, and 63% of the nurses felt a low level of burnout related to depersonalisation. Lack of the feeling of personal achievements was the cause of the high level of burnout in 62% of the surveyed. The average result of burnout scale was 50.34 points, indicating that 38% of the nurses were threatened with burnout. The age of the studied nurses, place of work (ward), and feeling the need for further education do not influence the frequency of occupational burnout occurrence. Conclusions: Good relationships within a therapeutic team and support from the ward head nurse are strongly linked with the feeling of less occupational burnout. Streszczenie Wprowadzenie: Proces wypalenia zawodowego rozwija się powoli, jego początkowe objawy są bardzo dyskretne, stopniowo narastają i ujawniają się nagle z dużą siłą. Syndrom wypalenia zawodowego jest poważnym problemem indywidualnym i społecznym, którego przyczyna znajduje się w miejscu pracy lub jest związana z pracą. Cel pracy: Ocena wypalenia zawodowego u pielęgniarek oraz ich poczucia satysfakcji z pracy zawodowej. Materiał i metody: Badaniami objęto 100 pielęgniarek pracujących w Zakładzie Opieki Zdrowotnej w Dąbrowie Tarnowskiej. W badaniach zastosowano metodę sondażu diagnostycznego. Narzędziem badawczym była ankieta własnego autorstwa w formie kwestionariusza dotycząca pracy zawodowej oraz wystandaryzowany Kwestionariusz wypalenia zawodowego Christiny Maslach. Obliczeń dokonano za pomocą programu IBM SPSS Statistics 20. Przyjęto poziom istotności p < 0,05. Wyniki: Satysfakcję z wykonywanej pracy odczuwało 48% pielęgniarek. U 41% pielęgniarek stwierdzono wysoki poziom wypalenia zawodowego związanego z wyczerpaniem emocjonalnym, 63% pielęgniarek odczuwało niski poziom wypalenia zawodowego związanego z depersonalizacją. Brak poczucia osobistych osiągnięć był przyczyną wysokiego poziomu wypalenia zawodowego u 62% badanych. Średni wynik skali wypalenia zawodowego wyniósł 50,34 pkt, co wskazuje, że 38% pielęgniarek zagrożonych było wypaleniem zawodowym. Wnioski: Wiek pielęgniarek, miejsce pracy (oddział) oraz odczuwani...

Introduction. One of the social processes currently taking place in European countries is a growing number of the elderly and chronically ill. The problem of increasing life expectancy is a new biological and social phenomenon. Despite advances in medical sciences and development of technology in the 21st century, death is a necessity inscribed in the future of every man since birth. Aim. Assessment of knowledge and attitudes as regards individuals in terminal condition. Material and methods. The research was conducted at State Higher Vocational School in Tarnow among the group of 284 students. The research tool was an original survey questionnaire. Results. The studied group was composed of 26.4 % males and 73.6% females. The average age of the respondents was 26.79 years (SD=7.60). The men were significantly more frequently (p=0.008) than women prone to giving up employment abroad in order to look after a close person, also more frequently (p=0.027) claimed that in contacts with the terminally ill, a spiritual support is important. The attitude of the surveyed towards faith influenced the indication of vital factors in contacts with a terminally ill person. For believers the spiritual support was remarkably more important in a contact with a terminally ill person (p=0.016) whereas the non-believers significantly more often mentioned dealing with all formalities (p=0.049). The research demonstrated that the nonbelievers were significantly more often (p<0.000) in favour of euthanasia of individuals in a terminal condition. Conclusion. Students in a vast majority demonstrated the attitudes towards the individuals in a terminal condition that are socially acceptable. They demonstrated great sensitivity to the needs of a sick person. The surveyed hold the opinion that helping another person can become a source of one’s own spiritual growth.

<b>Introduction:</b> At present, allergic diseases are some of the most common chronic diseases affecting all spheres of human life. The only form of causative treatment of allergic diseases, apart from elimination of the sensitizing factor, is the specific allergen immunotherapy. The symptoms of allergic diseases can cause a number of consequences, including reduction of patient activity, negatively affect social relationships, ways of spending free time, and also cause sleep disorders. Assessing the quality of life in allergic diseases provides us with knowledge of the patient’s psychological and social functioning, and is a valuable addition to the review of the effectiveness of treatment for allergic diseases, allowing us to assess the patient’s overall well-being. <br/><b>Aim of the study:</b> The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of life of patients using specific allergen immunotherapy. <br/><b>Material and methods:</b> 128 subjects were included in the study, but 100 questionnaires were used for the analysis. The study group was comprised of patients undergoing specific allergen immunotherapy over the age of 18 years. In this paper a diagnostic survey was used as a research method. The tools used are the standard questionnaire SF-36 and the questionnaire survey. <br/><b>Results:</b> In the present study, it was observed that the overall quality of life of people affected by allergic diseases, as measured by the SF-36 questionnaire, can be assessed as quite good. Respondents subjected to specific allergen immunotherapy consider this method of treatment positively influencing their health as they reduce the symptoms of allergies. As many as 91% of the respondents think that specific immunotherapy affects them to reduce the symptoms of allergies. It has also been shown that the length of therapy has no effect on reducing the symptoms of allergies. <br/><b>Conclusions:</b> The overall quality of life of patients is quite good, best evaluated in the domains of physical fitness, limitation of activity caused by emotional problems and changes in health status. Researchers positively evaluate the effect of immunotherapy on their health as it reduces the symptoms of allergies. Respondents have little knowledge about how to prevent exposure to allergens. Despite a positive assessment of the effectiveness of immunotherapy, the vast majority of respondents feel the need for additional antihistamines.

Introduction. The patient’s spiritual needs are an important part of providing hospital care. Health care providers often fail to take the patient’s spirituality into consideration. The patients’ religious needs are often ignored and omitted while preparing care plans. These issues should be looked at by both the members of therapeutic teams and religious ministers. The Polish law regulates allows patients to have access to religious care. Preparing nurses to assist in realizing is an important part of education preparing to care. Aim. The aim of the study was to elicit nurses’ opinions about the patients’ spiritual needs and the role of nurses in the implementation of spiritual care. Material and method. The study included 88 nurses working in health care sector in the province of Malopolska, currently studying at Higher Vocational School in Tarnow majoring in nursing through part-time first-cycle studies (bridging) and the second-cycle studies. The study was conducted in November 2013. Due to its specificity, it has not required obtaining any approval papers from the Bioethical Committee. The authors conducted the study using a diagnostic survey with a questionnaire of their own making. Results. A vast majority of the respondents (76.1%) believe that the spiritual needs of patients are often ignored by health care providers. Some 98.9% of students (participants in the study) stated that nurse should actively participate in identifying and meeting spiritual needs of patients. According some 80.7% of the participants, most employers do not gather any information regarding the patients’ worldview or religious needs. Conclusions. Studies have shown that: 1. Spiritual needs of patients are rarely included in care plans. 2. Nurses should participate in identifying and meeting spiritual needs of patients. 3. Health care institutions rarely collect any information about the worldview and spiritual needs of their patients.