Abstract: The aim was to investigate medication errors regarding antibiotic and oxygen therapy in 2 different hospital types, respiratory versus general, in Greece. Oxygen and antibiotic errors were 27.4% and 16.9%, respectively. Errors by physicians and nurses were nearly the same type and rates. Oxygen errors were significantly higher in the General Hospital. The study confirmed that medication processes should be reevaluated to prevent medication errors, and educational programs and protocols should be used.

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: The aim of the present study is to (a) describe the level of agreement between reports of health-related quality of life (HRQL) obtained from parents and young patients both on- and off-treatment and (b) explore the factors that may affect the level of agreement in the quality of life (QoL) between young patients and parental proxies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 149 young patients (77 children and 72 adolescents) with cancer followed up by an oncology in-patient clinic of a Greek children's hospital with one of their parents (n=298). After parental consent was obtained, data were collected using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) and a sociodemographic data form. RESULTS: The data collection showed that the best agreement was for the physical (ICC=0.82) and the school domains (ICC=0.68), whereas the worst was for the emotional (ICC=0.48) and the social domains (ICC=0.52). In the off-treatment group, the mother's age was a significant predictor of the child-proxy difference on the physical sub-scale (F=9.804, P=0.003). There was a negative relationship between the mother's age and patient proxy difference on the physical sub-scale. In the on-treatment group, the educational level of the father was found to be a significant predictor for the physical (F=4.30, P=0.041), school (F=5.51, P=0.022) and total sub-scales (F=10.41, P=0.002). Parents with basic education tended to have worse agreement with their children's reports on the physical and school sub-scales, while parents with higher education had worse agreement with their children's reports on the total sub-scale. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the children and adolescents with cancer reported better QoL than their parents. The predictors found to be significant need to be examined extensively by further studies.

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to record parents' knowledge and perceptions about the adoption of the appropriate preventive measures in order to avoid serious injury or death of children (as passengers, pedestrians, or bicyclists) in case of motor vehicle accidents. METHODS: A total of 1000 parents of children, aged 0-14 years old, served as the basis for this study; 854 were parents of students in kindergartens, elementary schools and high schools from both public and private sectors, and 146 were parents of children who visited the outpatient clinic of the Paediatric Department of three major hospitals in Athens, Greece, for various reasons, except for accidents, from Sept. 1, 2004, to Aug. 31, 2005. All participants answered an anonymous questionnaire structured for the needs of this study. RESULTS: Over forty-one percent (41.4%) of the participants believed that they were not sufficiently informed about preventing childhood injuries in car accidents, while 80.4% insisted that children under 12 years old comprehended the concepts of collision, distance, speed, and signals of traffic policemen. Parents' information came from the media (65.6%), brochures (43%), posters (9.4%), and health care professionals (14.2%). Child seats, seat belts, and helmets were not used uniformly (76.1%, 61.8%, and 7.4%, respectively), while the majority of parents (88.4%) positioned their children in the back seat of the vehicle. The results arising from the statistical analysis (p = 0.05) showed that parents' information about preventing childhood injuries in car accidents was associated with mother's age (p = 0.07), father's (p = 0.042) and mother's educational level (p = 0.003), as well as with father's profession (p = 0.031). An association was also found between parents' information about preventing injuries in car accidents and children having been in an accident in the past as passengers (p = 0.042) or bicyclists (p = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: The adoption of harsh measures for preventing the devastating consequences of car accidents in children is of high importance. Parents' rigorous education must become our priority. Health care professionals need to act dynamically in sensitizing Greek parents.

Abstract: AIM: To assess the procedure for measuring blood pressure (BP) among nursing students after the basic educational programme and after further supplementary training. METHODS: One hundred and fifty nursing students participated in the study, which was divided into two phases. During the first phase, students attended the routine educational programme in respect of the technique of measuring BP in the course of the lesson 'Basic Nursing'. During the next semester (second phase), the same students attended the lesson of 'Internal Medicine Nursing'. In the course of this lesson, a supplementary educational intervention for BP measurement was introduced for the purpose of this study. In order to perform our study, the university's written approval was given. At the end of the second phase, the 150 participants (volunteers) gave their oral consent for the anonymous publication of the results. RESULTS: The results showed an inadequate performance after the basic educational programme, but a significant improvement in the technique of measuring BP after supplementary educational intervention was achieved. This improvement was significant for all the parameters examined. CONCLUSION: Supplementary education of students may be required, as this could significantly improve their technique for the accurate measurement of BP.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Fever is one of the most common symptoms in childhood. Mothers' insufficient knowledge about its evaluation and treatment frequently leads to excessive fear and anxiety. OBJECTIVES: To explore mothers' knowledge concerning management of fever in their children, at home. DESIGN: Descriptive, correlational. SETTINGS: An emergency department of a pediatric hospital. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 327 mothers with febrile children randomly selected in the waiting room. METHODS: Data collection was based on interviews by using a questionnaire which was specifically developed for this study. RESULTS: Almost one out of three mothers (32.4%) evaluated fever as a temperature between 37-38 degrees C and the 38.1% of them considered that side effects could be a result of these temperatures. The majority of the mothers (73.7%) administered antipyretics at body temperatures of 37-38.5 degrees C, usually without a medical instruction (49.2%). Younger mothers with lower education levels and those who admitted to hospital for the first time with children less than 12 months of age showed the poorest level of Knowledge about fever evaluation and treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Educational interventions by health care professionals aiming at educating young mothers with a low educational level and those with a child younger than 12 months old who seek medical attention at hospital, for the first time, are needed to dispel misconceptions about fever and to promote the appropriate management of the febrile child.

Abstract: In a population-based longitudinal cohort study, we tested the hypothesis that children growing up in a high-traffic polluted urban area (UA) in the Athens' basin have higher prevalence of allergies and sensitization when compared with those growing up in a Greek provincial rural area (RA). We recruited 478 and 342 children aged 8-10 living in the UA and the RA, respectively. Respiratory health was assessed by a parent-completed questionnaire in three phases: 1995-96 (phase 1), 1999-2000 (phase 2), 2003-04 (phase 3) and skin-prick testing to common indoor and outdoor aeroallergens was performed at phases 1 and 2. Reported asthma and eczema did not differ between the two areas, whereas reported hay fever was persistently more prevalent in the UA than in the RA (16.5%, 17.0%, 18.2% vs. 7.0%, 8.3%, 9.6%, respectively). Sensitization was more prevalent in the UA at both phases (19.0% vs. 12.1% in phase 1, 20.0% vs. 14.1% in phase 2). Residential area contributed independently to sensitization to >or=1 aeroallergens (OR: 0.29; 95% CI: 0.13-0.66; p = 0.003) and to polysensitization (OR: 0.28; 95% CI: 0.10-0.82; p = 0.020) in phase 1. These associations were independent of farming practices. No significant contributions were found in phase 2. Our results suggest that long-term exposure to urban environment is associated with a higher prevalence of hay fever but not of asthma or eczema. The negative association between rural living and the risk of atopy during childhood, which is independent of farming practices, implies that it is mainly driven by an urban living effect.

Abstract: PURPOSE: The study investigated the television watching habits of children in hospital compared with those at home and the factors which influence them. METHODS: A random sample of 546 school aged children hospitalized in paediatric hospitals (2) in Athens (Greece) was studied. RESULTS: Children's television watching time in the hospital was found to be higher compared to that at home. The characteristics which influence this result are the duration of hospitalization, the television rent, who does the programme selection and the frequency of visits (p<0.001 for all tests). CONCLUSION: Children especially in hospitals should watch television accompanied by their parents/caregivers who should help them to decode the received messages, check the quality of the programmes and intervene in the time spent watching television.

Abstract: Omissions and errors are commonly found concerning hospital oxygen use and the use of nebulizers. The aim of the study was to record oxygen use in seven hospitals located in a large district city of Greece. Another aim was to record the use of nebulizers in the same hospitals. We included 105 head nurses (HNs) working in seven hospitals of a large city district of Greece. Data were collected after interviewing each HN using a questionnaire and completing an anonymous data form. Data are expressed as percentages and analyzed using the chi-square test. We found that 41% of HN believed O(2) is a gas that improves patient's dyspnea. The majority of the nurses (88.6%) stated that there was no protocol for O(2) therapy in the departments in which they worked. We found that O(2) therapy was commonly started, modified, discontinued by nurses in the absence of a medical order. Oxygen therapy was commonly not guided by arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis. We also found that there are no guidelines to prevent O(2) therapy interruption during intra-hospital transportation, and that few measures were taken to prevent O(2) explosion. In 95.2% of the departments the nebulizers were filled with tap water and were not changed on a daily basis (81.2%). Our results indicate that educational programmes, nursing protocols and guidelines are becoming mandatory in our country in order to ensure the proper use of O(2) therapy and nebulizers.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to describe specific work-related factors that contribute to increased levels of stress experienced by nursing personnel, and to compare their impact on nurses and assistant nurses who work in Dialysis Units (DU) to those who work in Peritoneal Dialysis Units (PDU) in Greece. The sample of the study consisted of 682 members of nursing personnel working in DU and in PDU in Greek Hospitals. The collection of data was done by means of a questionnaire. The latter included questions about the motivation of nursing personnel for having chosen to work in these units along with questions about the stress factors related to the patients and their care, the role of the nurse in the unit, and the working conditions. According to the results of the study, the percentage of nursing personnel working in DU or PDU by their own choice was 71% and 8.3% respectively, whereas the rest of the staff were placed there irrespective of their preferences, by the Administrators. Among nursing personnel who had chosen to work in DU, the reported motives that contributed to their decision were the absence of a night shift (27.8%), and working in a closed unit. The main motive that incited nursing personnel to work in PDU was the acquisition and the application of specialized knowledge. The percentage of nursing personnel working in DU that expected high levels of job satisfaction was 77%, whereas the corresponding percentage for nursing personnel working in PDU was 65%. However, only 44% and 37% of the nursing personnel working in DU and PDU reported high levels of job satisfaction. The most important stressors related: i) To the patient: were the risk of contamination (79% DU, 84% PDU) and the death of a patient (77% DU, 80% PDU). 2) To the role of nursing personnel in the unit: were increased responsibilities (65% DU, 37% PDU), low involvement of the nursing personnel in decision making (58% DU, 54% PDU), and low professional status of nursing personnel. 3) To the working conditions: were the shortage of nursing personnel (74% DU, 99% PDU), limited material (74% DU, 57% PDU), the closed environment (75% DU, 64% PDU) and the daily work routine (78% DU, 61% PDU). In conclusion, we can say that working in DU and PDU provokes increased stress in nursing personnel, even though the implicated stress factors differ between these units.

Abstract: This article presents the results of a research study on 547 mental patients testing a form of nursing assessment of mental patients in psychiatric and in general hospitals, as a means to assess their nursing needs and as a basis for planning, implementation and evaluation of their personalized holistic nursing care. The study showed that more depressive than schizophrenic patients went to the general hospital for help. The reverse was observed in the psychiatric hospital. The psychological nursing needs of the patients were significantly correlated with their somatic nursing needs. The psychological as well as the somatic nursing needs of the patients were significantly correlated with sex, age, somatic health state and mental health state in general, and not with their concrete psychiatric diagnosis. It is concluded that the psychiatric nursing assessment should be oriented towards the investigation of the patient's psychosomatic nursing needs rather than be based on his medical diagnosis.