This paper concerns the events that occurred in the span of thirty years – from the 1986 Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion to the 2016 Vienna Declaration supporting it. The purpose, however, is not to discuss the substance of these events, but what should be defined as their context, in particular the political one. The text is divided into two parts relating to both of the documents mentioned, where the content of the message about health promotion formulated at that time is presented, together with the context in which it was created and received, and – briefly – its consequences. With reference to the context of the Vienna document, the issue of post-truth era will be discussed in more detail. The analyses devoted to the two parts will include addressing two problems that affect the issues under consideration: the concept of Health in All Policies and the issue of the susceptibility of various social classes to the arguments presented in health promotion programmes.

The HealthCareEurope (HCEU) project as a support for the transparency and the recognition of qualifications in the health sector in Europe

The HealthCareEurope (HCEU) project funded by the European Commission (co-funded by Erasmus +) implemented from September 2015 to August 2018 involved 10 institutions from five European countries. The leader of the project was DEKRA Akademie GmbH (DE). The aim of the project was to develop tools to facilitate the transparency and recognition of migrant workers’ qualifications within the health care sector in Europe. As a part of the project, the Competence Matrix – Nursing was developed with additional tools to facilitate their transfer to European countries and combined with the Competence Matrix – Elderly Care creating the “Competence Matrix – Professional Care”. In the matrix the VQTS model was used, based on professional tasks in a specific area of work, progress of competence development and competence profiles. The results of the project could facilitate the nurses and elderly caregivers to move freely around the European labor market in terms of their qualifications. In the current process of qualifications recognition – diplomas/certificates confirming formal qualifications have been taken into account, but not qualifications obtained in non-formal and informal learning. The developed Competence Matrix – Professional Care complements these elements.

In January 2016 Polish nurses and midwives were granted new powers to prescribe medications and food of special purposes, as well as to issue referrals for several diagnostic tests and prescriptions for reimbursed medical products. The aim of this paper is to present the possibility to describe the process of prescribing medications using the international language of nursing practice ICNP®. International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP®) is a unified glossary of referential terms for nursing practice that is recommended by the most important medical and professional organisations in Poland and all over the world. Numerous ICNP® terms, which do not only meet international criteria but can – and should –become the primary communication tool for everyday nursing practice of Polish nurses and midwives are an alternative to often random, traditional and intuitive expressions describing nursing and midwifery activities related to widely understood process of prescribing medications. 

Some remarks on ratio legis of the so-called Polish standards for perinatal care

Author in the article presents the evaluation and legal relevance of Regulation of the Ministry of Health which regulates the standard of conduct and medical procedures for the delivery of health services in in the field of perinatal care provided to women during physiological pregnancy, physiological birth, confinement and infant care. It is indicated that the regulations containing the so-called standards of medical care during the perinatal period, may contribute to the improvement of organisation of the care provided to patient during pregnancy, delivery and to the newborn. However, the regulations should not include provisions which describe the standard of medical conduct. They cannot also exclude many of the factors which seriously and negatively affect the level of medical care during the perinatal period in Polish hospitals. 

Impact of the shift system of nurses’ work on their diet and physical activity

Nurses’ work in inpatient care often involves shift work. The shift system, especially working nights, disrupts habits and natural biological rhythms, is a hindrance to home and social life and has a detrimental effect on diet and physical activity. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of shift work on nurses’ dietary intake and physical activity. Using a diagnostic survey, the behaviours of nurses in one- and two-shift systems were compared. The results were processed using the Microsoft Excel and Statistica 10.0 software. The dietary habits and types of exercise did not differ significantly between nurses in the one-shift and two-shift systems. However, a slightly healthier lifestyle in terms of nutrition and exercise was exhibited by nurses in the one-shift system. It seems necessary to introduce health education among professionally active nurses in order to minimise potential problems arising from the style of work.

Incidence of occupational diseases at the territory under the authority of District Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Bielsko-Biała

Introduction. The employees’ health condition depends to a large degree on occupational risks and occurrence of harmful physical, chemical and biological factors at work. These hazards are reflected in the incidence of occupational diseases. Purpose. Analysis of incidence of occupational diseases in 2004–2015 at the territory of the District Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Bielsko- Biala.

Material and methodology. The source of information about occupational diseases in the city end District of Bielsko-Biała was data from individual occupational disease record sheets analysed in the Station. The analysis covered data on occupational diseases according to disease classification, gender, age and duration of exposure to harmful factors in the work environment.

Results. The noted reduction in occupational disease incidence on the territory of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Bielsko-Biała during the period of 2004–2015 correlated with the general declining tendency in Poland. In the city end District of Bielsko-Biala dominated chronic diseases of the musculoskeletal and nervous system, pneumoconiosis, hearing loss and chronic disease of speech organ prevailed, which was related to a longstanding exposure to harmful factors in the work environment.

Conclusions. In the city and District of Bielsko-Biala the declining incidence tendency of occupational diseases is maintained. Analysing morbidity of particular occupational diseases in the city and District of Bielsko-Biala shows that dominating illnesses in this group are currently skin allergies, bronchial asthma, chronic diseases of the musculoskeletal and nervous system and hearing impairment

Risk assessment of aggression among patients applicant to medical centers

Risk assessment of aggression among patients applicant to medical centers Aim was to identify factors potentially increasing the risk of patient aggression. The study was conducted in medical centers in Poland on 244 patients. It was performed using an observation method with the Brøset Violence Checklist for measuring the risk of violent behavior, and the Overt Aggression Scale used in the case of subjects who displayed aggressive behavior. The participants were divided into categories according to the level of risk of aggression. A higher risk was observed among younger individuals, brought to medical centers by the police, those who came later in the day and under the influence of intoxicants. The patients whose risk of aggression was estimated as ≥ 2 points constituted 18.85%, out of whom 87.78% displayed overt aggression. Nursing staff is exposed to patient aggression. The use of the Brøset Violence Checklist can be recognized as an appropriate method of predicting aggressive behavior in patients.

Background. Deficiencies among nursing staff results in a lower quality of nursing care, thereby threatening patients’ safety. A potential way to deal with the problem of insufficient nursing care is to implement effective leadership. Universities play a key role in creating future leaders who are able to initiate changes in health care systems. As leadership education requires adequate support (including financial aid and mentoring), it is necessary to identify those who would most benefit from additional training by analyzing natural leadership competences. To date, the issue of nursing leadership, especially authentic leadership, in Poland has not been sufficiently described. This study aimed to assess the level of competence in authentic leadership in a group of nursing students in Poland.

Methods. A total of 99 students (93 women and 6 men) from the Nursing Division, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Warsaw were recruited, including 58 students in their first year of first cycle (54 women and 4 men) and 41 students in their second year of the masters program (39 women and 2 men). The average age was 26.17 years (min. 24, max. 47, SD: 5.630). Students were assessed using the pen and paper interview (PAPI) method, and an anonymous Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ). The ALQ comprises 16 statements rated using the Likert scale, ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 5, in four dimensions: self-awareness, ethics/morality, balanced processing, and transparency in relationships. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The reliability of the questionnaire measured by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.781.

Results. Only 24% of students had a high level of leadership competency (16–20 points) in the self-awareness dimension. Students achieved a low score (15 points or below) in the other dimensions (ethics/morality, balanced processing, and transparency in relations).

Conclusion. The overall level of leadership competency among the study group of nursing students in Poland was low. Nursing students with higher levels of authentic leadership competencies should be identified and given additional individual support from their home universities during their studies to provide future leaders for our health care system.