To investigate the sociocultural and epidemiological factors associated with non-alcoholic beer (NAB) consumption in Poland, including motivations for use, consumption context, and its reported impact on alcohol consumption patterns.
Cross-sectional survey study.
Community setting across Poland; data were collected in December 2024.
A total of 1114 adults aged 18–84 years (mean age: 47.1±14.4 years; 54.3% female) completed the questionnaire. Participants were recruited through an online panel using stratified quota sampling to approximate national population distributions by age, sex and region. Inclusion criteria were age ≥18 years and residence in Poland. No exclusion criteria beyond informed consent were applied.
Not applicable.
The primary outcome was current NAB use, defined as self-reported consumption of NAB. Secondary outcomes included sociodemographic correlates, reasons for use, consumption contexts and self-reported changes in alcoholic beer consumption following NAB adoption.
70.6% of respondents reported current NAB use. Multivariable logistic regression showed that age 18–49 years (p
NAB consumption in Poland is associated with identifiable sociodemographic characteristics and motivated by practical and health-related considerations. While nearly half of current users report reduced or substituted alcohol intake, a substantial proportion incorporate NAB into existing drinking routines without change or with increased alcohol use. These findings suggest a heterogeneous behavioural impact, underlining the need for nuanced public health messaging and further research into the long-term effects of NAB use on alcohol-related outcomes.
interRAI is a global collaboration of clinicians, researchers and policy-makers who have developed a suite of assessment tools to assess the health status and care needs of older adults in various settings (ie, home, long-term care, etc). We aim to determine how interRAI tools have been used as an intervention and to evaluate intervention efficacy in older adults (65+) across diverse healthcare settings. Importantly, given the deployment of interRAI primarily in high-income countries, we anticipate that the findings may have minimal relevance to low- and middle-income nations, where there is an immediate and urgent need for equity in geriatric assessment.
To be included, all studies must satisfy our inclusion criteria, outlined by the population (ie, older adults and/or individuals providing some element of care to older adults), intervention (ie, randomised or non-randomised), comparator (ie, with or without one) and outcome (ie, how the interRAI formed the basis of a study intervention). Our search strategy is based on previous reviews of interRAI tools, our research and clinical experience, and the expertise of a specialised librarian. In addition to PubMed, we will conduct our search without date or language restrictions in Scopus, Embase,Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Academic Search Premier and PsycInfo. Study screening will employ a team-based approach, with Kappa statistics >0.8 indicating ‘substantial’ agreement and an acceptable threshold. Data extraction will capture the study ID and design, as well as sample characteristics and outcomes. Reporting will adhere to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews, with findings presented graphically and narratively.
Ethics approval is not required. Our knowledge dissemination strategies include traditional research avenues (ie, manuscript publications). We will also create an infographic to disperse widely and leverage existing partnerships to provide community presentations.
Chronic wounds decrease patients' quality of life and pose an economic burden on healthcare systems and individuals. Wound assessment tools and monitoring technologies may reduce the costs related to chronic wound management. Bioimpedance has attracted growing attention as a quantitative tool for monitoring chronic ulcers, owing to its proven ability to detect tissue changes throughout the wound healing process. The main objective of this study was to review the state-of-the-art literature on the use of bioimpedance in chronic wound monitoring. A systematic review of literature was performed on the 30th of August 2024 according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines in three electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science). Sixteen studies were included in the systematic review. Studies on bioimpedance measurements for chronic lower leg wound monitoring were analysed, confirming significant differences in bioimpedance between wound and healthy skin, with changes observed throughout the healing process. The variety of electrode types and setups highlights the method's complexity, with electrode configuration playing a critical role in ensuring accurate results. Several challenges remain before it can be effectively implemented in clinical practice. Our review emphasises the potential usefulness of bioimpedance-based methods in monitoring chronic wounds on the lower legs.
Perinatal loss, which includes miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death, is a significant public health problem worldwide. Perinatal loss causes a range of short-term and long-term reactions
in women. Knowing these reactions and coping methods is essential for appropriate support and treatment. This study aims to examine the complex reactions and coping methods experienced by women after perinatal loss.
In this study, a qualitative descriptive approach was used, in which indepth interviews were conducted with the data collected using semistructured interviews. 10 women who experienced perinatal loss were included in the study using the snowball sampling method. Analysis was conducted using an inductive content analysis approach.
The findings showed that women who experienced perinatal loss exhibited a variety of complex reactions, which could be grouped under five themes. These are emotional reactions, concerns, changes in life, subsequent pregnancy and blame. We also observed that these women used strategies classified under seven different themes to cope, which we expressed as relying on religious or spiritual beliefs, restructuring, the healing power of more challenging experiences, reflecting on worse scenarios, isolating oneself, avoiding remembering and concretising the loss.
This study found that women experiencing perinatal loss may react differently and develop different strategies to cope with their loss and reactions. These findings may help to assess the emotional and behavioural states of women after perinatal loss and guide healthcare professionals to provide more individualised care.
The provision of optimal care for older adults with complex chronic conditions (CCCs) poses significant challenges due to the interplay of multiple medical, pharmacological, functional and psychosocial factors. To address these challenges, the I-CARE4OLD project, funded by the EU-Horizon 2020 programme, developed an advanced clinical decision support tool—the iCARE tool—leveraging large longitudinal data from millions of home care and nursing home recipients across eight countries. The tool uses machine learning techniques applied to data from interRAI assessments, enriched with registry data, to predict health trajectories and evaluate pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. This study aims to pilot the iCARE tool and assess its feasibility, usability and impact on clinical decision-making among healthcare professionals.
A minimum of 20 participants from each of the seven countries (Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, Czechia and the USA) participated in the study. Participants were general practitioners, geriatricians and other medical specialists, nurses, physiotherapists and other healthcare providers involved in the care of older adults with CCC. The study design involved pre-surveys and post-surveys, tool testing with hypothetical patient cases and evaluations of predictions and treatment recommendations. Two pilot modalities—decision loop and non-decision loop—were implemented to assess the effect of the iCARE tool on clinical decisions. Descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariate analysis will be conducted. All notes and text field data will be translated into English, and a thematic analysis will be performed. The pilot testing started in September 2024, and data collection ended in January 2025. At the time this protocol was submitted for publication, data collection was complete but data analysis had not yet begun.
Ethical approvals were granted in each participating country before the start of the pilot. All participants gave informed consent to participate in the study. The results of the study will be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated during national and international scientific and professional conferences and meetings. Stakeholders will also be informed via the project website and social media, and through targeted methods such as webinars, factsheets and (feedback) workshops. The I-CARE4OLD consortium will strive to publish as much as possible open access, including analytical scripts. Databases will not become publicly available, but the data sets used and/or analysed as part of the project can be made available on reasonable request and with the permission of the I-CARE4OLD consortium.
Health care workers (HCW) with post-COVID condition (PCC) are frequently reported to suffer from mental health impairment. Given HCW above-average risk for mental health, research is necessary and risk factors need to be assessed.
To compare mental health and health of German HCW with and without PCC and to identify associated psychological and social factors.
Cross-sectional study.
Overall, 2816 German HCW participated (332 reported PCC). Measures were post-COVID condition symptom sum score (PCSS), symptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-2), anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder-2) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms (Impact of Event Scale-6), work–family conflict (Work–Family Conflict Scale), social support (ENRICHD Social Support Inventory), sense of coherence (Sense Of Coherence-3 Scale) and working conditions. Group differences of HCW with and without PCC were investigated. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed for HCW with PCC. PCSS was the dependent variable. Independent variables were a.m. measures and age, gender, occupational group and migration background.
HCW with PCC exhibited higher values, with medium effect sizes, for symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD. Small effect sizes were observed for work–family conflict, social support, sense of coherence and working conditions. Higher PCSS scores were associated with higher depression, anxiety, PTSD and work–family conflict levels, lower social support and sense of coherence and migration background. Being a physician was associated with lower PCSS.
Lower mental health, social factors and resources may play a role in reporting severe post-COVID symptoms. Further research is necessary to investigate these interactions using the biopsychosocial theory.
This study can help to understand PCC in HCW to design adjusted treatments and protect HCW from PCC and minimise their risk of PCC.
This study complies with the Journal article reporting standards for quantitative research in psychology: The APA Publications and Communications Board task force report (Data S1).
Caregivers are the sample group.
In an ageing society, the incidence of hard-to-heal wounds is rising. Chronic wound healing is a complex process, which requires specialised treatment. Clinical assessment of the wound is essential to establish care approaches but is usually based on visual evaluation and it remains challenging. Therefore, innovative quantitative methods for the assessment of chronic wounds are needed. We conducted a single-centre observational study designed to assess the feasibility of a bioimpedance measurement method conducted with a multielectrode sensor array to monitor the wound healing process in patients with chronic wounds of venous, mixed venous–arterial and diabetic aetiology. In total, 104 measurements of bioimpedance were conducted in 18 ulcers during the study. Across all 7 patients analysed, the bioimpedance of the ulcers was consistently increasing as the wound surface was decreasing. The variables had significant (p < 0.001) and strong negative correlation (r = −0.86). We validated the feasibility of the bioimpedance measurement method for the monitoring of the wound healing process on the lower legs. It may be a promising quantitative method for monitoring the status of the wounds. However, long-term measurements are needed to show the usability of the electrode dressing and bioimpedance measurement in the assessment of chronic wounds.
To examine symptoms of depression and generalised anxiety among nurses over 2 years during the pandemic and compare them to the general population.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant increase in mental stress among the population worldwide. Nursing staff have been identified as being under remarkable strain.
A multicentre prospective longitudinal study.
Symptoms of depression and generalised anxiety in 507 nurses were examined at four different time points (T1: April–July 2020, T2: November 2020–January 2021, T3: May–July 2021, T4: February–May 2022). Results were compared with values of the German general population, presence of gender-specific differences was analysed and frequencies of clinically relevant levels of depression and anxiety were determined.
Throughout the study (T1–T4), a significant increase in depressive and anxiety symptoms was observed. At all four measurement time points, nurses showed significantly higher prevalence for depression and anxiety compared to the German general population. No significant gender differences were found. Frequencies for probable depression and generalised anxiety disorder among nurses were: 21.6% and 18.5% (T1), 31.4% and 29.2% (T2), 29.5% and 26.2% (T3), 33.7% and 26.4% (T4).
During the pandemic, symptoms of depression and generalised anxiety among nurses increased significantly and remained elevated. Their symptom levels were permanently higher than in the general population. These findings strongly suggest that the circumstances of the pandemic severely affected nurses´ mental health.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a great mental strain on caregivers. This study was able to demonstrate the significant increase in depression and anxiety among nurses during the pandemic. It highlights the urgent need for prevention, screening and support systems in hospitals.
Supportive programmes and preventive services should be developed, not least to prevent the growing shortage of nurses in the health care systems.
The study adhered to relevant EQUATOR guidelines. The STROBE checklist for cohort study was used as the reporting method.
Five hundred and seven nurses completed the questionnaire and provided data for analysis.
The study was registered with the German Clinical Trials Register (https://drks.de/search/en) under the following ID: DRKS00021268.