Many biological agents are epidemic or pandemic in nature (Ebola 2013, Spanish influenza 1918, Russian influenza 1989, SARS-CoV-2 2019). Recognising the onset of the spread of epidemics and pandemics remains a major challenge even in the 21st century despite the technologies and scientific knowledge at our disposal, as is the successful management of such situations. The reason concerns the existence of biological diversity and the laws that govern it, which are very difficult to predict and which are virtually uncontrollable. It is gradually becoming apparent that the current spread of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 (9 million deaths since the beginning of the pandemic according to WHO) is characterised by very different characteristics (e.g. the exposure, transmission and spread of the viral infectious agent) in different populations and risk groups.Social services workers in the Czech Republic have been on the frontline for the duration of the pandemic and have been required to work in a high-risk infectious environment. This has led to the need for changes in their established working practices and approaches. Considerable creativity had to be employed particularly in the first year of the pandemic due to the scarcity of information on the new viral agent, the availability of which increased only slowly as the scientific community studied and analysed the various factors involved. Globally, the scientific community released its experimental data as soon as it became available; however, unfortunately, due to the nature of biomedical research, the release of the outputs failed to match the time requirements for their necessity in practice.Based on qualitative and quantitative research, the following text provides an analysis of the specific measures and the related difficulties, and the struggle to find solutions, that providers of selected types of social services faced during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.The survey results revealed that the issues in question had a common thread across the various types of social services, as well as a number of common features and challenges. The analysis of the results showed a noticeable shift between the initial period, which was characterised by the rapid onset of the spread of the pandemic, and the situation after 18 months of life under pandemic conditions, which was characterised by the lower incidence of problems and difficulties. One of the major outcomes of the study concerns the identification of the need for social service providers to be provided with a unified, clear and centrally managed process that is able to provide individualised methodological support. The results are based on a study conducted as part of "The Changes in Selected Social Services for People with Disabilities during the State of Emergency Instigated by a Viral Disease" project.

• MeSH
• COVID-19 * prevence a kontrola   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• přístup k informacím MeSH
• průzkumy a dotazníky MeSH
• sociální práce organizace a řízení   MeSH
• sociální pracovníci * statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• statistika jako téma MeSH
• zjišťování skupinových postojů MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

Introduction: Sleep disorders are common among shift workers and those who work under stressful and unpredictable conditions. Sleep quality and its promotion in paramedics are understudied. Objective: The study aimed to investigate the quality of sleep in emergency medical service workers, to compare certain relationships between variables (gender, age, length of experience), and to assess whether a cut-off score of 10 is appropriate for the discriminatory ability of the selected instrument in the Czech clinical setting. Design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: Data were obtained using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The sample comprised 191 paramedics. Data were analyzed using selected statistical methods. Results: The mean PSQI total score was 7.45 (SD 3.60). The lowest scoring component was sleep duration (1.45; SD 1.01). There was no relationship between sleep quality and gender. With respect to age, two components, sleep disturbances and daytime dysfunction, were found to be significant (p < 0.05). Regarding the length of experience, daytime dysfunction was identified as a significant component. The PSQI total parameter with a cut-off of 10 (PSQI total ≤10 good sleep; PSQI total >10 poor sleep) was confirmed to be suitable for discriminating the subjectively perceived sleep quality in paramedics. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that sleep quality is compromised in paramedics. Impaired sleep quality has the greatest impact on daytime dysfunction in paramedics. The PSQI, with a cut-off score of 10, is an appropriate instrument for assessing their sleep disturbances.

• MeSH
• kvalita spánku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• poruchy cirkadiánního rytmu (spánek) * MeSH
• práce na směny MeSH
• průzkumy a dotazníky MeSH
• zdravotničtí záchranáři MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH

MyHealth European project (2017-2020) was committed to elaborate on models to engage vulnerable migrants and refugees (VMR) in their health through community involvement. Low healthcare access and poor quality of healthcare services for VMR is a common reality in many European countries. The purpose of the present study, as part of MyHealth project, was the development of an agenda for actions and consequent recommendations to tackle the issue. A qualitative research design was applied at four study sites in Barcelona, Spain; Berlin, Germany; Brno, Czech Republic and Athens, Greece. The Metaplan® group discussions allowed the collection, organization and process of ideas and opinions elaborated in the collaborative groups. In total, 14 sessions took place: 4 with health and social professionals (n = 41) and 10 with VMR (n = 77). A participatory thematic analysis was performed at every session and overall for all sessions a thematic analysis synthesized the findings. The suggested actions were divided into two levels of recommendations: (i) local authorities at destination country-related, such as the investment in health professionals' cultural competences, and (ii) VMR-related, such as adaptation of help-seeking behavior patterns. Special attention was proposed to women survivors of violence and homeless minors. The study concluded to an agenda for action in Europe. We advocate for a public health paradigm shift where, while holding a bottom-up approach, VMR as well as professionals working with them are actively and meaningfully engaged in the decision-making process of access-enhancing and health promotion strategies in a given socio-cultural context.

• MeSH
• dostupnost zdravotnických služeb MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• osoby s přechodným pobytem a migranti * MeSH
• podpora zdraví MeSH
• uprchlíci * MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Evropa MeSH

The lack of vaccines in the first half of 2021 led to the need to prioritize access to vaccination. This approach has been associated with a number of issues, including ethics and effectiveness. However, analyses providing data on this topic are scarce. This work describes the effect of a priority approach to vaccination on the different development of the pandemic between Czech dentists and the Czech general population. The dentist-related data were obtained from survey studies published in 2021 and 2022, and the Czech general population data were mined from the Our World in Data online database. The analysis shows that until the beginning of vaccination, i.e., in December 2020, the prevalence of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection among dentists was higher than in the general population by 22.5% (8.65% vs. 6.70%). This trend was reversed already in the first month after the start of vaccination, and the difference increased every month. Finally, in June 2021, priority vaccination statistically significantly (p < 0.0001) reduced the resulting prevalence among dentists (12.67%) compared to the general population (15.55%), which is a difference of 18.5%. This represents a prevalence shift between the populations by 40% during 6 months of priority vaccination. The results support the conclusion that the priority vaccination of healthcare workers was not only ethical but also rational and effective.

• Publikační typ
• dopisy MeSH

Human culture, biology, and health were shaped dramatically by the onset of agriculture ∼12,000 y B.P. This shift is hypothesized to have resulted in increased individual fitness and population growth as evidenced by archaeological and population genomic data alongside a decline in physiological health as inferred from skeletal remains. Here, we consider osteological and ancient DNA data from the same prehistoric individuals to study human stature variation as a proxy for health across a transition to agriculture. Specifically, we compared “predicted” genetic contributions to height from paleogenomic data and “achieved” adult osteological height estimated from long bone measurements for 167 individuals across Europe spanning the Upper Paleolithic to Iron Age (∼38,000 to 2,400 B.P.). We found that individuals from the Neolithic were shorter than expected (given their individual polygenic height scores) by an average of −3.82 cm relative to individuals from the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic (P = 0.040) and −2.21 cm shorter relative to post-Neolithic individuals (P = 0.068), with osteological vs. expected stature steadily increasing across the Copper (+1.95 cm relative to the Neolithic), Bronze (+2.70 cm), and Iron (+3.27 cm) Ages. These results were attenuated when we additionally accounted for genome-wide genetic ancestry variation: for example, with Neolithic individuals −2.82 cm shorter than expected on average relative to pre-Neolithic individuals (P = 0.120). We also incorporated observations of paleopathological indicators of nonspecific stress that can persist from childhood to adulthood in skeletal remains into our model. Overall, our work highlights the potential of integrating disparate datasets to explore proxies of health in prehistory.

• MeSH
• dějiny starověku MeSH
• dítě MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• genetická variace MeSH
• genomika MeSH
• kostra * anatomie a histologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• paleopatologie MeSH
• starobylá DNA MeSH
• tělesná výška * genetika   MeSH
• zdraví * dějiny   MeSH
• zemědělci * dějiny   MeSH
• zemědělství * dějiny   MeSH
• Check Tag
• dějiny starověku MeSH
• dítě MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• historické články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Evropa MeSH

OBJECTIVE: Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) in the healthcare sector is a major occupational health hazard. There are many reasons for a higher frequency of ACD in healthcare personnel compared to other populations: among others, simultaneous exposure to multiple substances, use of aggressive detergents and wet work. However, studies that systematically correlate skin symptoms with the presence of sensitization investigated through patch tests in specific categories of health workers are very rare and conflicting. Although some studies have reported a correlation between skin disease and night shift, the strength of the evidence is rather limited. The purpose of our study was to investigate by means of patch testing the skin sensitization (SS) to common allergens in the hospital setting in a group of healthcare workers (HCW) reporting symptoms related to dermatitis, according to their job activity and their shift status. METHODS: 132 HCWs visiting a health surveillance centre were investigated by means of specific questionnaire for dermatitis, followed by patch test evaluation including 40 haptens of the SIDAPA 2016 series. RESULTS: Skin sensitization was observed in 1/3 of the subjects investigated by patch tests. The nursing job was strongly associated with cutaneous reactivity after controlling for the confounding of gender, age and other factors. Shift work was related to the prevalence of SS. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, the nurse's role and shift work were significantly associated with the risk of cutaneous sensitization, in particular for common antigens.

• MeSH
• alergická kontaktní dermatitida * epidemiologie   etiologie   MeSH
• dermatitida z povolání * MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• náplasťové testy MeSH
• průřezové studie MeSH
• zdravotnický personál MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Úvod: Vzhľadom na starnúcu populáciu pacientov, ale aj zdravotníckych pracovníkov, hrozí riziko nedostatku pracujúcich sestier, ktorých priemerná veková hranica sa nielen na Slovensku stále zvyšuje. To by mohlo narušiť činnosť zdravotníckych zariadení a mať negatívny vplyv na poskytovanie ošetrovateľskej starostlivosti. Na motiváciu sestier pre výkon povolania vplývajú rôzne faktory, ktoré môžu ovplyvniť rozhodnutie zotrvať v profesii v pozitívnom aj negatívnom zmysle. Cieľ: Identifikovať u sestier motivačné faktory pre výkon sesterského povolania v dôchodkovom veku. Metodika: Metódou zberu údajov bol neštandardizovaný dotazník vlastnej konštrukcie. Zber dát prebehol elektronicky v termíne od 27. januára do 14. februára 2021. Dotazník bol rozosielaný do mailových schránok registrovaných sestier a pôrodných asistentiek prostredníctvom portálu SK SaPA. Distribúcia sa uskutočnila aj cez sociálnu sieť. Štúdie sa zúčastnilo 539 sestier a 21 pôrodných asistentiek, s väčšinovým (98,8%; n=553) zastúpením žien. Najviac sestier bolo vo vekovej kategórii 50 – 60 rokov (78,4%; n=439) a sestry vo veku 61 – 64 rokov (19,1%; n=107). Dominovali sestry s dosiahnutým stredoškolským vzdelaním (31,3 %; n=175) a dĺžkou praxe 35 – 40 rokov (34,6%; n=194). Pri spracovaní výsledkov v programe Microsoft Excel 2010 bola použitá jednoduchá deskriptívna štatistika. Výsledky: V štúdii sa hodnotili odpovede sestier, ktoré sú už aktuálne na dôchodku a naďalej vykonávajú povolanie sestry (sestry D; n=74) a osobitne odpovede sestier nad 50 rokov, ktoré sú v tzv. preddôchodkovom veku (sestry PD; n=486). Sestry D považovali za najdôležitejší faktor motivujúci ich pre prácu na dôchodku možnosť udržiavať sa aktívnym v pracovnom zaradení (64,9%; n=48) a pocit byť užitočný a nápomocný (62,2 %; n=46). Financie ako motivačný faktor potvrdila skoro polovica sestier D (45,9%; n=34). Za pozitíva práce na dôchodku považujú sestry D zhodne aktiváciu a zlepšenie kognitívnych funkcií a spoločenský kontakt (66,3%; n=49), nevýhodou sú stresové faktory (37,8%; n=28). Až 50,6 % (n=246) sestier PD sa vyjadrilo, že po dosiahnutí dôchodkového veku nemá záujem ďalej pracovať v povolaní. Medzi odrádzajúce faktory najčastejšie označili možné zhoršenie vlastného zdravotného stavu 47,5% (n=231), zlé medziľudské vzťahy na pracovisku 25,9% (n=126) a nočné služby 24,5% (n=119). Naopak, medzi motivujúce faktory na presvedčenie v zotrvaní pracovať patria finančné benefity od zamestnávateľa 48,1% (n=234). V našej štúdii až 90,4% (n=506) všetkých respondentov uvádza, že by mali mať nárok na výsluhový dôchodok. Z toho 55,7% (n=312) by ho prijala po odpracovaných 30 rokov a 21,4% (n=120) už po odpracovaní 25 rokov. Záver: Výsledky štúdie poukázali na finančné i nefinančné motivačné činitele, ktoré by mohli prispieť k udržaniu sestier v profesii aj po dosiahnutí dôchodkového veku. Vzhľadom na aktuálnosť témy je dôležité udržať v praxi skúsené sestry podporou nimi prezentovaných motivačných faktorov.

Introduction: Due to the aging population not only in patients, but also in healthcare workers, we face the threat of lack of working nurses, whose average age level is rising not only in Slovakia. This might disturb the run of healthcare facilities and might have negative effect on providing healthcare. There are various factors that have effect on nurses’ motivation for work performance. These factors might influence the decision to remain in the profession, either in a positive or a negative way. Aim: To identify nurses’ motivating factors for execution of the nurse profession at the retirement age Methodics: The method of data collection was a non-standardized questionnaire of own construction. The data collection was conducted electronically between 27th January and 14th Februry 2021. The questionnaire was distributed into mailboxes of registered nurses and midwives via SK SaPA portal. The distribution was also carried out through a social network. The study included 539 nurses and 21 midwives, with prevailing (98,8 %; n=553) representation of women. The most nurses were at the categories of 50 to 60 years of age (98,8 %; n=553) and nurses at the age of 61 – 64 (19,1 %; n=107). Nurses with completed high school education (31,3 %; n=175) and the length of practice from 35 to 40 years dominated. When elaborating results in Microsoft Excel 2010 programme, the simple descriptive statistics was used. Results: The study evaluated answers of nurses who are currently at the retirement and still perform nurse profession (nurses D; n=74), and specially answers of nurses who are at the pre- -retirement age (nurses PD; n=486). Nurses D considered as the most important motivating factor for working at the retirement age the opportunity to stay active in the working setting (64,9 %; n=48), and the feeling of being useful and helpful (62,2 %; n=46). Finances as the motivating factor were confirmed by almost half of the nurses D (45,9 %; n=34). As positives of the work at the retirement nurses D accordingly consider cognitive functions activation and improvement, and a social contact (66,3 %; n=49), disadvantages are stress factors (37,8 %; n=28). Up to 50,6 % (n=246) nurses PD claimed that after reaching retirement age they have no interest in continuing with their profession. Among discouraging factors they mostly included possible deterioration of their own health condition 47,5 % (n=231), bad interpersonal relationships at the workplace 25,9 % (n=126), and night shifts 24,5 % (n=119). On the contrary, among motivating factors to persuade them to remain at work are financial benefits from an employer 48,1 % (n=234). In our study up to 90,4 % (n=506) of all the respondents stated they should have entitlement to retirement pension. Of that, 55,7 % (n=312) would accept it after 30 years of work and 21,4 % (n=120) after 25 years of work already. Summary: The results of the study pointed to the financial and non-financial motivating factors that might contribute to keeping nurses in their profession after reaching retirement age. Regarding the topicality, it’s important to keep experienced nurses in practice through support of the motivating factors they have presented.

• MeSH
• důchod MeSH
• motivace MeSH
• postoj MeSH
• pracovní uspokojení MeSH
• průzkumy a dotazníky MeSH
• zaměstnání MeSH
• zdravotní sestry MeSH

A DNA methylation pattern represents an original plan of the function settings of individual cells and tissues. The basic strategies of its development and changes during the human lifetime are known, but the details related to its modification over the years on an individual basis have not yet been studied. Moreover, current evidence shows that environmental exposure could generate changes in DNA methylation settings and, subsequently, the function of genes. In this study, we analyzed the effect of chronic exposure to nanoparticles (NP) in occupationally exposed workers repeatedly sampled in four consecutive years (2016-2019). A detailed methylation pattern analysis of 14 persons (10 exposed and 4 controls) was performed on an individual basis. A microarray-based approach using chips, allowing the assessment of more than 850 K CpG loci, was used. Individual DNA methylation patterns were compared by principal component analysis (PCA). The results show the shift in DNA methylation patterns in individual years in all the exposed and control subjects. The overall range of differences varied between the years in individual persons. The differences between the first and last year of examination (a three-year time period) seem to be consistently greater in the NP-exposed subjects in comparison with the controls. The selected 14 most differently methylated cg loci were relatively stable in the chronically exposed subjects. In summary, the specific type of long-term exposure can contribute to the fixing of relevant epigenetic changes related to a specific environment as, e.g., NP inhalation.

• MeSH
• CpG ostrůvky MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• epigeneze genetická * MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• metylace DNA * MeSH
• nanočástice škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• nemoci z povolání chemicky indukované   epidemiologie   genetika   MeSH
• pracovní expozice škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• regulace genové exprese účinky léků   MeSH
• studie případů a kontrol MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH

• MeSH
• mzdy a přídavky MeSH
• pandemie MeSH
• práce na směny zákonodárství a právo   MeSH
• práce zákonodárství a právo   MeSH
• zdravotnický personál organizace a řízení   zákonodárství a právo   MeSH