Degree Of Psychological Stress Research Articles

Exploring the Complex Relationship between Psychological Stress and Fertility: Implications for Population Growth in Developing Countries

Uncontrolled population growth has raised serious concerns among future policymakers. Although fertility rate has declined substantially over time, in developing countries the rate is still very high. Most of these countries face serious issues such as; severe poverty, malnutrition, unemployment, homelessness, financial insecurity, and medical insufficiency, leading to psychological distress. This article explores the mechanisms of psychological stress and its potential effects on human fertility. An attempt is made to differ from the existing claim that stress is anti-steroidogenic. This counter was based on earlier studies on adaptation of acute stress and overcoming stress stimuli. Which have asserted that individual adaptive abilities can alter the negative outcome of psychological stress depending on genetic, environmental, and behavioural factors. One of such adaptations comes from mitochondrial efficiency. An extensive energy demand during stress is achieved through competitive mitochondrial biogenesis. Earlier studies have noted that psychological stress triggers mitochondrial biogenesis. Thus, theoretically, mitochondrial biogenesis may also contribute in augmenting quality of sperm. In conclusion, stress induced biogenesis of mitochondria may contribute in enhancing fertility. Future studies on the degree of psychological stress and its possible retaliation through mitochondrial biogenesis, and subsequent responses to metabolic, and mechanical pathways, would open new avenues in understanding human fertility.

MeHA: A Computational Framework in Revealing the Genetic Basis of Animal Mental Health Traits Under an Intensive Farming System-A Case Study in Pigs.

Intensively farmed animals such as pigs inevitably experience a certain degree of psychological stress, which leads to a reduction in production performance. Mental health traits are currently difficult to measure, resulting in a gap in understanding their genetic basis. To address this challenge, we propose a computational framework called mental health of animals (MeHA), capable of revealing genes related to animal mental health traits. Using MeHA, we identified 109 candidate genes associated with pig mental health and discovered their intricate connections with critical functions, such as memory, cognition, and neural development, which are essential components of mental health and cognitive performance. Importantly, our findings provide evidence of the potential impact of these genes on economically important traits, including meat quality and piglet survival. This research underscores the importance of genetic studies in enhancing our understanding of animal behavior and cognition, as well as promoting agricultural practices. By applying our approach to study the genetic basis of mental health in pigs as a case, we confirmed that our framework is an effective way to reveal genetic factors affecting animal mental health traits, which contributes to animal welfare and has potential implications for understanding human mental disorders.

Correlation between the Degree of Psychological Stress with Pain Intensity in Tension-Type Headache Patients

Tension-Type Headache (TTH) is a critical health problem, particularly in Indonesia, with psychological stress being the most recognized contributing factor. The mechanism by which stress contributes to TTH is not fully understood, but stress has been found to increase pain sensitivity in peripheral or central patients with TTH, alongside the influence of biopsychosocial factors in different individuals. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the relationship between the degree of psychological stress and pain intensity in patients with TTH at Dr. H. Moch Ansari Saleh Banjarmasin General Hospital. This observational analytic study was carried out using a cross-sectional approach and the 30 samples employed were taken through a systematic random sampling technique. The data was analyzed using Spearman's test. Our result showed that 63.33% of patients had mild stress, while 36.67% were moderate. In the mild stress group, there were 15.79% mild pain, 73.68% moderate pain, and 10.53% severe pain. Meanwhile, in the moderate stress group, 72.73% reported moderate pain, and 27.27% had severe pain. In conclusion, this study indicated there was a correlation between the degree of psychological stress and the intensity of pain in TTH patients, despite not statistically significant (p=0.102 and R=0.304).

Psychological Stress in the Mothers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Terms of Some Variables

This study aimed to detect the level of psychological stress in the mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder in terms of some variables, and to attain that, the researcher built a scale to measure psychological stress in mothers by referring to the theoretical literature. The study scale included (6) Dimensions included in (53) paragraphs. The validity of the tool was confirmed by presenting it to a number of arbitrators with experience in the field of psychological counseling, and making sure that it was stable using the stability coefficient Alpha Cronbach, which amounted to (0.98) for the scale in total, the researcher used the descriptive method to verify to answer the questions of the study, the researcher calculated the mean and standard deviations of the responses of the mothers of the subjects. The general mean of the total score of the psychological stress scale was average with a mean of (3.02), in addition to the presence of significant differences at the level of significance (0.05 = ?) in the degree of psychological stress in mothers with autism spectrum disorder due to the variable of the educational level of the mother, marital status and the severity of disability, where the (8.213), the maternal stress scale showed the absence of a statistically significant above depending on the variable of disability severity and its value was (8.532). In light of the results of the study, the researcher made a number of recommendations to alleviate psychological stress in the mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder, and work on developing strategies to solve the problem of psychological stress in the mothers of people with autism spectrum disorder by referring to previous studies and taking experiences from them, in addition to holding training courses for mothers on how to deal with their children with autism spectrum disorder.

P-072 Collecting semen samples at home for fertility assessment has a positive effect on sperm quality

Study questionDoes site of semen collection (home/clinic) affect semen parameters?Summary answerSemen collection is superior when performed at home as compared with at a clinic in terms of sample volume, sperm concentration, and total sperm count.What is known alreadyIn fertility clinics the standard approach to semen collection for diagnostic analysis and use in ART involves a private room close to the andrological/embryological laboratory. In fact, WHO recommends that semen samples should be collected at clinic to avoid fluctuations in temperature and to control the time between collection and processing. On the other hand, today - due to the COVID-19 pandemic - semen collection at home is widely advised to reduce the time of stay of patients at clinic. There are still no firm conclusions whether collecting semen at home has any influence on sperm quality and reproductive competence.Study design, size, durationThis retrospective longitudinal cohort study performed at a tertiary level public fertility center included 8634 semen samples from 5880 men undergoing fertility assessment from 2015 to 2021: 5530 samples were collected at clinic from 3773 men, and 3104 at home from 2107 men. For a subgroup analysis comparing clinic to home collection within the same patient, we included 1260 samples from 428 men. Possible effect of seasonal variation on semen parameters was also investigated.Participants/materials, setting, methodsThe impact of sample collection site on endpoints (semen volume, concentration, motility) was evaluated using a generalized linear model for repeated measures in which the following covariates were included: age, BMI, days of sexual abstinence, smoke habit. Paired comparisons between home- and clinic-collected samples within individuals were made by paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed rank test, as appropriate. The effect of seasonality on sperm parameters was investigated plotting the time series of differences between samples.Main results and the role of chanceSamples collected at home had significantly higher semen volume (p = 0.016), sperm concentration (p < 0.0001), and total sperm count (p < 0.0001) respect to samples collected at clinic. The abstinence period, known to potentially influence these parameters, was similar for all patients. There was no difference in sperm motility. Paired comparisons of semen characteristics in the 428 patients with home-collected (n = 583) and clinic-collected (n = 677) samples confirmed the aforementioned results. The semen sample collections were distributed among all months over 5 years: regarding seasonal variations in semen quality, we did not find any evidence of variations of sample parameters by month.Limitations, reasons for cautionSome weaknesses should be considered: i) only men undergoing fertility check-up were assessed and it remains to be validated whether our conclusions are applicable to men attempting pregnancy by ART; ii) we did not measure type and degree of psychological stress that may have affected the men in our study.Wider implications of the findingsOur observation of decrease in semen quality of clinic-collected samples may be the result of an acute psychological stress experienced by patients, as suggested by previous reports. Thus, when possible, semen collection at home should be encourage at least for men who undergo fertility assessment.Trial registration numbernot applicable

Psychological and traumatic stress and the risk of developing diabetes and psychiatric disorders after a disaster-relief mission: An eight-year longitudinal study of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel dispatched for the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake disaster-relief mission

The Great East Japan Earthquake caused triple disasters—the earthquake itself, tsunamis, and nuclear leakage. Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) personnel engaged in disaster-relief suffered various degrees of psychological stress, which is associated with psychiatric as well as physical disorders, such as diabetes. This study aimed to assess the effect of mission-related stress on the development of diabetes and psychiatric disorders in these personnel using JMSDF annual physical check-up data from 2010 to 2018 and Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R) and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10) questionnaire data. Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the hazard ratios (HRs) of developing diabetes and psychiatric disorders in the dispatched (N = 3686) vs. non-dispatched (N = 13,953) groups and high IES-R (score ≥25) vs. low IES-R score and high K-10 (score ≥25) vs. low K-10 score subgroups. We found a significantly higher HR of developing diabetes in the high IES-R score subgroup (2.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08–3.80). However, the HRs were not significant when comparing dispatched vs. non-dispatched groups and high vs. low K-10 score subgroups. Although the HR of developing psychiatric disorders was significantly lower in the dispatched group (0.64; 95% CI, 0.48–0.84), it was significantly higher in the high IES-R (7.95; 95% CI, 3.38–18.74) and high K-10 (8.76; 95% CI, 4.34–17.68) score subgroups. Thus, this study indicates the importance of paying closer attention to the risk of diabetes and psychiatric disorders in individuals with high IES-R or K-10 scores after disaster-relief activities.

Psychological Stress Detection and Early Warning System Based on Wireless Network Transmission

To improve the accuracy of stress detection and stress warning errors, this paper designed a new psychological stress detection and warning system based on wireless network transmission. To achieve this objective, we established a real-time setup. The hardware of the system is composed of pulse acquisition module, signal low-pass filtering and amplification module, real-time clock module, wireless network transmission module, and power supply module, respectively. Based on the aforementioned hardware platform, the system software is designed, mainly through the construction of pulse signal noise and the use of wavelet denoising threshold for sensing wavelet packet inverse transformation, to get the reconstructed signal. The peak point of the reconstructed signal is determined, and the value of pulse signal is extracted. According to the characteristic value’s extraction results, the degree of psychological stress is quantified using the psychological stress index (PSI). When the PSI exceeds a predefined threshold, it indicates an early warning of psychological stress. The experimental results show that the psychological stress detection of our system is consistent with the expert evaluation results, the warning time is short, and the practical application effect is good.

Usefulness of stress-related hormones as predictors and prognostic factors for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss

Background The pathogenesis of Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is ambiguous. Stress is commonly defined as a cause of the disease. Serum levels of stress-related hormone (cortisol, growth hormone, aldosterone, ADH, ACTH) may be elevated in patients with ISSNHL patients. Objectives We aimed to determine whether psychological factors and stress hormones in patients are associated with the severity of hearing loss and therapeutic outcomes. We hypothesized that the stress hormone level in the disease sequence is a strong prognostic factor of ISSNHL. Additionally, we investigated whether the subjective degree of psychological stress is likely to contribute to the therapeutic prognosis of ISSNHL, as determined using questionnaires. Methods We conducted a prospective study of patients aged between 19 and 65 years admitted for the treatment of ISSNHL at our hospital. All patients underwent pure tone audiometry (PTA) on day 0, day 5 and 2 weeks after discharge. As an objective indicator of stress, we measured the level of HPA axis-related hormones. So, we measured serum cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), aldosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels in the venous blood sample of patients on day 1 and day 5 after admission. In addition, for subjective stress measurements, depression and anxiety levels were assessed using self-reported questionnaires, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) in the revised to Korean versions. Results Eighteen patients diagnosed with ISSNHL at the Department of Otorhino-laryngology were enrolled. Serum DHEAS level measured on day 1 showed a statistically significant correlation with the hearing threshold in the hearing test performed at the time of diagnosis (p = .037, correlation coefficients(r) = 0.541). Serum ACTH level was measured on day 1, and patients were classified into normal and elevated groups based on a threshold of 1.5 pg/mL; the normal group had better hearing thresholds in the first and second hearing test than the elevated group (p = .040, 0.015, respectively). In the stress-related questionnaires, the BDI score showed a statistically significant correlation with the last hearing test (p = .015, correlation coefficients(r) = 0.613). Conclusion We demonstrated the possible role of stress-related hormones in the pathogenesis of ISSNHL and suggest that depressive stress response can be a strong predictor of treatment response in patients with ISSNHL. However, the impact of response to stress on the inner ear and endolymph homeostasis remains unknown. Since this is a cross-sectional study, we can only comment on the relationship between stress and ISSNHL, not a causal relationship. Further investigation is necessary to identify the mechanism of interaction between stress and hearing ability in the inner ear.

PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON HEALTH CARE WORKERS

Introduction: Healthcare staffs are first-line fighters who handle COVID-19 patients.They face a high risk of infection every day, and are subject to long and distressingwork hours in order to meet health needs. Aim of work: To evaluate the psychologicalimpact of COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers (HCWs). Materials andMethods: All categories of health care workers in Egypt were invited to participatein the study through sharing the link to online professional groups between 21st Juneto 9th July 2020. The survey included a self-administered- Arabic questionnaireincluding information related to socio- demographic characteristics, medical historyincluding diseases and medications, work characteristics and COVID -19 experienceof the studied participants. The survey also included validated Depression, Anxiety,and Stress Scales (DASS-21) and 7 items work-related burnout Copenhagen BurnoutInventory (CBI). Results: The total number of health care workers who shared in thestudy was 764. There were psychological disorders of varying degrees in the formof depression (41.5%), anxiety (67%), and stress (27.7 %). Working as nurses, age <40 years, changing vacation plans during COVID 19, shift work, less than 10 yearsof experience, single HCWs were the most significant factors for predicting stress.Conclusion: The results concluded that health care workers had varying degrees ofpsychological stress related to the job, particularly those in direct relationships with COVID-19 patients and those who work in fever and chest hospitals. Psychologicalsupport for promoting mental well-being in health care workers exposed to COVID-19should be implemented immediately, particularly for female, nurses and frontlinehealth care workers.

Knowledge and Psychological Stress Related to COVID-19 Among Nursing Staff in a Hospital in China: Cross-Sectional Survey Study.

BackgroundSince December 2019, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been rapidly spreading worldwide. Nurses play a key role in fighting this disease and are at risk of COVID-19 infection. Therefore, there is an urgent need to assess the mental health condition of nurses and establish appropriate interventions to reduce the negative psychiatric outcomes of the pandemic.ObjectiveThe objectives of this study were to evaluate the knowledge and psychological stress related to COVID-19 among nursing staff and to provide evidence of the need for targeted training and psychological intervention.MethodsThis cross-sectional web-based survey study was performed in a class 3 grade A general hospital in a southwest province of China from March 1 to March 15, 2020. A self-designed questionnaire with questions about COVID-19–related prevention and control knowledge and the Triage Assessment Form (TAF) were used to assess nursing staff’s knowledge of COVID-19 and their degree of psychological stress, respectively. SPSS 23.0 was applied for statistical analysis of the collected data.ResultsA total of 979 nurses completed the questionnaire. The results showed that the nursing staff provided the fewest correct answers to questions about continuous viral nucleic acid testing specifications (379/979 correct answers, 38.7%), isolation/discharge criteria (539/979 correct answers, 55.1%), and management measures for patients with suspected symptoms (713/979 correct answers, 72.8%). The median total score of the TAF was 7.0 (IQR 5.0-12.0), and there were statistically significant differences in scores between different nursing roles, years of work experience, and hospital departments (P<.05).ConclusionsThis study indicated that nursing staff have insufficient knowledge about COVID-19. Meanwhile, although the psychological damage to nurses during the pandemic was found to be low, nurse managers must continue to monitor the mental health of nursing staff and perform timely interventions.

Remote monitoring of implantable cardioverters defibrillators: a comparison of acceptance between octogenarians and younger patients.

BackgroundRemote monitoring (RM) is increasingly employed for all types of cardiac implantable devices (CIED). However, there are only limited data on the acceptance of RM by the elderly. The aim of our study was to ascertain how octogenarians assess RM technologies compared to younger, presumably technically more literate patients, and what concerns or technical problems the system presents to both groups of patients.MethodsThe trial was designed as a descriptive, register-based single-center study. The study population consisted of all consecutive patients ≥ 80 years of age (group A, n = 94) and all consecutive patients aged ≤ 40 years (group B, n = 71), who had undergone implantation of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) between the years of 2009 and 2018 and were using a Home MonitoringTM (HM, Biotronik, Berlin, Germany) system. All patients fulfilling entry criteria were approached with a request to participate in the survey.ResultsA total of 85 (90.4%) and 65 (91.5%) valid surveys were obtained for groups A and B, respectively. Ninety-two percent of patients in both groups (P = 0.903) were satisfied with the limited number of planned ambulatory follow-ups (i.e., once a year). All patients in both groups (100%) reported that they were satisfied with the HM system, and 97% and 94% of patients in Groups A and B, respectively, ranked it highly beneficial (P = 0.68). A significant proportion of patients in both groups were completely unaware of any health-related benefits associated with the use of the HM system (42% in Group A vs. 49% in Group B, P = 0.4). Among the most frequently reported personal benefits of HM were a sense of safety and security and savings on travel expenses and time. 5% and 9% of patients in Groups A and B, respectively, reported that usage of HM caused them some degree of psychological stress (P = 0.27). Nearly all patients in both groups reported receiving information on HM from their doctor after ICD implantation. None of Group A reported receiving information from a nurse either before or after ICD implantation, while 14% of Group B patients reported receiving information from a nurse after, but not before ICD implantation. Seven and 51% (P < 0.0001) of patients in Group A and B, respectively, sought additional information about HM post-discharge.ConclusionsThe HM system received good marks and was much appreciated, even in patients over 80 years of age. The level of acceptance and potential psychological stress resulting from RM technology appears to be about the same in older patients as in younger patients. The majority of octogenarians either did not fully understand the clinical benefits of the system or mistakenly thought that the HM system was a substitute for emergency 24-h surveillance. These results highlight the need for better patient education relative to RM technology, with one option being to delegate more of this educational process to specially trained nurses.

The assessment of stress level, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and defense mechanisms among Polish and English medical students

IntroductionMedical education is proven to be associated with a high degree of psychological stress. Different coping strategies used by students have been investigated on their efficacy. So far, studies on medical students have been limited to a single population.Aim of the studyOur study aimed to identify differences in the prevalence of depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress levels, and defense mechanisms among two groups of medical students, the Polish and English-speaking divisions.Materials and methodsThe study included two groups of first-year medical students, the Polish and English-speaking divisions, comprising 305 participants (n = 204 Polish, n = 101 English, men = 127, women = 176). It was divided into two periods: the students received author questionnaires during an exam-free academic period and then completed the same questionnaires during an exam session. The survey contained questions pertaining to demographics and studying habits among participants and included the Defense Style Questionnaire and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. Data were analyzed using STATISTICA version 12.0, and p ≤ 0.05 was considered significant.ResultsPolish medical students presented with significantly increased overall stress levels (p = 0.007858) and depressive symptoms (p = 0.030420) compared to the English division students. Polish students also presented with more symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety during the exam period compared to the exam-free period (p = 0.000625), which did not apply to the English-speaking students. The English division students reached higher scores in the mature defense mechanisms section than the Polish students (p = 0.000001). The use of mature defense mechanisms correlated negatively with the intensity of stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in both groups, while immature defense mechanisms promoted higher values of those variables (p = 0.000001).ConclusionsOur study showed significant and multidirectional differences between medical students of the Polish and English divisions attending the same university. Such results could suggest that strategies aimed at reducing depressive symptoms among medical students ought to be adapted towards the needs of a specific population.

The psychological status investigation on the nursing staff in a 3A-level hospital during the prevalence of COVID-19 and the analysis of its influencing factors

Objective: The objective of the study is to investigate the psychological status of nursing staff both working on nonfront line and on the front line during the epidemic period of COVID-19 and to analyze the influencing factors related to mental health state, as well as to provide targeted psychological intervening measures for nursing staff in the face of this major public health event.Methods: We used data from January 28, 2019, to February 08, 2020, on the number of cases who worked in the 3A-level hospital as nonfront-line nurses (n = 29, 54%) and those who worked in Wuhan infectious hospital as the front-line supporters (n = 25, 46%) came from the 3A-level hospital. The participants completed the symptom checklist 90, and the researchers recorded data on demographics, psychological status, and the influencing factors.Results: In our baseline scenario, we estimated that the total symptom index was 1.676 ± 0.654 for nurses who worked on the front line, 1.260 ± 0.304 for those who worked as the front-line reserve nurses, and was 1.486 ± 0.647 for those who worked as the nonfront-line nurses. The results of correlation analysis show that the factors related to the psychological status of nurses include age, professional title, marital status, and family support; different factors have different effects on psychological status.Conclusion: In the face of major public health emergencies, both front-line nursing staff and nonfront-line staff are confronted with different degrees of psychological stress, so effective psychological support should be given to improve the working efficiency and enthusiasm of nurses.

Serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in patients with acne vulgaris.

Many dermatological diseases have a great impact on the psychological state of patients, like urticaria, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and acne vulgaris. Finding a "gold standard" biomarker for chronic stress in acne patients is challenging because of the complex etiology of the chronic stress and its variable manifestations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between serum levels of BDNF and the presence and severity of acne vulgaris and to assess the relationship of this biomarker to both the degree of psychological stress and the quality of patients' lives (QoL). Sixty patients with acne vulgaris were included, together with twenty apparently healthy, age-, and sex-matched individuals as a control group. Patients filled a Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire; both patients and controls filled a Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS) and perceived stress scale-10 (PSS) questionnaires. Serum levels of BDNF were measured for patients and controls using ELISA technique. Patients with acne had significantly lower levels of BDNF and significantly higher HADS and PSS-10 questionnaires scores. A significant negative correlation was found between serum levels of BDNF and PSS questionnaire scores. Patients with acne are at a high risk to develop chronic stress, anxiety, and depression. BDNF is a good predictor for assessment of chronic stress in such patients.

Cancer patients\u2019 wish for psychological support during outpatient radiation therapy

BackgroundCancer patients frequently suffer from physical and psychosocial impairments due to their disease and its treatment. Psychooncology (PO) can help to cope with stress resulting from outpatient radiotherapy (RT) treatment. There are currently few data regarding patients’ wishes for PO support. The aim of this study was to investigate the number of patients with a wish for PO, treatment paths, and predictors of the wish for PO among cancer patients at the beginning of RT.MethodsThe results of routine psychological stress screening (Hornheide screening instrument; cut-off ≥ 4) of 944 cancer patients between 2015 and 2017 were analyzed in a retrospective cross-sectional study. Predictors for a wish for PO support were identified by stepwise binary logistic regression, in which sociodemographic and treatment data were included in addition to the screening items.ResultsAround 20% of patients had above-average stress levels and 13% expressed a wish for PO support (participation rate was approximately 55%). Low emotional wellbeing (OR = 11.3) and lack of social support (OR = 9.4) were strong predictors for this treatment wish. Among patients with pancreatic cancer, head and neck tumors, and hematologic disease, there was a substantial difference between the degree of psychological stress and the wish for treatment. Patients with urological (23.5%) and lung tumors (20.9%) most frequently expressed a wish for PO support.ConclusionPatient-reported psychosocial problems were better predictors of a wish for PO support than sociodemographic or clinical data. Stress screening should thus be implemented in clinical routine.

The associations between psychological stress and psoriasis: a systematic review.

Psoriasis is estimated to affect around 2-3% of the general population. More than one-third of Australians report having a significant level of distress in their daily lives. Psychological stress has long been shown to play an important role in the natural history of psoriasis, but the details of this relationship remain to be clearly defined. We performed a systematic review of the literature with the aim of determining whether there is a temporal association between psychological stress as the predictor and onset and/or exacerbation of psoriasis as the outcome measure. Our secondary aim was to establish whether there is a relationship between the degree of psychological stress and clinical severity of psoriasis. Our systematic review demonstrates a probable temporal association between different measures of psychological stress and onset, recurrence, and severity of psoriasis. In the light of this, we suggest clinicians include "stress" as a trigger factor in their psoriasis assessment and consider psychological interventions as adjuncts, particularly in those who identify as "stress-responders".

ПСИХОЛОГІЧНІ ОСОБЛИВОСТІ СПРИЙНЯТТЯ РАДІАЦІЙНОГО РИЗИКУ

В статті проведено аналітичний огляд психологічних властивостей радіаційного впливу, перераховані фактори посилюючі неадекватне сприйняття радіаційної загрози. Визначенні суб’єктивні особливості сприйняття радіаційного ризику та вивчено місце ризику радіаційної загрози серед інших вітальних небезпек у віддалений період після аварії на ЧАЕС. Виявлено високий відсоток осіб з гіпертрофованим сприйняттям радіаційної загрози серед УЛНА та евакуйованих із зони відчуження, що свідчить про актуальність для них таких стресових подій в їхньому житті, як катастрофа на ЧАЕС та евакуація навіть через 31 рік після радіаційного інциденту. Вперше проведено оцінку сприйняття радіаційної загрози учасниками АТО.&nbsp; &nbsp

Effects of Aromatherapy on Stress, Sleep, Nausea and Vomiting during Patient Controlled Analgesia Treatment of Patients with Hysterectomy.

The purpose of study was to examine effects of aromatherapy on stress, sleep, nausea and vomiting of women after laparoscopic hysterectomy. The participants were 60 women who had laparoscopic hysterectomy: experiment group for aromatherapy (n=30) and control group for routine care (n=30). The experimental group received inhalation aromatherapy for 5 minutes, twice; the first was done right after the operation, the second was at 9 pm before sleep on the same day--while the control group had no inhalation. Data were collected from July to September, 2012 at G hospital. The degree of psychological stress was not significantly different between two groups (t=-1.96, p= .054). Yet, there were significant differences between two groups for degree of physiological stress (t=-3.20, p= .002), the level of cortisol (t=-2.01, p= .049), the score of sleep status (t=2.47, p= .016), the score of sleep satisfaction (t=2.43, p= .018), and the score for nausea and vomiting (t=-2.58, p= .012). Inhalation aromatherapy using the mixed oil of lavender, mandarin, and marjoram was effective in decreasing the level of physiological stress, cortisol, and the score for nausea and vomiting, and also allowed the participants to have a better sleep. Therefore, inhalation aromatherapy could be effective in improving the quality of life of these women during recovery.

Psychological Stresses of Psychological and Educational Counselors in the Governorate of Ajloun in Jordan

The study aimed to investigate the Psychological Stress of Psychological and Educational Counselors in public school in the Governorate of Ajloun in Jordan, and find out the effect of demographic variables of gender, qualification, experience in counseling, marital status and place of living on Psychological Stresses. The sample of the study comprised (61) male and female Counselors. The results revealed that the participants of the study showed a moderate degree of psychological stress. Work overload was the first reason of stress whereas job environment was the last reason. In addition, there were statistically significant differences in the degree of psychological stress due to qualification, experience, and marital status. There were no statistically significant differences in the degree of psychological stress due to gender and place of living.

Competency-based integrated practical examinations: Bringing relevance to basic science laboratory examinations

Background: The practical examinations in subject-based curriculum have been criticized for lack of relevance and clinical application. We developed competency-based integrated practical examinations (IPEs) for first two years incorporating basic science principles with clinical relevance in our integrated curriculum.Aim: To bring relevance to basic science laboratory practical examinations by conducting competency-based IPEs.Methods: IPEs were developed according to competency-based blueprinting for each integrated module. Clinical scenarios were used as triggers followed by tasks pertaining to laboratory tests, relevant physical diagnosis and ethics/professional aspects utilizing standardized patients. Checklists were developed for standardized marking. A feedback questionnaire and two focus group discussions were administered to a random group of students from both first and second year students. Faculty members’ feedback was also recorded on a questionnaire.Results: Almost all the students agreed that IPE was a useful experience. Eighty-nine percent agreed that it was a fair examination and elicited a lesser degree of psychological stress. Eighty-two percent agreed that IPE encouraged critical thinking and application of knowledge. However, students suggested better organization and longer duration of stations. Faculty members also liked the experience.Conclusion: In conclusion, IPEs were well-received and valued both by students and faculty members.