The adaptation of foreign students to a new country can be complicated due to different cultural values, language barriers and the way university courses are structured. The aim of the study was to analyze the lifestyle practices, satisfaction with life and the level of perceived stress of Polish and foreign students studying various medical disciplines in Poland with regard to chosen sociodemographic characteristics. The study included 231 foreign and 213 Polish students (n = 444) taking different medical disciplines at the medical university in eastern Poland. Three research tools were used: Fantastic Lifestyle Questionnaire (FLQ), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). Additionally, students’ sociodemographic data was collected. Two-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed and correlations between variables were also examined. Our research indicated that Polish students obtained higher results in FLQ than foreign students. It also demonstrated a significantly higher level of stress among Polish students in comparison to foreign students. The self-assessment of their health condition, lifestyle, and rank associated to being healthy correlated with FLQ, SWLS and PSS-10. The present research can aid the development of support programs for foreign students so that the cultural adaptation processes would more positively influence their lifestyle and an education environment.

Educational migration benefits students and receiving countries, but universities are challenged to meet a variety of needs, such as cultural adaptation and changes in health behaviours such as dietary habits. This study aimed to assess the health-related behaviours, encompassing dietary/eating habits, among international students in Poland, while also elucidating the factors influencing these behaviours. The study consisted of two phases: (phase 1) cross-sectional research among 231 foreign students using the Fantastic Lifestyle Questionnaire (FLQ); and (phase 2) focus group interviews with 15 international students. The study was conducted in accordance with STROBE (STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology) and COREQ (COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research) Checklists. It was shown that the respondents highly value health. Students’ health-related behaviours are related to their financial situation, health condition, self-assessment of their lifestyle, the importance attached to being healthy, and their country of origin. The qualitative analysis allowed us to identify (1) the barriers related to the exhibiting of health-related behaviours, (2) expectations of foreign students regarding the exhibiting of health-related behaviours, (3) changes in the health-related behaviours, and (4) factors facilitating the exhibiting of health-related behaviours. There is a need for inter-university cooperation on a strategy to promote health-promoting behaviours of foreign students studying in Poland.

Health literacy (HL) is recognised as an important, modifiable factor in the self-management and health performance of elderly people. The aim of this preliminary study was to identify and analyse the level of health literacy among the elderly living in one of the eastern regions in Poland. The cross-sectional study was conducted among a convenience sample of 200 seniors aged 65+ after cognitive pre-screening with the use of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale. To collect data, the Polish version of the HLS-EU-Q47 was used. More than half of the elderly surveyed presented problematic levels of general HL (GEN-HL), and also problematic levels of other dimensions: health care health literacy (HC-HL), disease prevention health literacy (DP-HL), and health promotion health literacy (HP-HL). The level of seniors’ HL is dependent on the level of their education, place of living, participation in activities run by Daily Center for the Elderly, and their self-assessment of health condition (p < 0.05). These results imply the important message that there is a need to create initiatives and programs improving health literacy targeted at seniors living in rural areas, those with lower levels of education, and those with poor access to activities organised by institutions supporting seniors.

Aim: This article presents the cultural adaptation and evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Polish versions of the Pain Coping Questionnaire for both children and parents. Materials & m... Lay abstract This study aimed to find out whether the Pain Coping Questionnaire (PCQ) in Poland, which was translated from an English version of the same questionnaire, was useful for the study of ...

The main objective is to search for a correlations between spiritual traits of nurses and cultural competences Material and methods: The study was conducted on the group of 238 nurses with the validated NCCS scale conceived by Perng S. and Watson R., and Your Religiousness scale by...

Introduction. Illness is a stressful experience for a sick child and its parents (guardians). Coping and studying specific coping behaviors of parents and children with the disease are an essential part of care. Aim. Presentation of available research results in English and/or Polish, carried out by researchers in the field of coping strategies of children and their parents (guardians) with the child’s disease. Material and methods. The systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta Analyzes (PRISMA 2020) statement. Electronic databases searched in May 2021 included PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science. Methodological limitations demonstrated using the Critical Skills Appraisal Program (CASP) check-lists package. In total 42 articles were qualified for the analysis. Results. The analysis of the publications showed that children and their parents most often cope with the disease through social support, active coping, emotional-focused coping, referring to religion and avoidance. Conclusions. Conscious use of coping strategies may contribute to better results in the treatment undertaken and allow the child and its parents to feel in control of the stressful situation in which they find themselves. Knowing about parents’ and child’s coping strategies can be helpful in developing childcare plans.