Background: In the face of a sudden influx of several million migrants and war refugees from Ukraine to other European countries, knowledge about the health of Ukrainian citizens becomes increasingly important. The aim of the study is to identify the main health problems of hospitalized Ukrainian citizens residing in Poland in the period from 2014 to June 2022. Methods: This study is based on hospitalization data of Ukrainian patients in Poland taken from the Nationwide General Hospital Morbidity Study. Results: The study group covered 8591 hospitalization records. We observed two hospitalization peaks, one in patients aged 0–5 and the other one in those aged 20–35. After the official outbreak of the war, 2231 Ukrainian citizens were hospitalized in Poland. At this time, the most often reported principal reasons for the hospitalizations of adult women were diseases related to pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium, whereas in groups of adult men diseases were related to injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes, and in children and adolescents diseases were infectious and parasitic diseases. Conclusions: Our findings may have implications for healthcare policies and service provision to newly arrived migrants and war refugees in target European countries.

Background: Poland is witnessing a migration crisis caused by the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine. In addition to housing and necessities, 1.8 million Ukrainians that had taken refuge in Poland must have access to medical care. We aim to propose a strategy for implementing the changes in the Polish health care system in response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Methods: A literature review on organizational changes in the functioning of health care systems during the migration crises worldwide in recent years and brainstorming in order to develop a strategy for implementing changes in the Polish health care system in response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Results: The proposed strategy for implementing the changes in the Polish health care system is based on building health care resilience and adaptation to different crises. The operational objectives of organization-related activities are: (1) preparation of medical facilities to provide help for refugees, (2) development and implementation of the communication system, (3) implementation of available digital solutions, (4) organization of the diagnostic and medical services, (5) and implementation of changes in the management of medical facilities. Conclusions: Urgent reorganization is required to respond to an unavoidable increase in the demand for health care services.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the hospitalization trends in children aged 0-6 suffering from bacterial pneumonia in the years 2007-2011 in Poland. The data pertained to the hospitalized patients diagnosed with the diseases registered as J13-J15 according to ICD-10. In the years 2007-2011, the hospitalization rate increased from 16.3/10,000 to 44.1/10,000 for boys and from 13.8/10,000 to 33.0/10,000 for girls. The most frequently hospitalized children were between 1 and 2 years of age (90.6/10,000 for boys and 58.0/10,000 for girls in 2011). The average length of stay (LOS) of the investigated children fell from 10.1 days in 2007 to 8.2 days in 2011. The longest stays were recorded for the youngest children, under 2 years of age (from almost 11 days in 2007 to around 9 days in 2011). Bacterial pneumonia is a serious problem of public health and especially babies are at high risk of this disease. Given the effects of vaccinations against Streptococcus pneumoniae conducted all over the world and to a limited extend in Poland as well, further steps towards vaccinating children against pneumococci should be taken in Poland.

Background: Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is responsible for infections mainly affecting the lower respiratory tract in infants and young children after the first exposure. The aim of the study is to show up-to-date information on RSV hospitalization cases in Poland in children aged < 5 years. Methods: A retrospective, population-based study was conducted using data from hospital discharge records of patients hospitalized from 2010–2020. Results: The study group consisted of 57,552 hospitalizations of RSV children. The mean and median ages were 232 (95% CI: 230–234) and 132 (IQR 63–271) days. The mean annual hospitalization rate for patients with RSV infection was estimated to be 267.5 per 100,000, and the highest was observed in children < 1 year (1132.1 per 100,000). The mean annual hospitalization rate was significantly higher in patients living in urban than rural regions (p < 0.001). A statistically significant increase in the number of hospitalizations was observed (p < 0.0001) during the analyzed period. The seasonal pattern was found with the highest rates of hospitalizations in the January–March period. Conclusions: The increasing RSV hospitalization rate requires further research and may be the basis for urgent healthcare measures. The results may be helpful in comparative analyses in the European and global context.

Congenital toxoplasmosis (CT) is a rare entity and it may pose a life-threatening risk for the newborns. The aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence and other selected factors of CT in Poland. Our study is a population-based study on CT patients in 2007–2021. The study was based on 1504 hospitalization records of first-time diagnosis of CT in newborns. In the study group, we observed 763 males (50.7%) and 741 females (49.3%). The mean and median age was 31 days and 10 days, respectively. Based on the hospital registry, the mean annual CT incidence was estimated to be 2.6 per 10,000 live births (95% CI 2.0–3.2 per 10,000 live births). The incidence of CT cases fluctuated over the years 2007–2021, with the highest incidence in 2010 and the lowest one in 2014. There were no statistically significant differences between the incidence of CT in relation to sex or place of residence. The periodic fluctuations in the number of cases of congenital toxoplasmosis indicates the need to develop effective prevention programs to effectively counteract the disease and its consequences.

Introduction: The scope and schedule of immunization in Poland is regulated by the Immunization Programme prepared and announced by the State Sanitary Inspector. There are two kinds of vaccines: compulsory vaccines, financed by the state budget at the disposal of the Minister of Health, and vaccines recommended by the central health authorities but financed by local governments within health policy programmes. Compulsory vaccines cover people up to 19 years of age and individuals at higher risk of infections. The public health programmes organized and financed by local governments play an important role in infectious disease control in the country. Objective: The objective of this study is to analyse health policy programmes including immunization programmes, which were developed, implemented and financed by local government units of all levels in Poland between 2016 and 2019. Material and Methods: This analysis covers data compiled by voivodes and submitted to the Minister of Health as annual information on public health tasks carried out by local government units. From the aggregate information, data on all health policy programmes conducted by individual local government units between 2016 and 2019, including immunization, were extracted and analysed. The data were obtained pursuant to the provisions of the act on access to public information. Results: In the analysed period, local government units implemented a total of 1737 health policy programmes that financed the purchase of vaccines, qualification tests for immunization and carrying out immunization by authorized medical entities. Among the vast majority of programmes, promotional activities were also implemented. Conclusions: In Poland, local governments are deeply engaged in the immunization of their citizens by organizing and financing specific health care programmes. These programmes are an essential addition to the state financial resources in infectious disease control. This engagement expresses local government maturity regarding the health needs of the population and public health measures. Communes are the most engaged units among all levels of local governments. It is probably due to close mutual communication between the people and local governments. The growing awareness of the important role of HPV immunization in the prevention of cervical cancer among local government units is reflected in the increase in the number of girls vaccinated against HPV and the increase in financial resources allocated for primary HPV prevention. The decrease in the number of people vaccinated against pneumococci may result from including pneumococcal vaccines in the compulsory immunization schedule.