Background: During the Great Recession of 2008 many of the European and other western economies had been affected with the unemployment rising and income shrinking. Daily lives of a country’s citizens always are affected by an economic downturn in various ways and mental health problems are expected to be worsen. Aim: The aim of this systematic review is to identify to what extent the economic crisis of the last decade has influenced mental health issues in daily life, by offering an in-depth analysis of such effect. Methods: PRISMA guidelines were followed and PubMed platform was used for the literature research. There were included articles that were published between 2009 and 2019. The search terms used were economic crisis and mental health. An extraction sheet was created to collect the results. Results: Thirty-five studies from several countries were included in this review. The results from this articles point out that specific social groups are more vulnerable during periods of economic crisis in terms of mental health impact. Depression, anxiety and stress are some of the most common outcomes. However, not all the evidence sources agree. Conclusions: Despite the disagreements, the economic downturn and its outcomes can effect negatively the psychological state either of the population as a whole or of specific subgroups. Mental health is largely affected by economy and regulatory adjustments of supportive care services are needed to buffer negative effects. Primary care could be a ‘remote access server’ of specific interventions designed to target vulnerable population groups. The development of strategies at a country level is essential in order to support the most vulnerable groups of the population during a recession period.

Trust and empathy constitute basic elements of healthcare delivery. In recent years, the quest for greater efficiency in healthcare has also indicated the necessity of these values. The study aims to develop and assess a 10-item tool, namely, the Personal Trust and Connections (PerTC) scale. The study was conducted at a general hospital in eastern Crete, Greece. A total of 218 healthcare professionals participated over a six-week period in 2021. The 10-item PerTC scale encompasses emotional, social, and cognitive reliance variables. The scale was tested for reliability, and scale scores were assessed for convergent validity. PerTC scale was found with high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.863). At a multivariate level, younger age (p = 0.016), more work experience years (p = 0.001), the experience of a recent family crisis event (p = 0.028), and use of the internet in free time (p = 0.028) were significantly related to increased total scores of the PerTC scale. The new scale is an easy-to-use metric tool with good overall reliability. PerTC may be a suitable instrument to indirectly identify determinants and drivers in order to explore pathways to collectively build on trustful interaction and altruistic connection within a healthcare environment.

This paper examines potential associations of loneliness with laboratory data and specific psychosocial and behavioral attitudes. The sample collection took place in an urban Primary Health Care unit between May and July 2023, consecutively, and once exclusion criteria were implemented. Participants were aged between 40 and 75 years. Routine laboratory test results upon study initiation and six months before were used. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Loneliness Scale (Version 3), blood glucose, serum lipids, Fibrosis-4 index, and Creatinine Clearance (CrCl) were assessed through hierarchical multiple logistic regression analysis. Based on full model (3rd) analysis, those who were engaged in an individual sport or activity or had contacts with more friends presented significantly lower odds for increased loneliness levels (odds ratio (OR): 0.28 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.09–0.91], p = 0.034 and OR: 0.76 [95%CI 0.66–0.88], p < 0.001, respectively). The consumption of alcohol was associated with increased loneliness (OR: 5.55 [95%CI 1.42–21.63], p = 0.014). Elevated triglyceride levels were linked with moderate or no loneliness (OR: 0.20 [95%CI 0.05–0.83], p = 0.026), while an increased LDL/HDL atherosclerotic index was related to increased subjective loneliness (OR: 4.50 [95%CI 1.12–18.13], p = 0.035). The need for holistic approaches—involving primary care personnel—in understanding and addressing loneliness, recognizing its multifaceted nature as well as the diverse factors that contribute to this issue, is considered challenging.

Introduction: Increasing reliance on the internet in adolescence has raised concerns regarding its potential impact on physical/psychological well-being. This study aimed to examine the prevalence and factors associated with internet addiction (IA) among high school students. Methods: A...

In the last decade, demand for blood has been increased internationally, while there is a consistent shortage of regular blood donors. Medical students are a potential pool of regular blood donors. The present study investigated the attitudes and knowledge of undergraduate medical students, regarding blood donation. During the May of 2023 data from 320 medical students of the University of Crete, Greece who were studying from the first to the sixth year were analyzed. It was a cross-sectional observational study and data collection was performed by completing an anonymous questionnaire with socio-demographic items and the Blood Donation Attitudes and Knowledge Scale. Three hundred twenty undergraduate students participated in this study. Sophomores accounted for 20.3& (n=65). Only 25.9& of the participants donated blood repeatedly. Most students (99.4&; p<0.001) believed that donating blood was a good act and 87.5& reported that religious beliefs should not influence blood donation (both p<0.001). The frequency of students in the 4th-6th year who achieved a high score in Attitudes and Knowledge scale was higher compared to the 1st-3rd year students (23.6% vs. 10.6%, p=0.002). Higher score on Attitudes and Knowledge about Donation was significantly associated with increased year of study (r=0.196, p<0.001). Moderate levels of Attitudes and Knowledge Scale about Blood Donation were reported with a significant tendency to increase along the years of study. Perhaps, medical students may mature their perception towards blood donation alongside with their training advancement in Medicine.