This paper examines the association between media reporting on suicides and the subsequent suicides. Scientific papers from two online bibliographic sources Medline (PubMed) and PsycINFO were searched. The sample included 108 research papers examining the impact of different types of media stories on suicides. The review revealed that although the media can be a double-edged sword and serve both as a risk and a protective factor, the vast majority of research suggests that the relationship between the media reporting and the actual suicide rates is causal and real. Moreover, both the quantity and the quality of media reporting may trigger additional suicides in society. Simultaneously, research suggests that especially non-fictional presentations of celebrities’ suicides in newspapers and on television news have the biggest influence on the subsequent suicides. Additionally, a strong modelling effect of media reporting on suicide is based on nationality, age, and gender. However, research shows that because a negative reporting style can be modifiable and improved, the media can also have an educative or preventive effect and can reduce the risk of contagion. Consequently, it is important to monitor the implementation of media recommendations for the reporting of suicide, and continuous education of reporters is needed.

Background: During the past few decades there has been a growing interest on the part of many governments in the creation of biobanks. Nevertheless, this would be impossible without participation of many donors who offer samples of their biological material for scientific research. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the existing research on social attitudes towards biobanking. Material and Methods: A literature search was conducted in the database of MEDLINE (PubMed). 61 papers were included in the analysis. The retrieved articles were assessed using a thematic analysis. Results: Eight main themes were identified: (1) public knowledge about biobanks, (2) public views on biobanking, (3) willingness to donate, (4) donors’ motivations, (5) perceived benefits and risks of biobanking, (6) preferred type of consent, (7) trust toward biobanks, and (8) demographic characteristics of potential donors. Conclusions: Although the public lacks knowledge about biobanking, many individuals declare willingness to donate. Their will is influenced by: their knowledge about biobanking, the type of donated tissue, research purpose, concerns over the safety of the data, preferred type of consent, and trust towards biobanks.

Background: During their studies, future physicians are often taught that while evaluating a patient they should first consider a common diagnosis and not a rare one. Consequently, although most physicians will face the diagnosis or treatment of a rare disease (RD) at some point in their professional lives, many assume that they might never meet a patient with a specific RD. Moreover, many physicians lack knowledge about RDs and are not prepared for caring for RD patients. Thus, the aim of this paper was to assess the awareness of RDs among Polish physicians. Methods: The study was conducted among 165 medical doctors taking their specialization courses at the Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poland. The questionnaire assessed physicians’ knowledge about the number, examples, etiology and estimated frequency of RDs. It also checked the self-assessment of physicians competence in RDs, as well as their opinions about university curricula in this respect. Results: The study shows that while most physicians lacked basic knowledge about the etiology, epidemiology and prevalence of RDs, many had also problems with separating RDs from more common disorders. Moreover, 94.6% of physicians perceived their knowledge on RDs as insufficient or very poor and less than 5% feel prepared for caring for patients with RDs. Simultaneously, while over 83% of physicians believed that RDs constitute a serious public health issue, 17% were of the opinion that mandatory courses on RDs are not necessary in medical curricula and 6.7% were not interested in broadening their knowledge of such diseases. Most respondents derived their knowledge on RDs from university courses, scientific literature and research, as well as from the Internet. Conclusion: Since the study shows that there is a urgent need to fill the gap in physicians’ knowledge on RDs, it seems advisable that extra courses on these diseases should be added to medical curricula and physicians’ postgraduate training. Furthermore, as the Internet is the main source of information on RDs, e-learning programs and courses for all medical professionals should be organized.

While genetics constitutes an important part of medical education, one can observe a lack of knowledge about rare diseases (RD) among medical students and healthcare professionals. Meanwhile, many RD are life threatening and chronically debilitating conditions that significantly reduce patients' quality of life. Most RD patients experience various psychiatric symptoms, behavioral changes and mental retardation. Consequently, physicians should be educated on RD. Thus, the aim of this paper is to assess the knowledge about RD among future physicians. The study was conducted among 346 medical students of Poznan University of Medical Sciences. It showed that while 99.4% of respondents had heard the term 'rare disease' and 90.5% knew its main cause, only 11.5% correctly estimated the prevalence of RD. Moreover, only 35.3% knew what percentage of RD is of genetic character and 24.9% that RD are most common among children. Additionally, very few students knew the number of RD patients in Poland (5.2%). Most respondents believed that it is primarily geneticists (76.6%) and pediatricians (74.3%) who should be uniquely educated and trained in RD. Interestingly, although 95.4% of respondents perceived their knowledge about RD as insufficient or very poor and 92.2% did not feel prepared for caring for RD patients, 45.7% believed that it is not necessary to add an extra course on RD into medical curricula. Thus, as most future physicians do not possess knowledge about RD, there is an urgent need to raise the awareness on RD among medical students and educate them about such diseases.

Opieka nad pacjentem chronicznie chorym spoczywa najczęściej na jego rodzinie. Większość badań nad potrzebami, jakością życia i obciążeniem opiekunów opisuje przy tym przypadki różnych form demencji, w tym choroby Alzheimera i Parkinsona, udaru, nowotworu czy chorób psychicznych. Znacznie mniej uwagi poświęca się zaś opiekunom osób z chorobą Huntingtona (HD). Tymczasem, psychospołeczne konsekwencje HD są znacznie poważniejsze i dalekosiężne. Stąd celem tekstu jest dokonanie przeglądu literatury na temat problemów, jakie stwarza dla opiekunów rodzinnych sprawowanie opieki nad pacjentem z HD. Na podstawie dostępnych badań zidentyfikowano następujące aspekty opieki, które są najbardziej obciążające dla opiekunów: negatywne doświadczenia z opieką medyczną i społeczną, niezadowolenie z pełnienia roli opiekuna, lęk o dzieci, utrata więzi emocjonalnej z chorym krewnym, rozpad rodziny i utrata kontaktów społecznych oraz pogorszenie zdrowia. Artykuł opisuje również strategie radzenia sobie z HD. Choć dokonana analiza ukazuje pewne podobieństwa między opieką nad osobą z HD a pacjentem cierpiącym na inne choroby neurodegeneracyjne, to wskazuje zarazem na pewne aspekty HD, które są nieobecne w przypadku innych chorób: wczesny początek choroby, powaga objawów, wydłużony okres chorowania, genetyczny, a więc dziedziczny charakter HD oraz brak wiedzy społeczeństwa na temat HD. Podsumowując rozważania, stwierdza się, że choć w kontekście klinicznym to pacjent z HD jest głównym obiektem uwagi personelu medycznego, niejednokrotnie to rodzinni opiekunowie potrzebują szczególnej uwagi, wsparcia i pomocy.

Background: The treatment of rare diseases in contemporary health systems appears to be steadily gaining in importance, especially as the number of their occurrence is increasing. However, the education of medical staff in their correct diagnosis and therapy seems inadequate. Our study aims to analyze the knowledge and opinions concerning rare diseases among Polish nurses and nursing students. Methods: We analyzed a group of 142 nurses and 113 nursing students, using a questionnaire comprising 28 questions about the number, examples, etiology and estimated frequency of rare diseases. Self-assessment of one’s own theoretical and practical competence in the topic, as well as the opinion of the respondents on the need for a more prominent place of rare diseases in the curricula of medical universities, were also tested. We also asked about our informants’ sources of information on rare diseases. The study was conducted between January and June 2019. Results: Although only approximately $$ \raisebox{1ex}{$1$}\!\left/ \!\raisebox{-1ex}{$3$}\right. $$1 3 rd of respondents declared having participated in university classes in rare diseases, a markedly higher number (~ 85% of nurses and ~ 75% of students) sees the need for such courses. Neither group feels well-prepared to deal with patients with rare diseases, with 75% of nurses and as many as 85% of nursing students expressing their concern in this respect. Both groups name the Internet as their major source of information. Conclusion: Both nurses and nursing students show insufficient knowledge of rare diseases, though the level of competence of the former is in many respects higher in a statistically significant way. Most respondents perceive serious deficiencies in their preparation to care for such patients. A change in university curricula seems much called for.