Foteini Tzavella | University of the Peloponnese (original) (raw)

Papers by Foteini Tzavella

Series of Clinical and Medical Case Reports and Reviews, Mar 28, 2023

Background: The purpose of this research is to study the effect of occupational therapy on the qu... more Background: The purpose of this research is to study the effect of occupational therapy on the quality of life and pain selfefficacy among chronic disease patients. In this context, differences in quality of life and pain self-efficacy were investigated between patients who have followed occupational therapy and patients who have not followed the program of occupational therapy. Methods: The sample consists of 63 people, all chronic disease patients. Of the above patients, according to the research design, half received occupational therapy services at a rate of 50.8% (32 patients), while the remaining 49.2% (31 patients) did not receive them. For the data collection MVQOLI-15 and PSEQ were used. Results: We found that those receiving occupational therapy services, on average, seem to have comparatively better pain self-efficacy and overall quality of life compared to those not receiving them, while this difference is statistically significant, with the level of statistical significance amounting to α = 5%. Conclusion: The effect of occupational therapy on quality of life and pain self-efficacy in chronic disease patients is crucial.

Healthcare, Apr 18, 2024

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Introduction: Several studies have shown that nursing professional is one of the groups at risk o... more Introduction: Several studies have shown that nursing professional is one of the groups at risk of suffering high level of burnout syndrome. Social support has a positive impact on their overall wellbeing. The aim of the study was to investigate burnout syndrome and social support in Greek nursing professionals and if social support affects burnout levels. Material and Method: A sample of 125 nurses was recruited from hospitals in the broader area of Athens and all over Greece. Measurements will be conducted with the following instruments: the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) for measuring burnout and social support, respectively. Results: The analysis of the measurements indicates that nursing professionals experience high levels of burnout syndrome but there is no significant correlation with social support in the majority of the nursing staff. Conclusion: The debilitating project and numerous hours of work are additionally highlighted in this study, where many medical attendants take note that they feel rationally depleted by their work. Social support plays an important role in health but in our study, the correlation among them is rejected, so it would be interesting to carry out further studies.

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder with progressive l... more Introduction: Alzheimer's disease is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder with progressive loss of cognitive function and other manifestations in the central nervous system. It has been found that 45% of patients exhibit sleep disorders. Purpose: This study aims to describe the role and effects of melatonin levels in Alzheimer's disease. Methods: In a literature search in the electronic database "PubMed" and "Google Scholar" via search engine. There was a time restriction, the last fourteen years. Exclusion criteria of articles were articles related to the effect of melatonin in other neurodegenerative disorders. Finally, 65 articles were included in the study. Results: The production of melatonin depends on circadian rhythm and affects the duration and quality of sleep. It is known that the process of aging cause a reduction of melatonin and that endogenous secretion is reduced in people with Alzheimer's disease. Degenerative changes in the pineal gland can cause deregulation in the secretion of melatonin in the early stages of Alzheimer, resulting in the additional presence of disturbances in the sleep cycle. At the same time, lack of sleep can cause chronic accumulation of beta amyloid peptide, which is involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. So, sleep and neurodegenerative disorder exhibit a bidirectional relationship, having a significant impact on the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Conclusions: Data from clinical studies suggest that melatonin supplements improve sleep quality and retard the progression of cognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer.

Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, Jan 10, 2017

This paper aims to investigate the reliability and validity of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Q... more This paper aims to investigate the reliability and validity of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Adolescent Short Form score in a sample of 440 Greek adolescents. The instrument's score demonstrated good internal consistency and was significantly correlated with core self-evaluations as well with somatic complaints, self-report psychopathology and personal strengths. It also explained a statistically significant increase in the prediction of outcome variables beyond core selfevaluations. It is concluded that, the findings of the present study provide evidence that support the interpretation and use of the TEIQue-ASF score to assess the emotional self-perceptions of Greek adolescents.

International Journal of Midwifery and Nursing Practice

Aim of the study was to assess Quality of life and Spirituality in Lung Cancer Patients and their... more Aim of the study was to assess Quality of life and Spirituality in Lung Cancer Patients and their possible relation. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was employed in this study and a cohort of 32 lung cancer patients was recruited. Data were collected with a three-part self-reported questionnaire consisted by Missoula Vita QoL index, Daily spiritual experience and a sheet contain sociodemographic data. Statistical analysis performed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 21.0 for Windows) and included Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficient and linear regression analysis. Results: The total sample includes all patients, consisting of 21 men (65.6%) and 11 women (34.4%). Participants were, on average, 55 years old. MVQOLI Total, Interpersonal, Wellbeing and Transcendent presented negative correlation with DSES total score. showing that patients with greater religious believes have lower MVQOLI Total, Interpersonal, Wellbeing and Transcendent scores. Conclusions: Religion and spirituality are two essential aspects of human existence that can impact various health outcomes such as QoL and distress.

Likars'ka sprava / Ministerstvo okhorony zdorov'ia Ukraïny, Oct 15, 2017

others», the divergence of value orientations of the individual and society. The basic set of ada... more others», the divergence of value orientations of the individual and society. The basic set of adaptive mechanisms is determined empirically. The basic directions of psychological support of families of injured servicemen are determined.

Health Psychology Report, 2020

health psychology report • volume 8(2),  original article background Social support in women ... more health psychology report • volume 8(2),  original article background Social support in women with breast cancer is associated with quality of life (QoL) and it appears to be vital for treating breast cancer and adaptation to disease. Social support seems to decrease quantitatively and over time while significant improvement in the patients' long-term emotional and physical function is observed. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the differences in levels of social support and QoL in two independent groups of patients: women with breast cancer (i) during chemotherapy and (ii) two years after the chemotherapy. participants and procedure In this cross-sectional study 74 women with breast cancer "during chemotherapy" (n = 41) and "two years after chemotherapy" (n = 33) completed the Greek version of Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and the Greek version of the Missoula-VITAS Quality of Life Index (MVQoLI-15) to measure social support and QoL respectively. All statistical analyses were performed with SPSS 25 with significance set at p < .05. results The group "two years after chemotherapy" reported better QoL than the "during chemotherapy" group. There was no difference in perceived social support between the two groups. The higher the patients' age, the lower the QoL for the "during chemotherapy" group and the higher the social support for the "two years after chemotherapy" group. conclusions QoL improves over time, emphasizing the ability of women to manage difficult situations. Social support remains important in both periods.

Nursing Forum, Oct 29, 2022

Scientifica, Oct 7, 2020

Introduction. Spiritual care is defined as activities and interventions that promote spiritual he... more Introduction. Spiritual care is defined as activities and interventions that promote spiritual health and the spiritual dimension of quality of life. Empirical data indicate the importance that spiritual care provision has on nursing practice. e spiritual care intervention-provision (SCIP) scale was developed to assess the frequency of spiritual care intervention implemented by nurses. Currently, there are no validated scales for assessing spiritual care in the Greek language. Objective. To adapt and validate the spiritual care intervention-provision scale in the Greek language. Methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study was employed, in which 275 nurses working in two public hospitals participated. e SCIP scale underwent the process of cross-cultural adaptation and was evaluated by assessing its reliability and validity. Results. e process resulted in a valid Greek version of the SCIPS, the internal consistency (Cronbach's α 0.887), reliability testing-retesting (r � 0.997, p < 0.001, and t � 0.387, p > 0.05), construct, and convergent validities were evaluated. Conclusion. e Greek version of the spiritual care intervention-provision scale is a validated scale that can be used to examine spiritual care provision in Greek health services.

Health Psychology Research, Sep 4, 2018

Several studies report that psychiatric nursing is a highly stressful occupation. The ways that n... more Several studies report that psychiatric nursing is a highly stressful occupation. The ways that nurses use in order to deal with stressful situations have a serious effect on their psychological mood and their health status. The purpose of this study was to investigate the coping strategies in predicting of depression and anxiety among mental health nurses working in public psychiatric hospitals. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in Athens, Greece from April to May 2017. A questionnaire consisting of the socio-demographic and work-related characteristics, the Patient Health Questionnaire-2, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2, and the 38-items Ways of Coping Questionnaire-Greek version, was completed by a total of 110 mental health nurses. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using the logistic regression model. Coping strategies focused on the problem (positive re-evaluation, positive approach, problem solving, and seeking social support) were the most commonly used by the mental health nurses. Strategies focused on emotion (prayer/daydream, prayer, avoidance/escape, resignation, and denial) were positively associated with depression and anxiety outcomes. Also, the coping skills of problem solving (Adjusted Odds Ratio, AOR=0.402), and seeking social support (AOR=3.719) were significant predictors only for elevated anxiety symptoms. The results from the study demonstrated the importance of coping behaviours in mental health problems of psychiatric nurses.

American Journal of Nursing Science, Aug 22, 2017

Many nurses today are religious and sometimes there exist some religious motivations on becoming ... more Many nurses today are religious and sometimes there exist some religious motivations on becoming a nurse. They are often responsible through their care to assess and facilitate spiritual well-being, identify spiritual distress and to provide religious and spiritual care. Nurses need to understand their own spirituality and religiosity before they can successfully integrate them into their care. Aim: The present study aims to assess Greek nurses' religiosity and to validate the Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS) in the Greek language. Material and Methods: The CRS-15 questionnaire is an anonymous selfadministered questionnaire that contains fifteen, five point Likert scale, closed questions (ranging 1-5). The sample of the study was 344 nurses and nurse assistants. Exploratory factor analysis, with principal components analysis, was performed for checking the construct validity of the questionnaire. The test-retest reliability and the internal consistency were also examined. Statistical analysis performed using SPSS 21.0. Statistical significance level was set at p=0.05. Results: The final Greek version of the questionnaire includes all the fifteen questions. The mean age of the participants was 42.9±7.5. Two factors exported from the statistical analysis: the first one corresponded to religious practices and the second one to religious beliefs and experiences. The Cronbach-a coefficient was 0.952 for the total questionnaire and for Religious beliefs and experiences is a=0.923 while for the religious practices is a=0.926. Conclusions: The CRS-15, is a valuable and reliable questionnaire that can be used for assessing religiosity in Greek population.

Medicine and Pharmacy Reports, Jan 31, 2020

Αim. To evaluate psychological distress and quality of life of patients with hematological malign... more Αim. To evaluate psychological distress and quality of life of patients with hematological malignancies, as well as to identify the prognostic factors that aggravate their condition. Methods. A cross-sectional, descriptive study including 87 patients with Hematological Malignancies was conducted. Data were collected with an anonymous questionnaire consisted by A) a sheet with socio-demographic characteristics, B) the Depression, Stress and Stress Scale (DASS21), and C) World Health Organization Life Quality Scale (WHOQOL-BREF30). The processing and statistical analysis of the empirical material of the research were done using the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) 22.0. Results. The results showed that the age of the sample averaged 71.22 years (SD = 8.71). Regarding their marital status, single mothers were 9.2%, married 62.1%. With regard to disease-related features, 28.7% of patients had Hodgkin's Lymphoma, 27.6% Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, 27.6% MDL and 16.1% of patients had myelodysplastic syndrome Multiple myeloma. In the investigation of the relationship between the Mental health Scale and the Quality of Life, negative correlations of Depression, Stress, Stress and the total DAS Scale with all dimensions of Patient Quality of Life were found. Conclusions. Higher levels of psychological distress and poor mental health are associated with a low level of quality of life.

DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), 2020

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is a medically complex and life-disrupting condition. Ttraumatic SCI can... more Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is a medically complex and life-disrupting condition. Ttraumatic SCI can be mostly a result of falls, road traffic injuries, occupational and sports injuries, and violence, while, non-traumatic SCI involves an underlying pathology, musculoskeletal disease and congenital problems such as spina bifida. A complete SCI produces total loss of all motor and sensory function below the level of injury with both sides of the body affected equally. An incomplete SCI allows some function to remain below the primary level of the injury. Mental wellbeing is having the capacity to live a full and creative life, and having the flexibility to deal with life's ups and downs. The consequences of a SCI include increased levels of mental distress, which is associated with higher levels of pain and depression and lower levels of self-esteem and satisfaction. An estimated 20-30% of people with spinal cord injury show clinically significant signs of depression, which in turn has a negative impact on improvements in functioning and overall health. On the other hand, religiosity and spirituality are important aspects of people's lives. Several investigations show that religious participation is related with better outcomes for persons who are recovering from physical and mental illness, also the psychology science have committed special issues to positive correlations between religious belief and practice, mental and physical health and longevity. After a traumatic experience, great changes may occur in one's religious and spiritual life. There should be implemented psychosocial interventions among people with SCI which will allow them develop acceptance cognitions and skills in order to face their new life situation. These interventions should also integrate the benefits of religiosity and spirituality aspects which may have a positive impact on the mental well-being of people with SCI.

Materia socio-medica, 2019

Introduction: Psychological health is the expression of harmonic expression of human's personalit... more Introduction: Psychological health is the expression of harmonic expression of human's personality and is often disrupted by multiple factors. Especially during academic years, human has to confront various stressful situations that endanger his Psychological health. Enhanced levels of Emotional Intelligence and Spirituality may act protectively enhancing his ability to manipulate his emotions and his existential anxieties. Aim: The present study aims to assess psychological distress in university students and test if emotional intelligence and spirituality are related. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed. The sample comprised 206 students attending in different Departments of the University of Thessaly. Results: From the total of 206 students the majority were women (n=157, 76,2%) while 23,8% were men. Regarding the mean of age of the participants was found to be 30.1 ±7.15 with a minimum 18 and maximum at 44 years. Factors such as gender, living arrangement and financial frustration can affect psychological distress. The results indicated, a positive link was found among Emotional Intelligence and various factors of Spirituality and Psychological health. Conclusions: The contribution of Emotional Intelligence and Spirituality is crucial to the acquisition of well-being, happiness and meaning in life.

Journal of Religion & Health, Jan 19, 2022

The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of nurses’ personality, spirituality, and ... more The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of nurses’ personality, spirituality, and spiritual care in nurses’ caring behaviors. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in two hospitals, located in Athens, Greece. Data were collected by a four-part self-reported questionnaire. The results showed that work experience seems to play an important and positive role on nurses’ caring behaviors, and all personality traits, except neuroticism. Also, spirituality and spiritual climate are significant factors predicting nurses' caring behaviors. Moreover, a hospitals’ spiritual climate can positively influence all domains of nursing care (p < 0.001). Nurses spirituality (faith) and hospital spiritual climate can also positively influence nursing care.

International Journal of Midwifery and Nursing Practice

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an important global health problem. The aim of this study w... more Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an important global health problem. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of self-efficacy, health locus of control, demographic and clinical predictors on the level of quality of life among patients with type 2 DM as well as to explore the association between these variables. Methods: A community sample of 50 DM out clinic patients completed the Greek versions of the Missoula VITAS Quality of Life Index, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale and a questionnaire with demographic and clinical characteristics. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20. The statistical significance level was set up at 0.05. Results: There was a statistically significant correlation between self-efficacy and total quality of life score (r=0.34, p<0.05) and its dimensions "Interpersonal" (r=0.391, p<0.01) and "Transcendent" (r=0.362, p<0.01). There was no statistically significant correlation between the Health Locus of Control and quality of life. Significant but moderate correlations were found between the total score of quality of life and education (r=0.307, p<0.05), the total score of quality of life and height (r=0.34, p<0.05). Conclusions: Self-efficacy and type of treatment were among the predictors of quality of life. The more the self-efficacy increases, the more the quality of life and some of its dimensions increase. Health Locus of Control may not be associated with quality of life.

Series of Clinical and Medical Case Reports and Reviews, Mar 28, 2023

Healthcare, Apr 18, 2024

Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, Jan 10, 2017

International Journal of Midwifery and Nursing Practice

Likars'ka sprava / Ministerstvo okhorony zdorov'ia Ukraïny, Oct 15, 2017

Health Psychology Report, 2020

Nursing Forum, Oct 29, 2022

Scientifica, Oct 7, 2020

Health Psychology Research, Sep 4, 2018

American Journal of Nursing Science, Aug 22, 2017

Medicine and Pharmacy Reports, Jan 31, 2020

DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), 2020

Materia socio-medica, 2019

Journal of Religion & Health, Jan 19, 2022

International Journal of Midwifery and Nursing Practice

Crises and Pandemics, environmental, bioethical and cultural connections in a changing society, 2023

"Πρόκειται για μία ώριμη και εκλεκτική επιστημονική μελέτη που επιβεβαιώνει ότι η κρίσεις και οι ... more "Πρόκειται για μία ώριμη και εκλεκτική επιστημονική μελέτη που επιβεβαιώνει ότι η κρίσεις και οι πανδημίες αφήνουν το στίγμα τους στα σώματα των ανθρώπων, στη συλλογική μνήμη των κοινωνιών και στη λειτουργία των θεσμών, αλλά και ότι οι μεγάλοι θρίαμβοι της επιστήμης και της τεχνολογίας για την αντιμετώπισης τους δεν θα εξαλείψουν ποτέ το φόβο και την αβεβαιότητα των ανθρώπων απέναντι στο επόμενο άγνωστο, «κακό». Η κανονικότητα των κρίσεων και των πανδημιών είναι πάντα μια εικόνα του κοινού μέλλοντός μας". Θεόδωρος Π. Παπαθεοδώρου Καθηγητής Πανεπιστημίου Πελοποννήσου, πρ. Πρύτανης, πρ. Υφυπουργός