Relationship Between Frequency and Intensity of Menopausal Symptoms and Quality of Life Among Polish Nurses

Factors Determining the Quality of Life of Polish Women during Menopause Based on the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire

BACKGROUND

The aim of the study was to present the process of cultural adaptation to Polish conditions and the validation of a scale assessing the quality of life of Polish women during the menopause and to identify the factors determining this quality of life.

METHODS

The research tools were the menopause-specific quality of life (MENQOL) questionnaire and a standardized interview questionnaire comprising questions on the participants' characteristics. The study involved 516 women using health care services who had symptoms caused by the menopause.

RESULTS

The value of the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.923. The discriminative power coefficients of all the questionnaire items were higher than 0.3. The study confirmed the validity and internal consistency of the Polish version of the MENQOL questionnaire for measuring the quality of life of postmenopausal women, suggesting that the tool can be used for screening menopausal symptoms in women. There was a relationship between general quality of life and age (p = 0.002), marital status (p < 0.001), education (p = 0.021), the impact of professional work (p < 0.001), the impact of physical activity (p < 0.001) and the impact of social life (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

In the group of women who took part in the study, the authors observed a lower quality of life during menopause reported by older women who were married/in a stable relationship, with no formal education (no formal education) and who, according to their subjective assessment, negatively evaluated the impact of the accompanying menopause-related symptoms on their work, physical activity and social life.

Global Self-Esteem and Stress Intensity in a Group of Polish Nurses-A Mediatory Role of a Sense of Coherence

(1) Owing to their resistance resources, nurses can reduce the effects of stress, increase their commitment to work and improve their functioning in the face of challenges in the workplace. The aim of this study was to determine the mediatory role of a general sense of coherence and a sense of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness correlated with global self-esteem and the perceived stress intensity in a group of Polish nurses aged 45–55 years. (2) The research using the diagnostic survey method was conducted on a group of 176 nurses (M = 49.1; SD = 3.1) working in seven hospitals located in Olsztyn (Poland). The following were used for data collection: Perceived Stress Scale - PSS-10, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale and Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence (SOC-29) Questionnaire. (3) According to 21.02% of the nurses, their stress level at the workplace was low, 44.89% reported it was medium and 34.09% reported it was high. The self-esteem of nearly half of the nurses included in the study (48.30%) was at a medium level, 31.82% felt it was high and 19.89% felt it was low. The mediation analysis showed that a general sense of coherence and a sense of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness have a mediator status in a correlation between global self-esteem and stress intensity. However, their mediatory role is partial. It is desirable for safe work environment promotion programmes to reinforce nurses’ personal resources, which can be helpful in coping with stressors.