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The Internet is one of the most popular information sources. This study aimed to assess the public attitudes towards the use of the Internet for health purposes as well as to identify factors associated with the use of the Internet for health purposes among adults in Poland. A web-based cross-sectional survey was carried out between 9 and 12 September 2022 on a nationwide random-quota sample of 1092 adults in Poland. The study questionnaire included 10 questions on Internet use for health purposes. The most common reason for the use of the Internet for health purposes was searching for information on drugs and their effects (69.9%). Almost two-thirds of participants used the Internet for searching for health information (64.9%), for doctors/medical services (63.4%), or for medical facilities (65.3%). Over half of the participants used the Internet for checking online reviews of doctors (55.2%) and 43.5% of the participants ordered drugs or dietary supplements online. Out of 9 different socioeconomic factors analyzed in this study, having higher education, being female, as well as living in cities from 100,000 to 499,999 residents were the most important factors (p < 0.05) associated with the use of the Internet for health purposes. This study confirmed a high level of adoption of medical Internet in Poland.

Monitoring tobacco use on a regular schedule is a basic tool of tobacco control policy. This study aimed (1) to assess the current prevalence and patterns of tobacco and e-cigarette use, as well as (2) to identify socioeconomic factors associated with smoking behavior among adults in Poland. This cross-sectional study was carried out in March 2022 on a nationwide, representative sample of 1090 adults in Poland. The computer-assisted web interview (CAWI) technique was used. Daily tobacco smoking was declared by 28.8% of respondents (27.1% of females and 30.8% of males; p = 0.2) and 4.2% were occasional smokers (4.2% of females and 4.3% of males; p = 0.8). Most of the current smokers (62.1%) smoked regular cigarettes and 25.2% smoked hand-rolled cigarettes. The prevalence of daily e-cigarette use was 4.8% (4.0% among females and 5.6% among males; p = 0.2). Daily heated tobacco use was declared by 4.0% of respondents (5.1% of females and 2.9% of males; p = 0.07). Age, having children, and educational level were significantly associated with current daily tobacco smoking. This study revealed a high prevalence of tobacco and e-cigarette use among adults in Poland. The presented data underscore the importance of further improvements in adopting a comprehensive tobacco control strategy in Poland.

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged health systems around the world. Maternal-foetal medicine, which has been particularly affected, must consider scientific data on the physiological processes occurring in the pregnant woman’s body to develop relevant standards of care. Our study retrospectively compared the clinical and laboratory characteristics of 52 COVID-19 pregnant patients with 53 controls. Most of the pregnant patients required medical attention during the third trimester and therefore we propose that vaccination is needed prior to the 30th week of pregnancy. We found no differences between the 2 groups in the course of illness classification system, days of hospital stay, need for oxygen supplementation, need for mechanical ventilation, and ICU admission. Moreover, clinical manifestations and imaging findings were comparable. Pregnant patients needed a greater oxygen flow rate and required high flow oxygen therapy more frequently. Considering pregnancy-related physiological adaptations, we found that COVID-19 infection in pregnant patients is associated with higher levels of inflammatory markers, apart from serum ferritin, than in non-pregnant women, and concluded that biomarkers of cardiac and muscle injury, as well as kidney function, may not be good predictors of COVID-19 clinical course in pregnant patients at the time of admission, but more research needs to be conducted on this topic.

Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is a common manifestation of COVID-19 and may be useful for screening. Survey-based olfactory evaluation tends to underestimate the prevalence of OD, while psychophysical olfactory testing during a pandemic has the disadvantage of being time consuming, expensive, and requiring standardized laboratory settings. We aimed to develop a quick, simple, affordable, and reliable test to objectively assess the prevalence and diagnostic accuracy of OD in COVID-19. The olfactory function of 64 COVID-19 inpatients and 34 controls was evaluated using a questionnaire and a simple disposable odor identification test (SDOIT) developed for this study. Four SDOIT models were assessed: 10-SDOIT, 9-SDOIT, 8-SDOIT, and 4-SDOIT, with 10, 9, 8 and 4 samples, respectively. We found a high frequency of self-reported OD in COVID-19 patients, with 32.8% and 42.2% reporting current and recent OD, respectively. Different SDOIT models revealed smell impairment in 54.7–64.1% of COVID-19 patients. The combination of either 10-SDOIT results and self-reported OD, or 8-SDOIT results and self-reported OD, were the best predictors of COVID-19, both with an AUC value of 0.87 (0.85 and 0.86 for the age-matched subjects). OD is a common symptom of COVID-19. A combination of self-reported smell deterioration and OD psychophysically evaluated using SDOIT appears to be a good predictor of COVID-19.

Perceptions of the harmfulness of tobacco products may be a determinant of smoking behaviors. This study aimed to: (1) assess the perception of harmfulness of various tobacco products and e-cigarettes in Poland as well as (2) to assess the awareness of the health effects of using tobacco and e-cigarettes. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2019 with a nationally representative sample of 1011 individuals aged 15 and over. In the studied group, 22.3% were smokers. Smokeless tobacco was most likely to be perceived as less harmful than cigarettes (25%), followed by water pipe (24.5%), heated tobacco products (22%), e-cigarettes (21.6%), slim cigarettes (17.1%), flavored cigarettes (except menthol ones) (16.1%), menthol cigarettes (15.6%) and cigarillos (12.6%). In this study, 10% of respondents denied that smoking causes serious diseases. Most of the respondents (88.9%) were aware that smoking causes lung cancer (88.9%), but only 70.4% were aware that smoking causes stroke. Smokers compared to non-smokers were less likely to declare that smoking causes a stroke (OR: 0.43, 95%CI: 0.31–0.59, p &lt, 0.001) or myocardial infarction (OR: 0.41, 95%CI: 0.29–0.60, 0.001). There were no significant differences (p &gt, 0.05) in the perception of harmfulness of various tobacco products and e-cigarettes by gender, age, or occupational status.

Background: This study aimed to characterize sources of knowledge on the means of prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infections as well as to assess the methods of preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection among police employees in Poland and their potential impact on the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: The study consisted of two phases: questionnaire and laboratory tests for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The questionnaire included 30 questions related to risk factors, knowledge about SARS-CoV-2, and methods of infection prevention. Results: Data were obtained from 5082 police employees. The most common source of knowledge for a daily update on SARS-CoV-2 infection prevention was the Internet (42.6%), television (40.3%), and radio (39.7%). The most commonly used methods of SARS-CoV-2 infection included washing one&rsquo, s hands for at least 20 seconds (95.8%), wearing facemasks (82.9%), and physical distancing (74.9%). Results of IgG tests were lower in police units where the overall compliance with the preventive measures was higher (p &lt, 0.01). Women were more likely to exercise SARS-CoV-2 infection prevention behaviors compared to men. Compliance with the recommended protective measures increased with age. Conclusions: Lower anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG seropositivity rates were observed in police units with better overall compliance with the preventive measures, suggesting the key importance of group rather than individual behaviors.

Smoke-free policies have been shown to significantly reduce secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure in private and public places. The objectives of this study were to: (1) to assess the prevalence and characteristics of voluntary smoke-free home rules in Poland, and (2) assess the association of smoke-free rules with self-reported SHS exposure in private homes. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in September 2019 with a nationally representative sample of 1011 individuals aged 15 and over. Nationally, 66.1% of individuals had a 100% smoke-free home rule (78.9% of non-smokers and 18.6% of smokers, p &lt, 0.001), while a further 24.6% had adopted a partial home smoking rule. SHS exposure in the home during past month was reported by 6.1% of respondents (11.5% of smokers and 4.5% of non-smokers, 0.001). The lowest level of SHS exposure (1.8%) was observed among respondents who had implemented a full smoke-free home rule. Non-smokers had higher odds of having adopted a total smoke-free home rule compared with smokers (aOR: 19.17, 95% CI: 12.89–28.50). Moreover, non-smokers had lower odds (aOR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.20–0.61, 0.001) of self-reporting SHS smoke exposure at home. Although two-thirds of the Polish population have adopted a full smoke-free home rule in their homes, smokers continue to lag in adoption rates relative to non-smokers.

Technological development around the world has led to the digitalisation of the health system. Along with the digitalisation of the health sector, financial, legal, awareness-related, technological and IT barriers appeared. The aim of the article is to present recommendations for the development of telemedicine services in Poland on the basis of a list of implementation barriers and ways of resolving them in the USA and selected European countries. A literature review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR, using the PubMed and Google Scholar databases, Scopus and the OECD iLibrary. A total of 59 literature positions were used, which constituted the references. The article presented the implemented and effective solutions in selected countries. Based on these solutions, recommendations for the development of telemedicine in Poland were presented, as well as successes in the form of telemedicine startups, which can inspire other countries. The analysis of the publications discussed in the article shows that the implementation of telemedicine services should begin with the elimination of barriers limiting the development of telemedicine systems. An important issue in their elimination is to analyse their interconnections and implement such solutions which would have a multi-area coverage.

Physicians play a key role in combating tobacco use. This study aims to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and behaviors toward smoking cessation and vaping cessation interventions among physicians in Poland, to identify factors shaping physicians&rsquo, behaviors toward smoking and vaping cessation interventions, and to assess differences in the tobacco cessation interventions recommended for cigarette smokers and users of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). A questionnaire-based survey was conducted in 2018 among physicians attending mandatory public health training courses delivered at the School of Public Health, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland. The questionnaire included 25 questions related to tobacco product use and smoking cessation interventions. Data were obtained from 423 physicians (64.3% female, mean age 32.0 &plusmn, 5.8 years) with response rate of 84.6%. Current cigarette smoking was declared by 7.8% of participants, 1.9% of participants were e-cigarette users and 1.9% used heated tobacco. Smoking cessation interventions were offered more often to patients who smoked cigarettes than those who used e-cigarettes (p &lt, 0.001). Physicians&rsquo, behaviors toward smoking cessation and vaping cessation interventions were associated with (p &lt, 0.05) physicians&rsquo, smoking status and self-declared knowledge about smoking cessation methods. Among physicians in Poland, discussion of smoking cessation was not common behavior and limited mainly to identification of smoking status.

Monitoring of tobacco use is one of the key tobacco control activities. This study aimed to assess the current prevalence and patterns of tobacco and e-cigarette in Poland as well as to investigate socioeconomic factors associated with cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use. This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2019, on a representative nationwide sample of 1011 individuals aged 15+ in Poland. Daily tobacco smoking was declared by 21.0% of participants, 1.3% of participants were occasional tobacco smokers, and 10.7% were former tobacco smokers. Heated tobacco was used by 0.4% of participants. Ever e-cigarette use was declared by 4.0% of participants and 1.4% were current e-cigarette users. A higher proportion of daily smokers was observed among men than women (24.4% vs. 18.0%, p &lt, 0.0001). The age group 30 to 49 years, of a lower educational level and living in a medium-sized city (between 20,000 and 500,000 residents), was significantly associated with current daily smoking. This is the most up-to-date study on the prevalence of smoking in Poland. Further tobacco control activities are needed to reduce tobacco use in Poland.