The role of university-graduate nurses in preventing the hospitalisation of pregnant women with toxaemia
Laskovicsné Szendrõi, A., Bódis, J., Váradyné Horváth, Á.

Objective: To identify any potential relationship between the psychological status of toxaemic expectant mothers and the various forms of care, to assess the level of knowledge of pregnant women, and to get an insight into the supportive behaviour of the family and healthcare personnel.
Method and sample: A questionnare survey was implemented at an OB/GYN Ambulatory Clinic, and at the Departments of Pathological Pregnancies of a County Hospital County and a University Clinical Department, among pregnant women who were suffering from toxaemia.
Findings: the psychological status of pregnant women was found to be in close relationship with the specific form of care. It was established clearly that symptoms of toxaemia can be managed well in the ambulatory care setting. Expectant mothers under continuous care for toxaemia had inappropriate knowledge about the pathology and needed additional information in order to decrease their anxieties and fears. The family was found to provide strong psychic support to the pregnant women.
Conclusion: The ideal form of care for pregnant women with toxaemia is repeated episodes of outpatient/ambulatory care, which allows them to stay in their home setting. Pregnant women with well managed toxaemia required hospitalization very rarely or not at all.
 

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Small area disparities in the delivery of home care in the region of Southern Transdanubia
Oláh (1, 2); J. Sándor (3); I. Boncz (4, 5); J. Betlehem (6, 7); A. Sebestyén (8); K. Gulyás Kisbenedek (9); Cs. Dózsa (10)

  1  General Secretary, Hungarian Scientific Society of Nursing
  2  Assistant Lecturer, University of Pécs, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Nursing and Clinical Practice
  3  Senior Lecturer, University of Pécs, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Public Health
  4  Head, Department of Health Policy and Co-ordination, National Health Insurance Fund
  5  Honorary Associate Professor, University of Pécs, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Diagnostic and Management
  6  President, Hungarian Scientific Society of Nursing
  7  Principal Lecturer, University of Pécs, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Nursing and Clinical Practice
  8  Deputy-Director, Baranya County Health Insurance Fund
  9  Department of Financing, National Health Insurance Fund
 10  Deputy Director-general, National Health Insurance Fund

Introduction: Specialised home care (skilled nursing) was introduced in Hungary in 1996. The aim of the study is to investigate the small area inequalities of the home care system in Hungary using objective indicators such as the access to and utilization of home care services.
Data and methods: aThe data were derived from the financial database of the National Health Insurance Fund of Hungary, which had been submitted by health care providers. For the purposes of the study we used data for the period between 1998-2002, in order to compare the access indicators of home care (theoretically) with indicators of the effective utilization (in practice) at national level and in counties, and we analysed utilization indicators of home care in three counties (Baranya, Somogy, Tolna) of the South Transdanubian region.
Results: The access to home care services reached 95.1 % at the end of the year 2002, which means that 95.1 % of the population were theoretically covered by the services. During the same period the utilization rate reached only 84.1 %. A look at the samples within the counties of the Southern Transdanubia have shown that home care is effectively available first of all in big cities and settlements located close to the cities.
Conclusions: The effective access in the practice, as the pointers of the access, both across the country and with regard to the South Transdanubia Region fell significantly behind the indicators of theoretical access, therefore the possibility of accessing home care is not provided in practice for the greatest proportion of the population.
Keywords: home care, financial support, health insurance, Hungary, Southern Transdanubia

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