Mary Anne Lauri

Metaphors of organ donation, social representations of the body and the opt-out system.

Organ donation is the only available treatment for end-stage failure of organs such as liver, lung, and heart and therefore increasing the number of organ donors is a priority for most countries. One measure that could be taken by a country to increase the number of organ transplants is to introduce the opt-out system of organ donation. Public opinion is divided on this issue and policy makers need to tread with caution before introducing legislation. This paper proposes that understanding the social representations the public has of organ donation is important in taking the right policy decisions. We propose here that an in-depth study of the views held by people on the issue is essential in this regard and that this can best be done by investigating the metaphors people use to describe organ donation, interpreted within the theory of social representation. In this study, the social representations of organ donation were investigated through five focus groups with 57 participants living in Malta. Analysis of the transcriptions of these focus groups yielded pertinent issues related to organ donation. Moreover, metaphors of organ donations and how these were related to social representations of the body and attitudes towards the opt-out system are discussed. It is being suggested that these findings could be of relevance to the present discussion on the opt-out system in the UK and in other countries.

Patient-oriented personality traits of first-year pharmacy students.

Objective. To determine, using the Gordon Personal Profile-Inventory (GPP-I), if the personality traits of first-year pharmacy students match the traits required for patient-centered practice. Methods. The GPP-I, which measures the personality traits of ascendency, responsibility, emotional stability, sociability, cautiousness, original thinking, personal relations, and vigor, was administered to incoming pharmacy students at the beginning of their first semester. Results. The pharmacy school had attracted students with strong traits of original thinking, followed by personal relations, and vigor. The students, however, were limited in emotional stability and ascendency. Conclusion. The pharmacy profession needs to be more proactive in projecting the desired image and communicate its increasingly challenging and patient-oriented practice to attract individuals whose personalities are conducive to current practice models.

Career paths and personality in pharmacy

Background Pharmacists choose different career paths which may have different requirements in terms of demands and environments, irrespective of knowledge and intellectual capability. A contributing factor could be personality whereby pharmacists seek to work in an environment which is compatible with their personality. Objective To explore the relationship between personality and career paths taken by pharmacists. Methods Data regarding pharmacists’ personality profile as determined by The Gordon Personal Profile Inventory (GPPI) were gathered using an anonymous survey. The inventory booklet was mailed to all pharmacists registered to practice in Malta who were at the time residing in the country. Demographic data and information regarding areas of practice was also gathered. Analysis was carried out using variety of statistical tests including t-test, Manova and Multiple Correspondence Analysis. Results Most of the types of pharmacists considered, lie somewhat close to the average categories of the GPPI attributes, with those who work in importation and wholesale being the ones who stand out most from the rest by scoring high on self esteem, ascendency, original thinking, vigour, sociability. Those who work in industry and, especially, in hospitals are the two categories of pharmacists who seem to score low on the GPPI traits in general, while those who work in the Community scored high in personal relations and are a little more likely to score higher in cautiousness and responsibility. Conclusion Pharmacists are not a homogeneous group of individuals. It is evident that their personality is a significant factor in the career path that they have chosen. Not all pharmacists possess personalities that are conducive to patient-oriented practice. Those that do not primarily possess the latter personality traits, appear to have chosen to practice in non-traditional areas where, possibly, they have found a good fit with their personality and other factors.

Personality traits of pharmacy and medical students throughout their course of studies

Background: Pharmacists and medical doctors are two professional groups that very often receive their education and practice in the same environment. However, their approach to patient care and collaboration tends to be different and this may lead to both frustration and conflict which may adversely affect patient care. Personality has been identified as a psychological issue that could contribute to conflict in a work situation. Objective: To study the personality traits of a cohort of students studying pharmacy and medicine at the University of Malta in their first and final year. Methods: The Gordon Personal Profile – Inventory was administered to a cohort of pharmacy and medical students in their first year and once again administered to the same cohort who completed their course of study in their final year. Basic demographic data was also collected. Results: In first year the most pronounced traits for both student groups were those of Emotional Stability and Personal Relations. Over a period of five years, there were shifts in personality traits. In their final year pharmacy students were characterized by high scores for Cautiousness and Personal Relations while medical students exhibited medium scores in Cautiousness and Emotional Stability. Conclusion: The changes in personality traits over the duration of the course were not radical changes but rather that of traits becoming more pronounced.

Attitudes About Remarriage in Malta

This study investigated the attitudes about remarriage of married and previously married Maltese people. Respondents were selected using stratified random sampling; 810 men and 1,196 women answered a questionnaire by means of computer-assisted telephone interviewing. The majority (67.4%) of respondents did not consider remarriage. Remarriage was more likely to be considered by respondents who were younger, previously married, nonparents, had children who were not all born within marriage, and were of higher socioeconomic status. The study highlights the differences in attitude according to gender and marital status. The fact that pro-remarriage attitudes were endorsed by 32.6% of respondents and that these were more likely to come from nontraditional family forms suggests that family life in Malta is no longer dictated by normative social imperatives. The need for the legal protection of families headed by cohabiting partners is highlighted.

Have You Asked for It? An Exploratory Study About Maltese Adolescents’ Use of Ask.fm:

This article focuses on adolescents’ use of anonymous social networking sites (SNSs). Their perceptions and attitudes toward one such platform, Ask.fm, are discussed using the framework of uses and gratifications theory to explore motivations for using it. Four focus groups and four interviews were carried out with 22 Maltese adolescents (10 female and 12 male) aged 11 to 16 years. Thematic analysis of data collected was undertaken to identify and develop themes relevant to Ask.fm use. Findings indicate that the platform is a space where adolescents interact with others as part of their identity exploration. The role of anonymity was salient throughout. Ask.fm users were aware of the risks related to using the site; yet, the possibilities for fun, peer acceptance, and identity exploration may be driving them to experiment with this risky behavior. The implications arising from these exploratory findings may be applicable to other anonymous SNSs.

SAT0729-HPR Psychological profile of patients with fibromyalgia syndrome

Background Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic non inflammatory condition characterized by pain and fatigue as well as physical and psychological symptoms. Management can be particularly challenging and a combination of pharmacological and non pharmacological treatments are recommended. Objectives The aim was to study the level of anxiety and depression in fibromyalgia patients and whether these were associated with symptom severity, functional status, social or demographic factors. Methods A cross sectional survey of 155 consecutive patients attending the nurse-led fibromyalgia clinic was carried out. Patients were diagnosed using the 2010 ACR diagnostic criteria. Demographic data, Widespread Pain Index (WPI), Symptom Severity Score (SSS), VAS pain and VAS fatigue were recorded. Patients filled in the self-administered questionnaires including the Revised fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (FIQR), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Patients were classified as suffering from high anxiety or depression if HADS was ≥11, moderate if 8–10 and low ≤7 for each scale respectively. Cross tabs and chi squared were used to study associations between anxiety and depression and social and demographic factors. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify whether WPI, SSS, FIQR, VAS pain and VAS fatigue were predictors of severe anxiety and depression. Results One hundred fifty five patients (92% female) participated in the survey. The average age was 50.3 years (SD 11.5) and mean duration of symptoms 13.4 years (SD 11.3). The mean HADS-A (anxiety) was 11.8 (SD 4.13), HADS-D (depression) 9.1 (SD 3.8) and FIQR 60.3 (SD 17.6). High levels of depression were reported by 31.5%, moderate 32.1% and low 30.3%. High levels of anxiety were reported by 60%, moderate 21.2% and low 13.3%. Both high levels of anxiety and depression were found in 25.2% of patients. SSS was the single best predictor for anxiety (p=0.001) while disease duration (p=0.01), SSS (p=0.02) and FIQR (0.04) predicted depression. VAS pain and VAS fatigue were not good predictors of severe anxiety and depression. When patients with high levels of anxiety and depression were compared with those with moderate and lower levels no association was found with age or social factors including occupation, marital status, level of education and family support. Conclusions Both severe anxiety and depression were highly prevalent in our FM cohort, particularly anxiety. All FM patients need to be screened for anxiety and depression particularly those with high SSS and FIQR scores and longer disease duration. A psychiatrist and psychotherapist with a special interest in FM are essential members of the multidisciplinary team to ensure that anxiety and depression are addressed early prior to starting further interventions for FM. References Jensen KB, Fransson P, Marcus HM, Williams SCR, Choy E, Mainguy Y, Gracely R, Ingvar M, Kosek E (2010) anxiety and depression in fibromyalgia are related to poor perception of health but not to pain sensitivity or cerebral processing of pain. Arthritis & Rheumatology Journal 62(11). Ugar M, Sarp U, Karaaslan O, Tanik N, Arik HO (2015) Health anxiety and depression in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome. Journal of Inernational Medical Research 45(3):679–685. Acknowledgements NIL. Disclosure of Interest None declared

Doctors’ attitudes towards opting-out and the implication of this legislation for a small island state

The debate on whether to introduce the opting-out system is complex and involves various ethical, philosophical, psychological and legal issues. Different answers are given to questions such as “Who owns the body of the dead person? Does the State own the body of the deceased person or does the body belong to the next of kin? Should the decision whether or not to donate the organs of a dead relative be taken by the State? How informed are people about opting-out? If persons are not aware of the system, would the organs still be taken even when relatives are against opting-out?” Because there is no consensus regarding these and other questions, some sections of society and groups may present resistance to introducing the system. On the other hand, doctors’ associations as well as other lobby groups argue that organs should not go to waste and agree with State intervention to retrieve more organs through the introduction of opting-out. The question asked by those in favour of opting-out is “How fair is it for thousands of people to keep on waiting for an organ transplant, when it is possible to reduce these numbers drastically by legislation?” This is the problem facing policy makers. Should the state try to encourage and facilitate a gradual change in public opinion towards opting-out or should legislation on presumed consent be introduced?