Dissertation committee:
Δημήτριος Παπακωνσταντίνου, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Γεωργία Βρυώνη, Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Μαρία – Ευαγγελία Μόσχου, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Κλειώ Χατζηστεφάνου, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Μαρία Καντζανού, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Ειρήνη Χατζηράλλη, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Κωνσταντίνος Δρούτσας, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
The health of the population is determined by various factors, where either in combination or individually determine their level. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), factors that decisively affect the health of the population are its condition and its environment. Such socioeconomic factors include, among others, the place of residence, the occupation, the relationships with family and social environment, the workplace and the level of income and education. There is no doubt that people's standard of living, which is largely influenced by their work and income, are important factors affecting their health, especially in the recent years of the (global) crisis, which in fact continues with the emergence of new problems – risks. The way - the philosophy - the attitude of life, is another important - critical element that the family teaches its members, it is directly related to the process of forming their characters and attitudes towards the whole society and ultimately affects the level of health of the population. Access to health services is another (equally) important factor in determining the health level of the population, which is obviously related to the place of residence and the distance from health facilities. Through this doctoral thesis, the presentation of a prospective epidemiological study is attempted, which is related to the outline of the socio-economic status of patients who visit the Emergency Ophthalmological Clinics of the Athens General Hospital "Georgios Gennimatas", with a diagnosis of foreign bodies in their eyes. This diagnosis has been an intractable, if not unsolvable, public health problem for many years, a problem with social and economic ramifications, which affects the social and public life of the patients themselves and those around them, while its consequences (in cases of serious damage or even worse, complete loss of vision) add another burden, both to the National Health System and to the national economy. In the framework of the preparation of the doctoral thesis, the data of the patients who came to the Emergency Ophthalmological Clinics of the First University Clinic, on the general duty days of the General Hospital of Athens "Georgios Gennimatas", were recorded, evaluated and studied, results were issued regarding their demographic characteristics (ethnicity, gender, age, etc.) and their socioeconomic level (level of education, occupation, insurance, place of residence, etc.), the cause of the problem and whether it was affected by the above elements, the way it was treated (conservative treatment, hospitalization, surgery, etc.), as well as any other useful element (for example, frequency of visits) that will contribute to the extraction of substantial conclusions and the submission of proposals to limit (with the perspective of a definitive solution) the problem. It is noted that all the patients in the sample, both the general and the injured interviewees, underwent a complete ophthalmological examination, which included measurement of the best corrected visual acuity, measurement of intraocular pressure, examination of the fundus, recording of previous treatment (if any) and – obviously – administration of treatment and instructions. The ultimate goal of the thesis is to raise the awareness of the state and critical groups of the population, as well as to create a stimulus for the development of well-planned and coordinated actions for the prevention and, by extension, the protection of the usual (and not) suspects from such injuries. The development of the appropriate prevention policy, with coordinated actions by the competent services and a high percentage of "cooperation" between recipients and receivers ensured, the achievement of benefits, both social and economic, as they will contribute to a healthier citizenry, a healthier - active society and a healthy - as least burdened as possible - economy.
