Abstract
Background
Wheelchair users face significant daily challenges, many of which are the result of physical, social, and attitudinal barriers in society rather than their impairment alone. Public attitudes toward this group are shaped by personal experience, awareness, and the availability of accessible infrastructure. In Ukraine, the number of people with disabilities has increased due to the ongoing war, highlighting the relevance of student perspectives in this context.
Objective
To compare the attitudes of students from Ukraine and the Visegrad Group (V4) countries—Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia—toward wheelchair users.
Materials and Methods
In 2024, a total of 997 students from Poland, 1222 from the Czech Republic, 918 from Slovakia, and 986 from Ukraine participated in a survey using the standardized Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons With Disabilities (MAS). Sampling was non-random and based on convenience, which limits the representativeness of the findings.
Results
Cognitive and behavioral components of attitudes were generally stable and comparable across all four groups. However, significant differences were observed in the emotional subscale, with Ukrainian students demonstrating more positive attitudes. The median total MAS score was lower (indicating more favorable attitudes) for Ukrainian students (60) compared to Poland, Slovakia (68), and the Czech Republic (71).
Conclusions
Ukrainian students reported more positive emotional attitudes toward wheelchair users compared to peers from Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. These results highlight the influence of social context on attitudes toward people with disabilities.
Abstract
Attitudes toward people with disabilities reflect the level of moral and cultural development of societies, their cohesion, and their ability to coexist harmoniously. Studying students’ attitudes toward wheelchair users in the context of the armed conflict in Ukraine is an important step in exploring the sociodemographic determinants of those attitudes and the evolution of social awareness among young people. The research was conducted twice, in 2022 and 2024, covering 1,453 and 986 Ukrainian students, respectively, from medical, humanities, and social science programmes at universities in Kyiv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Lviv. The method used was a diagnostic survey with a standardised questionnaire, the Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons With Disabilities (MAS-UA). Results are presented in subscales, with higher values indicating more negative attitudes toward individuals with disabilities. The results indicate significant differences in the first subscale of the MAS (39.94 ± 5.97 in 2022 vs. 33.76 ± 10.07 in 2024), suggesting an increase in positive emotional-evaluative attitudes in the later study. The overall assessment of social attitudes has also improved (79.22 ± 11.98 vs. 74.02 ± 18.31). The cognitive and behavioural aspects of attitudes are more stable and change relatively slowly. The armed conflict has triggered the mobilisation of the Ukrainian youth to increase efforts for the benefit of people with physical disabilities. The sociodemographic ‘profile’ plays a role in shaping emotional attitudes and the overall MAS score. Older students, women, those living in large cities, married individuals, students in medical fields, and those who identify with a religion exhibit a more positive attitude. The increase in positive emotions, reduction in tension, stress, helplessness, and shame indicate an improvement in mental well-being. However, a decline has been noted in feelings of relaxation, calmness, and composure. A daily visual or direct contact with people with physical disabilities has significantly improved affective attitudes, highlighting the importance of direct interactions in fostering empathy and understanding.
Background: Walking as a method of functional recovery is used to treat many diseases. It is an accessible, natural and widespread form of
physical activity. Terrenkur is defined as distance, time, and angle dosed hiking; a method of training and treating patients with cardiovascular
diseases. One alternative method of rehabilitation is Nordic Walking which leads to increasing both the number of muscles involved in
movement and physical and aerobic load.
УДК 613.4:616.1-084(477.83)
Резюме. Згідно із сучасними уявленнями, до поняття «здоров’я» входить багато складових – фізична, психічна, інтелектуальна, емоційна, духовна, соціальна та моральна, які разом утворюють єдиний комплекс здоров’я людини. Для забезпечення стану здоров’я необхідним є дотримання здорового способу життя та проходження профілактичних оглядів у лікаря для запобігання і вчасного виявлення патологічних відхилень. 30 вересня у Львові відбувся благодійний захід – «День здоров’я для Перемоги». Під час проведення заходу учасники мали змогу спробувати різні види фізичної активності, послухати лекції про здоровий спосіб життя, а також перевірити стан свого здоров’я і визначити свій серцево-судинний ризик.
Ключові слова: здоров’я, фактори серцево-судинного ризику, фізична активність.