Importance of health care issues in 2005 presidential elections in Croatia

Health and health care provision are among the most important and politically sensitive public service areas. Politicians carefully incorporate health care program changes in their political agendas to gain votes. However, knowing health care priorities of the electoral body is not useful only to politicians, but also to health policy makers, as it enables them to target the most problematic areas in health care. We conducted a telephone survey of representative sample of voters (n=643) immediately before the presidential elections in Croatia in 2005, to determine the possible differences in health care priorities between left-wing and right-wing voters, and found a high level of homogeneity in their opinions. Health care organization, corruption, and financing issues were identified as the top priorities by both left- and right-wing voters. This agreement in voters' expectations, probably caused by a similar frame of mind of Croatian citizens inherited from pre-democratic times of self-government, could be used by health policy makers to rationally invest the means and efforts in dealing with the most problematic health care issues

Assessing Primary Care in Croatia: Could it be Moved Forward?

It is well known that countries with strong primary care achieve better health outcomes at lower costs. Therefore, the effort of World Health Organization in promoting primary care as a basic principal of successful health care system is an ongoing process. Although Croatia was recognized as a country with primary care orientation due to the development of health centers and introduction of specialist training of general practitioners, it seems that many health care reforms aimed at better organization of health institutions and decreasing of health care costs did not result with higher primary care orientation. By application of the Primary Care Score instrument in 2014 (Croatia received 11.2 out of 20 possible points), and international comparison performed in 2002, it was concluded that among the eighteen OECD countries Croatia could be categorized as an »intermediate primary care country«, obtaining the scores just a bit above the average

Assessing Primary Care in Croatia: Could it be Moved Forward?

It is well known that countries with strong primary care achieve better health outcomes at lower costs. Therefore, the effort of World Health Organization in promoting primary care as a basic principal of successful health care system is an ongoing process. Although Croatia was recognized as a country with primary care orientation due to the development of health centers and introduction of specialist training of general practitioners, it seems that many health care reforms aimed at better organization of health institutions and decreasing of health care costs did not result with higher primary care orientation. By application of the Primary Care Score instrument in 2014 (Croatia received 11.2 out of 20 possible points), and international comparison performed in 2002, it was concluded that among the eighteen OECD countries Croatia could be categorized as an »intermediate primary care country«, obtaining the scores just a bit above the average

Home Visits in Croatian Family Practice: A Longitudinal Study: 1995–2012

Similar to other countries, home visits in Croatia are within the scope of family medicine (FM). The significant changes have been implemented within the FM with almost no scientific evaluation. The study was undertaken with the main aim to determine the overall trends in home visiting in Croatian FM between 1995 and 2012. A data sources were Croatian Health Service Yearbooks, 1995–2012. The numbers of family doctors, practice visits and home visits were collected. Results indicate that the annual number of home visits is relatively small, whether it is viewed per patient (0.1) or per doctor (160) with a decreased trend. The geographical variations are observed too. It seems that HC reforms did not have any influence on the observed trends. This should seriously be taken into the consideration in the future planning on the ways to keep growing hospital expenses under control

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEALTH LOCUS OF CONTROL, DEPRESSION, AND SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS AND AMOUNT OF TIME BREAST CANCER PATIENTS WAIT BEFORE SEEKING DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

Background: In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the prevalence and incidence of breast cancer has been increasing, and the national programme of early prevention, administered locally, is sporadic and without quality assurance. While many factors may influence women\u27s decision to adopt prevention-oriented behaviours regarding breast cancer, this study has emphasised the importance of sociodemographic factors, psychological factors and mental wellbeing. Subjects and methods: Participants in the study were all patients who, during one year, were admitted for the first time for diagnosis and treatment in the biggest Clinical hospitals of the Herzegovina-Neretva region Patients were divided into two groups based on their TNM classification: "early stage" and "late stage". Three instruments were used in this study: an individual questionnaire about demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the woman, the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control scales, and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale Results: The majority of patients diagnosed with advanced disease were admitted to hospital in the late/advanced stages of the disease. Multi-variant analysis showed that the most statistically significant positive predictor for early admittance in hospital is living with family and marital status while religiosity has a negative predictive value. The results indicate that 59.7% of respondents do not have depression, while the remainder do have some degree of depression. There was no statistically significant difference in the degree of depression between women who were diagnosed and treated early and those who were not. The employment status of the respondents was the only significant factor related to degree of depression. Conclusion: Although health locus of control and depression are not statistically significant predictors of early hospital treatment, the recommendation is that further studies focus on the implementation of MHLC and HDRS scales within the community. This could be useful in planning appropriate and specific interventions, not only because of early diagnosis, but also to ensure good mental health and resilient behaviour

Prevalence and five-year cumulative incidence of abdominal obesity in Croatian women of childbearing age: the CroHort study [Prevalencija i petogodišnja kumulativna incidencija abdominalne pretilosti u žena fertilne dobi u Hrvatskoj]

Generalised obesity is increasing in prevalence globally, however trends in abdominal obesity are less well known. In 2003, 1,999 women of childbearing age participated in the Croatian Adult Health Survey, of whom 598 (29.9%) participated in the second cycle in 2008. For 2008, the prevalence of abdominal obesity using the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criterion (waist circumference > or = 80 cm) was estimated at 70.3% (95% CI 61.8% to 75.7%), whereas the prevalence of abdominal obesity using the National Cholesterol Education Program, Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) criterion (waist circumference > or = 88 cm) was estimated at 48.6% (42.6% to 54.7%). The preceding five-year cumulative incidence was 54.3% (44.5% to 64.2%) and 35.2% (28.0% to 42.4%) using the IDF and NCEP ATP III criteria, respectively. The burden of abdominal obesity is high and rapidly increasing in Croatian women of childbearing age, the key population subgroup for obesity control

Zadovoljstvo roditelja učenika osnovnih i srednjih škola sadašnjim oblicima zdravstvenog odgoja u školi

U Republici Hrvatskoj sva djeca do 15-te godine su obveznici škole. Stoga je školski sistem jedino mjesto na kojem su nam učenici dostupni i koji se može na adekvatan način i sa velikom uspješnošću koristiti za provođenje zdravstvenog odgoja. Obavezni školski program u svom sadržaju ima i elemente zdravstveno-odgojnih sadržaja. U Hrvatskoj je zdravstveni odgoj integriran u obavezne i izborne predmete osnovnih i srednjih škola, posebno u predmetima Priroda i društvo, Biologija, Tjelesna i zdravstvena kultura, Psihologija, Sociologija i Etika koji provode nastavnici navedenih predmeta. Učenici nižih razreda osnovne škole imaju putem svojih redovnih i izbornih predmeta dovoljno zdravstveno odgojnog edukativnog sadržaja. Već u trećem razredu osnovne škole, počinju se spominjati i obrađivati bolesti ovisnosti u sklopu predmeta priroda i društvo. Satovi razrednika također obrađuju zanimljive sadržaje, no njihov uspjeh i zadovoljstvo predavanim ovisi i o razredniku, njegovim stavovima i raspoloživom vremenu. Zdravstveno odgojne teme prisutne u sadržajima navedenih predmeta. No iz nevezanog razgovora s učenicima , doznajem da nastavnici pojedine teme zaobilaze ili predaju u skraćenoj, nezanimljivoj formi.( kao npr. pubertet, spolnost i kontracepciju ), te učenici navode da im je neugodno s nastavnicima pričati o tako osjetljivim temama. Stoga je pitanje koliko se stvarno realizira ono što je navedeno. Uvidom u plan i program opće gimnazije, vidimo dovoljno zdravstveno odgojnih sadržaja u redovnom i izbornom nastavnom programu. Ovo je jedina škola u kojoj bi učenici trebali biti zadovoljni brojem sati i odgovarajućim temama. U srednjoj ekonomskoj školi u prva dva razreda postoji predmet Biologija, a nakon njega tek u četvrtom razredu predmet Sociologija. Sve je prepušteno razredniku i nositelju izbornih predmeta. Uvidom u plan i program srednje tehničke i obrtničke škole, očit je ne samo manjak već i potpun nedostatak predmeta zdravstveno odgojnog sadržaja. Uglavnom je sve prepušteno razredniku i izbornim predmetima, no kako znamo da posebno u obrtničku školu polaze učenici lošijih ocjena i motivacije, te četo markiraju sa nastave, ti učenici su nam osobito rizična populacija za sve ovisnička ponašanja i rani ulazak u seksualni život. Danas, međutim, postoje zahtjevi da se u škole uvede poseban predmet Zdravstveni odgoj, jedinstven u svim školama