Evaluation of doctors’ assessment of healthy lifestyle: cross-sectional study

The aim. To study the factors of doctors’ assessment of their lifestyle as a healthy one, as well as their readiness to take practical measures for health maintenance. Materials and methods. 167 doctors representing all macro regions of Ukraine were interviewed: the levels of awareness of myths about NCDs, locus of control and readiness to take practical measures aimed at health maintenance were determined. The main acting forces were determined by factor analysis. Cluster analysis was performed on the basis of the obtained factors using hierarchical (Ward’s method) and non-hierarchical (k-means method) clustering methods. Results. The following concepts were assessed: Myths about NCDs (11 factors, 3 elements, 4 clusters), locus of control (12 factors, 3 elements, 4 clusters), factors influencing health behavior (12 factors, 3 elements, 4 clusters), readiness to take practical measures aimed at health maintenance (22 factors, 4 elements, 2 clusters). Factors that positively and negatively affect a person's assessment of the lifestyle as a healthy one were identified. Conclusions. The selected subgroups (clusters) of respondents are a simple and effective method of building a better understanding of the target audience of campaigns to promote healthy lifestyles, which after proper clarification, verification and development of a reliable measurement tool can be used to create targeted messages for each population group after a proper clarification and verificatio

COVID-19 at War: The Joint Forces Operation in Ukraine

The ongoing pandemic disaster of coronavirus erupted with the first confirmed cases in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) novel coronavirus, the disease referred to as coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the outbreak and determined it a global pandemic. The current pandemic has infected nearly 300 million people and killed over 3 million. The current COVID-19 pandemic is smashing every public health barrier, guardrail, and safety measure in underdeveloped and the most developed countries alike, with peaks and troughs across time. Greatly impacted are those regions experiencing conflict and war. Morbidity and mortality increase logarithmically for those communities at risk and that lack the ability to promote basic preventative measures. States around the globe struggle to unify responses, make gains on preparedness levels, identify and symptomatically treat positive cases, and labs across the globe frantically rollout various vaccines and effective surveillance and therapeutic mechanisms. The incidence and prevalence of COVID-19 may continue to increase globally as no unified disaster response is manifested and disinformation spreads. During this failure in response, virus variants are erupting at a dizzying pace. Ungoverned spaces where nonstate actors predominate and active war zones may become the next epicenter for COVID-19 fatality rates. As the incidence rates continue to rise, hospitals in North America and Europe exceed surge capacity, and immunity post infection struggles to be adequately described. The global threat in previously high-quality, robust infrastructure health-care systems in the most developed economies are failing the challenge posed by COVID-19; how will less-developed economies and those healthcare infrastructures that are destroyed by war and conflict fare until adequate vaccine penetrance in these communities or adequate treatment are established? Ukraine and other states in the Black Sea Region are under threat and are exposed to armed Russian aggression against territorial sovereignty daily. Ukraine, where Russia has been waging war since 2014, faces this specific dual threat: disaster response to violence and a deadly infectious disease. To best serve biosurveillance, aid in pandemic disaster response, and bolster health security in Europe, across the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) and Black Sea regions, increased NATO integration, across Ukraine’s disaster response structures within the Ministries of Health, Defense, and Interior must be reinforced and expanded to mitigate the COVID-19 disaster

Evidence-based approaches to communication of non-communicable diseases risks in Ukraine: identification of channel

According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation approx. 40% of people aged 15 to 49 and 80% of 50-69 year olds in the world die from non-communicable diseases (NCDs). In Ukraine, in the mentioned age groups, the share of deaths caused by NCDs is significantly higher than in European countries and accounts for approx. 60% and 90% respectively.Aim. The aim of this article is to propose approaches to increase the effectiveness of communicating risks of non-communicable diseases based on the study of preferences of citizens of Ukraine the for health information channels.Material and methods. Data analysis from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (2012) shows that employees of health facilities have significantly more trust than friends and relatives, employees of pharmacies, the Internet and television.Results and discussion. A comparison of public awareness of children’s health, the basics of reproductive health, data on smoking and alcohol consumption shows a higher health awareness and a propensity for healthier behavior among those who trust medical doctors compared to other channels of information.Conclusions. A framework for the training of medical staff on NCD prevention is proposed, which provides for the acquisition of professional and communication competencies for effective work with patients

Determinants of Physicians’ Career Choices in Ukraine

Political and economic changes have created challenges for physician attrition rates in Ukraine. This study examined how a cross-section of Ukrainian physicians prioritised the factors hypothesised to influence decisions about continuing to work in medicine. A survey was conducted with 443 physicians in Ukraine. Latent class choice analysis (LCA) was used to model the heterogeneity in pair-wise comparisons of factors related to physician continued employment in medicine. The response rate was 70% (N = 310). Respondents, on average, were 45.4 years old, practiced 21.6 years. Four groups were identified on the basis of how they prioritised factors about work. Group 1 (47.7%) was \u27culture-focused\u27, group 2 (27.7%) was \u27advancement-focused\u27, group 3 (16.2%) was \u27routinisation-focused\u27, and group 4 (8.5%) was \u27externally-focused\u27. The use of a person-centred analytical approach represents an alternative for examining career decision issues that should be considered for subgroups within the workforce