Barriers to cervical cancer screening: A qualitative study with women in Serbia

Serbia employs opportunistic approaches to cervical cancer screening, leading to inequitable health care access. To better understand the health care needs of women, we investigated their knowledge of and perceived barriers to cervical cancer screening. Data reported in the paper arise from nine focus group discussions with 62 women from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. They were recruited in two cities with contrasting social settings, Belgrade, the Serbian capital, and a regional town, Smederevo. Thematic analysis identified that the interplay of social and personal barriers influenced women's poor presentation for screening. Inadequate public health education, lack of patient-friendly health services, socio-cultural health beliefs, gender roles, and personal difficulties were the most salient barriers to screening. We suggest how within the context of opportunistic screening patient education may be employed. The introduction of compulsory cervical cancer screening, suggested by some participants, is also discussed.Serbia Former Yugoslavia Reproductive health Transitional economies Health policy Cervical screening

FREQUENCY OF MAJOR UNWANTEDFREQUENCY OF MAJOR UNWANTED CORANARY EVENTS IN PATIENTS WITH AORTOCORONAROGRAPHY BYPASS AND PTCA DURING THE THREE YEAR FOLLOW UP

The paper compares the major unwanted coronary events in patients with surgical revascularization of myocardium and with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty during the period of 36 months. The frequency of major unwanted coronary events, above all mortality, was higher in group of patients with surgical revascularization of myocardium, but the difference was not statistically significant

Evaluation of micronucleus and erythrocytic nuclear abnormalities in Balkan whip snake Hierophis gemonensis. Ecotoxicology 19

Abstract Over recent years, changes of erythrocytic nuclei have been increasingly used to evaluate genotoxic effects of different compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (benzo-a-pyrene, naphthalene, b-naphthoflavone), heavy metals (cadmium, mercury), textile mill effluent especially in aquatic ecosystem. However, in fish, both micronuclei and erythrocytic nuclear abnormalities also appear spontaneously and their frequency can be seasonally dependent. The aim of the study was to evaluate the frequency of micronuclei (MN), nuclear abnormalities (NA) including vacuolated nuclei (VN) and cytoplasmic vacuoles (CV) in erythrocytes of Balkan whip snake Hierophis gemonensis and establish the level of spontaneous appearance during the annual cycle. Average frequency of NA was 10.89 ± 4.72% while the MN (0.03 ± 0.03%) and VN (0.04 ± 0.08%) were seldom detected. NA significantly positively correlated with MN (r = 0.319; P \ 0.05) and VN (r = 0.363; P \ 0.05). Appearance of CV did not correlate with other measured parameters and average frequency was 11.06 ± 8.33%. Significant seasonal variation was found in NA appearance with the lowest value in spring and the highest in winter. VN increase was observed in autumn. MN and CV levels varied between seasons but not significantly. Considering the biological cycle, frequency of NA, VN, MN and CV recorded in pre-hibernation/ hibernation increased compared to the active phase, but only NA elevation was significant. Although the obtained results showed differences according to sex, statistical analysis of measured parameters showed the same pattern of seasonal variation in both sexes

Evaluation of micronucleus and erythrocytic nuclear abnormalities in Balkan whip snake Hierophis gemonensis

The aim of the study was to evaluate the frequency of micronuclei (MN), nuclear abnormalities (NA) including vacuolated nuclei (VN) and cytoplasmic vacuoles (CV) in erythrocytes of Balkan whip snake Hierophis gemonensis and establish the level of spontaneous appearance during the annual cycle. Average frequency of NA was 10.89 ± 4.72 % while the MN (0.03 ± 0.03 %) and VN(0.04 ± 0.08 %) were seldom detected. NA significantly positively correlated with MN (r = 0.319 ; P < 0.05) and VN (r = 0.363 ; P < 0.05). Appearance of CV did not correlate with other measured parameters and average frequency was 11.06 ± 8.33 %. Significant seasonal variation was found in NA appearance with the lowest value in spring and the highest in winter. VN increase was observed in autumn. MN and CV levels varied between seasons but not significantly. Considering the biological cycle, frequency of NA, VN, MN and CV recorded in pre-hibernation/hibernation increased compared to the active phase, but only NA elevation was significant. Although the obtained results showed differences according to sex, statistical analysis of measured parameters showed the same pattern of seasonal variation in both sexes