Assoc. Prof. Dr Petar Tzonov - Three Decades Devoted to the Journal Social Medicine

The paper presents the enormous contribution of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Petar Tsonov for the existence of the journal Social Medicine – a tribune of researchers in the field of public health in Bulgaria. A bibliographic analysis of the publication of Assoc. P. Tsonov for the period 1985-2019 is also included

Health Promotion In The Secondary Bulgarian Schools

Въведение: Училището е ключово място за промоция на здравето. Обединените усилия на цялата училищна общност, насочени към разработване на политики, практики и изграждане на подкрепяща здравето среда, формират устойчиво здравословно поведение на учениците.Цел: Да се проучат условията и дейностите за промоция на здравето в българското средно училище.Материали и методи: Проведено е проучване сред студенти първокурсници от МУ „Проф. д-р П. Стоянов“ – Варна през декември 2017 г. oтносно условията и дейностите за промоция на здравето в средните училища, които са завършили. Информацията е събрана чрез пряка индивидуална анкета, включваща 18 затворени въпроса. Направен е описателен анализ, а проверката на хипотези за връзка между качествени променливи е тествана чрез критерий хи-квадрат. Данните са обработени статистически чрез SPSS v. 23.0, а за изработване на графиките е използван софтуерен пакет Microsoft Office Excel 2007.Резултати и обсъждане: В проучването са обхванати 75 първокурсници, представящи над 20 средни училища, 44% са от големи градове, а 56% от малки градове. Мъжете са 28% от респондентите, 72% са жени. Средната възраст е 21 г. (SD=5.6). Дейности по здравно образование на учениците се провеждат в 62,7% от средните училища, според анкетираните, но липсва системност – 38,4% от студентите не са присъствали на беседи и лекции през последната учебна година в училище. Създадени са условия за здравословен труд и почивка и за физическа активност. Няма добри условия за спазване на лична хигиена. Според респондентите, в 52,6% от училищата липсват възможности за здравословно хранене, а достъпът до нездравословни храни и напитки за учениците е лесен в 77,3% училища. Над 67% от студентите определят информираността си по въпроси за здравето, получена в средното училище като непълна или липсваща.Introduction: The school is a key place to promote the health of adolescents. The combined efforts of the entire school community, aimed at developing policies, practices, and building a health-supportive environment, form a sustainable health behavior in the pupils.Aim: The aim of this article is to study the conditions and activities for health promotion in the Bulgarian secondary school.Materials and Methods: A study was conducted among first-year students from the Medical University of Varna in December 2017 on the conditions and activities for health promotion in the secondary schools, which they had graduated from. Information was gathered through a direct individual survey, including 18 closed-ended questions. A descriptive analysis was conducted and the verification of hypotheses on the link between the qualitative variables was tested by the chi-square criterion. The data were statistically processed through SPSS v. 23.0, and a Microsoft Office Excel 2007 software package was used to draw the graphics. Results and Discussion: The survey covered 75 freshmen presenting over 20 secondary schools, 44% from large cities, and 56% from small towns. Men were 28% of the respondents, 72% were women. The mean age was 21 years (SD = 5.6). Student health education activities were conducted at 62.7% of the secondary schools according to the respondents, but there was a lack of consistence in attendance - 38.4% of the students did not attend discussions and lectures during the last school year. Conditions for healthy work and rest and for physical activity have been created. There were no good conditions for observing personal hygiene. According to the students, 52.6% of the schools lacked possibilities for healthy eating, and access to unhealthy food and drink for the pupils was provided in 77.3% of the schools. Over 67% of the students determined the health awareness they received in the secondary school as incomplete and missing

Living with a disease. Sociological (theoretical) approaches for studying the problem

Studying disease, the behavior of the ill person and of those with whom he communicates, the perceptions of and the reactions towards an acute or chronic disease is an important aspect of the field of medical sociology. The individual, as well as the social aspect of the disease and the behavior associated with it, are important for sociology. The present paper presents three classical sociological theoretical models - structural functionalism, symbolic interactionism and the conflict theory that provide opportunities for a systematic analysis when studying diseases from the sociological point of view

The role of assistant pharmacists in European countries

The present paper aims to present the specificcharacteristics of the education of pharmacy assistants, their responsibilities and professional activities in the European countries. Мaterial and methods: A search of scientific publications was performed in Pubmed and Google Scholar with key words „pharmacy assistant“, „pharmacy technician“ and „Еurope“. A descriptive thematic analysis of the collected information on the professional activities of pharmacy assistants in Europe is performed.Results: We found seven publication that present in details and comparatively the education and responsibilities of various professionals working and assisting the pharmacists in both community and hospital pharmacies. One of these is the 2017 survey of the European association of pharmacy technicians on the education of work of pharmacy technician in Europe.Conclusion: The review of the European practices reveals high level of the university education of the pharmacy assistantsin Bulgaria in comparison to other countries. The regulation of the independent activities of the professionals and those performed under pharmacist’s supervision in our country lags behind other European examples

Areas of Professional Competence for Specialists in Public Health: Compliance between European and Bulgarian Requirements

In order to enhance the capacity of public health (PH) professionals in Europe, appropriate educational programmes and clear requirements for professional competence have to be defined. Such were developed by the Association of the Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER) in 2006 and were last updated in 2021. There is no analysis available as to the extent to which the ASPHER criteria are being applied in the education and training of the bachelor's degree in PH in Bulgaria according to the regulated uniform state requirements for the regulated specialty Inspector of Public Health (IPH).Aim: To analyse the content of the education for IPH in Bulgaria within the context of European criteria and standards.A comparative analysis has been performed to evaluate the compliance of the uniform state requirements (USR) according to the Regulation of 2008 in their part concerning the specialty of IPH with the areas of education and competences defined by ASPHER (in 2018). For the purposes of the analysis, an evaluation scale has been developed to assess the level of compliance of the content of the educational documentation between Bulgaria and Europe.From all 25 disciplines included in the USR for the specialty IPH, 17 (68%) have a various degree of compliance with the requirements of ASPHER. There is a complete match for the disciplines in the area of Population health and its physical, radiological, chemical, and biologically-ecological determinants and the Ethics area. In the remaining areas the compliance is partial, except for the area of Health policy, economics, organizational theory, leadership, and management, where there are no disciplines envisaged according to Bulgarian state requirements and the academic curriculum of the specialty Inspector of Public Health (IPH). Eight (32%) of the disciplines required by the SR are not present in the ASPHER framework at all.The national requirements for the specialty IPH comply with an important part of the European requirements for professional competences of the bachelors in Public Health. The education guarantees knowledge and skills related to the control of environmental factors and the monitoring of infectious diseases but to a considerably lesser extent does it build skills and knowledge for assessment of health on populational level, for development and management of health programmes, project management, health education and communication. This necessitates the updating of the uniform state requirements (USR)

Comparative analysis of the functionalities of the ADR reporting systems in Bulgaria and other countries in Europe

The aim of the current study is to compare the system of ADRs reporting in Bulgaria, in the context of good European practices.Material and methods: In order to perform an analysis of the European systems for ADRs reporting, two types of documentary sources of information were used. The content was analyzed in comparative terms:- Scientific publications in refereed scientific medical journals;- Websites of national centers for pharmacovigilance.Information about ADR reporting forms by patients and medical professionals was extracted from the studied sources. The organization of the systems was also studied, including the engagement of additional structures and institutions.Results and conclusions: The pharmacovigilance system in Bulgaria functions in accordance with European legislation, and despite the common principles of work of individual EU member states, there are different approaches in the organization at the national level.At least 3 different channels are available for patients and healthcare professionals to report ADRs in all analyzed countries. Online forms for reporting ADRs are readily available on the Internet. Despite the existence of different forms for patients and for health professionals, the basic volume of patient information is guaranteed through both forms.An important aspect of the activities of the agencies is the promotion of the importance of reporting ADR through various organized information campaigns

Charters For „А New Public Health“

Research attention is focused on charters due to the fact that in the public health sphere, global strategic policies over the past fifty years are looming and developing most often through charters and declarations. The purpose of the article is to examine the unifying and specific features of two of the founding charters in the field of public health: the Ottawа and the Okanagan Charter, the later adopted by the International Network of Universities and Colleges for Health Promotion 2015. А historical comparative analysis of the two documents is performed. The Okanagan Charter endorses and adapts the principles of health promotion to higher education institutions. Understanding and officially adopting it are the first steps needed for joining the global health promoting universities movement

Professional Realization Of The Students From The Public Health Inspector Program

Въведение: Обучението е процес, който подготвя студентите за бъдещата им професионална реализация. Какви са възможностите и реалната реализация на дипломантите, придобили специалност „Инспектор по обществено здраве“ (ИОЗ), е тема, която не е изследвана у нас.Цел: Да се проучи професионалната реализация на студентите от специалност ИОЗ от МК - Варна през периода 2013-2017 г. вкл.МАТЕРИАЛИ И МЕТОДИ: Извършено е изчерпателно проучване за професионалната реализация на всички дипломанти от специалност ИОЗ от 2013 до 2017 г. включително, чрез кратко телефонно интервю. Връзката със студентите е осъществена по данни от регистъра на студентите. Информацията е обобщена и представена в табличен и графичен вид.РЕЗУЛТАТИ: За изследвания период са се дипломирали 69 студенти, като информация е събрана за 66 от тях. Почти половината от завършилите специалността ИОЗ 32 (48,5%) са се реализирали в областта на своето образование. От останалите 34 дипломанти, 21 работят извън сферата на здравеопазването, 11 са в чужбина, а двама са безработни. От реализиралите се в областта на общественото здраве 18 (56%) работят в системата на РЗИ, а останалите 14 (44%) работят в здравни институции, лечебни заведения и НПО, сред които служби по трудова медицина, амбулатории за дентална помощ, лечебни заведения, фирми за медицинска техника и апаратура, БЧК и др. Базовото си образование в магистърски програми са повишили 14 души, от тях най-голям е броят на студентите в специалност „Опазване и контрол на общественото здраве“ в МУ-Варна (9 души).ЗАКЛЮЧЕНИЕ: Въпреки значителния брой държавни, частни и общински органи и институции, ангажирани с дейностите по опазване здравето на население, то основният работодател на завършилите специалността са регионалните здравни инспекции. Същевременно относително висок е делът на дипломантите, които не прилагат професионалната си квалификация. Това е сериозен проблем, който изисква по-широк систематичен анализ.INTRODUCTION: Education is a process that prepares students for their future professional realization. The opportunities and the actual realization of the students who have graduated from the Public Health Inspector (PHI) program is a topic that has not been studied in our country.AIM: The aim of this article is to study the professional realization of the students from the PHI program at the Medical College - Varna during the period 2013-2017 incl.MATERIALS AND METHODS: An exhaustive study was carried out on the professional realization of all graduates from the PHI program from 2013 to 2017 inclusive through a brief telephone interview. The contact with the students was carried out based on data from the students' registry. The information is summarized in tabular and graphic form.RESULTS: A total of 69 students have graduated during the studied period, with information being collected for 66 of them. Almost half of the graduates from the PHI program - 32 (48.5%) have found realization in the field of their education. Of the remaining 34 graduates, 21 work outside the health care sector, 11 are abroad and two are unemployed. Of those who have found realization in the field of PHI 18 (56%) work in the system of regional health inspectorates, and the remaining 14 (44%) work in health care institutions, medical establishments and NGOs, among which - occupational health services, dispensaries for dental care, medical establishments, companies for medical equipment and devices, Bulgarian Red Cross and others. Fourteen people continued their basic education in master programs. The largest chare of the latter has enrolled in the Protection and Control of Public Health program at the Medical University of Varna (9 people).CONCLUSION: Despite the significant number of state, private and municipal authorities and institutions involved in protecting the health of the population, the main employer of the graduates of the specialty are the regional health inspectorates. At the same time, the share of graduates who have not applied their professional qualifications is relatively high. This is a serious problem that requires wider systematic analysis

Infant mortality in Bulgaria in a European context (1960-2020)

Аbstract Indicators from the group of infant mortality (IM) allow an assessment of the extent to which social, political, economic conditions in countries and their health systems enable children to successfully pass their first year of life. The aim of the present study is to reveal trends in general and age-specific IM indicators in Bulgaria and selected European countries. Material and methods: Data on IM, neonatal and early neonatal IM in Bulgaria and 28 other European countries for the period 1960-2020 were extracted from the Eurostat database. Trends for the three indicators in each of the four decades are examined and assessed by comparing levels between the beginning and end of the period for each country and between countries. Results: For the sixty-year period (1960-2020), IM rates follow a permanent favorable trend of decreasing levels, both in Bulgaria and in the selected European countries, but the processes proceed at a different pace. IM in Bulgaria decreased about 9 times, while countries with a worse "start" such as Portugal, Croatia, Poland, decrease IM by 32, 17, 15 times, respectively. NIM decreased almost 6.5 times, and the value of 3‰ in 2020 ranks our country together with Croatia and Slovakia from 25th to 27th place out of 29 countries. Early neonatal IM decreased 5 times, and the value of 1.9‰ places Bulgaria in twentieth place out of 29 countries. Conclusion: An asymmetry has been revealed in the changes of IM on the one hand and neonatal and early neonatal rates on the other in our country. The asymmetry is expressed in more favorable results in the reduction of NMR and ENMR, while the IMR in Bulgaria lagged behind significantly compared to other countries. This specificity of the trends in IM in Bulgaria showed that the negative processes are not only due to gaps in the health system, and their solution requires a systematic, multisectoral approach