Understanding the attitudes of a particular society on a “good death” is important when it comes to end-of-life decision-making and palliative care. In the Republic of Croatia no systematic research ...has been done on the attitudes of the general population about the concept of a “good death”. This cross sectional survey was conducted on a three-stage random sample, stratified by regions, counties and locations within those counties (N = 1203) during November and December, 2019. ANOVA, to determine differences, factor analysis and multiple regression analysis were used. The most important characteristics of a good death outlined by the respondents were: the absence of pain, the presence and unencumberedness of family and loved ones, the importance of a sense of fulfilment and meaning in life in this regard, reconciliation with God, the presence of awareness and sobriety, and the possibility of treatment.
In 2022 hypertensive disease was the second cause of death in Croatia. The crude prevalence of hypertension is increasing and still majority of hypertensive patients did not reach blood pressure and ...cholesterol goals Low awareness, and small number of treated and controlled patients point on poor adherence and even worse clinical inertia.PURPOSEIn 2022 hypertensive disease was the second cause of death in Croatia. The crude prevalence of hypertension is increasing and still majority of hypertensive patients did not reach blood pressure and cholesterol goals Low awareness, and small number of treated and controlled patients point on poor adherence and even worse clinical inertia.Croatian Hypertension League (CHL) has started the permanent public health action Hunting the Silent Killer aiming to increase health literacy. In 2023 we decided to intensify program with two missions - '70/26', and 'Do you know what is your number?' aiming to achieve target values in 70% and in 50% of patients treated for hypertension and dyslipidaemia, respectively, by 2026. For the health care workers, the program will primarily involve digital education, and 'School of Communication in Hypertension'. In the second arm of the program, we will advise patients and general population to visit our educational website with important and useful information on how to improve bad lifestyle, how to proper measure blood pressure, why is it important to sustain in taking drugs etc. In 2026, the CHL will organise field research to assess the success of programs using the same methodology as we used in previous EH-UH studies.MATERIALS AND METHODSCroatian Hypertension League (CHL) has started the permanent public health action Hunting the Silent Killer aiming to increase health literacy. In 2023 we decided to intensify program with two missions - '70/26', and 'Do you know what is your number?' aiming to achieve target values in 70% and in 50% of patients treated for hypertension and dyslipidaemia, respectively, by 2026. For the health care workers, the program will primarily involve digital education, and 'School of Communication in Hypertension'. In the second arm of the program, we will advise patients and general population to visit our educational website with important and useful information on how to improve bad lifestyle, how to proper measure blood pressure, why is it important to sustain in taking drugs etc. In 2026, the CHL will organise field research to assess the success of programs using the same methodology as we used in previous EH-UH studies.We will monitor and analyse trends in the management and control of patients treated for hypertension and dyslipidaemia. This will enable us to make an evidence-based conclusion how successful we were in increasing health literacy.CONCLUSIONWe will monitor and analyse trends in the management and control of patients treated for hypertension and dyslipidaemia. This will enable us to make an evidence-based conclusion how successful we were in increasing health literacy.
•The patients with the recurrent major depressive disorder and chronic physical illnesses had significantly more psychiatric admissions than the patients without them.•The number of chronic physical ...illnesses was significantly associated with the number of psychiatric admissions.•More than two chronic physical illnesses in patients diagnosed with the recurrent major depressive disorder are associated with higher rates of psychiatric admission.•To improve treatment outcome and to reduce recurrence it is crucial to enhance integrative approach, diagnose and treat physical comorbidity promptly and assertively.
People with major depressive disorder (MDD) have an increased burden of chronic physical illnesses (CPI). However, information about the effect of CPIs on recurrent MDD treatment outcome is limited. The objective of this study was to explore whether the number of CPIs in patients with recurrent MDD was associated with higher rate of psychiatric admissions. Data were collected for a consecutive sample of 190 patients diagnosed with recurrent MDD. The key outcome was the number of psychiatric admissions following psychiatric diagnosis. The independent variable was the number of CPIs. The effects of different clinical, sociodemographic, and lifestyle confounding factors were controlled using robust regression. The patients with CPI had significantly more psychiatric admissions than the patients without CPI, and the number of CPIs was significantly associated with the number of psychiatric admissions. The results of our study largely confirmed that more than two CPIs in patients diagnosed with recurrent MDD are associated with higher rates of psychiatric admission, independent of psychiatric comorbidities and other clinical and sociodemographic factors. These findings indicate that to improve treatment outcome and to reduce recurrence, it is crucial to enhance early recognition and treatment of physical comorbidity.
Modern medicine is divided into three categories, namely preventive, curative and palliative. Palliative medicine and palliative care focus on people suffering from progressive incurable diseases ...with an expected fatal outcome, as well as their family members. It is conducted by an interdisciplinary palliative team at all levels of health care. Palliative care is a broader term than palliative medicine, as it encompasses other activities carried out by social welfare institutions as well as civil society organizations, religious institutions and other stakeholders in the community. Although elements of the palliative approach have been encountered throughout history since the beginning of medical treatment, in the last fifty years we have witnessed the rapid development of palliative medicine as a distinct specialization and subspecialisation in many countries around the world. Palliative care is a civilizational step forward and a true example of person-centered medicine. Given the aging population and the growing technological capabilities of modern medicine, we expect a large increase in the need for palliative care which requires the active contribution of all participants involved in creating and implementing social and health policies, both locally, nationally and internationally. This paper presents the historical development and current state of palliative medicine in the world with special emphasis on the situation in Croatia. Key words: palliative medicine, palliative care, palliative team, quality of life, strategic plans, person-centered medicine, total pain, education
To investigate international medical students' attitudes toward the impact of 6-year longitudinal course, Fundamentals of Medical Skills (FMS), at Medical Studies in English at the University of ...Zagreb on the development of their practical, clinical, and communication skills.
This cross-sectional study used a 23-item online survey to collect data from five generations of students attending the FMS course from January 31 to February 3, 2017. First-year students were not included. Invitations and reminders were sent to 202 FMS students by e-mail, SMS, and in closed groups in social networks Results. The response rate was 69.8% (141/202 students). The majority of students found the course useful (83.7%); favored practical over communication skills (92.9%); found practical skills more useful in higher years (82.3%); thought more time was needed to practice by simulation on mannequins (75.2%); preferred Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) stations to traditional oral exams (78%); and would recommend a course like FMS to future students or students at other universities (79.4%). Significantly more women than men favored practical over communication skills (P=0.044). Significantly more 5th and 6th students than students at lower years preferred OSCE stations to traditional learning (P=0.025) and would recommend a course like FMS to future students or students at other universities (P=0.001).
Students positively evaluated the FMS course, but underestimated the communication skills aspect.
Patients with cancer should be systematically screened for psychological problems at key points in their pathway. Usage of self-report scales for measuring anxiety and depression (such as Hospital ...Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS)) is a very practical methodfor detecting anxiety and depression. The aim of this research was to determine latent structure, reliability and cut-off scores of HADSin a Croatian sample of adult patients suffering from advanced metastatic cancer.
According to inclusion and exclusion criteria, participant were recruited at University Hospital Centre Zagreb (N=46; January 2015) and Clinical Hospital Centre 'Sisters of Mercy' (N=29; April 2015). All participants underwent short structured psychodiagnostic interview, cognitive evaluation (usingMontreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test) and were given HADS.
When using PCA separately for the items of each original scale of HADS, only four items for the component Depression satisfactorily saturate principal component and when using PCA for all the items, only seven items from the original scale satisfactorily saturate unique principal component. Maximum Likelihood extraction method showed that only four items from the original scale satisfactorily saturated the theoretical scales.
The results show that the best solution to use HADS, in defined Croatian population, is as one-dimensional screening instrument (Cronbach's alpha coefficient of internal consistency=0.774) with cut-off score 11/12.
In this observational study, direct and indirect (moderator and mediator) relationships between sociodemographic (age, gender, life partner, education level, income and length of treatment) and ...psychological (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS) variables and satisfaction with hospital care (EORTC INPATSAT32) in adult (advanced cancer) patients were investigated. Study sample consisted of 75 hospitalized advanced cancer patients recruited at the Zagreb University Hospital Centre and Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Centre in 2015. Statistically significant negative correlations were found between HADS and elementary school education level, as well as with all satisfaction variables (satisfaction with physicians, nurses and organization). Moderate to high and statistically significant positive correlations were found between elementary school level and all satisfaction variables. Gender and level of education appeared as significant moderator variables in the relationship between HADS and satisfaction with nurse care. There were no significant mediator effects of sociodemographic variables on the correlation between HADS and satisfaction with care. Male participants who were more disturbed emotionally were more satisfied with nurses. Participants with elementary and high school levels of education and lower scores on HADS were more satisfied with nurses, while participants with university level of education had higher HADS scores and lower level of satisfaction with nurses.
The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of life in Croatian homeland war veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic low back pain (LBP).
A total of 369 ...participants were included, classified in four study groups: those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; N = 59), those with both PTSD and lower back pain (PTSD+LBP; N = 80), those with isolated LBP (N = 95) and controls (N = 135). WHOQOL-BREF survey was used in the estimation of quality of life. The data were analysed using statistical methods and hierarchical clustering.
The results indicated a general pattern of lowering quality of life in participants with both psychological (PTSD) and physical (LBP) burden. The average overall quality of life was 2.82 ± 1.14 for the PTSD+LBP group, 3.29 ± 1.28 for the PTSD group, 4.04 ± 1.25 for the LBP group and 4.48 ± 0.80 for the controls (notably, all the pair-wise comparisons were significantly different at the level of P < 0.001, except for the pair LBP-controls, which was insignificant). This result indicated that quality of life was reduced for 9.9% in patients with LBP, 26.6% in patients with PTSD and 37.1% in PTSD+LBP, suggesting strong synergistic effect of PTSD and LBP. The analysis also identified several clusters of participants with different pattern of quality of life related outcomes, reflecting the complex nature of this indicator.
The results of this study reiterate strong impact of PTSD on quality of life, which is additionally reduced if the patient also suffers from LBP. PTSD remains a substantial problem in Croatia, nearly two decades after the beginning of the 1991-1996 Homeland war.
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