Gordana Pavleković | University of Zagreb (original) (raw)
Papers by Gordana Pavleković
Collegium antropologicum, 2009
Psychological distress (PD) is being increasingly recognized as a risk factor for cardiovascular ... more Psychological distress (PD) is being increasingly recognized as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Our aim was to recognize an association of PD and CVD in the Croatian adult population. We also explored association's strength obtainable as relative risk of PD on three levels; cardiovascular risk behaviors, conditions and diseases. This study used Croatian Adult Health Survey 2003 (CAHS 2003) data (N = 9,070). PD status was measured by the five-item Mental Health Scale of the Short Form questionnaire (SF-36) hence one distinguished subgroup consisted of population with PD and other without PD. Prevalence of cardiovascular risk behaviors, cardiovascular risk conditions and self-reported cardiovascular diseases within each subgroup were calculated using bootstrap method. Women had higher prevalence of PD in general population. Among distressed population women had higher prevalence of body mass index over 30, metabolic syndrome and angina pectoris. Men with PD had hi...
Collegium antropologicum, 2014
It is well known that countries with strong primary care achieve better health outcomes at lower ... more 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.
Arhiv za higijenu rada i toksikologiju, 2014
Working as a nurse involves great dedication and sacrifice: working night shifts, working overtim... more Working as a nurse involves great dedication and sacrifice: working night shifts, working overtime, and coming to work sick. The last is also known as presenteeism. Research has shown that poor nurse performance can affect both caregiver's and patient's safety. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate whether nurse presenteeism affected patient safety culture and to look deeper into the characteristics of nurse presenteeism and patient safety culture in Croatia. The study was conducted in one general hospital in Croatia over April and May 2012 and specifically targeted medical nurses as one of the largest groups of healthcare professionals. They were asked to fill two questionnaires: the six-item Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6) and the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC). We found no association between presenteeism and patient safety culture. Overall positive perception of safety was our sample's strength, but other dimensions were pos...
Acta medica Croatica : c̆asopis Hravatske akademije medicinskih znanosti, 2010
Since 1952, Andrija Stampar School of Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, ha... more Since 1952, Andrija Stampar School of Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, has provided a community health course, based on the medical education approach that the main fields of physicians' action are human settlements and not only consulting rooms and clinics. The aim of the study was to compare community health course students' evaluations immediately after attending the course at the 4th and 6th study years. The survey included 224 4th year medical students attending the community course during the academic year 2007-2008 and 192 same-generation 6th year students (85.7%) during the academic year 2009-2010. Students were required to fill out an evaluation questionnaire about the activities during the community health course using grades from 1-poor to 5-excellent, and to write personal remarks and essay. The academic year 2007-2008 students (n=224) were very satisfied (grades 5 and 4) with preparatory seminar (98% of students), final seminar (97%), cou...
Collegium antropologicum, 2010
War in Bosnia and Herzegovina lasted from 1991 to 1995 and resulted in profound consequences mark... more War in Bosnia and Herzegovina lasted from 1991 to 1995 and resulted in profound consequences marked by the large number of victims, increase in the diseases and disorders prevalence, that were not common before it occurred. The effects it had on health status of the entire population was reflected through many negative demographic trends, increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and the spread of a number of unhealthy behavioral patterns and a lot of migrations. All this presents a problem for institutions of health system which are attempting to control these negative influences especially during the transition period, marked by the direct adverse consequences of the 1991-1995 war. The present paper presents a summation of various sources which are attempting to provide a synthetic overview and provide basic information in relation to the health status of the population, and also to provide a baseline evaluation for deployment of public health interventions.
Collegium antropologicum, 2006
Croatia never had a separate vocation (occupation) of a health educator. Health education is one ... more Croatia never had a separate vocation (occupation) of a health educator. Health education is one of the main tasks in the long tradition of preventive work of doctors-school medicine specialists. Additionally, in the school curriculum in the Republic of Croatia the health-educational contents are integrated into various subjects, and are conducted by teachers. However, there are requests to introduce a new subject into schools called Health Education. We asked physicians of school medicine their opinion on the introduction of this new subject. 30% of the physicians were dissatisfied with the current condition, 10% were satisfied, while there were no very satisfied school medicine doctors. They believe that health education goals are oriented solely to passing on knowledge (facts), while efforts are not done to change habits and attitudes of young people. They recognize themselves as persons mostly involved in health education in schools. Half of the school medicine doctors believe t...
Croatian medical journal, 2006
Health and health care provision are among the most important and politically sensitive public se... more 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...
Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 1991
This study examines aging in Yugoslavia in the context of rapid demographic and social changes ov... more This study examines aging in Yugoslavia in the context of rapid demographic and social changes over the last several decades. Since this time, urbanization and the population aging of the society have begun to place a stress on the ability of the family and the formal health care system to deal with the needs of the elderly. Responses to this stress have included new types of residences for the elderly and various types of self-help groups dealing with a variety of health care needs. This paper focuses on the development and functioning of self-help groups to deal with the problem of hypertension among the elderly in the Republic of Croatia. Preliminary results indicate that such groups have been relatively successful in regulating blood pressure and slightly reducing mortality. However, the success of groups requires a long term commitment from public health institutions and a recognition of how such groups must be adapted to different social environments.
Croatian Medical Journal, 2013
“The Art of Medical Education” is a one-week course for junior teachers concentrated on the basic... more “The Art of Medical Education” is a one-week course for junior teachers concentrated on the basics of medical education, enabling teachers early in their career to put into practice contemporary approaches to teaching and learning of medicine. The main task of the course is to provide the following: • basic understanding of the concepts of medical study, challenges, and dilemmas in teaching and learning; • theoretical framework for understanding factors influencing the quality of teaching-learning process; • range of evidence-based strategies, both traditional and innovative methods; • framework for planning, implementing, and evaluating medical education; • awareness of ethical issues related to medical education. Course aims and content are based on the list of teachers’ attitudes, knowledge, and skills recommended by medical educators, and oriented not only toward acquiring “practical skills” but also toward promotion of academic culture in medical education. The course employs multiple instructional methods: self-directed and task-based learning, small group discussions, individual and group projects, microteaching using interactive videos, self-reflection and peer reflection, role-play, demonstration,round-table discussions, and others. Although the course is mainly intended for younger teachers and is one of the requirements for academic advancement (compulsory for future assistant professors), the mean age of participants was 45. However, this is an age-group that still has enough time to improve their quality of teaching. Participants have various professional backgrounds: basic and preclinical science, clinical, public health, and primary care field, as well as other biomedical fields. Inter-professional cooperation and mutual understanding have been established as an instructional strategy. To obtain a certificate it is not sufficient to simply complete the course: the participants have to prepare an educational module in a written form, present it orally, and discuss in front of a three-member committee, but also preferably in front of teachers from their own department. The course lasts for six days with ten-hour sessions. The teachers are not experts certificated in pedagogy and didactics, but medical teachers and clinical practitioners with long experience in medical education, positively assessed by students and peers, and very active in collaboration with educational centers and medical education associations in Europe. Self- and peer-evaluation is carried out on several occasions during the course, while process evaluation is done at the end of the week using quantitative and qualitative methods (written questionnaire and group discussion). The elements that received the highest marks were: • building on and expanding teachers’ previous teaching and learning experiences, • framework for planning, implementing, and evaluating medical education; • awareness of ethical issues related to medical education. Course aims and content are based on the list of teachers’ attitudes, knowledge, and skills recommended by medical educators, and oriented not only toward acquiring “practical skills” but also toward promotion of academic culture in medical education.The course employs multiple instructional methods: self-directed and task-based learning, small group discussions, individual and group projects, microteaching using interactive videos, self-reflection and peer reflection, role-play, demonstration, round-table discussions, and others.
Collegium antropologicum, 2009
Psychological distress (PD) is being increasingly recognized as a risk factor for cardiovascular ... more Psychological distress (PD) is being increasingly recognized as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Our aim was to recognize an association of PD and CVD in the Croatian adult population. We also explored association's strength obtainable as relative risk of PD on three levels; cardiovascular risk behaviors, conditions and diseases. This study used Croatian Adult Health Survey 2003 (CAHS 2003) data (N = 9,070). PD status was measured by the five-item Mental Health Scale of the Short Form questionnaire (SF-36) hence one distinguished subgroup consisted of population with PD and other without PD. Prevalence of cardiovascular risk behaviors, cardiovascular risk conditions and self-reported cardiovascular diseases within each subgroup were calculated using bootstrap method. Women had higher prevalence of PD in general population. Among distressed population women had higher prevalence of body mass index over 30, metabolic syndrome and angina pectoris. Men with PD had hi...
Collegium antropologicum, 2014
It is well known that countries with strong primary care achieve better health outcomes at lower ... more 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.
Arhiv za higijenu rada i toksikologiju, 2014
Working as a nurse involves great dedication and sacrifice: working night shifts, working overtim... more Working as a nurse involves great dedication and sacrifice: working night shifts, working overtime, and coming to work sick. The last is also known as presenteeism. Research has shown that poor nurse performance can affect both caregiver's and patient's safety. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate whether nurse presenteeism affected patient safety culture and to look deeper into the characteristics of nurse presenteeism and patient safety culture in Croatia. The study was conducted in one general hospital in Croatia over April and May 2012 and specifically targeted medical nurses as one of the largest groups of healthcare professionals. They were asked to fill two questionnaires: the six-item Stanford Presenteeism Scale (SPS-6) and the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC). We found no association between presenteeism and patient safety culture. Overall positive perception of safety was our sample's strength, but other dimensions were pos...
Acta medica Croatica : c̆asopis Hravatske akademije medicinskih znanosti, 2010
Since 1952, Andrija Stampar School of Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, ha... more Since 1952, Andrija Stampar School of Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, has provided a community health course, based on the medical education approach that the main fields of physicians' action are human settlements and not only consulting rooms and clinics. The aim of the study was to compare community health course students' evaluations immediately after attending the course at the 4th and 6th study years. The survey included 224 4th year medical students attending the community course during the academic year 2007-2008 and 192 same-generation 6th year students (85.7%) during the academic year 2009-2010. Students were required to fill out an evaluation questionnaire about the activities during the community health course using grades from 1-poor to 5-excellent, and to write personal remarks and essay. The academic year 2007-2008 students (n=224) were very satisfied (grades 5 and 4) with preparatory seminar (98% of students), final seminar (97%), cou...
Collegium antropologicum, 2010
War in Bosnia and Herzegovina lasted from 1991 to 1995 and resulted in profound consequences mark... more War in Bosnia and Herzegovina lasted from 1991 to 1995 and resulted in profound consequences marked by the large number of victims, increase in the diseases and disorders prevalence, that were not common before it occurred. The effects it had on health status of the entire population was reflected through many negative demographic trends, increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and the spread of a number of unhealthy behavioral patterns and a lot of migrations. All this presents a problem for institutions of health system which are attempting to control these negative influences especially during the transition period, marked by the direct adverse consequences of the 1991-1995 war. The present paper presents a summation of various sources which are attempting to provide a synthetic overview and provide basic information in relation to the health status of the population, and also to provide a baseline evaluation for deployment of public health interventions.
Collegium antropologicum, 2006
Croatia never had a separate vocation (occupation) of a health educator. Health education is one ... more Croatia never had a separate vocation (occupation) of a health educator. Health education is one of the main tasks in the long tradition of preventive work of doctors-school medicine specialists. Additionally, in the school curriculum in the Republic of Croatia the health-educational contents are integrated into various subjects, and are conducted by teachers. However, there are requests to introduce a new subject into schools called Health Education. We asked physicians of school medicine their opinion on the introduction of this new subject. 30% of the physicians were dissatisfied with the current condition, 10% were satisfied, while there were no very satisfied school medicine doctors. They believe that health education goals are oriented solely to passing on knowledge (facts), while efforts are not done to change habits and attitudes of young people. They recognize themselves as persons mostly involved in health education in schools. Half of the school medicine doctors believe t...
Croatian medical journal, 2006
Health and health care provision are among the most important and politically sensitive public se... more 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...
Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 1991
This study examines aging in Yugoslavia in the context of rapid demographic and social changes ov... more This study examines aging in Yugoslavia in the context of rapid demographic and social changes over the last several decades. Since this time, urbanization and the population aging of the society have begun to place a stress on the ability of the family and the formal health care system to deal with the needs of the elderly. Responses to this stress have included new types of residences for the elderly and various types of self-help groups dealing with a variety of health care needs. This paper focuses on the development and functioning of self-help groups to deal with the problem of hypertension among the elderly in the Republic of Croatia. Preliminary results indicate that such groups have been relatively successful in regulating blood pressure and slightly reducing mortality. However, the success of groups requires a long term commitment from public health institutions and a recognition of how such groups must be adapted to different social environments.
Croatian Medical Journal, 2013
“The Art of Medical Education” is a one-week course for junior teachers concentrated on the basic... more “The Art of Medical Education” is a one-week course for junior teachers concentrated on the basics of medical education, enabling teachers early in their career to put into practice contemporary approaches to teaching and learning of medicine. The main task of the course is to provide the following: • basic understanding of the concepts of medical study, challenges, and dilemmas in teaching and learning; • theoretical framework for understanding factors influencing the quality of teaching-learning process; • range of evidence-based strategies, both traditional and innovative methods; • framework for planning, implementing, and evaluating medical education; • awareness of ethical issues related to medical education. Course aims and content are based on the list of teachers’ attitudes, knowledge, and skills recommended by medical educators, and oriented not only toward acquiring “practical skills” but also toward promotion of academic culture in medical education. The course employs multiple instructional methods: self-directed and task-based learning, small group discussions, individual and group projects, microteaching using interactive videos, self-reflection and peer reflection, role-play, demonstration,round-table discussions, and others. Although the course is mainly intended for younger teachers and is one of the requirements for academic advancement (compulsory for future assistant professors), the mean age of participants was 45. However, this is an age-group that still has enough time to improve their quality of teaching. Participants have various professional backgrounds: basic and preclinical science, clinical, public health, and primary care field, as well as other biomedical fields. Inter-professional cooperation and mutual understanding have been established as an instructional strategy. To obtain a certificate it is not sufficient to simply complete the course: the participants have to prepare an educational module in a written form, present it orally, and discuss in front of a three-member committee, but also preferably in front of teachers from their own department. The course lasts for six days with ten-hour sessions. The teachers are not experts certificated in pedagogy and didactics, but medical teachers and clinical practitioners with long experience in medical education, positively assessed by students and peers, and very active in collaboration with educational centers and medical education associations in Europe. Self- and peer-evaluation is carried out on several occasions during the course, while process evaluation is done at the end of the week using quantitative and qualitative methods (written questionnaire and group discussion). The elements that received the highest marks were: • building on and expanding teachers’ previous teaching and learning experiences, • framework for planning, implementing, and evaluating medical education; • awareness of ethical issues related to medical education. Course aims and content are based on the list of teachers’ attitudes, knowledge, and skills recommended by medical educators, and oriented not only toward acquiring “practical skills” but also toward promotion of academic culture in medical education.The course employs multiple instructional methods: self-directed and task-based learning, small group discussions, individual and group projects, microteaching using interactive videos, self-reflection and peer reflection, role-play, demonstration, round-table discussions, and others.