The COVID-19 pandemic has put inordinate pressure on frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) and hospitals. HCWs are under chronic emotional stress, affected by burnout, moral distress and interpersonal issues with peers or supervisors during the pandemic. All of these can lead to lower levels of patient safety. The goal of this study was to examine patient safety culture values in a COVID-19 frontline hospital. Patient safety represents action, while patient safety culture represents the beliefs, values and norms of an organization that support and promote patient safety. Patient safety culture is a prerequisite for patient safety. A cross-sectional study on healthcare workers (228, response rate of 81.43%) at a COVID-19 frontline hospital was conducted using the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HOSPSC), which had PSC dimensions, single question dimensions and comments. Our research revealed that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of patient safety issues have been identified: low communication openness and current punitive response to errors, which might have incapacitated HCWs in the reporting of adverse events. Although participants expressed high supervisor/management expectations, actual support from the supervisor/management tier was low. Poor teamwork across units was identified as another issue, as well as low staffing. The infrastructure was identified as a potential new PSC dimension. There was a lack of support from supervisors/managers, while HCWs need their supervisors to be available; to be visible on the front line and to create an environment of trust, psychological safety and empowerment.

Background and Objectives: In this review, we have explored the relationship between overtraining syndrome (OTS) and bone stress injuries among paralympic athletes. OTS is a complex condition that arises from an imbalance between training volume, nutrition, and recovery time, leading to significant negative effects on paralympic athlete’s performance and overall well-being. On the other hand, bone stress injuries occur when abnormal and repetitive loading is applied to normal bone, resulting in microdamage accumulation and potential. The prevalence of overtraining syndrome and bone stress injuries among athletes highlights the need for a better understanding of their relationship and implications for prevention and management strategies. Methods: A literature review from the PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases including the MeSH keywords “overtraining syndrome”, “bone”, and “paralympic athletes”. Results: Studies have consistently shown that athletes engaged in endurance sports are particularly susceptible to overtraining syndrome. The multifactorial nature of this condition involves not only physical factors, but also psychological and environmental determinants. In addition, the diagnosis and management of OTS and bone stress injuries present challenges in clinical practice. Conclusions: Currently, there are no definitive biochemical markers for overtraining syndrome. The diagnosis is based on a combination of subjective measures such as questionnaires, symptoms checklists, and objective biomarkers, including hormone levels, inflammatory markers, and imaging studies. However, these diagnostic approaches have limitations regarding their specificity and sensitivity.

Background: Stress is an important occupational hazard in numerous occupations. The consequences of stress have been associated with a number of health conditions. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether nurses’ perceived levels of stress are associated to presenteeism and absenteeism. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, conducted at a public general hospital in Croatia, medical nurses filled the perceived stress scale (PSS-10) and short-form of the World health organization health and work performance questionnaire (WHO HPQ). Results: Nurses experiencing absenteeism (26, 53%) had a little higher levels of stress (X = 18.85, SD = 7.31) when compared to those without absenteeism (X = 17.52, SD = 6.63), t (144) = 1.037, P = 0.301. Nurses with presenteeism (15.74%) had statistically significantly higher levels of stress (M = 21.42, SD = 5.62), compared to nurses without presenteeism (X = 17.35, SD = 6.84), t(144) = 2.47, P = 0.015. Linear regression (R² = 0.032, P = 0.036) showed an association between presenteeism and stress (B = 3.952, S.E. = 1.26, β = 0.069). No association was found between absenteeism and stress. Conclusions: Although there is an association between presenteeism and stress, we cannot draw a causal line from this finding. Keywords: Absenteeism; Nurse; Presenteeism; Stress; Work Performance

Introduction: Family medicine doctors play a crucial role in smoking cessation efforts but often lack adequate training and skills in this area. This study aimed to assess attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors regarding smoking cessation among family medicine residents using a newly developed instrument.Methods: A novel 29-item questionnaire called “Attitudes and Knowledge Assessing Tool on Smoking Cessation Methods” (SMOKE AKAT) was developed and administered online to 161 family medicine residents at the University of Zagreb. This cross-sectional survey assessed knowledge about smoking-related health risks, cessation methods, and harm reduction approaches, as well as attitudes and behaviors related to smoking cessation counseling. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the responses.Results: 93 residents completed the survey (57.76% response rate). Key findings include: 91.4% had never received formal education on smoking cessation methods; 62.4% incorrectly believed nicotine causes cancer; 84.9% incorrectly classified e-cigarettes as nicotine replacement therapy; only 57% correctly identified the definition of harm reduction; 51.6% reported spending 2–5 min on cessation counseling per patient visit; and 84.9% believed family doctors should be responsible for implementing smoking cessation interventions.Conclusion: In light of the European Commission’s agenda to make the EU smoke-free by 2040, where healthcare professionals play an increasingly crucial role this study revealed significant knowledge gaps and misconceptions about smoking cessation among family medicine residents. Many lack formal training but express interest in further education. There is a need to enhance smoking cessation curricula in family medicine training programs, focusing on evidence-based cessation methods, pharmacotherapy options, and harm reduction approaches. Improving residents’ knowledge and skills in this area could lead to more effective smoking cessation interventions in primary care settings. The SMOKE AKAT questionnaire addresses a critical gap in the current healthcare research landscape by providing an assessment tool to identify knowledge deficiencies, attitudinal barriers, and practice gaps among family medicine physicians in smoking cessation counseling and enables targeted educational interventions to correct specific deficiencies that might otherwise remain undetected in standard medical education assessments.

Istraživanje je provedeno na 409 željezničkih radnika koji su u razdoblju od 5 godina pregledavani u Ustanovi za zdravstvenu skrb dr. Mijač. Cilj je bio analizirati tip i vrstu zdravstvenog pregleda, ocjenu radne sposobnosti te ustanoviti razloge zbo...

SAŽETAK: Infografika je komunikacijski alat u digitalnom okruženju koji, širokoj zajednici, na lako razumljiv način vizualno predstavlja informaciju, podatke ili znanja. Ovaj rad prikazuje infografiku kao oblik komunikacije te...