The World Health Organisation predicts a lack of 15 million health professionals by 2030. The lack of licenced professionals is a problem that keeps emerging and is carefully studied on a global level. Strategic objectives aimed at stimulating employment, improving working conditions, and keeping the nurses on board greatly depends on identifying factors that contribute to their turnover. The aim of this study was to present a conceptual model based on predictors of nurses’ turnover intention. Methods: A quantitative, non-experimental research design was used. A total of 308 registered nurses (RNs) took part in the study. The Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale (MWMS) and Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) were used. Results: The conceptual model, based on the binary regression models, relies on two direct significant predictors and four indirect significant predictors of turnover intention. The direct predictors are job satisfaction (OR = 0.23) and absenteeism (OR = 2.5). Indirect predictors that affect turnover intention via job satisfaction are: amotivation (OR = 0.59), identified regulation (OR = 0.54), intrinsic motivation (OR = 1.67), and nurse manager ability, leadership and support of nurses (OR = 1.51). Conclusions: The results of the study indicate strategic issues that need to be addressed to retain the nursing workforce. There is a need to ensure positive perceptions and support from managers, maintain intrinsic motivation, and promote even higher levels of motivation to achieve satisfactory levels of job satisfaction.

Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze healthcare employees’ knowledge of information security and potentially risky behavior on the Internet considering demographic parameters and in comparison with the standardized behavioral norms among Internet users in Croatia. Methods: The study was conducted as a cross-sectional study. Healthcare employees from three hospitals in different geographical areas (Osijek, Pula and Zagreb) were included in this study. The validated UISAQ (Users’ Information Security Awareness Questionnaire) was used for data collection. The questionnaire contains 33 questions, grouped in two scales and six subscales, and participants were self-evaluated using Likert scale. The time period of data collection was the summer of 2017. Results: Surveyed healthcare employees show significantly less risky behavior and overall better knowledge than the average Internet user in Croatia. Female participants display online behavior that is less risky than that of the male participants; participants with a university degree are better at PC maintenance, while participants with a high school diploma are more skeptical in regard to loss of personal or professional data. Older people are significantly more careful and lend their access data to other colleagues at work less often. Conclusion: Healthcare employees included in this study display partially better results than the average Internet users in Croatia when it comes to their knowledge and potentially risky online behavior. However, their average estimations are only partially better than referent estimations and their scores are not very high, especially when it comes to their awareness measured in the “Security in Communications” and “Secured Data” subscales. As there is high risk of losing data because of the nature of business protocols, healthcare employees need more education and training in order for their awareness regarding the importance of information security and privacy to increase.

Aim: To examine the association between the nursing work environment, job satisfaction, and work ability among emergency medical service nurses.Methods: This pilot cross-sectional study was conducted among nurses working in emergency medical services in two Croatian counties between May and July 2024. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire including sociodemographic items and two validated instruments (PES-NWI and WAI). Nonparametric tests, correlation analysis, and bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were applied.Results: Overall, 90 participants (92.8%) had good or excellent work ability (WAI). Staffing and Resource Adequacy differed significantly across work settings (P = 0.002), with lower WAI among dispatch or non-emergency transport staff (median 38.8) compared with Team I (median 43.0) and Team II (median 44.5) (P < 0.001). Work ability was significantly correlated with the nursing practice environment, job satisfaction, and belief in upcoming healthcare reforms, with the strongest association observed between job satisfaction and belief in healthcare improvements (Spearman's rho = 0.725). In multivariate logistic regression, nurses’ participation in hospital work predicted excellent work ability (OR 1.81; 95% CI 1.16–2.83).Conclusion: The findings suggest that characteristics of the nursing work environment are associated with job satisfaction and work ability among emergency care nurses, highlighting the potential importance of supportive leadership, adequate staffing, and opportunities for professional participation.Keywords: emergency nursing, workplace environment, job satisfaction, pilot study

Nowadays, the growing number of people aged 65+ has become a global phenomenon. At that age, the most common medical problems are multimorbidity and inappropriate polypharmacy, which have a negative impact on the quality of life in older adults. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine comorbidity, the use of psychopharmaceuticals, and symptoms of addiction to anxiolytics among older adults living at home or in retirement homes, and to examine the differences in quality of life in relation to the use and misuse of psychotropic drugs. The research included 383 people aged 65+ living in the Republic of Croatia (EU). A standardized questionnaire CAGE was used to collect data about the use of psychotropic drugs. Quality of life was examined using the WHOQOL-BREF scale. The average age of respondents was 83 years. There is a significantly higher prevalence of anxiety disorders (p = 0.001) in respondents who live at home. Psychopharmaceuticals were used by 218 (56.9%) respondents, equally in both groups of respondents. A total of 77 (20.1%) respondents had been using anxiolytics for more than five years, while 26 (6.8%) of them had significant clinical symptoms of addiction to anxiolytics. All domains and the overall quality of life scale were significantly lower (p < 0.001) in respondents who have clinical symptoms of anxiolytic addiction. The results indicate that the use of psychotropic drugs by respondents is inappropriate. Respondents who inappropriately and excessively use psychotropic drugs have a significantly worse quality of life.

Background/Objectives: Retention of healthcare professionals in the workforce, their employment, and the improvement of working conditions largely depend on identifying the factors that influence their departure and their health. The study was conducted during the period from January to June 2021. This study aimed to examine the association between specific work-related stressors and work ability. The initial hypothesis was that general and specific occupational stressors negatively associate with work ability among healthcare professionals in emergency medical intervention teams. Methods: The study was designed as a cross-sectional comparative study. It was conducted among nurses and physicians in pre-hospital emergency medical services, employed full-time in intervention teams, while the control group consisted of employees from dispatch and call-receiving units. The study was conducted on the 840 participants, representing 43.3% of all healthcare professionals employed in pre-hospital emergency medical services in the Republic of Croatia. In addition to questions on participants’ personal characteristics, the following instruments were used: 1. a validated Questionnaire on Workplace Stressors among hospital healthcare professionals; and 2. the international standardized Work Ability Index (WAI) questionnaire for assessing work ability. Participants completed the questionnaires in paper form. Results: On average, the participants demonstrated lower levels of stress compared to reference values, both for overall stress and for individual stress factors, while their work ability, assessed using the Work Ability Index (WAI), ranged from very good to excellent. The control group showed higher levels of stress across all factors and lower work ability. However, the control group was older on average, generally had lower levels of education, and consisted more often of women—personal characteristics that may influence the examined variables. Lower stress levels and better work ability were associated with job satisfaction, ambition, and the fact that participants were working in their desired profession. Frequent sick leave (absenteeism) was highly correlating with both higher stress levels and poorer work ability. Conclusions: Greater job satisfaction and higher motivation have a positive impact on stress levels and employees’ work ability. The study results can serve as a starting point for institutional management in designing feasible decisions aimed at improving satisfaction, health, the work environment, and the work ability of emergency medical service personnel, as well as making these institutions more attractive for recruitment and retention of employees both in their positions and within the profession.

Hemorheology has clear physiological relevance and potential diagnostic value, emphasizing the need for reliable blood rheological measurements. Rotational rheometry is widely used for the characterization of blood flow behavior, yet the influence of measuring geometry on rheological parameters remains insufficiently investigated and standardized. This study evaluated geometry-dependent variability in whole blood rheometry by comparing a double-gap coaxial cylinder (CC27 DG) with two cone–plate geometries differing in size and cone angle (C50 1° and C35 2°). Blood samples from five healthy volunteers were analyzed using an identical shear protocol from 0 to 100 s⁻¹, and flow curves were fitted using the Power law model. All geometries consistently demonstrated non-Newtonian, shear-thinning behavior. Significant overall geometry effects were observed for the consistency index K (p = 0.022) and Power law goodness-of-fit r (p = 0.015), whereas no significant overall effect was detected for n (p = 0.247). While no pairwise comparison reached statistical significance after Holm adjustment, CC27 DG showed the lowest mean K, the highest mean r, and the smoothest flow curves, and C50 1° produced smooth curves with a reduced sample volume requirement. These findings support explicit reporting of measuring geometry and its consideration in the standardization of hemorheological protocols.