Cent Eur J Public Health 2010, 18(2)

Health Promotion for Older People in the Czech Republic in a European Perspective

Eva Křížová, Piotr Brzyski, Charlotte Strumpel, Jenny Billings, Gert Lang

Cent Eur J Public Health 2010, 18(2):63-69 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a3561  

This article describes health promotion for older people in the Czech Republic from the European perspective. It is based on findings from the European project healthPROelderly. Implementation of health promotion in the Czech republic as a new public health concept is outlined from the historical point of view. Structures and processes of health promotion in the Czech Republic are described in the context of social policy, demography and health. The European project healthPROelderly is presented and the outcomes of an international literature search statistically analysed. Participating countries were divided into three macro-regions according to their...

Relation of Employment Status, Behavioral and Social Conditions on Individual Perception of Health in a Region of Slovakia: Pilot Study

Eva Gallová, Jarmila Pekarčíková, Daniela Marcinková, Marek Majdan, Lucia Haváčová, Martin Rusnák

Cent Eur J Public Health 2010, 18(2):70-75 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a3579  

Background: The question of the health status of the unemployed in the Slovak Republic is a relatively unexplored area of study, in spite of the fact that the country has experienced one of the most consistently high unemployment rates among the 27 states of the EU. The aim of the pilot study was to identify the health and the other impacts of unemployment on the population in the region of Zvolen. Methods: two groups of respondents were studied: the long-term unemployed and a control group of the employed. The data was collected using the guided-interview questionnaire procedure. A total of 214 respondents were observed out of which...

Oral Health-related Quality of Life in Czech Population

Lenka Hodačová, Jindra Šmejkalová, Eva Čermáková, Radovan Slezák, Vimal Jacob, Eva Hlaváčková

Cent Eur J Public Health 2010, 18(2):76-80 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a3578  

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the oral health-related quality of life in Czech population. Methods: Data were collected from 1,380 subjects aged 30 to 69 years attending the Department of Dentistry, Medical Faculty of Charles University in Hradec Králové or attending three private dental practitioners collaborating on the study. Oral health-related quality of life was measured with the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) questionnaire that was translated to Czech. The OHIP-14 scores were assessed in relation to chosen clinical and sociodemographic characteristics and oral health behaviour. Statistical analyses included...

Screening of Chronic Diseases and Chronic Disease Risk Factors in Two Rural Communities in Kosovo

Gordana Šubarić Gorgieva, Zvonko Stašević, Suzana Vasić, Slavica Ristić, Višnja Ležaić, Ljubica Djukanović

Cent Eur J Public Health 2010, 18(2):81-86 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a3582  

Background: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Velika Hoča and Orahovac, two rural communities in Kosovo and Metohia, with the aim of assessing the prevalence of chronic diseases and associated risk factors. Methods: The study involved 423 (180 male) adult inhabitants aged 51±16 years and included an interview, medical documentation, physical, ultrasound, laboratory examinations and ECG. Results: Hyperlipidemia was the most frequent (70%) risk factor followed by alcohol consumption (47%), hypertension (42%), smoking (36%) and obesity (32%). Ischemic heart disease was diagnosed in 25 patients, hypertensive cardiomyopathy...

The Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Attitudes Towards Tobacco Control Measures - A Comparison of 5 European Countries

Jochen R. Thyrian, Demosthenes B. Panagiotakos, Evangelos Polychronopoulos, Marc C. Willemsen, Witold Zatoński, Ulrich John

Cent Eur J Public Health 2010, 18(2):87-92 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a3560  

Objectives: (a) to examine exposure to ETS in 5 European countries that differ in their tobacco control (TC) activity, (b) to examine attitudes towards TC measures and (c) to relate these results to sociodemographic and smoking related variables. Methods: population-based, representative sample of n=3,500 participants age 16-59, in Germany, Greece, Poland, Sweden, UK. Results: most never smokers are exposed to ETS in leisure time (55.74%); chances of being exposed to ETS at home or outside of the home are dependent on sex, smoking status, country, whether there are smokers in the households, what the status of the relationship...

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Iron-steel and Ferrochrome Industry Workers

Silvana Bala, Afrim Tabaku

Cent Eur J Public Health 2010, 18(2):93-98 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a3548  

Metallurgical industry workers in developing countries are often exposed to high concentrations of dusts and fumes that affect pulmonary function. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to assess the prevalence and severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the prevalence of symptoms, as well as, the link between work-place air pollution and COPD. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect data about smoking and socioeconomic status, past history of pulmonary diseases, current respiratory symptoms, education, and other variables. We have identified and assessed all risk factors and also have performed measurements of dynamic...

Evaluation of Mandatory Case-based Reporting System for Varicella in the Prevaccine Era

Maja Sočan

Cent Eur J Public Health 2010, 18(2):99-103 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a3572  

Varicella is a mandatory reportable disease in Slovenia but it is not notifiable in most European countries. The aim of the study was to explore the completeness of mandatory varicella reporting in Slovenia. Data were extracted from three electronic datasets, including: mandatory notifiable communicable diseases dataset (SURVIVAL), health statistics dataset - consultations in primary care (ZUBSTAT), and health statistics dataset - hospitalizations (BOLOB). Age- and sex-specific reporting rates were compared during the period 1997-2006. During the ten-year period studied 168,089 cases were recorded via ZUBSTAT, and 128,222 cases by SURVIVAL. On average...

Seroprevalence of Blood-borne Infections and Population Sizes Estimates in a Population of Injecting Drug Users in Croatia

Branko Kolarić, Dinko Štajduhar, Davorin Gajnik, Tomislav Rukavina, Lucas Wiessing

Cent Eur J Public Health 2010, 18(2):104-109 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a3576  

Similar to some other Central European countries, Croatia has low HIV prevalence among injecting drug users (IDUs) but high hepatitis C (HCV) prevalence. This may indicate different patterns of risk behaviour in this region than in other parts of Europe. The main objectives of this study were to assess the seroprevalence of HIV and hepatitis B and C and related risk factors among IDUs in the three largest Croatian cities (Zagreb, Split, Rijeka) and within the national prison system, as well as to apply a multiplier-method population size estimation of IDUs in Zagreb, Split and Rijeka. Recruitment sites were selected in collaboration with the local...

HIV/AIDS in the Countries of the Former Soviet Union: Societal and Attitudinal Challenges

Bernd Rechel

Cent Eur J Public Health 2010, 18(2):110-115 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a3583  

For several years, some of the countries of the former Soviet Union have experienced the fastest growing HIV epidemic in the world, with the vast majority of reported infections contracted through injecting drug use. However, most governments of the region have been slow to recognize the severity of the problem. The scope and coverage of governmental HIV/AIDS programmes have remained very limited. Harm reduction programmes are mainly financed by external donors, while substitution treatment remains illegal in Russia and unavailable in some other countries of the region. Being based on a review of published and grey literature, this paper explores attitudinal...

Characterization of a Natural Focus of Puumala Hantavirus Infection in the Czech Republic

Milan Pejčoch, Jiří Unar, Bohumír Kříž, Eva Pauchová, Roman Rose

Cent Eur J Public Health 2010, 18(2):116-118 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a3611  

Hantaviruses are RNA viruses of the Bunyaviridae family, represented in the Czech Republic by three genospecies: Dobrava-Belgrade, Puumala and Tula. They persist in natural foci of infection. In 2004 to 2009, a local outbreak with 18 reported cases of nephropathia epidemica caused by Puumala hantavirus occurred in the Šumava mountains and foothills and was spacially associated with another outbreak in Lower Bavaria, Germany. In the Jelení locality in the Šumava mountains at 880 m above sea level, we identified a natural focus of infection suspected to be the source of hantavirus infection in forest workers. The focus was characterized geobotanically...

Discrepancies between Various Methods in Susceptibility Testing and Epidemiological Analysis of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Clinical Isolates

Aikaterini Masgala, Irene Galani, Maria Souli, Helen Giamarellou

Cent Eur J Public Health 2010, 18(2):119-123 | DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a3571  

The susceptibility of 25 Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (S. maltophilia) clinical isolates to four different antimicrobials (trimethoprim/sulfomethoxazole, piperacillin/tazobactam, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin) were investigated by disk diffusion, E-test and commercial Sensititre and PASCO broth microdilution techniques. Discrepancies between the results of broth microdilution and the other methods studied were characterized as very major, major and minor errors. Using the broth microdilution as the reference method, 24% of the isolates were found susceptible to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, 20% to ceftazidime, 0% to piperacillin/tazobactam...

New HIV recommendations to improve health, reduce infections and save lives.

Cent Eur J Public Health 2010, 18(2):115, 124