Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Z Sosić

Publications and source records attributed to Z Sosić.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

Prevalence and significance of minor anomalies in children with impaired development.

AIM: To compare the prevalence of Waldrop's minor physical anomalies in children with developmental disorders (mental retardation, hearing and visual impairment) and healthy schoolchildren. METHODS: The study was carried out on a sample of 469 children (223 children with developmental disorders and 246 healthy schoolchildren). RESULTS: Significant differences were found between the children with developmental disorders and the healthy children with regard to the number of minor anomalies and their weighted scores according to Waldrop. Multivariate discriminant analysis with two discriminative functions explained as much as 96.51% of the total variability and significantly distinguished the healthy children from the children with developmental disorders. However, no clear distinction was found between the mentally retarded children and those with visual impairment. Interrelation of the number and sum of the weighted scores of minor anomalies showed similar minor anomalies in the mentally retarded children (mean per person 3.65 and 3.82, respectively), the children with visual impairment (3.24 and 3.50), the children with hearing impairment (3.84 and 3.67) and the control group (1.70 and 1.46), although at different levels. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of multiple minor anomalies in children with developmental disorders suggests that during early development, factors which cause the specific developmental disorder and the occurrence of a minor anomaly have a joint effect.

Adolescent↗

The prevalence of minor physical anomalies in mentally retarded children.

The prevalence of minor physical anomalies was examined in a sample of 109 children with idiopathic mental retardation (65 boys and 44 girls). Control group consisted of 246 healthy schoolchildren (123 boys and 123 girls) aged 8 to 12 years. A comparison was made between number of found minor anomalies per child (W1) and their Waldrop weight scores (W2) in healthy and mentally retarded (MR) children. The MR children were found to have a higher number of minor anomalies per child. In their group predominated those with four or more anomalies (56.9%), whereas among healthy children only 7.7% had four anomalies or more. In contrast to the high weighted score value (W2) of five or greater in 36.7% of MR children, it was absent in all control group subjects. There were highly significant differences between the MR and healthy children in the average value of the number of minor anomalies per child (W1) and in the average weighted score (W2). The average number of minor anomalies per child (W1) in MR and well children was 3.65 and 1.7, respectively. In MR children the average weighted score (W2) was 3.82, being 1.46 in healthy children. Our results suggest that common etiological factors, which had led to a physical and mental disorder, were active early in the development of MR children. The finding of high incidence of multiple minor anomalies in MR children indicates that genetic factors may play an important role in the etiology of the underlying disorder in the child group studied.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Organization of health care in Croatia: needs and priorities.

AIM: Description and analysis of the present situation of health care system in Croatia, and its characteristics in the transitional process of restructuring. METHODS: A descriptive method was used. The data from the regular statistical publications were used for the analysis. RESULTS: Croatia is faced with problems similar to those in other countries of the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), such as control of health expenditure, balancing the development of different segments of health care services, stabilization of effectiveness and quality of care, transition from one-party system to pluralistic democracy, introduction of a free market economy, war devastations, etc. On the other hand, the Croatian experience in the development of a decentralized and integrated primary health care, decentralized health insurance system, education of general/family practitioners, and a tradition in the implementation and development of public health measures, have facilitated and contributed positively to the whole process of transition. CONCLUSION: In contrast to the economic difficulties, war devastations, and changing the social system, the Croatian health care system proved its stability and sustainability. The highest priority and needs are now related to coping with unhealthy behavior of the population, such as smoking, accidents, physical inactivity, and nutritional problems, which should be solved and controlled by the implementation of preventive programs, organization and management of public health services, and further focusing onto the integrated type of primary health care in the organization of services. Hospital services need more intensive and skilled management, as well as support measures for better quality of work.

Croatia↗

[Is a military hospital needed in the Republic of Croatia?].

The paper is an attempt to answer the question whether the military hospital is necessary or not in such a small country. Some arguments (and contra-arguments) are listed and discussed. Between the others are: (1) the necessity of developing "war" medical skills and knowledge (cannot be developed during peace-time neither in the military nor civil hospitals, and civilian health services are capable to adapt and to fulfill specific war tasks as it was shown in war in Croatia in 1991), (2) the possibility to develop specific, even peculiar, specialties as hyperbaric or space medicine (these are necessary at the airports, navy bases etc, not in military hospitals), (3) specific health needs of the population of soldiers, officers, and their families (as a rule this population is younger and positively selected i. e. healthier than the general population), (4) security reasons (the data are more accessible from the military service in one place than from the scattered civilian health services), (5) privileges in health care for population of soldiers, officers, and their families due to their particular merits (military forces themselves deny this reason; also, separate military health services is not really the privilege due to bureaucracy, and rather narrow choice of services, (6) separate services could be less expensive and more efficient than the civilian one (experiences from the other countries are completely opposite). The conclusion is that, for such expensive parts of health services, as hospital care (spending between 40% and 70% of the total health expenditure), there is the growing need for rational and planned development within the comprehensive and integral healthcare system. Inside such comprehensive system the military hospital does not look like a rational solution.

Croatia↗

[A comprehensive program in the fight against chronic non-infectious diseases in a basic population group--the Belec Study. IV. The interventional model].

As part of a comprehensive programme aimed at the struggle against chronic non-infectious diseases in basic population groups, an intervention model in the rural community Belec has been set up. The development, application and evaluation of this intervention model with an emphasis on positive experiences and difficulties connected with such a model have been described. The role of important parts of the programme has been emphasized--the work of the Health Committee and Guidance Clinic of Elevated Blood Pressure. The results show that there is necessary and possible to efficaciously involve the population of the community into the priority assessment, planning, application and follow-up of such a programme. However, the close cooperation with the local health service and other community sectors and their support is indispensible. It is also stressed that the economic and social development of the rural community is the prerequisite for the continuous intervention measures to be carried out and health care system promoted.

Community Health Services↗

[A comprehensive program for prevention of chronic non-infectious diseases in basic population groups--the Belec Study. V. Changes in mortality and causes of death after intervention].

After an earlier analysis of mortality and causes of death in the rural community Belec for the period from 1977 to 1981, analysis was repeated for the period from 1983 to 1987. In the meantime, in 1984, the Health Committee and the Guidance Clinic for Hypertension were founded, as important elements of Comprehensive Programme for Fighting Non-infectious Chronic Diseases in Basic Population Groups of Belec Study, started in 1981. The order of causes of death did not change significantly in the period analyzed. However, 12% decrease of the crude death rate was noted, as well as the decrease of both cardiovascular diseases death rate (33%) and malignant neoplasms death rate (17%). Cerebrovascular diseases death rate increased for 3%. At the same time, data for the Republic of Croatia show an increase of 16% of crude death rate, as well as an increase of cardiovascular diseases death rate (20%), cerebrovascular diseases death rate (24%) and malignant neoplasms death rate (11%). Results suggest positive impact of the Programme.

Cardiovascular Diseases↗