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Introduction: Urinary incontinence (UI) is a growing global health problem that affects both women and men of all ages and can seriously negatively impact quality of life. Healthcare professionals' knowledge and attitudes significantly influence UI prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. However, there is a notable lack of research exploring healthcare students' understanding and perceptions of UI. In many countries, they, as future healthcare professionals, must also have continence care competency before graduation. Therefore, the study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of healthcare students toward UI., Methods: The study was designed as an observational, analytical, and comparative cross-sectional with 378 healthcare students in Serbia during the winter semester of the 2023/2024 academic year. A general questionnaire for obtaining sociodemographic data, the Urinary Incontinence Knowledge Scale (UIKS) and the Urinary Incontinence Attitude Scale (UIAS) were used as students' report measures. Kuder-Richardson Coefficient (K-R 20) showed high reliability of the UIKS at 0.83, while Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.62 for the UIAS., Results: The UIKS score was 16.6 ± 3.9/30. Healthcare students achieved the highest score in the domain of knowledge about the impact of UI on quality of life and the lowest in the domain of UI control. There is a significant difference in students' knowledge level concerning the study program and whether they had a course focusing on UI. The UIAS score was 45.1 ± 4.6/60, indicating a positive attitude to UI. A statistically significant positive but weak correlation was obtained between knowledge and student attitudes about UI., Conclusions: The study findings highlight a concerning gap in understanding UI among healthcare students despite their pivotal role as future healthcare professionals and underscore the urgent need for comprehensive educational strategies to bridge the knowledge gap and foster more positive attitudes toward UI and their implementation in clinical practice to improve patient health outcomes., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study was conducted following ethical principles for the protection of human subjects. Approval was obtained from the Faculty of Medicine Commission for the Ethics of Clinical Research, the University of Novi Sad, Serbia 01–39/239/1 of September 9, 2022. Students received a written statement explaining the purpose of the study, anonymous and voluntary participation, and a guarantee that (non)participation in the study will not affect their further education. Informed consent to participate was obtained from all students who participated in the study. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Conflict of interest: The authors of this manuscript have no conflict of interest to report. Clinical trial number: Not applicable., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Background: To provide competent and respectful sexual health care, a critical and comprehensive assessment of students' attitudes towards sexuality is needed, which implies using reliable and valid questionnaires., Aim: To assess whether the extended version of the Students Attitude Towards Addressing Sexual Health (SA-SH-Ext) provides different, additional information about students' attitudes towards providing sexual healthcare compared to the Sexual Attitude and Beliefs Survey (SABS), to explore SA-SH-Ext potential response patterns through latent class analysis and to assess students' attitudes towards providing sexual healthcare and evaluate the differences in their attitudes to the cultural background and sociodemographic characteristics., Design: Multicentre, descriptive, analytical, comparative, and correlational cross-sectional study at three nursing faculties., Participants: Nursing students n = 514 (Serbia n = 180, Poland n = 150 and Lithuania n = 184)., Methods: A general questionnaire for obtaining sociodemographic data, SA-SH-Ext and SABS were used as students' report measures., Results: One part of the variance of each instrument does not overlap with the other, indicating that these instruments, in addition to the shared variance, provide different, additional information. A solution with three latent classes was found in the domain of responses to the SA-SH-Ext items. The response pattern placed nursing students in the class Comfortable and prepared in some situations, and the SABS score revealed students' moderately positive attitudes towards providing sexual healthcare. Significantly more conservative attitudes were demonstrated by students from Poland, those identifying their religious affiliation as Catholic and females, while first-year students showed more positive attitudes than those in later years of study., Conclusions: The SA-SH-Ext and SABS enable a reliable and quick assessment of nursing students' comfort and competence in providing sexual healthcare. However, the differences in students' attitudes towards sexuality concerning belonging to a specific group imply a need for curriculum redesign and facilitating students to be more open to communication about sexuality with people with mental illnesses and intellectual and physical disabilities., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Cancer prevention is a crucial public health strategy, with 30-50% of cancers being preventable through early screening and lifestyle modifications. However, people with intellectual disabilities (PWID) face significant barriers to cancer prevention services, leading to delayed diagnoses and poorer outcomes. Family caregivers play a key role in bridging the healthcare access gaps for PWID, but there is limited research exploring their perspectives on cancer prevention. This study examined the needs, challenges, and strategies family caregivers employ in cancer prevention for PWID, framed within Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. Methods: A mixed methods sequential explanatory design was used. Quantitative data were collected through a structured questionnaire from 41 caregivers of PWID, followed by qualitative semi-structured interviews with 15 caregivers to explore the quantitative findings further. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and thematic content analysis. Results: The study revealed that 75.6% of caregivers had not received information about cancer prevention for PWID, and 63.4% did not regularly coordinate cancer screenings. Barriers identified included a lack of accessible information, logistical challenges, and emotional strain. However, 80.5% of caregivers expressed a need for additional training to support their roles in cancer prevention. Qualitative findings highlighted four key themes: promoting a healthy lifestyle, access to healthcare services, health literacy, and psychosocial support. Conclusions: The findings emphasise the need for tailored cancer prevention strategies and educational resources for caregivers of PWID. Addressing these gaps requires systemic changes in healthcare practices, better coordination of services, and enhanced support for caregivers to reduce the barriers to cancer prevention for PWID.

Background/objectives: Urinary incontinence (UI) is a prevalent condition among older adults, particularly in nursing home residents. Furthermore, it is associated with significant physical, emotional, and financial burdens. Effective management of UI depends on the knowledge and practices of nursing professionals, who are responsible for fundamental care. However, their knowledge and practice gaps remain challenging. Therefore, the study aimed to assess the knowledge and practice of nursing professional regarding urinary incontinence, to explore whether there are differences in knowledge and practice concerning their sociodemographic characteristics and to determine if there is a correlation between knowledge and practice regarding UI., Methods: A multicentre descriptive, cross-sectional study design following STROBE guidelines was conducted. The sample comprised 171 participants, and as research instruments, the Urinary Incontinence Quiz (UIQ) and the Urinary Knowledge and Practice Instrument (UKPI) were used., Results: The overall knowledge of nursing professionals about UI in older people was suboptimal, but most were familiar with the causes of UI, and that toilet training can improve incontinence. Nursing professionals with continuing education or interest in learning more about UI demonstrated significantly higher knowledge levels. Practice scores revealed that continence care interventions were often implemented, but documentation and support practices such as comprehensive toileting plans were less frequently performed. A weak but significant positive correlation was found between knowledge and practice., Conclusions: The study highlights substantial knowledge and practice gaps in UI management among nursing professionals in Serbia. The findings underscore the need for targeted educational interventions to improve UI care.

Background/objectives: Multiple sclerosis is characterised by the manifestation of heterogeneous symptoms that affect daily functioning. Patients face physical impairment, psychological problems and socioeconomic changes. Depending on the form of the disease, they may have different needs, which are often unsatisfied and could be overcome by including palliative care in the treatment. Despite the above, not enough is known about this population's needs for palliative care. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify the need for palliative care and assess the functional dependence level in daily living activities in patients with multiple sclerosis., Methods: The sample consisted of 120 patients from the Neurology Clinic of the University Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Serbia. The following research instruments were used: a General questionnaire, Sheffield Profile for Assessment and Referral for Care, Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale and Barthel Index., Results: The need for palliative care was expressed by 36.7% of patients, who expressed the most concern for the physical symptoms, independence and activity domains. Also, it was determined that the disease prevents patients from doing demanding physical tasks and that they are worried about multiple sclerosis. Almost a quarter of patients have had complete/severe dependence on other persons in performing daily activities., Conclusions: The most frequently reported physical symptoms by patients with MS were weakness, bladder problems, fatigue and different levels of dependence, while concerns related to sexual health, low mood and anxiety emerged as key challenges in the psychological domain. These findings underscore the importance of conducting needs assessments to guide the development of an appropriate palliative care model for MS patients.

As healthcare workers run a high and constant occupational risk of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection through exposure to biological material, vaccination is mandatory as well as the monitoring of antibody levels one to two months after complete immunisation. The aim of this descriptive cross-sectional study was to determine HBV vaccine coverage of 200 primary and secondary healthcare workers (100 each) from Šabac, Serbia and their blood anti-HBs titre. We also wanted to identify factors that could predict the titre. Anti-HBV vaccination covered all participants, of whom 89.5 % were fully vaccinated, and 85 % had a protective antibody titre. We found a statistically significant association between antibody titre and the number of received vaccine doses, chronic jaundice, autoimmune disease, and cancer in our participants. The fact that 15 % did not achieve the protective antibody titre confirms the necessity of its control after immunisation, which is not routinely carried out in most countries, Serbia included. It is, therefore, necessary to develop a detailed strategy for monitoring vaccination and serological status of healthcare workers in order to improve their safety at work. An important role should also be given to continuous education of healthcare workers from the beginning of schooling to the end of their professional career., (© 2024 Slobodanka Bogdanović Vasić et al., published by Sciendo.)

Many patients require administering one or more blood components during hospitalisation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Therefore, nurses' knowledge of who is responsible for immediately administering blood transfusions, monitoring patients, and identifying and managing transfusion reactions is crucial. This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study aimed to assess the knowledge of ICU nurses in tertiary healthcare institutions about blood transfusion procedures. The questionnaire about the transfusion procedure was designed and reviewed by experts. The questionnaire consisted of 29 items divided into three domains. The scores on the knowledge test ranged from 10 to 27. Generally, 57.7% of nurses had moderate, 23.4% low, and 18.9% high levels of knowledge about the transfusion procedure. Most nurses answered correctly about refreezing fresh frozen plasma, verifying the transfusion product, and identifying the patient. Of the nurses, 91.0% would recognise mild allergic reactions, and 98.2% knew about the supervision of sedated patients. Nurses showed poor knowledge of the length of usage of the same transfusion system for red blood cells, labelling, and transfusion administration in febrile patients. Nurses with higher education and longer working experience had significantly better outcomes ( p = 0.000) on the knowledge test. Continuous education of ICU nurses on safe transfusion usage is recommended.

Purpose : To translate the original Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Profession Students version in a group of nursing students and asses its psychometrical characteristics according to the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments guidelines. Design : A descriptive cross-sectional study. Methods : The study included 345 bachelor's and master's students in the nursing degree program. Construct validity was tested by exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis with varimax rotation. Convergent validity was tested using the Pearson correlation coefficient to test the relationship between empathy and emotional intelligence. The reliability of internal consistency was estimated using Cronbach's alpha. Findings : The final version of the 16-item scale with its three-factor structure has a high reliability with a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.86, and the Pearson correlation coefficient revealed a positive and significant relationship between emotional intelligence and the total score of the empathy scale and the three subscales. Conclusion : The contribution of the study is significant as the instrument is qualitatively validated and its content is clinically and educationally important for understanding the concept of empathy, especially in the education of nursing students. The correct assessment of empathy contributes to a better understanding and implementation of the components of holistic care., Competing Interests: Ethical ConsiderationThis study received approval from the Higher Education Institution committee (IRB approval number: 2158/97-97-07-20-03). The study adhered to the principles of the Helsinki Declaration of Human Rights, with participation being entirely voluntary and respondents informed of their right to withdraw from the study without consequences. The responses were anonymized, ensuring the confidentiality of the students' identities. During the test-retest phase, an anonymized and easily memorable code was used. Each questionnaire was accompanied by informed consent and consent for voluntary participation in the research. Consent for the translation and validation of the JSE-HPS was obtained from the Thomas Jefferson University (Center for Research in Medical Education and Health Care), and consent for the use of the ESCQ-45 was obtained from author Vladimir Takšić

Introduction: Effective diabetes self-management and collaborative responsibility sharing with parents are imperative for pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus, particularly as they gradually assume more self-care responsibilities. The primary goal of this study was to assess differences in adherence to self-care activities regarding sociodemographics and clinical characteristics in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes. The secondary goal of this study was to understand the level of parental involvement in diabetes management and to assess the pediatric patients' behaviors (independent or dependent on disease self-management) that relate to sociodemographic and clinical characteristics., Methods: This was a comparative cross-sectional and correlational study. The study sample included 182 children and adolescents who had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at least 3 months prior. Data collection instruments included a sociodemographic and questionnaire about Adherence to self-care activities and parental involvement in diabetes self-management, as well as a documentation sheet for recording clinical data., Results: A majority of participants (71%) exhibited non-adherence to self-care tasks, despite 78.0% asserting their independence in diabetes self-management. Notably, insufficient parental involvement in administering insulin therapy significantly predicted severe hypoglycemic episodes., Conclusions: Pediatric patients dealing with type 1 diabetes demonstrate a substantial degree of autonomy in managing their condition, paradoxically coupled with self-reported non-adherence to critical self-care responsibilities. Notably, children (aged 8-12) rely more heavily on parental support, especially concerning insulin therapy administration. The study underscores the crucial role of parental engagement in insulin therapy, as its deficiency significantly predicts the likelihood of severe hypoglycemic episodes., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Smudja et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Objective: The number of participants in sports or some form of recreation globally has led to an increase in the incidence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries and the number of surgeries performed. Although it does not belong to risky surgical interventions, this operation is accompanied by complications that slow down post-operative rehabilitation. The objective is to analyze the effects of intra-articular (IA) injection of tranexamic acid (TXA) on the reduction of post-operative drained blood volume, pain intensity, and incidence of hemarthrosis after ACL reconstruction., Methods: This prospective research included 124 patients undergoing ACL reconstruction surgery, randomly divided into two groups. The TXA group received IA TXA, whereas an equal amount of placebo was administered using the same route in the control group., Results: The research has shown that IA injection of TXA effectively reduces post-operative blood loss (TXA group 71.29 ± 40.76 vs. control group 154.35 ± 81.45), reducing the intensity of post-operative pain (p < 0.001) and the incidence of hemarthrosis., Conclusion: The application of TXA significantly reduced post-operative bleeding and pain intensity, which accelerated the post-operative period., (Copyright: © 2024 Permanyer.)

Aims and Objectives: To evaluate demographic and occupational factors of professional life on life satisfaction among nurses in Serbia and Poland., Background: Compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue, as aspects of a nurse's professional life, may affect their satisfaction with life in general. However, most studies on this topic have been conducted in Asian countries, and because there are differences in health care system performance across countries amid a global shortage of nurses, it is necessary to investigate professional quality of life in the European nursing context., Methods: This multicenter, comparative, and correlational study was conducted on a sample of 669 hospital nurses in Serbia and Poland. The survey data were collected between November 2019 and February 2020 using the Demographic and Occupational Questionnaire (DOQ), Professional Quality-of-Life Scale (ProQOL-5), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). STROBE Statement guidelines for cross-sectional studies were followed., Results: Most nurses from both countries reported having moderate compassion satisfaction, moderate risk for compassion fatigue, and an average life satisfaction. The predictive factors of life satisfaction that most stand out include country of origin, financial situation, education, job satisfaction, and compassion fatigue., Discussion and Conclusion: Quality of professional life is significantly affected by shift duration, age, work experience, and job satisfaction. Negative aspects of professional life are significant predictors of life satisfaction., Implications for Nursing Policy: The findings of this study indicate a need for implementing flexible shift patterns and enhancing interventions that will improve job satisfaction and compassion satisfaction while reducing the risk of compassion fatigue., (© 2022 International Council of Nurses.)

Objectives: To determine the predictors and level of social participation and depressive symptoms within the context of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigate if the residence and type of housing had a moderating role in the relationship between social participation and depressive symptoms., Methods: This cross-sectional, comparative, and correlational study was conducted on a sample of 299 participants. Research instruments used in this study included: socio-demographic questionnaire, the Geriatric Depression Scale, the Maastricht Social Participation Profile, and Mini-Mental State Exam., Results: Social participation was found to contribute negatively to symptoms of depression (β = -0.245, p < .01), with a higher level of depression being found in older adults living in nursing homes (β = -0.152, p < .05)., Conclusions: The study confirmed a strong relationship between social participation and depressive symptoms in the COVID-19 pandemic., Competing Interests: Declaration of Compeitng interest None., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aim: The objective of this study to research medical and nursing students' level of knowledge of patient safety., Background: Patient safety represents the foundation of health care quality, while education represents a requirement which has to be fulfilled to achieve and maintain that quality., Design: The research was conducted as a descriptive/analytical cross-sectional survey, with medical and nursing students being the sample (n = 370)., Methods: The research instrument was the WHO questionnaire "What is Patient Safety? ", which displayed good psychometric characteristics., Results: The research results indicate that the study department has a significant influence on the level of students' knowledge and attitudes to patient safety. Nursing students in their final academic year show statistically significantly higher level of knowledge in relation to the first year students. Medical students are not significantly different, in terms of the level of knowledge and attitudes, in their first and final academic years., Conclusions: Knowledge and attitudes regarding patient safety shown by the students in this survey significantly contribute to the comprehension of the necessity of the implementation and development of patient safety course into the existing curricula and syllabi of all colleges and universities related to health care., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Purpose: To evaluate the extent to which families of children with developmental disabilities, in relation to parents of typically developing children, feel empowered and the way that their empowerment manifests itself., Design and Methods: The comparative research design was used in a quantitative, descriptive analysis of 99 families (57.6% were parents of children with developmental disabilities and 42.4% were parents of typically developing children). With regard to the research instrument, the Family Empowerment Scale was used based on a conceptual framework consisting of two dimensions: the level of empowerment and the way it is expressed., Results: The highest levels of parental empowerment were observed in the Family domain (M = 3.9; SD = 0.6), while the lowest were in the Community domain (M = 2.9, SD = 0.9). The statistical differences between the comparing groups of parents were most pronounced in the Family domain (Mann-Whitney U = 693.00, p = 0.00). Parents of children with developmental disabilities have demonstrated a lower level of family empowerment associated with attitudes, as well as behaviours and knowledge about specific ways in which they can help their child., Conclusion: Based on data obtained from this study, it can be concluded that parents of children with developmental disabilities require extra support and empowerment in order to take a more active part in working with their child and making decisions relevant to his/her development in order to utilize all community - based resources available., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Nursing students' perceptions about academic dishonesty directly affects their conduct in the clinical environment. Hence, it is crucial to systematically observe this phenomenon and develop appropriate instruments for assessing their perception of dishonest behaviors., Purpose: To translate and cross-culturally adapt the "Nursing Student Perceptions of Dishonesty Scale" into the Croatian language and assess its validity and reliability., Methods: The study was performed in April 2018 in one Croatian university, 733 BSc and MSc nursing students from all Croatian counties participated in the study., Results: Nursing experts confirmed the high degree of content validity of the instrument and suggested the exclusion of 13 items. The final version of the translated instrument, loaded on 11 instead of 9 factors, where subscale Cheating and Cutting corners loaded on two distinct factors. Results of internal consistency by subscale and overall (Cronbach α > 0.7 and test-retest reliability (p < 0.001)) indicate a high level of instrument reliability., Conclusion: The translated instrument indicates a high level of reliability and validity in assessing the students' perception of academic dishonest behavior in the Croatian socio-cultural context. The identified linguistic, cultural and organizational differences provide more insight regarding understanding what this population perceives in terms of academic dishonesty., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aims and Objectives: To determine the incidence, severity and risk factors of peripheral intravenous cannula-induced complications., Background: Peripheral venous cannulation in hospitalised patients may cause complications such as phlebitis, infiltration, occlusion and dislodgement. A review of the literature reveals the discrepancy in their incidence and identification of a wide range of risk factors, whereas the data on the occurrence and degree of severity are insufficient., Design: An observational prospective study., Methods: The study observed 1,428 peripheral intravenous cannula insertion among 368 adult patients hospitalised at the tertiary healthcare clinics. The data collection and analysis included patients' medical data and the data related to each cannula (including placement, monitoring and the reasons for removal), as well as the data on the type of administered medications and solutions. Reporting of this research adheres to the STROBE guidelines., Results: Phlebitis ranked first among complications with occurrence of 44%, followed by infiltration of 16.3%, while the incidence of occlusion and catheter dislodgement was 7.6% and 5.6%, respectively. In assessing the occurrence of phlebitis, multivariate analysis highlighted the presence of comorbidity, current infection, catheter size, time in situ and the number of administrations of infusion solutions associated with risk, whereas 20-gauge catheter, two or more attempts at cannulation and administration of a high-risk solutions during the first day have been singled out with regard to infiltration. As for the severity, the most common was medium stage of phlebitis, whereas grade 2 was most commonly observed for infiltration., Conclusion: The incidence of infiltration, occlusion and dislodgment is almost congruent with the average incidence of previous studies. However, the incidence and degree of severity associated with the occurrence of phlebitis were significantly higher., Relevance to Clinical Practice: The results of the study draw attention to vulnerable groups of patients, cannula-specific and pharmacological risk factors for the development of peripheral intravenous cannula-induced complications., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: There is an implicit expectation for medical sciences students to work together effectively as members of health-care team, and interprofessional education is therefore widely accepted. Students' attitudes, which are affected by various factors, have been recognized as the most important predictors of successful implementation of interprofessional education with the aim of developing collaborative practice. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale has often been used in studies to measure these perspectives., Objectives: To describe the psychometric properties of the Serbian cross-culturally adapted version of the original Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale, to assess the attitudes of undergraduate health science students towards interprofessional education and to evaluate whether a professional group and student characteristics have influence on attitudes towards collaborative practice and shared learning., Design: A descriptive/analytical and comparative cross-sectional study., Settings: Faculty of Medicine in Serbia., Participants: Nursing and medical students after completed first clinical rotations (n = 257)., Methods: The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale for assessing attitudes among students towards interprofessional learning, Professional Identity Questionnaire for Nursing Students for assessing professional identity in nursing students, Professional Nursing Image Survey for assessing attitudes of medical students towards the nursing profession, as well as a socio-demographic questionnaire were the instruments used in this research study. The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics., Results: Exploratory factor analysis on 19 items revealed two-factors accounting for 51.1% of the total variance with the internal reliability α = 0.90. The mean total score of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale was 73.5 (SD = 11.5) indicating that students are ready for interprofessional learning. Nursing students, female students; students in their first years of studies, and those with previously completed education in the field of health care, have been more ready for interprofessional learning and collaborative practice. In the multiple linear regression analysis, gender and assessing professional nursing skills and abilities were significant predictors of medical students' readiness for interprofessional learning, whereas professional identity was for nursing students., Conclusion: The Serbian version of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale has proven to be reliable and valid for the "teamwork, collaboration and shared learning" subscale, while the "role and responsibilities" subscale showed lower stability. The results of this study revealed positive students' attitudes towards interprofessional learning, which is important for Serbia, as a candidate country for European Union membership, and thus making our educational system more inclusive for joining the European Higher Education Area., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Changes in nursing students' expectations of their clinical nursing faculty competences over the course of time are an insufficiently researched phenomenon., Objectives: To explore what competences BSc nursing students expect from their clinical faculties during their clinical training, and whether their expectations changed during their three-year studies. Furthermore, to survey factors which influenced their expectations and whether the fulfilment levels of their expectations influenced their feelings, learning, and behaviour., Design: A two-phase, mixed-methods design was used., Settings: The Higher Nursing Education Institution in Osijek, Croatia, European Union., Participants: A cohort of 34 BSc nursing students, who were followed over the course of their three-year studies., Methods: In Phase I, in each year, prior to their clinical training, participants responded to the same modified Nursing Clinical Teacher Effectiveness Inventory questionnaire about their expectations of clinical faculties' competences (52 items representing six categories of competences). In Phase II, seven days after their graduation, participants wrote reflections on the aforementioned expectations during their studies., Results: The results show that Clinical faculties' evaluation of student was the category in which participants had the highest expectations in all three years. Results of Wilcoxon signed rank test indicate a significant increase of participants' expectations in all categories of clinical nursing faculties' competences during their study. Participants' reflections confirm these results and indicate that actual competences of clinical faculties and behaviour have the most significant effects on the change in these expectations. Participants reported that expectations, if fulfilled, facilitate their learning and motivation for better performance., Conclusions: BSc nursing students' expectations of clinical nursing faculty competences represent an important concept, as they obviously determine the quality of faculty practice. Hence, they should be considered in the preparation, implementation, and evaluation phase of this vital part of nursing education., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify the most common contributing factors to medication errors in everyday practice of Serbian nurses., Background: Nurses have the key role in medication, and it is very important that they understand why errors occur., Methods: This research study was a cross-sectional study in five healthcare institutions. The sample was 965 nurses. A specially designed questionnaire was used as the research instrument., Results: The most dominant contributing factor of medication errors was insufficient number of nurses. Interestingly other dominant factors given in literature were not recognized in this research study., Discussion: The study results confirm that the recommendations we find in literature cannot be simply copied and implemented into the existing system, but can be used as a starting point for further research., Limitation: The obtained data were compared with the studies of the countries with different healthcare systems and different educational structures of nurses., Conclusion: The results of the study imply that healthcare institutions have to take the initiative and the responsibility for teaching safe medication use during formal education, as well as in clearly planned programmes of continuous education for nurses., Implications for Nursing: To reduce errors to the least possible level, it is important that nurses clearly define what an error is and recognize the causes and the importance of reporting and analysing them., Implications for Health Policy: Systemic practices are required in the health system in Serbia and the culture of patients' safety accepted as the common goal and imperative of everyday practice., (© 2017 International Council of Nurses.)

Reach-to-grasp arm postures differ from those in pure reaching because they are affected by grasp position/orientation, rather than simple transport to a position during a reaching motion. This paper investigates this difference via an analysis of experimental  data collected on reaching and reach-to-grasp motions. A seven-degree-of-freedom (DOFs) kinematic arm model with the swivel angle is used for the motion analysis. Compared to a widely used anatomical arm model, this model distinguishes clearly the four grasping-relevant DOFs (GR-DOFs) that are affected by positions and orientations of the objects to be grasped. These four GR-DOFs include the swivel angle that measures the elbow rotation about the shoulder-wrist axis, and three wrist joint angles. For each GR-DOF, we quantify position vs orientation task-relevance bias that measures how much the DOF is affected by the grasping position vs orientation. The swivel angle and forearm supination have similar bias, and the analysis of their motion suggests two hypotheses regarding the synergistic coordination of the macro- and micro-structures of the human arm (1) DOFs with similar task-relevance are synergistically coordinated; and (2) such synergy breaks when a task-relevant DOF is close to its joint limit without necessarily reaching the limit. This study provides a motion analysis method to reduce the control complexity for reach-to-grasp tasks, and suggests using dynamic coupling to coordinate the hand and arm of upper-limb exoskeletons.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge on pulse oximetry among nurses. Understanding this is important because insufficient knowledge can lead to misinterpretation of pulse oximetry readings and consequently compromise patient safety., Research Methodology: The study was cross-sectional and included a sample of 198 nurses. A modified questionnaire by Kiekkas et al. was used as the research tool., Setting: Intensive care units, anaesthesiology and emergency departments in two tertiary health care institutions in Serbia., Main Outcome Measures: Principles of pulse oximeter function and conditions that can affect accuracy and reliability of pulse oximetry readings., Results: The lower percentage of correct responses about principles of pulse oximetry function was found in items related with the alarm reliability and understanding technical limitations. The factors that might affect pulse oximetry readings which were not identified by the nurses at a satisfactory level were the body position and specific kinds of ambient light. The mean scores of knowledge level were significantly different regarding departments (p=0.015)., Conclusion: Since this study revealed a lower level of knowledge in some aspects of pulse oximetry, it can be concluded that the generally firm belief that "experience is everything" can be challenged. This fact is important for the quality of health care and the patient's safety., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Educational escape rooms (EERs) are gamified teaching and learning tools increasingly used in nursing education. This study aims to compare undergraduate nursing students' gameful experiences (GEs) across three EER models: face-to-face, hybrid, and online. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 136 first-year students in a Serbian undergraduate nursing programme. All models EERs had the same narrative, which included several topics from the Fundamentals of Nursing course. Face-to-face and hybrid EERs were implemented in faculty skills laboratories, while the online model used the Zoom® platform. Face-to-face EERs were conducted in 2021/2022. and hybrid and online in the 2022/2023 school year. Immediately after the EER activity, the Gameful Experience Scale (GAMEX) assessed students' GE across six dimensions (Enjoyment, Absorption, Creative Thinking, Activation, Absence of Negative Effects and Dominance). All students solved the puzzles in the allotted time and 'escaped from the room.' Median escape time from face-to-face EER was 39.2 (IQR = 2.1), from online 37.4 (IQR = 4.1), and hybrid 37.2 (IQR = 3.5) minutes. By comparing GE students in three EER models, significant differences were found in five dimensions of the GAMEX scale. Students in face-to-face EER enjoyed significantly more ( p  < 0.001) and thought more creatively ( p  < 0.001), while the GE of online model students indicated significantly higher levels of activation ( p  < 0.001), dominance ( p  < 0.001), and negative effect ( p  < 0.001). In the face-to-face and hybrid models, students' GE were more moderate in these dimensions. All EER models can generate positive emotions with moderate negative effects, aligning with the goals of EERs as educational games. Further research is needed to identify the most effective EER model for different areas of nursing education.

Introduction: Education of health science students in geriatrics is important in order to provide optimal care for the growing number of elderly people because it is the attitudes of health professionals toward the elderly that play the key role in the quality of care provided. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitudes of health care science students towards ageing and care for the elderly., Material and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was carried out on a sample of 130 students (medical, nursing and special education and rehabilitation) of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad. The students were divided into two groups. The first group (E) included students having been taught geriatrics and nursing older adults and the other group (C) included students who had not been trained in this subject. The authors used Palmore's facts on Ageing Quiz for the knowledge evaluation and Kogan's Attitude toward Older People Scale for the attitude evaluation., Results: The results of Facts on Aging Quiz showed the average level of students' knowledge and statistically significant difference between E and C group. The analysis of Kogan's Attitudes toward Old People Scale showed that both groups had neutral attitudes toward older people. Furthermore, a positive correlation between students' knowledge and attitudes was found., Conclusion: There is increasing evidence on the correlation between education, knowledge and attitudes toward older people which suggests that by acquiring better insights into all aspects of ageing through their education the students develop more positive attitudes and interest in working with older adults.

Introduction: This study aimed to assess confidence level of healthcare professionals in venipuncture and their knowledge on the possible causes of in vitro hemolysis., Materials and Methods: A sample of 94 healthcare professionals (nurses and laboratory technicians) participated in this survey study. A four-section questionnaire was used as a research instrument comprising general information for research participants, knowledge on possible causes of in vitro hemolysis due to type of material used and venipuncture technique and specimen handling, as well as assessment of healthcare professionals' confidence level in their own ability to perform first and last venipuncture., Results: The average score on the knowledge test was higher in nurses' than in laboratory technicians (8.11±1.7, and 7.4±1.5, respectively). The difference in average scores was statistically significant (P=0.035) and Cohen's d in the range of 0.4 indicates that there is a moderate difference on the knowledge test among the health care workers. Only 11/94 of healthcare professionals recognized that blood sample collection from cannula and evacuated tube is method which contributes most to the occurrence of in vitro hemolysis, whereas most risk factors affecting occurrence of in vitro hemolysis during venipuncture were recognized. There were no significant differences in mean score on the knowledge test in relation to the confidence level in venipuncture (P=0.551)., Conclusion: Confidence level at last venipuncture among both profiles of healthcare staff was very high, but they showed insufficient knowledge about possible factors affecting hemolysis due to materials used in venipuncture compared with factors due to venipuncture technique and handling of blood sample.

Objectives: to assess nurses' perceptions of risk factors for the development of phlebitis, with a special focus on the perception of phlebitic potentials of some infusion medications and solutions., Method: a cross-sectional questionnaire study, which included a sample of 102 nurses., Results: Nurses recognized some factors that may reduce the incidence of phlebitis; however, more than half of the nurses were unaware that the material and diameter of the cannula can affect the incidence rate of phlebitis. Furthermore,underlying disease and high pH of medications or solutions were identified as potential risk factors, whereas low pH and low osmolality were not. Nurses identified Vancomycin and Benzylpenicillin antibiotics with the strongest phlebitic potential. Among other medications and intravenous fluids, Aminophylline, Amiodaronehydrochloride and Potassium chloride 7.4% were identified as potentially causing phlebitis., Conclusion: predisposing factors for phlebitis relating to patients and administered therapy were identified by nurses, while some cannula related risk factors, in particular its physicochemical properties and the time for cannula replacement, were not fully perceived.

The objectives of this study were to assess the effects of participating in regular physical activity on the fitness of children with hyperactivity. The study compared a sample of children who were assessed as hyperactive with the same number of children rated as non-hyperactive. The Conners' Rating Scale was used for hyperactivity evaluation, while fitness levels were assessed using a battery of six motor tests prior to and following the completion of the physical exercise programme. The findings indicated that while overall fitness levels of both groups improved, the differences were not statistically significant. However, improvements shown within the group of hyperactive children with regard to coordination of the whole body, trunk strength and agility were statistically significant. Physical activity may be associated with enhanced levels of some aspects of physical fitness., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Introduction: Nurses represent an important link in mediating between the potential donors and their relatives'consent to organ and tissue transplantation.The message of the Health Department to potential donors about the importance of organ donation was supported by the Serbian Orthodox Church, the army and other institutions through media campaigns. Nurses could contribute to this action by their personal example., Objective: The aim of this study was identification and bivariate analysis of nurse attitude about organ donation, their knowledge about the importance of transplantation as treatment methods, as well as the connection between work experience and education level with the formation of attitudes and new skills., Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 291 nurses from the Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, filled in the questionnaire on the effect of correlation between the length of the service and level of education on knowledge and attitudes toward organ transplantation and organ donation., Results: Out of 291 respondents, 67.4% have completed the nursing school and 32.6% have higher education. The majority (63.9%) of respondents knew that the EEG was the most valid method for determining brain death. The question regarding the possibility of buying organs was answered correctly by 68.7% of respondents. A large majority (91%) would accept organ transplant, if needed, but only 32.0% would be organ donors, and only 0.3% owned a donor card. In contrast, one third of nurses were already blood donors., Conclusion: In case of necessary transplantation, nurses would accept someone else's organ, though they do not possess donor cards, but just few would donate their organs. It is possible that prejudice arises from ignorance and distrust in the health policy of the Republic of Serbia. However, besides negative attitude, nurses have expressed interest in learning and professional development in the area of transplantation.

The human arm is kinematically redundant with respect to reaching tasks in a 3 dimensional (3D) workspace. Research on reaching movements of the healthy human arm reveals the control strategy of the human motor system, which can be further applied to the upper limb exoskeletons used for stroke rehabilitation. Experiments performed on ten healthy subjects have shown that when reaching from one point to another, the human arm rotates around an axis going through the shoulder. The proposed redundancy resolution based on the direction of the axis can predict the arm posture with a higher accuracy comparing to a redundancy resolution that maximizes the motion efficiency. It is also shown that for reaching movements in the comfortable arm motion range, the directions of the axis are constrained by a linear model.

Phonation is a fundamental feature of human communication. Control of phonation in the context of speech-language disturbances has traditionally been considered a characteristic of lesions to subcortical structures and pathways. Evidence suggests however, that cortical lesions may also implicate phonation. We carried out acoustic and perceptual analyses of the phonation of /a/ in 60 males with aphasia (20 Wernicke's, 20 Broca's, 20 subcortical aphasia) and 20 males matched in age with no neurological or speech-language disturbances. All groups with aphasia were significantly more impaired on the majority of acoustic and perceptual measures as compared with the control speakers. Within the subjects with aphasia, subjects with subcortical aphasia were more impaired on most measures compared to subjects with Broca's aphasia, and they, in turn, more impaired than those with Wernicke's aphasia. Lesions in regions involved in sound production-perception result in dysfunction of the entire neurocognitive system of articulation-phonological language processing., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Patient satisfaction with nursing is the most important predictor of patients' overall satisfaction with their hospital care. According to the Law of Health Care of Republic of Serbia monitoring of patients' satisfaction with hospital service is mandatory; however, the questionnaire applied to that purpose includes only several questions directly addressing the nursing care issue., Aim: The aim of the present study was to evaluate psychometric properties of the Serbian version Patient Satisfaction Nursing Care Quality Questionnaire (PSNCQQ) and explore patients' satisfaction of nursing care they received and assess the relationship between patient satisfaction and patient characteristics., Methods: This cross-sectional study included a sample population of 240 patients who were discharged from surgical clinics of the Clinical Center of Vojvodina in Novi Sad. The PSNCQQ was translated into Serbian according to standard procedures for forward and backward translation. Factor analysis was used to determine the construct validity, and predictive validity of the questionnaire was previously assessed. Cronbach's α coefficient and item analysis was conducted to evaluate reliability of the scale., Results: The Serbian version Patient Satisfaction Nursing Care Quality Questionnaire (PSNCQQ) showed a one-factor structure, Cronbach's α reliability coefficient was excellent 0.94 and was similar across hospital categories. The correlation coefficient between 19 items and the total scale was high, and ranged from 0.56 to 0.76. Patients' age, educational level and previous hospitalization period were important factors that affected their satisfaction with nursing care., Conclusion: The study provides a new tool for measuring patient satisfaction with nursing care in Serbia that may present a useful instrument for nursing care managers in improving the nursing care process., (© 2012 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences © 2012 Nordic College of Caring Science.)