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As the global health care workforce faces a shortage, several EU nations focus on employing foreign-trained physicians. So much so, that in some countries of the EU, the percentage of foreign-trained physicians has reached 30 % and the percentage of foreigntrained psychiatrists has risen to 40 %. After Croatia entered the EU, together with a significant number of other Croatian citizens, a great proportion of Croatian physicians emigrated. Currently, Croatia is among the three EU countries from which the most physicians emigrate. There are both economic and non-economic factors that are influence individuals' choice to emigrate. Benefits of emigration for Croatian physicians are high satisfaction with life standard, income, professional development, and better work conditions. However, there are also clear psychological costs involved, which hinder both the emigrants and their families, and make building of a social network and integration into society difficult. These are: moving away from family members, friends and a familiar environment, mastering another language, finding work opportunities for partners, adjusting to life in another country under discrimination by colleagues, patients and the general public. Countries of immigration face challenges with foreign-trained physicians because of their native linguistic and cultural background. Language proficiency training and national familiarization programs can improve integration of immigrant physicians and their families. In recognition that national skill shortages can cause disbalance on a global level, the WHO calls on high-income countries to strive for self-sufficiency, through educating, retaining, and sustaining enough physicians to staff their own health care systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refugees may have long-term symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, especially if they remain in the general area of the war zone. This was the conclusion of researchers who studied the psychiatric symptoms of 534 Bosnian refugees who lived in a refugee camp in Croatia.

Introduction: Mental health disorders and chronic health diseases are highly prevalent and impactful consequences of distressful experiences among refugees, yet a comprehensive conceptual model encompassing biopsychosocial factors is lacking. This study aims to assess the relevance of widowhood to PTSD and major depression maintenance as well as to adverse health outcomes in a cohort of Bosnian refugees., Methods: This longitudinal study included 526 subjects followed up for 3 years. The interviews were conducted in refugee camps in Varaždin, Croatia, in the Bosnian language. Data were collected using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and Hopkins Checklist-25, respectively. Physical health disorders were self-reported., Results: Both at baseline and endpoint female gender and marital loss are associated with a statistically significant higher burden of psychological and physical health outcomes. This group showed higher rates of PTSD and major depression disorders, as high comorbidity with hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, asthma and arthritis., Discussion: The results of the present study align with a wealth of literature studies linking marital loss to shifts in mental health and impaired physical health. A conceptual framework is provided for understanding how both mental health and physical health outcomes are highly dependent on social phenomena., Conclusions: This investigation reinforces the hypothesis of the role of social bonds and marital support in recovery from trauma experiences. Further studies are, however, needed for a better understanding of the consequences of adverse events on trauma-exposed subjects from a holistic bio-psycho-social point of view.