Background:Effective and equitable oral healthcare delivery relies on robust institutional capacity and good governance. In transitional health systems such as Kosovo's, the voices of managerial personnel are often overlooked in health system evaluations, particularly in the oral health sector. Objective:This study aims to assess the institutional and governance capacities of oral healthcare facilities in Kosovo by analyzing insights from facility managers across public and private sectors.. Methods:A mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 40 managers of oral health institutions. Participants were purposively sampled to ensure geographical and institutional diversity across the Kosovo's seven regions. Survey topics included organizational communication, workforce issues, and policy coordination. Interview discussions explored institutional strategies, infrastructure challenges, and leadership dynamics. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative data were examined through thematic analysis. Results:Managers identified inadequate infrastructure, constrained financial flexibility, and unclear governance structures as major impediments to institutional effectiveness. Responses underscored disparities between urban and rural services and the absence of a coherent national oral health strategy. Concerns were also raised regarding fragmented responsibilities between central and municipal health authorities. Conclusion:Kosovo's oral health institutions face considerable governance and infrastructure limitations that hinder effective service delivery. Addressing these structural and managerial deficiencies is essential for strengthening institutional capacity, enhancing strategic planning, and improving resource allocation. These findings offer relevant lessons for other transitional health systems aiming to build sustainable and responsive oral healthcare frameworks.

Background: It is a good occasion to celebrate an anniversary and to recognize a person’s professional achievements and contribution to a particular field of academic activity. Thirty years of editorial work on a peer-reviewed journal is an important anniversary in itself. Objective: The aim of this article is to pay tribute to Academician Prof. Izet Mašić for his thirty years of dedicated and remarkable work as Editor-in-Chief of the respected PubMed journal “Medical Archives” and for more than 40 years of academic and scientific work and exceptional achievements. Methods: Review of relevant literature and published articles, as well as personal experiences and observations of the author having known and collaborated with Izet Mašić for more than 40 years. Results and Discussion: In addition to the editorial leadership and ensuring the continuity and quality of Medical Archives and a newly founded journal, Acta Informatica Medica, during the war years 1992-95, Prof Izet Mašić succeeded in the re-indexing of “Medical Archives” in the Medline database and inclusion in PubMed Central (PMC) in 2009 and later with the journals Acta Informatica Medica and Materia Socio-Medica. During the war period from 1992-1995, he organized 10 scientific conferences in Sarajevo, then the first international conference on medical informatics (MIE) in Sarajevo in 2009 and a series of significant international scientific conferences in Sarajevo on science, writing, editing and publishing. As a professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) and editor of several peer-reviewed journals, he has published an impressive number of textbooks, monographs and articles and facilitated the publication of articles that enabled numerous authors from B&H, the Southeast Europe (SEE) region and beyond to obtain academic titles and degrees, thus promoting medical education, research and publishing. He has been honored by several scientific associations and academies for his contributions to education, science and publishing, including a unique award from the EFMI Council for his 30-year contribution to the development of medical informatics in Europe and the world. Conclusion: This wide range of academic activities and achievements underlines Izet Mašić’s commitment, perseverance and significant impact on medical science, publishing and education. I congratulate Academician Izet Mašić for his achievements and contribution to the academic and scientific community.

Background: Occupational health and safety (OHS) in healthcare institutions are crucial for the well-being of healthcare workers who are exposed to numerous risks in their working environment. In Kosovo, where healthcare institutions operate under resource constraints, understanding the challenges of OHS management challenges is vital for developing effective strategies. Objective: This study aims to explore the challenges of OHS management in Kosovo's healthcare system, focusing on three levels of healthcare provision in both the public and private sectors. The study aims to identify gaps in policies, practices, and infrastructure that affect the safety of healthcare workers and propose actionable recommendations. Methods: A qualitative research design was used, involving 191 healthcare professionals from primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of healthcare. Participants were randomly selected from public and private institutions. Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of OHS practices, perceptions, and barriers. Thematic analysis was used to identify key patterns and findings. Results: The findings revealed significant challenges in OHS management, including inadequate infrastructure, lack of personal protective equipment, insufficient training, and weak enforcement of regulations. Healthcare professionals reported high exposure to biological, chemical, and physical hazards, compounded by limited institutional support. Private sector facilities demonstrated slightly better resource availability but faced similar regulatory gaps. Conclusion: The study highlights critical deficiencies in OHS management in Kosovo's health system, posing risks to health professionals and the overall service quality. Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach, including policy reforms, enhanced enforcement mechanisms, capacity-building initiatives, and improved resource allocation. Strengthening OHS management is essential for safeguarding the health workforce and ensuring sustainable healthcare delivery in Kosovo.

Background: Statistical data play a crucial role in research, planning and decision making in the health system, especially in the formulation and implementation of health policies. Health policy, adequate health legislation and sustainable financing of the health system remain serious challenges for countries in transition and especially for the Republic of Kosovo. Objective: To analyze the challenges of collection, accuracy and accurate reporting and the impact of the accuracy of these health statistics on the creation of appropriate public health policies in Kosovo. Methods: This research is mainly based on a combination of qualitative, quantitative, deductive, analytical and comparative methods conducted by health workers at all three levels of the health organization and IT experts who were actively involved in some of the important components of our research. Results: It is interesting to note that respondents gave typical scores for the security and confidentiality of medical data and statistics during the cycle of their collection and processing, with one score being 3 and the other 5, and 50% of respondents gave a score of 5 for the successful fulfilment of the mission and tasks established by the Law on the rational use of medical data and statistics to support public health policy. Conclusion: The research and findings provide sufficient evidence that Kosovar health data and statistics system suffers from serious deficiencies ranging from the legal framework, organizational structure, functional organization, segregation of duties and responsibilities, to a pronounced lack of human resources, professional profiles in the health statistics service and the necessary technology to perform the basic tasks in a timely and high quality manner.

Background: Workplace health and safety are critical concerns for healthcare professionals, who are often exposed to various occupational hazards. Objective: The aim of the study was to analyze the effectiveness and impact of law enforcement mechanisms in ensuring occupational health and safety for healthcare professionals in Kosovo. Methods: Consist in conduct research on the role of law enforcement mechanisms in ensuring the occupational health and safety of healthcare professionals in Kosovo, using a qualitative methodology with questionnaires targeting the Health Inspectorate and Labor Inspectorate..Results: The study found that while laws and regulations for workplace safety in healthcare exist in Kosovo, their enforcement is inconsistent and often inadequate. Conclusion: The study concludes that the enforcement of workplace health and safety laws in Kosovo’s healthcare sector is inadequate, leading to unsafe working conditions for healthcare professionals.

Sciendo provides publishing services and solutions to academic and professional organizations and individual authors. We publish journals, books, conference proceedings and a variety of other publications.

Appears in: EDULEARN23 Proceedings Publication year: 2023Pages: 6998-7006ISBN: 978-84-09-52151-7ISSN: 2340-1117doi: 10.21125/edulearn.2023.1836Conference name: 15th International Conference on Education and New Learning TechnologiesDates: 3-5 July, 2023Location: Palma, Spain

Background: Health professionals and health institutions document their professional activities with patients based on health policy and legal framework. This creates valuable medical records not only for health institutions at the three levels, but also for scientific research purposes and government agencies that design policies, laws and strategies and implement and monitor these policies based on the health statistics that form the basis of these policies, as well as for the health system not only at the national level, but also at the regional and local levels. Objective: To analyze the impact of the legal framework for health statistics in Kosovo on the planning of health system needs, human and financial resources and other components related to the collection, analysis and processing of data and health statistics, and on the basis of these statistics, to develop sectoral strategies, but also other key strategic documents for decision-making in the health system of Kosovo. Methods: Decision-makers and stakeholders, as well as other staff involved in the system of health statistics at the three organization levels of the health system in Kosovo, including inspectors from the Health Inspectorate, were interviewed through specific questionnaires. Results: The analysis of the laws, bylaws and other provisions that regulate and directly influence the data system and health statistics in Kosovo revealed that the institutional role is unclear, the legislation is insufficient and in many cases regulations are missing, which are an essential prerequisite for the implementation of the legislation and consequently influence the insufficient decision-making process. Conclusion: The research and findings provide sufficient evidence that the Kosovo’s system for health data and statistics has serious shortcomings, starting with the legal framework, organizational structure, functional organization, segregation of duties and responsibilities, pronounced lack of staff, professional profiles and required technology, which in turn affects unreliable decision-making and health policy.

In the hilly Balkans, a folk proverb has been circulating for a long time, „It is most difficult to be a prophet in one‘s own village“, which reflects the age-old mistrust of the population towards new ideas. This is not surprising in the least, because since the written history of the peoples of the Balkans has existed, a continuous series of conquerors and local rulers who subjugated the common folks and imposed their world view can be traced. Nevertheless, from time to time, people with great strength appear who not only break the shackles imposed by the powerful, but through their actions find a way to the souls of their compatriots and gain their unreserved trust. One of such spontaneous creators is professor Izet Mašić, who achieved a miracle of medical publishing in his Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina and traced the path of medical science. There may be thousands of medical journals in the world, more or less reputable, and researchers from the Balkans can publish their work in them, but only domestic medical journals can initiate and direct domestic medical research, and educate young researchers in the right way. Professor Mašić made it possible for authors from Bosnia and Herzegovina and other Balkan countries to present their results to the world and receive an incentive from impartial experts to continue their work and progress more and more by editing and publishing three domestic journals at once, which are visible in the most important world bases,. The progress in research then translated into improving medical practice and health care of the population. The following details from Professor Mašić‘s biography tell us how this miracle happened. This year, academician Izet Mašić, Editor-in-Chief of a few biomedical journals, including Acta Informatica Medica journal, celebrates his 70th birthday and also 45 years of his academic and scientific work.

Ongoing health care reforms in the countries of Southeast Europe (SEE) to modernise and promote the health sector include the introduction of innovative payment methods for health care providers in hospitals and outpatient services. The idea of remunerating health workers according to the work they do and the results they achieve has been present in the countries of SEE for more than four decades. This includes the need to develop and implement objective measures and criteria to regulate the work of health facilities and health professionals. Implementing the "Pay-for-performance" (P4P) model is a major challenge with the risk of compromising the quality of health services in all countries, and positive experiences for quality assurance have been modest in many countries around the world. Standards and norms (S/N), clinical pathways (CPW) and checklists (CL) are necessary regulatory tools that complement each other to protect the quality of health services and implement the "Payment for success" (P4S) model. The absence of S/N, CPW and CL in the implementation of the P4P model leads to inefficiencies, inadequate/unrealistic numbers, and poor quality of health services, as well as more frequent medical errors. With the development, introduction and implementation of S/N, CPW and CL in the application of the P4S model, everyone benefits: patients, healthcare organisations and their employees, health insurance companies, ministries of health and the state.

The decision of the citation database to include or not include a journal is not subject to the control of another entity, or the professional public, and there are no internationally established ethical standards that the citation database would have to apply. As a consequence of the absence of control, the already mentioned offensive reviews and arbitrary interpretation of the criteria for journal inclusion appear. Given that a journal's entry into the citation database is a condition for its long-term survival, people who make decisions in the citation databases gain the power to shut down or revive certain journals based on personal preferences. Any power that is not controlled is eventually abused. Therefore, our proposal is to urgently establish the principles of ethical behavior of citation databases at the global level and find ways to ensure compliance with such principles.

Sciendo provides publishing services and solutions to academic and professional organizations and individual authors. We publish journals, books, conference proceedings and a variety of other publications.

It is very well known that science is world activity and that there is no good and bad work in the field of scientific research. Nowadays scientific productivity of the individuals, learned societies on regional or state level are measurable parameters. In most of the systems it does include the number of original scientifi papers, quality of journals measured by impact factor and scientific citation index (1-4). There are also additional measurable parameters but for the purpose of this meeting we will avoid discussion about them. New field of scientometrics using the help of impartial and ruthless machines (computers) do help very significantly in evaluation of scientific productivity anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, there are many misused conclusions and interpretation on the data offered by computers. It is clear that some vital important changes are urgently needed. Today’s conference should use rare opportunity having together experts in the field to discuss the problems visible now. This author intends to discuss facts and doubts in writing review articles and chapters in the book (5). Some important flexibility in citation, in particular self citation, should be analyzed. An illustrative examples from author’s own experience will be shown and discussed at the meeting.

It is very well known that science is world activity and that there is no good and bad work in the field of scientific research. Nowadays scientific productivity of the individuals, learned societies on regional or state level are measurable parameters. In most of the systems it does include the number of original scientifi papers, quality of journals measured by impact factor and scientific citation index (1-4). There are also additional measurable parameters but for the purpose of this meeting we will avoid discussion about them. New field of scientometrics using the help of impartial and ruthless machines (computers) do help very significantly in evaluation of scientific productivity anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, there are many misused conclusions and interpretation on the data offered by computers. It is clear that some vital important changes are urgently needed. Today’s conference should use rare opportunity having together experts in the field to discuss the problems visible now. This author intends to discuss facts and doubts in writing review articles and chapters in the book (5). Some important flexibility in citation, in particular self citation, should be analyzed. An illustrative examples from author’s own experience will be shown and discussed at the meeting.

BACKGROUND:In the early 20th century some unfavorable conditions and trends in science and publishing in R. Macedonia and other countries in the South Eastern Europe (SEE) Region were recognized and it became necessary to act to protect the integrity of science and publishing. The increasing number of scientific journals in biomedicine and published papers in them has not always been matched by increased quality in publishing due to lack of information and education of the scientific community, especially of the young scientists, about ethical principles in research and publishing. In addition, some unethical behavior, fraud and attempts by experts for increasing their scientific productivity in research and publishing their results in scientific journals was recognized.OBJECTIVE:To present the initiatives, chronology of activities and leading role of Academician Momir Polenakovic towards the establishment and initial development of the Macedonian Association of Medical Editors (MAME) which has a mission for advancing the integrity of science and publishing.METHOD:A retrospective study based on review of the relevant literature, archive materials, minutes from organizational meetings and workshops and other documentation related to activities in the initial process for establishing and defining the mission and objectives of MAME.RESULTS:The expansion of higher education and inappropriate implementation of the Bologna Declaration and the European Credit Transfer System in R. Macedonia from 2004/2005 contributed to a decline of the study criteria for obtaining higher education diplomas and postgraduate education degrees, as well as numerous frauds in scientific research and publishing activities in biomedicine and other fields. The first meeting of the Initiative Board for organizing an SEE Conference on research and publishing integrity and a workshop for editors of scientific journals was held in the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MASA) on Nov. 1st, 2013. In April 2014 two preparatory meetings of the Organizational Board were held and the Workshop for editors of scientific journals and the Constitutional meeting for establishing MAME were held on Apr. 25, 2014. The first President of MAME (with a two-year mandate) was Academician Momir Polenakovic and in 2016 he was elected as the first Honorary President of MAME.CONCLUSION:The establishment of MAME in April 2014 was an important initiative and strategic decision toward raising awareness among editors of scientific journals and other stakeholders for preventing scientific and publishing misconduct and for educating the scientific community for creating an ethical research environment.

Unaware of the detrimental effects associated with publishing in disreputable journals, inexperienced researchers can fall victim to them. Together, as both readers and writers, we should completely boycott predatory journals.

INTRODUCTION:Anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is present in about 50% in pre-dialysis and over 90% of patients on hemodialysis. Erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) is a standard therapy for renal anemia, but management of anemia in CKD still remains a challenge from the treatment point of view.AIM:To evaluate safety and efficacy of methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta as continuous erythropoietin receptor activator (C.E.R.A.) in maintenance of haemoglobin (Hb) concentrations in patients with chronic renal anemia in the routine clinical practice.METHODS:National, multicenter, observational, prospective study in patients with CKD on hemodialysis for maintenance of Hb levels with once-monthly therapy with C.E.R.A. In 8 dialysis centers 184 adult patients were observed and followed up every month during one year. Total number of enrolled patients was 185 from whom 184 patients were observed and 147 patients were followed for 12 months as 37 dropped out from the study earlier.RESULTS:Overall mean dose of C.E.R.A. was 115.2 μg with average 4.99 dose modifications per patient. Among 184 patients observed, total number of 121 adverse events (AEs) were identified in 49 of the patients. The most of the AEs were of mild or moderate severity. A few serious AEs were assessed and reported as not related to the drug administration. Mean Hb levels during the study varied but were maintained stable in the range of 100-120 g/l.CONCLUSION:Safety and tolerability of C.E.R.A. was as expected as the frequency and type of AEs was similar to the known pattern from the studies done in other countries and relevant literature. Hb levels as the primary efficacy parameter of C.E.R.A. treatment were maintained stable within the target range during the study.