Purpose: The aim of the research was to analyze factors that are significantly related to the duration of exclusive breastfeeding and total breastfeeding of mothers from Croatia. Method: The study is cross-sectional, done in the period from December 1st, 2023. until May 1st, 2024. The data about breastfeeding factors was collected from 361 mothers via an online questionnaire. Results: The duration of exclusive breastfeeding statistically significantly correlates with cesarean section, giving a pacifier or a bottle in the first month of the child's life (r = - 0.41), mother's age, the mother's vocational training, the decision to breastfeed being made before pregnancy, the support for breastfeeding in a public place (r = 0.22), previous breastfeeding experience (r = 0.21), the first breastfeeding being done within an hour, rooming, participating in the work of breastfeeding support groups, not providing substitutes for breast milk in the maternity ward (r = 0.29). The total duration of breastfeeding is statistically significantly correlated with the use of tobacco products during pregnancy (r = - 0.45), cesarean delivery, giving a pacifier or bottle in the first month of the child's life (r = - 0.35), not providing substitutes for breast milk in the maternity hospital (r = 0.26), skin-to-skin contact after birth, mothers' participation in breastfeeding support groups (r = 0.27), attending pregnancy courses (both parents), rooming, first breastfeeding being done within an hour (r = 0.21), previous breastfeeding experience, support for breastfeeding in a public place (r = 0.20), decision on breastfeeding being made before pregnancy, vocational education (r = 0.20) mother's age (r = 0.21), and exclusive breastfeeding (r = 0.67). Conclusion: The quality of healthcare workers' help to mothers before, during and after childbirth, significantly affects the success of breastfeeding.

The Newest Vital Sign (NVS) is a simple, quick and accurate screening test for health literacy (HL). It has been validated for different languages but, to date, not for the Croatian language. The aim of this study was to develop a linguistically validated Croatian version of the NVS and to use it at a later stage in a pilot study of health literacy assessment of hospital patients in Croatia. A full linguistic validation procedure was applied, including forward and backward translation, expert panel review, cognitive interview with 10 respondents from general population, and full involvement in the procedure of one of the screening test developers, the lead author of the NVS-UK version. HL testing on 100 hospital patients (55% women, median age 63.5 years) revealed 58% of patients had less than adequate HL level (scores less than 4), and mean NVS total score was 3.34. A positive significant association was observed between HL and educational level (p = 0.002). A high percentage of patients (92%) did not object to being tested for HL by their primary care physician or in hospital, and 99% of patients would recommend HL testing among patients in general. The respondents' positive views on HL testing and mean completion time of 4 minutes indicate that the Croatian version of the NVS (NVS-HR) could be recommended for use in both clinical and research settings in Croatia.

The Newest Vital Sign (NVS) is a simple, quick and accurate screening test for health literacy (HL). It has been validated for different languages but, to date, not for the Croatian language. The aim of this study was to develop a linguistically validated Croatian version of the NVS and to use it at a later stage in a pilot study of health literacy assessment of hospital patients in Croatia. A full linguistic validation procedure was applied, including forward and backward translation, expert panel review, cognitive interview with 10 respondents from general population, and full involvement in the procedure of one of the screening test developers, the lead author of the NVS-UK version. HL testing on 100 hospital patients (55% women, median age 63.5 years) revealed 58% of patients had less than adequate HL level (scores less than 4), and mean NVS total score was 3.34. A positive significant association was observed between HL and educational level (p = 0.002). A high percentage of patients (92%) did not object to being tested for HL by their primary care physician or in hospital, and 99% of patients would recommend HL testing among patients in general. The respondents’ positive views on HL testing and mean completion time of 4 minutes indicate that the Croatian version of the NVS (NVS-HR) could be recommended for use in both clinical and research settings in Croatia.

Djetinjstvo, pubertet i adolescencija vrijeme su brzih tjelesnih, emocionalnih i socijalnih promjena, ali ujedno i vrijeme stjecanja životnih navika i stavova prema osobnom zdravlju i osobnoj ulozi u promicanju zdravlja te prevenciji bolesti. U tom razdoblju najbržeg rasta i razvoja osobito su važna istraživanja i pracenje prehrane i stanja uhranjenosti djece i mladeži zbog pravilnog razvoja te sprjecavanja zdravstvenih problema poput pretilosti. Istodobna primjena intervencijskih mjera ne samo da rjesava trenutni aktualni problem vec se na taj nacin ulaže u zdravlje za cijeli život. Svjetska zdravstvena organizacija (WHO) upozorava na problem pretilosti kod mladih isticuci kako je najvažnija dugorocna posljedica njezino zadržavanje i u odrasloj dobi sto se ocituje povecanim pobolom i smrtnoscu od kronicnih bolesti (1). Prema procjenama WHO-a, u djecjoj i adolescentnoj dobi ucestalost pretilosti se utrostrucila u odnosu na stanje prije dvadeset i pet godina, pri cemu je cak 10,0 % djecje svjetske populacije pretilo ili rizicno za razvoj pretilosti. Americka studija provođena od 2003. do 2006. godine pokazuje da je 16,3 % djece i adolescenata u dobi od 2 do 19 godina pretilo, odnosno iznad 95 percentile tjelesne mase s obzirom na dob i spol (2).

Ciljevi istraživanja bili su ispitati anonimnom, posebno konstruiranom anketom 33 djevojke koje su 2009. godine dobrovoljno cijepljene protiv HPV vir

Eating habits and attitudes are formed in early childhood, and acquired knowledge and skills are transferred to the next generation. The aim of this study was to examine nutritional status and dietary habits of elementary school fifth-graders in Bjelovar-Bilogora County and connect them with certain socioeconomic and demographic family factors (residence, parental education, and activity). The survey was conducted during the obligatory systematic examination. The students filled out an anonymous questionnaire specially designed for this purpose and then they had their body weight and height measured. The survey included 466 students, which made 40.5% of the population. The results showed, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, 15.0% of study subjects to be underweight, 56.0% had normal weight and 29.0% were overweight and obese children. Furthermore, 54.5% of the children had three meals per day, two of these cooked. About 4.7% of study subjects reported taking fast food daily and 11.6% drank soda. Daily consumption of meat was reported by 24.7%, fruit and vegetables by 55.8%, sweets by 21.9% and milk by 56.9% of the subjects. Organized activities outside the school were reported by 57.6% of students, whereas 11.8% of subjects spent 4 or more hours watching TV and 7.8% playing for 3 hours and more, 77.3% of these of sedentary types. The research identified a significant proportion of overweight and obese children in the county, who had poor eating habits and low physical activity, with an increased proportion of sedentary lifestyle.

Zastita, promicanje i potpora dojenju prioriteti su javnog zdravstva u cijelom svijetu. Rani prestanak dojenja ima negativne posljedice za žene, djecu i okolinu, a rezultira se povecanim troskovima za zdravstvenu njegu i povecava nejednakost u zdravlju. Radi povecanja stope dojene djece Svjetska zdravstvena organizacija i UNICEF su 1991.god. pokrenuli inicijativu „Rodiliste – prijatelj djece“. Inicijativa se ostvaruje kroz „10 koraka prema uspjesnom dojenju“. U ovom radu je analiziran utjecaj provođenja inicijative „Rodiliste – prijatelj djece“ na stopu dojenja u cŒazmi kod dojencadi rođene 2000.god. i 2010.god., dakle, prije i za vrijeme provođenja inicijative. Retrospektivno istraživanje obuhvatilo je 208 parova majka – dijete (106 parova u 2000.god. i 102 para u 2010. god.). Ukupna ucestalost dojenja je statisticki znacajno duža u skupini iz 2010. godine (hi-kvadrat test 154,45, p=o) za vrijeme provođenja inicijative „Rodiliste – prijatelj djece“. Rezultati istraživanja u cazmanskoj populaciji pokazuju da je ucestalost dojenja jednomjesecne, tromjesecne i sestomjesecne dojencadi podjednaka u oba promatrana razdoblja (2000.god i 2010.god), dakle i prije i nakon provođenja inicijative. Međutim, majke koje su odlucile dojiti ipak su nakon provođenja inicijative dojile znatno duže . Duže od 6 mjeseci dojilo je 10,4% majki u 2000.god i 24,5% u 2010.god. Dugotrajno dojenje pozitivno je povezano s namjeravanim trajanjem dojenja >6 mjeseci. Povezanost trajanja dojenja s potencijalno modificirajucim antenatalnim cimbenicima, i to s vremenom donosenja odluke o dojenju te s namjeravanim trajanjem dojenja pokazuje da u nasoj sredini aktivnosti promicanja prirodne prehrane treba usmjeriti u tom pravcu uz daljnje poticanje rada grupa za potporu dojenju. Uspjesan program pronicanja dojenja zahtijeva sveobuhvatnu aktivnost u smislu edukacije i potpore za dojenje antenatalno i postnatalno.