Factors Associated with the Quality and Transparency of National Guidelines: A Mixed-Methods Study.

We assessed the methodological quality and transparency of all the national clinical practice guidelines that were published in Croatia up until 2017 and explored the factors associated with their quality rating. An in-depth quantitative and qualitative analysis was performed using rigorous methodology. We evaluated the guidelines using a validated AGREE II instrument with four raters; we used multiple linear regressions to identify the predictors of quality; and two focus groups, including guideline developers, to further explore the guideline development process.

Can Authorship be Denied for Contract Work?

Ethical considerations arise when individuals who were contracted and paid to conduct a research study and write it up for publication, are denied authorship on a scholarly publication on the grounds that their work was contracted and paid for. Each of the various stakeholders should be considered. Researchers need to make sure that the contract recognizes their intellectual contribution and their right to be named as authors if and when the contracted study is published.

Significance of Anthropometric and Nutritive Factors in Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer Patients Undergoing Free Flap Reconstruction.

Purpose: This study analyzed associations between preoperative nutritional status and the incidence of early postoperative complications as a primary outcome in patients with oral and oropharyngeal cancer undergoing free flap reconstruction. We hypothesized that preoperative nutritional status may be linked with specific complications, allowing for better preoperative risk assessment.

Patients And Methods: This longitudinal, retrospective cohort study encompassed 113 patients, all treated surgically for oral and oropharyngeal cancer in the period from March 2013 up to March 2018 in a tertiary referral center.

WITHDRAWN: Interdental brushing for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults.

Background: Effective oral hygiene is a crucial factor in maintaining good oral health, which is associated with overall health and health-related quality of life. Dental floss has been used for many years in conjunction with toothbrushing for removing dental plaque in between teeth, however, interdental brushes have been developed which many people find easier to use than floss, providing there is sufficient space between the teeth.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of interdental brushing in addition to toothbrushing, as compared with toothbrushing alone or toothbrushing and flossing for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases, dental plaque and dental caries.

WITHDRAWN: Flossing for the management of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults.

Background: Good oral hygiene is thought to be important for oral health. This review is to determine the effectiveness of flossing in addition to toothbrushing for preventing gum disease and dental caries in adults.

Objectives: To assess the effects of flossing in addition to toothbrushing, as compared with toothbrushing alone, in the management of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults.

Home use of interdental cleaning devices, in addition to toothbrushing, for preventing and controlling periodontal diseases and dental caries.

Background: Dental caries (tooth decay) and periodontal diseases (gingivitis and periodontitis) affect the majority of people worldwide, and treatment costs place a significant burden on health services. Decay and gum disease can cause pain, eating and speaking difficulties, low self-esteem, and even tooth loss and the need for surgery. As dental plaque is the primary cause, self-administered daily mechanical disruption and removal of plaque is important for oral health.

Effectiveness and efficacy of nutritional therapy: A systematic review following Cochrane methodology.

Background & Aims: Disease-related malnutrition has deleterious consequences on patients' outcome and healthcare costs. The demonstration of improved outcome by appropriate nutritional management is on occasion difficult. The European Society of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) appointed the Nutrition Education Study Group (ESPEN-NESG) to increase recognition of nutritional knowledge and support in health services.

Interventions to prevent misconduct and promote integrity in research and publication.

Background: Improper practices and unprofessional conduct in clinical research have been shown to waste a significant portion of healthcare funds and harm public health.

Objectives: Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of educational or policy interventions in research integrity or responsible conduct of research on the behaviour and attitudes of researchers in health and other research areas.

Search Methods: We searched the CENTRAL, MEDLINE, LILACS and CINAHL health research bibliographical databases, as well as the Academic Search Complete, AGRICOLA, GeoRef, PsycINFO, ERIC, SCOPUS and Web of Science databases.

Understanding wider environmental influences on mentoring: Towards an ecological model of mentoring in academic medicine.

Unlabelled: Mentoring is a complex developmental relationship that contributes to individual growth and career advancement in different areas of human activity, including academic medicine. This article describes a broader environmental milieux in which mentoring occurs and considers the ways in which the environmental factors may affect the process and outcomes of mentoring. An ecological model of mentoring is proposed that takes into account various factors broadly operating at three contextual levels.

Teaching science throughout the six-year medical curriculum: two-year experience from the University of Split School of Medicine, Split, Croatia.

Objective: The aim of this article is to present the introduction of a mandatory, vertically integrated course in research methodology into medical curriculum. At the School of Medicine in Split (Croatia) we organized this course in 2010, with the total of 270 hours in the 6-year curriculum. In the first year (50 hours) students learned basic principles of scientific method, structure of scientific article, basic statistical concepts, data analysis, interpretation and presentation.

Interdental brushing for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults.

Background: Effective oral hygiene is a crucial factor in maintaining good oral health, which is associated with overall health and health-related quality of life. Dental floss has been used for many years in conjunction with toothbrushing for removing dental plaque in between teeth, however, interdental brushes have been developed which many people find easier to use than floss, providing there is sufficient space between the teeth.

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of interdental brushing in addition to toothbrushing, as compared with toothbrushing alone or toothbrushing and flossing for the prevention and control of periodontal diseases, dental plaque and dental caries.

Medical students' decisions about authorship in disputable situations: intervention study.

In medicine, professional behavior and ethics are often rule-based. We assessed whether instruction on formal criteria of authorship affected the decision of students about authorship dilemmas and whether they perceive authorship as a conventional or moral concept. A prospective non-randomized intervention study involved 203s year medical students who did (n = 107) or did not (n = 96) received a lecture on International Committee of Medical Journal editors (ICMJE) authorship criteria.

Steps in the undertaking of a systematic review in orthopaedic surgery.

In the last decades of the twentieth century it became obvious that modern medical care is replete with data and information, but in need of reliable evidence. This has led to an increased effort to systematically synthesise medical research and make it more useful for practitioners. Systematic reviews use an approach to research synthesis that minimises the risk of misinterpreting a body of evidence due to incomprehensive search or subjective opinion.

Flossing for the management of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults.

Background: Good oral hygiene is thought to be important for oral health. This review is to determine the effectiveness of flossing in addition to toothbrushing for preventing gum disease and dental caries in adults.

Objectives: To assess the effects of flossing in addition to toothbrushing, as compared with toothbrushing alone, in the management of periodontal diseases and dental caries in adults.

Between forwarding and mentoring: a qualitative study of recommending medical doctors for international postdoctoral research positions.

Background: Young scientists rarely have extensive international connections that could facilitate their mobility. They often rely on their doctoral supervisors and other senior academics, who use their networks to generate opportunities for young scientists to gain international experience and provide the initial trigger for an outward move.

Methods: To explore the process of informal recommending of young physicians from a small country for postdoctoral research positions in foreign countries, we conducted in-depth interviews with eight senior academics who acted as recommenders and eight physicians who, based on the recommendations of senior academics, spent at least a year working in a laboratory abroad.

Climate for career choices: survey of medical students' motivation for studying, career preferences and perception of their teachers as role models.

Background: To assess the educational climate at a medical school, we explored students' perception of their motives for study, the importance of students' personal characteristics for success in the study and profession of medicine, students' perceptions of professional and personal characteristics of their teachers, and students' preferences for their future careers in medicine.

Methods: We surveyed all students coming to the administration office to enroll for the following academic year (2nd to 6th year of study, n = 738) at Zagreb University Medical School, Croatia. Responses with answers to all questions (n = 482, 65% response rate) were analyzed.

Can teaching research methodology influence students' attitude toward science? Cohort study and nonrandomized trial in a single medical school.

Background: Medical teaching aims to develop attitudes and behaviors underlying professional competence of future physicians. We investigated whether a mandatory course on scientific methodology in the second study year could affect students' attitudes toward science in medicine.

Method: In a longitudinal study, students (n = 241) enrolling in 2001-2002 academic year at a single medical school were followed up until graduation in 2006-2007.

A systematic review of qualitative research on the meaning and characteristics of mentoring in academic medicine.

Background: Mentorship is perceived to play a significant role in the career development and productivity of academic clinicians, but little is known about the characteristics of mentorship. This knowledge would be useful for those developing mentorship programs.

Objective: To complete a systematic review of the qualitative literature to explore and summarize the development, perceptions and experiences of the mentoring relationship in academic medicine.

Transition from longitudinal to block structure of preclinical courses: outcomes and experiences.

Aim: To evaluate the transition from a longitudinal to block/modular structure of preclinical courses in a medical school adapting to the process of higher education harmonization in Europe.

Methods: Average grades and the exam pass rates were compared for 11 preclinical courses before and after the transition from the longitudinal (academic years 1999/2000 to 2001/2002) to block/modular curriculum (academic years 2002/2003 to 2004/2005) at Zagreb University School of Medicine, Croatia. Attitudes of teachers toward the 2 curriculum structures were assessed by a semantic differential scale, and the experiences during the transition were explored in focus groups of students and teachers.

Medical teachers' attitudes towards science and motivational orientation for medical research.

Background: Research is an important motivating factor for pursuing a career in academic medicine, but the relation between motivation and other factors involved in scientific research are not clear.

Purpose: To explore the motivational orientation for doing research and its relation with attitudes towards science and publication practice among members of faculty at a medical school.

Methods: We used a Science Attitude Survey and the Work Preference Inventory (intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientation using 4 Likert-type scales of motivation, possible range 1-5) to survey two groups of teachers at the Zagreb University School of Medicine (n = 327, 66% response rate): professors, elected to tenure-track positions (n = 150), and instructor/research fellows working on or just completing their thesis (n = 177).

Quantification of authors' contributions and eligibility for authorship: randomized study in a general medical journal.

Background: Assessment of authorship contribution is often based on unreliable questionnaires.

Objective: To assess if the use of different formats for the disclosure of authorship contributions influences authors' compliance with the criteria of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Design: Randomized study.