Changes in the number and characteristics of tertiary hospital psychiatric admissions in south Croatia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a retrospective study.

Background: There is mixed evidence on the impact of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on psychiatric hospital care for people with severe mental diseases, possibly due to regional differences. There is a significant gap in knowledge regarding the specific impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in Croatia, a country in South-Eastern Europe. Our study aimed to evaluate the number and characteristics of psychiatric hospitalizations in the year before and during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary hospital in south Croatia.

Resilience in the Face of War: a Collaborative Autoethnography of a Ukrainian Refugee Student's Journey through Europe Striving to Find Oneself.

Objective: This study presents the personal experience of a 19-year-old student who fled the war in Ukraine, journeyed across multiple countries, and ultimately enrolled in a university psychology program in Croatia.

Methods: A collaborative autoethnographic approach was employed to explore the student's experience as a war refugee, traversing Europe, and beginning university life in a foreign country. Data were collected through the student's reflective writing.

Pain, dietary habits and physical activity of children with developmental disabilities in Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Multiple studies have shown that children with developmental disabilities (CDD) often live with unrecognized and untreated pain, consume inadequate diet and have inadequate levels of physical activity. This study aimed to analyze pain, dietary habits and physical activity of CDD in Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia in March-April 2023 within the Erasmus+ SynergyEd project.

A pain research strategy for Europe: A European survey and position paper of the European Pain Federation EFIC.

Background: Pain is the leading cause of disability and reduced quality of life worldwide. Despite the increasing burden for patients and healthcare systems, pain research remains underfunded and under focused. Having stakeholders identify and prioritize areas that need urgent attention in the field will help focus funding topics, reduce 'research waste', improve the effectiveness of pain research and therapy and promote the uptake of research evidence.

Academic performance, perceptions, and motivations of medical PhD students in Ukraine during wartime: a mixed methods study.

Background: The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, initiated on February 22, 2022, has created numerous challenges, including the need to study under the constant threat of bombardment. This study aimed to analyze the effects of the war on the academic performance of medical PhD students in Ukraine, explore their perceptions of stressful wartime events, and identify their motivations and future aspirations.

Methods: This mixed-method study included medical PhD students from Bogomolets National Medical University in Kyiv, Ukraine, during the 2022-2023 academic year amid ongoing Russian military attacks.

The optimal approach for retrieving systematic reviews was achieved when searching MEDLINE and Epistemonikos in addition to reference checking: a methodological validation study.

Background: Systematic reviews (SRs) are used to inform clinical practice guidelines and healthcare decision making by synthesising the results of primary studies. Efficiently retrieving as many relevant SRs as possible is challenging with a minimum number of databases, as there is currently no guidance on how to do this optimally. In a previous study, we determined which individual databases contain the most SRs, and which combination of databases retrieved the most SRs.

Fostering Shared Decision-Making Between Patients and Health Care Professionals in Clinical Practice Guidelines: Protocol for a Project to Develop and Test a Tool for Guideline Developers.

Background: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are designed to assist health care professionals in medical decision-making, but they often lack effective integration of shared decision-making (SDM) principles to reflect patient values and preferences, particularly in the context of preference-sensitive CPG recommendations. To address this shortcoming and foster SDM through CPGs, the integration of patient decision aids (PDAs) into CPGs has been proposed as an important strategy. However, methods for systematically identifying and prioritizing CPG recommendations relevant to SDM and related decision support tools are currently lacking.

Frequency of exposure incidents in hospital workers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the hospital status and the use of personal protective equipment: a descriptive study with a historical comparison group.

Background: An occupational exposure, i.e. exposure incident (EI), is contact with potentially contaminated material that may contain bloodborne pathogens and that occurs during occupational activities inside or outside a health care facility, either during direct work with a patient or during contact with a patient's body fluids and tissues.

Methodology of clinical trials on sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors registered on ClinicalTrials.gov: a cross-sectional study.

Background/objective: The research on sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors has been increasing rapidly in the last decade, as well as indications for their use. This study aimed to analyze the methodological characteristics of clinical trials on SGLT2 inhibitors registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.

Trials of interventions for ovarian and testicular germ cell tumors registered in ClinicalTrials.gov: A cross-sectional study.

Introduction: There is unmet need in the treatment of ovarian and testicular germ cell tumors (GCTs). This study analyzed registered trials of interventions for GCTs.

Materials And Methods: We included trials of interventions for GCTs registered on ClinicalTrials.

Exploring the understanding of reproducibility among stakeholders within academia and their expectations for a web-based education tool: A qualitative study.

Although reproducibility is central to the scientific method, its understanding within the research community remains insufficient. We aimed to explore the perceptions of research reproducibility among stakeholders within academia, learn about possible barriers and facilitators to reproducibility-related practices, and gather their suggestions for the Croatian Reproducibility Network website. We conducted four focus groups with researchers, teachers, editors, research managers, and policymakers from Croatia ( = 23).

Perceptions on support, challenges and needs among parents and caregivers of children with developmental disabilities in Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Parents/caregivers of children with developmental disabilities (CDD) have a wide range of support needs and there are various interventions available. Support, challenges, and needs among parents/caregivers of CDD likely vary in different geographical settings. This study aimed to analyze the perceptions of support, challenges, and needs among parents/caregivers of CDD in Croatia, North Macedonia, and Serbia.

Difficulties in Accessing the List and Full Text of the Defended PhD Theses from Medical Schools: a Retrospective Case Study from Croatia.

Objective: To conduct scientometric studies on PhD ("Doctor of Philosophy") theses (i.e., doctoral theses), researchers should be able to access the theses.

Bioavailability of Oral Curcumin in Systematic Reviews: A Methodological Study.

Curcumin is a natural compound found in turmeric that exhibits diverse biological activities. However, its poor bioavailability limits its therapeutic application, which has led to the development of various bioavailability-improved formulations. In this methodological study, we analyzed whether systematic reviews on curcumin considered the bioavailability of systemic oral curcumin formulations when synthesizing evidence from human clinical trials.

Frequency of use and adequacy of Cochrane risk of bias tool 2 in non-Cochrane systematic reviews published in 2020: Meta-research study.

Risk of bias (RoB) assessment is essential to the systematic review methodology. The new version of the Cochrane RoB tool for randomized trials (RoB 2) was published in 2019 to address limitations identified since the first version of the tool was published in 2008 and to increase the reliability of assessments. This study analyzed the frequency of usage of the RoB 2 and the adequacy of reporting the RoB 2 assessments in non-Cochrane reviews published in 2020.

Levels of depression, anxiety and subjective happiness among health sciences students in Croatia: a multi-centric cross-sectional study.

Background: Previous studies have shown that symptoms of depression and anxiety were highly prevalent among health sciences students. This may lead to other professional and personal difficulties and a decrease in individuals' well-being. This study aimed to analyze levels of depression, anxiety and subjective happiness among health sciences students in Croatia.

Methods proposed for monitoring the implementation of evidence-based research: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Evidence-based research (EBR) is the systematic and transparent use of prior research to inform a new study so that it answers questions that matter in a valid, efficient, and accessible manner. This study surveyed experts about existing (e.g.

Secondary traumatic stress in working nurses studying part time in a bachelor or Master's nursing program in Croatia: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Nurses are more likely to be exposed to human suffering than other healthcare professionals. Persons exposed to indirect trauma can experience symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, symptoms of avoidance, arousal and intrusion. Secondary traumatic stress (STS) occurs when a person hears about the firsthand traumatic experiences of another.

The influence of bias in randomized controlled trials on rehabilitation intervention effect estimates: what we have learned from meta-epidemiological studies.

This study aimed to synthesize evidence from studies that addressed the influence of bias domains in randomized controlled trials on rehabilitation intervention effect estimates and discuss how these findings can maximize the trustworthiness of an RCT in rehabilitation. We screened studies about the influence of bias on rehabilitation intervention effect estimates published until June 2023. The characteristics and results of the included studies were categorized based on methodological characteristics and summarized narratively.

Heterogeneity of outcomes in randomized controlled trials on implant prosthodontic therapy is hindering comparative effectiveness research: meta-research study.

Background: Consistency in outcomes across clinical trials allows for comparing and combining results from different studies. A core outcome set (COS), representing a minimally agreed standardized group of outcomes that should be monitored and measured through research in a specific field of medicine, is not yet available for trials in implant prosthodontic (dental implant) therapy. This meta-research study aimed to analyze outcomes used in clinical trials on implant prosthodontic therapy.

Author instructions in biomedical journals infrequently address systematic review reporting and methodology: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: We aimed to analyze how instructions for authors in journals indexed in MEDLINE address systematic review (SR) reporting and methodology.

Study Design And Setting: We analyzed instructions for authors in 20% of MEDLINE-indexed journals listed in the online catalog of the National Library of Medicine on July 27, 2021. We extracted data only from the instructions published in English.

Most systematic reviews reporting adherence to AMSTAR 2 had critically low methodological quality: a cross-sectional meta-research study.

Objectives: To analyze the methodological quality and characteristics of systematic reviews (SRs) that reported they were conducted in line with the AMSTAR 2 (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews).

Study Design And Setting: This was a cross-sectional meta-research study. We searched MEDLINE and Embase.

Consumption of psychotropic drugs in Croatia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a 10-year longitudinal study (2012-2021).

Purpose: This longitudinal study aimed to examine the trends in antipsychotics, antidepressants, anxiolytics, and hypnotics/sedatives consumption in Croatia over a 10-year period (2012-2021). The study also assessed whether the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the yearly consumption of psychotropic drugs.

Methods: Data were collected from Croatian Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices (HALMED) and presented as defined daily doses per 1000 inhabitants per day (DDD/TID).