Faculty of Medicine

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    Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards HPV infections, complications of HPV infections and the HPV vaccine among students of Medical Science in North Macedonia
    (Royal Academy of Medicine of the Balearic Islands, 2024-01-11)
    Ana Marja Radevska
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    Edmond Brava
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    Keti Skeparovska
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    Ivana Gacova
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    Alexandra Micevska
    Introduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common causes of sexually transmitted diseases. The HPV vaccine is crucial in the primary prevention of HPV infection and associated diseases and complications. This objective of the study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practices of the Medical students in North Macedonia towards HPV infections, complications of HPV infections and the HPV vaccine. Materials and methods: In the period of November 2022 – December 2022 a study using a semi - structured questionnaire was conducted in Medical Faculties in North Macedonia, covering 728 people over 18 years old that are medical students. Standard descriptive statistics were used to summarize the demographic characteristics. Results: A total of 728 participants took part in the survey, predominantly female (n=601, 82.5%). Around one third of all respondents (36.4%) have received the HPV vaccine. We established a statistically significant difference between the vaccinated and non-vaccinated respondents in terms of gender (χ2=22.231, p<0.001) and this proved to be the strongest predictor for vaccination in the logistic regression analysis. The main driver for hesitation regarding the HPV vaccine was the fear of possible side effects and there was an association between the fear of possible side effects and the probability for vaccination (15.1%% (n=40) vaccinated vs. 41.2% (n=191) non-vaccinated students, χ2=73.020, p<0.001). The students who didn’t agree with the statement that recommending the HPV vaccine to teenagers will send a message that it is okay to become sexually active at an early age were 1.89 times more likely to have been vaccinated. Conclusions: The current study demonstrated that medical students in North Macedonia had a suboptimal uptake of the HPV vaccine. To increase the coverage, it is essential that people get the right information. Having doubts about the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness is the main cause of vaccination hesitancy.
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    HIV/AIDS KNOWLEDGE AND STIGMATISING ATTITUDE TOWARDS PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS AMONG STUDENTS OF MEDICAL SCIENCES IN THE REUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA
    (Uniunea Medicala Balcanica - Balkan Medical Union, 2023-12-18)
    KARADZINOVA, Mina
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    RADEVSKA, Ana Marija
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    KARADJINOV, Leonid-Rene-Tomas
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    GJORGOVA, Gloria
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    BRAVA, Edmond
    Introduction. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) have been significant global health issues for almost 40 years. However, stigma and discrimination against individuals with HIV/AIDS hinder testing, disclosure, and adherence to prevention and treatment strategies. Future healthcare workers’ knowledge and attitudes toward people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are important for better care and prevention, necessitating appropriate education and training. The objective of the study was to examine the general HIV/AIDS knowledge among students of health sciences in the Republic of North Macedonia and to assess medical students’ overall stigmatising attitude towards PLWHA. Materials and methods. A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted during November-December 2022, surveying 743 medical sciences students in the Republic of North Macedonia with a 4-item questionnaire. The questionnaire collected demographic data, assessed knowledge, and explored stigmatizing attitudes toward PLWHA. Data underwent accuracy checks using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and reliability analysis used Cronbach’s α coefficient. Results. Among participants (77.7% female, median age 22 years), understanding of HIV/AIDS features related to contagiosity, prevention, and therapy was evident. No significant differences were observed between genders, age, ethnicity, and religion. However, approximately half were unaware of preventing vertical HIV transmission, and over half were unaware of timely postexposure prophylaxis importance. Over half of the participants rejected statements indicating HIV stigma and discrimination. Conclusion. Students showed a good knowledge of HIV/AIDS transmission, diagnosis, and prevention but lacked understanding of treatment. Continuous education and training are essential. Encouragingly, no evidence of stigmatizing attitudes toward PLWHA was found among medical sciences students.
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    Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards the influenza vaccine among the adult population in North Macedonia
    (Royal Academy of Medicine of the Balearic Islands, 2024-01-22)
    Gacova, Ivana
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    Radevska, Ana Marija
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    Ivkovska, Sanja
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    Brava, Edmond
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    Skeparovska, Keti
    Introduction: Vaccination against seasonal influenza is the most effective way to prevent infections, hospitalization, morbidity, and mortality. The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of the North Macedonia adult population towards seasonal influenza vaccine. Materials and methods: A prospective cross-sectional study in November-December 2022 among the adult population of North Macedonia was conducted. A total of 1012 respondents filled in the 4-item semi-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire collected information on demographics, knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards the influenza vaccine. The chi-square test was used to test for associations and logistic regression was used to determine the effect of variables on the possibility of vaccination. Results and discussion: The median age of the respondents was 36 years, predominantly female (73.5%). Only 7.8% of respondents received the influenza vaccine in the previous season (2021/2022) and 12.4% planned to vaccinate in the current season. A statistically significant difference between the vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals was established in terms of age groups and the presence of comorbidity (χ2=11.246, p=0.004). The vaccinated respondents significantly more often tend to consider the influenza vaccine as safe (χ2=5.026, p=0.025) and effective (χ2=11.247, p=0.001). Respondents who had comorbidities, who considered the vaccine as effective, and were not afraid of possible side effects were 3 times, 2.0 times, and 1.8 times more likely respectively to have received an influenza vaccine. Additionally, the respondents who tend to rely more on social media and internet as the main source of information regarding the flu vaccine were 0.5 times more likely to have rejected the vaccine. Conclusion: Addressing influenza vaccine safety, efficacy, patient-specific recommendations and encouraging effective physician communication and counselling are some of the key areas for increasing knowledge and awareness.
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    HEALTH WORKERS’ ATTITUDES, KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE TOWARDS MIGRANT-PATIENTS
    (Department of Anaesthesia and Reanimation, Faculty of Medicine, "Sts. Cyril and Methodius" University, Skopje R.N. Macedonia, 2020-10)
    Jankulovska Angelka
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    Purpose: This study is aimed to examine the attitudes and knowledge of different groups of health professionals and their work with migrant patients, as well as to identify contributory factors and barriers. Materials and Methods: The study is designed as a descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study, conducted in 2019 on a representative sample of 30 health workers in Gevgelija General Hospital, which examined the attitudes, knowledge and practice of health professionals when working with migrant patients, using of an instrument – a structured questionnaire for assessing attitudes (Dias, Gama, Cargaleiro & Martins, 2012). Results: The results of this study reveal that physicians are more likely to have negative attitudes towards migrant patients compared to nurses for all examined attitudes. Among health professionals, the older ones expressed less positive attitudes than the younger ones. Male health workers are more likely to agree with the views expressed in the study. Spearman’s correlation coefficient suggests that as the number of migrant patients increases, so does the agreement, and vice versa (R=0.482, R=576, R=0.387, respectively). Conclusion: Development strategies are needed that prevent negative attitudes and stereotypes in healthcare professionals in providing health services to migrants, in order to enable the improvement of the ability and knowledge of healthcare professionals to work with culturally diverse population, to be culturally sensitive, to obtain positive health outcomes in the migrant population
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    Functional Foods in Macedonia: Consumers’ Perspective and Public Health Policy
    (ID Design 2012/DOOEL Skopje, 2013-12-15)
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    Milosevic, Jasna
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    Kendrovski, Vladimir
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    Naunova-Spiroska, Daniela
    Background: The objective of our study was to explore the knowledge, attitudes and practices of Macedonian consumers towards functional foods, to predict future trends and to assess the national public health policies encompassing the functional foods market. Methods: Total of 518 respondents aged 18+, from all regions in the country participated in the study. They were sampled through three-staged national representative sampling procedures. The questionnaire comprised questions regarding the level of information about functional foods, trust in health claims, frequency of consumption and knowledge and attitudes related to those foods. Statistical significance was determined at p<0.05. Results: Respondents aged 18-34 were more informed compared to the total population (22 and 16 % respectively, p<0.05). Most of the consumers consume these products once a day. Employed consumers were willing to increase daily consumption from 3 to 18 % (p<0.05). On average 65.1% of the statements assessing knowledge were answered correctly. On a scale from -3 to +3 functional foods were considered as very healthy (mean=2.03, SD=1.42). Conclusion: On average, Macedonian consumers have a positive attitude and high expectations of functional foods. Public health policies still lag when compared to comprehensive approach of the food industry in market placement of these products.