Vesna Bjegović-Mikanović

University of Belgrade · Institute of Social Medicine

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity along with at least two sessions of muscle strengthening exercises per week. Compliance with these recommendations is classified as Health Enhancing Physical Activity (HE...

Background Achieving sustainability in continuing medical education (CME) involves regular assessment of the evolving needs of healthcare professionals and updates in educational content accordingly. The aim of this study was to examine the topics physicians in Serbia consider the most important for their professional development and to analyze the...

We introduced this Special Issue entitled “Challenges and Prospects of Sustainability in the Context of Global Health”, published by MDPI, about two years ago with the following excerpt: [...]

Background Global evaluations of the progress towards the WHO End TB Strategy 2020 interim milestones on mortality (35% reduction) and incidence (20% reduction) have not been age specific. We aimed to assess global, regional, and national-level burdens of and trends in tuberculosis and its risk factors across five separate age groups, from 1990 to...

Background: Global evaluations of the progress towards the WHO End TB Strategy 2020 interim milestones on mortality (35% reduction) and incidence (20% reduction) have not been age specific. We aimed to assess global, regional, and national-level burdens of and trends in tuberculosis and its risk factors across five separate age groups, from 1990 to...

The World Health Organization (WHO) is committed to empowering countries by implementing a gender, equity, and human rights approach in the health sector. The objective of this gender and inclusion analysis is to assess potential gender disparities of health sector management in the Kyrgyz Republic. The employed mixed-method approach takes advantag...

Introduction/Aim: Vaccine hesitancy is recognized as important determinant of routine immunization coverage, but also as a factor of inadequate acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine. The World Health Organization proposed a "3C" model, with confidence, complacency and convenience as the core components of vaccine hesitancy. The purpose of this study w...

Background: Health system transformation refers to comprehensive changes aimed at improving the efficiency, quality, equity, and sustainability of healthcare delivery. This transformation can be driven by various factors and often encompasses technological advancements, policy and regulatory changes, economic aspects, innovation in service delivery...

The complex nature of contemporary public health issues requires a multidisciplinary public health workforce, including professionals from various backgrounds who have been sensitized to the public health approach. In many countries, the field has traditionally been led by medical doctors who undergo further training in preventive branches of medic...

The rapidly evolving landscape of public health challenges requires national public health associations (NPHA) to take leadership and play a multifaceted role (1). NPHAs usually serve as primary non-governmental advocates for population health and manage complex intersections of policy, education, and community engagement to address both traditiona...

Introduction Breast cancer (BC) is a preventable non-communicable disease and the most common cancer among women of reproductive age. Although largely associated with non-modifiable risk factors, the prevention of modifiable risk factors for BC (smoking, alcohol use, physical inactivity, and dietary risks) can help decrease society's burden. The ai...

Background Despite effective prevention and control strategies, in countries of the Balkan region, cancers are the second leading cause of mortality, closely following circulatory system diseases. Objective To describe trends in the burden of breast, cervical, and colon and rectum cancer in the Balkan region and per country between 1990 and 2019,...

Background: Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, and affects people regardless of country, age group, or sex. Using the most recent evidentiary and analytical framework from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD), we produced location-specific, age-specific, and sex-specific estimat...

Aim: This study reviews the ability of the Russian Federation to reduce the high mortality until 2030 evenly across the country and in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Methods: We adopted the method suggested by Haenszel for estimating Premature Years of Life Lost for the age group <70 years and applied a projected reduction...

Aim: Over the past two decades, two catastrophic events caused a steep decline in health services in Liberia: the long-lasting civil war (1989-2003) and the weak response of the health system to the Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) outbreak (2013-2015). In early 2015 The Liberian Government reacted and developed a strategic health policy framework. This p...

Aim: Political decisions usually emerge from the competing interests of politicians, voters, and special interest groups. We investigated the applicability of an advanced methodological concept to determine whether certain institutional positions in a cooperating network have influence on the decision-making procedures. To that end, we made use of...

Context: The ‘Northern Dimension on Public Health and Social Well-being’ is a platform for dialogue and cooperation of countries around the Baltic Sea, established in 2003, guided by the Sustainable Development Goal 3 on Health and Social Well-being and the Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region of the European Union adopted in 2009. In this paper we d...

In order to promote awareness of factors that affect social services, their quality, effectiveness and coverage, the term “governance” is frequently used. However, there is no agreement on definitions, frameworks and how it relates to the health sector. In this overview, two interrelated processes in Serbia will be analyzed: governance and manageme...

With the growth and complexity of current challenges such as globalization, health threats, and ageing society, financial constraints, and social and health inequalities, amultidisciplinary public health workforce is needed, supported by new skills and expertise. It has been demonstrated that public health education needs to include a wider range o...

Aim: Disease prevention and health promotion are closely related through the lifestyle concept and teaching modules on them should be a part of the postgraduate curriculum of every School of Public Health (SPH) in the European Region and beyond. We aimed to determine to which degree the European SPH offer modules on Disease Prevention and Health Pr...

Aim: An assessment of the training needs and interests of health managers working in the health care facilities of the Kyrgyz Republic was conducted, aiming to tailor and shape future training interventions. Methods: A rapid assessment was organized among directors of health care services in the Kyrgyz Republic, using a web-based questionnaire. Due...

Aim: Children represent the future, and ensuring their healthy growth and development should be a prime concern of all societies. Better health for all childrenis one of the leading objectives of the National Plan of Action for Children and a keyelement of the tailored Millennium Development Goals for Serbia. Methods: Our analysis was based on rele...

Current economic, social, and environmental trajectories within most world regions are unsustainable. Interaction between bottom-up initiatives and top-down good governance is essential to change them. The One Health movement, made up of many organizations, groups, and individuals from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, seeks to redress the prese...

Background Countries in the Western Balkans are facing vaccine hesitancy, trying to bring vaccine acceptance and ways to improve it into the focus. Trust in science and institutions, namely political trust, plays an important role and can significantly affects vaccine acceptance. Methods Cross-sectional research was carried out from July to Septem...

Background Analysis of years of life lost (YLL) due to premature deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic can direct decision-makers towards specific public health recommendations in order to improve health and lives of people. Our study aimed to examine the existence of age- and sex-specific patterns of the three most common causes of premature death i...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic placed a call for action worldwide. Based on scientific investigation, governments need to assess strategic priorities. Health system capacity constraints and failures in response to the pandemic have social, medical, productivity, and economic implications. It compounds health equity issues and confronts with exces...

Background The first case of COVID-19 in Serbia was reported on 6th March 2020. Since then, Serbia has registered several epidemic peaks, which have led to a considerable increase in premature mortality. Basic evaluation of COVID-19 premature mortality burden needs to include frequency of COVID-19 deaths among different age-groups. Methods All-cau...

Objectives: Vaccine hesitancy presents one of the critical constraints in combating COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to develop and validate an instrument for measuring factors that contribute to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Methods: The key constructs in the study instrument were factors that constitute the "3C" model of vaccine hesi...

Background Women's happiness and life satisfaction, often summarized as subjective wellbeing, are of great value for most individuals and are associated with various determinants. The countries of the Western Balkan are of particular interest after the political changes in the nineties. Are the women satisfied with their lives today? Methods We us...

Europeanization is assumed to influence health policy in the Western Balkans, but little is known about the actual impact of this process in these countries which constitute a complex geopolitical region of Europe. In this context, we used time trends to explore the Western Balkans health policies during the Europeanization through a cross-country...

With the growing prevalence and complex pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes, many patients fail to achieve treatment goals despite guidelines and possibilities for treatment individualization. One of the identified root causes of this failure is clinical inertia. We explored this phenomenon, its possible predictors, and groups of patients affected t...

Psychological distress in university students represents a rising public health concern. The complexity of this phenomenon calls for a more in-depth scrutiny, in order to address the wide diversity of mental health issues that may arise in this population. The instrument designed for the purpose of measuring the student-specific distress is needed....

Background: At present, in Ukraine, there is an insufficient capacity for up-to-date surveillance of the health status of the general population; public health (PH) promotion and disease prevention activities are scarce. Additionally, there is an urgent need to ensure, develop and support an efficient public health workforce (PHW) and appropriately...

Introduction/Objective. Continuing Medical Education (CME) is a crucial element to keep the level of professionalism in the three key fields of medical education: pre-clinical, clinical, and public health. The profile of CME in Serbia has been analyzed for the years 2011 to 2017. Methods. Between 2011 and 2017, 11.557 courses of CME have been submi...

The use of preventive health services is a long-term health investment due to its potential to help individuals to take care of their health. This study aimed to explore the availability and performance of health services in primary health care (PHC) in the domain of general practice (GP), pediatrics, and gynecology, as well as to analyze the influ...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00277.].

Introduction: Managing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) requires redesigning health care delivery to achieve better coordination of services at all levels of health care. The aim of this study was improving prevention and strengthening high quality of care for NCDs by using type 2 diabetes as a model disease. Methods: The mix method approach ser...

Background Breast cancer is the third highest incidence of cancer globally. It is the leading cause of cancer-associated mortality among females in the world. In Serbia, the incidence rate of breast cancer in 2015 was 61.0/100000 and breast cancer attributed to 18.9% of total cancer mortality among females. The aim of this study was to examine the...

Background Access to health care is a key health policy issue faced by countries in the WHO European Region and Serbia is not an exception. There is increasing concern that financial and economic crisis may have delay progress regarding the performance of the Serbian health system. While substantial development has been experienced by the Serbian h...

Background Various studies have shown the ebb of the political spectrum when determining entry into the European Union. The objective of this study was to determine the key differences between the European Union (EU) and the current EU-candidate countries through the lens of the financial burden of the public healthcare system. Methods The most co...

Background To reach the targets of SDG3 not more than a decade is left. How do the Low and Middle-Income Countries in Northern Africa - in the immediate neighborhood to Europe - compare to the 15 members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and well-developed European countries around the Baltic Sea (the “Northern Dimension”)...

Introduction Disease prevention and health promotion are closely related through the lifestyle concept and should be part of the postgraduate curriculum of every School of Public Health (SPH) in the European Region and beyond, especially concerning the modifiable behaviors of physical activity and healthy nutrition. Methods The Association of Scho...

Background Exclusive breastfeeding is essential for early childhood development, although the use of adaptive milk formulas instead of breastfeeding is widespread nowadays. This study examined the prevalence of exclusively breastfed infants under the age of 6 months in non-Roma and Roma population and factors associated with this practice. Materia...

Objectives This study aimed at identifying the needs for the health workforce in 16 public health laboratories in the Serbian capital by assessing the workforce stock, workload activities, activity standards, and workload pressure. Methods A review of laboratory records and regulations, interviews with key respondents, and observing work processes...

Background Regular physical activity supports healthy behavior and contributes to the reduction of preventable diseases. Students in their social transition period are the ideal groups for interventions. The higher education period, associated with demanding changes and poor time management, results in a low level of physical activity. In this age,...

Background: Exclusive breastfeeding is essential for early childhood development, although the use of adaptive milk formulas instead of breastfeeding is widespread nowadays. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of exclusively breastfed infants under the age of 6 months in non-Roma and Roma population and factors associated with this practice....

Background: The benefits of physical activity during pregnancy include lower maternal weight gain, a lower likelihood of gestational diabetes, low back pain, preeclampsia, preterm delivery, caesarian delivery, and macrosomia. This study aimed to examine the factors associated with insufficient leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) during the first...

Background: This study reviews the ability of the Russian Federation to reduce the high mortality until 2030 evenly across the country and in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Methods: We adopted the method suggested by Haenzel for estimating Premature Years of Life Lost for the age group <70 years and applied a projected red...

Objectives: The Government of Liberia has set ambitious national health targets for 2021 to reduce the high maternal, newborn, and child mortality rate and to improve the related health services. Additionally, Sustainable Development Goal 3 provides a long-term target for 2030. The objective of this article is to analyze the gaps between the target...

Background: The Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER) is confronted with challenges to improve education for public health professionals. In this article, we attempt to answer the question: Did ASPHER members improve their organization and programmes to enable their graduates to acquire the competences to tackle t...

This analysis of the Serbian health system reviews recent developments in organization and governance, health financing, health care provision, health reforms and health system performance. The health of the Serbian population has improved over the last decade. Life expectancy at birth increased slightly in recent years, but it remains, for example...

The study identifies the prevalence of violence victimization and the perpetration among youths, and explores the determinants and predictors using a socio-ecological model. The data of 36 variables from a representative sample of 1722 persons, ages 15–24 years, from the National Health Survey of Serbia in 2013, were analyzed by a multivariate logi...

Background: The United Nations Assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals to succeed the Millennium Development Goals in September 2015. From a European perspective, the development of health in the countries of North Africa are of special interest as a critical factor of overall social development in Europe’s Mediterranean partners. In thi...

Objectives: The aim of our study was to evaluate the association of health factors with the presence and different degrees of pain in elderly above 65 years of life. Methods: The population-based study included 3540 individuals above 65 years of age of life from twofold stratified household sample representative for Serbia, during 2013 (the aver...

Background Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the most significant cause of death in low- and middle-income countries where the burden of CVD continues to rise due to the increasing incidence of CVD. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) across sex and age groups and to analyze associations betwee...

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) comprises 15-member states with an estimated population of 350 million. This account relates the present status of maternal, neonatal, and under-five-mortality to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets set for 2030. For each SDG indicator, progress observed was compared with that neede...

Objectives: To map out the Public Health Workforce (PHW) involved in successful public health interventions. Methods: We did a pilot assessment of human resources involved in successful interventions addressing public health challenges in the countries of South-Eastern Europe (SEE). High-level representatives of eight countries reported about su...

Few studies have cross-nationally tested the mediators of the relationship between alcohol use and subjective well-being among university students. This study examined how self-reported psychological distress symptoms mediate the association between alcohol use (drinking frequency and binge-drinking frequency) and subjective well-being among 637 Se...

Road traffic safety is a significant public health issue. Unfortunately, traffic crashes are frequent, as well as the deaths and injuries caused by them. Our aim was to analyze road traffic crashes in Serbia. Data were obtained from the database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia and were analyzed to identify the number o...

Objectives: We sought to determine whether blended learning is an effective strategy for acquiring competence in public health biostatistics. Methods: The trial was conducted with 69 Masters' students of public health attending the School of Public Health at University of Belgrade. Students were exposed to the traditional and blended learning st...