Abstract:

Since 1952, generations of medical students of Medical School University of Zagreb attended community health course, in order to be aware of community and social factors influence on health. Course is organised and provided by Andrija Štampar School of Public Health in different rural areas of Croatia, for one week. The main purpose of practical lectures for students is to investigate living conditions and life styles in direct communication with people in their homes. For that reason students spend substantial part of the course throughout one week, in homes interviewing all adult household members and collecting data for different research projects each academic year, but at the same time it is opportunity for students to get holistic picture of human life and multi-factorial influence on health by observing, feeling, and understanding them. Students don’t simply collect information; they also experience and “feel” most of important facts in delivery of health care. The course aim is to encourage students to comprehend the importance of communities in the health of individuals and families. The course is based on well known approach in health service: “main fields of action of a physician are human settlements, not laboratories and consulting rooms” (A. Štampar). Students have opportunity to perceive community members inside and outside of health care system, and to study epidemiological and socio-medical determinants of health, under activities of health and social care systems. Students work with supervision of the School lecturers working together with local health professionals, physicians and community nurses in order to facilitate experience, knowledge, skills and attitudes transfer. Practical work comprises treatment of patients from the initial contact with the health system, diagnostics, therapy, home and workplace visits. In addition, students learn basic principles of health education, epidemiological and environmental diagnosis and public health field research.
Since 2008, an innovative method in data collection was introduced. Students are equipped with iPAQ hx2100 pocket PCs, instead of paper questionnaires. The advantage of this approach, apart from the practical side of collecting complete, correct, and logical data is the possibility of immediate data processing and analysis, making collected data much more useful in terms of better understanding the sense of information. The examples of innovative approach are programs such as: “Drinking habits gender morbidity differences at rural area of Velika Municipality”: out of 584 (195 male, 389 female) interviewed inhabitants aged 18 -87 years, 73.3% male and 41.4% female inhabitants were alcohol consumers. Male non alcohol consumers, more often had diabetes, chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, gastritis, rheum and senility, and female chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, elevated blood cholesterol and lipids. “Smokers and non smokers differences in morbidity at rural area of Velika Municipality“: smokers were 33.9% males and 19.6% females and both had more mental illnesses and chronic bronchitis. “Predictors of woman attending and not- attending national mammography screening”: out of 160 interviewed women aged 50-69, 87.5% received invitation for mammography. Socio-demographic characteristics of 69 attendees were: higher school education, living with family, more family members, residence in urban area, but there were not identifiable predictors.

Keywords:

innovation, technology, research projects.