Medical Sciences
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The Medical Sciences community showcases scholarly publications and research outputs authored by faculty and researchers in the Faculty of Medical Sciences. This collection includes journal articles, working papers, conference proceedings, and other academic works that contribute to the understanding of theory, policy, and practice. It aims to promote open access to high-quality economic research conducted within the institution.
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Item MEASURING THE PERCEPTION OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT PRIMARY HEALTHCARE SERVICES THROUGH SERVQUAL MODEL(AAB College, 2025-07-17) Rexhepi, Ilir; Shabani, Gezim; Ismajli, NaimThe quality of healthcare is more difficult to identify than other services because it is the clients themselves and their quality of life that gets evaluated (Eiriz & Figueiredu, 2005). The main aim of this study is to investigate people’s perceptions and expectations regarding the quality of services in primary health care (PHC) in Kosovo. A national level survey provides baseline findings intuitively understandable to policymakers on the expectations — perceptions of the quality of services at the PHC level and identifying the quality gap between the expectations and perceptions in all dimensions of different facilities. This comparative test will show the differences between the level of quality services provided by each PHC provider in Kosovo. This research seeks to improve the access and the quality of the priority services at PHC, including maternal and child health (MCH) and non-communicable disease (NCD). This research showed that at the national level the patients have higher expectations toward PHC services. Whereas, in specific, this study showed that there is a significant gap in expected and perceived services of the PHC system between different ethnic patients and different levels of citizen education. Therefore, the result of this study will contribute to enhancing the sustainability of the mandatory health insurance reform and raise the alarm of relevant institutions to reshape the policy-making in order to improve the population health outcome.Item Reforms and Challenges of Post-conflict Kosovo Health System(AAB College, 2025-07-17) Mustafa, MyberaBefore its collapse, Kosovo’s healthcare system was an integrated part of the Former Yugoslav Republics System (known as relatively well advanced for its time). Standstill had begun in the last decade of the twentieth century as the result of political disintegration of the former state. The enthusiasm of the healthcare professionals and the people of Kosovo that at the end of the conflict healthcare services will consolidate did not prove just right. Although we can claim that reorganization of Kosovo healthcare was a serious push (especially in the first years after the conflict), the intensity of development begun to fall at the latter stages. Although the basic legislation for the operation of the Healthcare System today in Kosovo does exist, the largest cause for the reform stagnation is where the law is not implemented properly and measures are not set as to a meaningful system of accountability. Twelve years have passed by since the 1999 war-conflict and, although, Kosovo has made progress in many other spheres, it has not yet reached to consolidate a health system comparable to those of other European countries. Intending to get out of difficult situation, several healthcare strategic plans have been developed in the past decade in Kosovo, but attempts in this direction have not been particularly fruitful. This script describes the actual Healthcare complexity of a situation in Kosovo 12 years after the end of the 1999 war-conflict. Interconnection and historical background is also looked upon and is described in the flow of events. Finally, the description of transfer competencies from international administrators to the local authorities as well as the flow of strategic planning that took place since 1999 has also been analyzed.Item Characteristics of Tularemia in Kosovo during the period 2006-2011(AAB College, 2025-07-17) Sadiku, IzetAim: First cases of tularemia in Kosovo were confirmed in 2000. During the 2000-2002 epidemic outbreak over 600 cases occurred whereas in 2010 over 320 tularemia caseswere reported. Our aim was to present the epidemiological, clinical and diagnostic characteristics and treatment of patients with tularemia treated in the Clinic for Infectious Disease at University Clinical Center of Kosovo, during 2006-2011. Methods: A total of 100 patients were examined. Medical records data including anamnesis, clinical examinations, laboratory tests and treatment were analyzed. Results: Mean age of patients was 23.7 years. The average hospital stay was 15.7 days/patient. All patients were from rural areas and 66% of them had access only to well water. The predominant manifestation of the disease was the glandular form whereas 19%and 17%of cases presented pharyngeal and pulmonary forms too, respectively. High Erythrocyte Sedimentation rate was recorded in 95% of pat ients. 51% of cases had slight anemia and 47% had leukocytosis. Agglutination test in all cases was positive. The Polymerase Chain Reaction test was positive in all taken samples and Francisella tularensis subspecies holartica was isolated as putative agent. Besides Gentamycin (88%) and Streptomycin (12%), incision and drainage of lymph nodes as accessory therapy was applied in 51%of patients. Conclusion: Tularemia still represents a public health problem in Kosovo. The glandular form of the disease predominates. Incision and drainage of inflamed glands as accessory therapy has shown to be a good method of treatment for severe forms of disease in combination with antimicrobial therapy.Item A decade of civilian vascular trauma in Kosovo(AAB College, 2025-07-17) Jaha, LuanPurpose: We sought to analyze the results of arterial injury management in a busy metropolitan vascular unit and risk factors associated with mortality and morbidity. Patients and methods: We analyzed 120 patient with arterial injury treated between year 2000 and 2010 at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo. Seven of these years were prospective and three retrospective study. Results: The mechanism of arterial injury was stabbing 46.66%, gunshot wounds in 31.66%, blunt in 13.33%, and landmine in 8.33%. The most frequently injured vessel was the superficial femoral artery (25%), followed by the brachial artery (20.9%), crural arteries (13.1%), forearm arteries (14.3%), iliac arteries (7.5%), abdominal aorta (3.3%), common femoral artery (3.3%) and popliteal artery (3.3%). Associated injuries including bone, nerve and remote injury (affecting the head, chest, or abdomen) were present in 24.2% of patients. The decision to operate was made based on the presence of “hard signs” of vascular trauma. Arterial reconstruction was performed in 90.8% of patients, 5.8% of patients underwent primary amputation and 3.2% died on the operation table. Overall survival rate was 95.8%. Conclusion: Injuries to the arteries are associated with significant mortality and morbidity. Mechanism of injury (blunt, gunshot, landmine or stub), hemodynamic stability at the admission, localization of injury, time from injury to flow restitution, associated injuries to the structures in the region and remote organs are critical factors influencing outcome.Item Radioactivity in Soils of Kosovo and Radiological(AAB College, 2025-07-17) Kadiri, SehadThis study was carried out to determine the presence of the main radionuclides from natural and artificial radioactivity in the soil of Kosovo, using gamma-ray spectroscopy. The mean activity concentration for Ra-226, Th-232, K-40, and Cs-137 was 22.32 1.41, 22.14 1.31, 358.16 8.85, and 12.94 0.44 Bq/kg, respectively. Radium equivalent activity ranged from 47 to 100 Bq/kg. The mean of calculated values for the gamma index (I ), external hazard index (Hex), absorbed dose rate (ADR), annual gonadal dose rate (AGDE), annual effective dose rate (AEDE), and excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) were 0.61, 0.22, 40 nGy/h, 275 Sv/year, 49 Sv/year, and 170, respectively. In conclusion, the radiological parameters arising from the soil samples of Kosovo belong to the normal range of radionuclides, compared to those compiled by UNSCEAR from worldwide reports; therefore, health hazards are insignificantItem EPIDEMIOLOGY OF BURN INJURIES IN KOSOVO: A 10-YEAR REVIEW(AAB College, 2025-07-16) Zatriqi, VioletaBurns are the most devastating form of trauma. They are among the most devastating injuries a child can sustain, and coupled with prolonged aggressive and non-aggressive medical and nursing therapies, can result in long-term physical and psychological concerns. Data were obtained from medical records of burned patients treated in our clinic from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2015. Subsequent details are examined, such as age, gender, etiologic factor, surface of the affected area, depth of burn, localization of injury by region, season when they happened the most, methods of treatment and duration of hospitalization. A total of 1268 patients with burns were admitted to the Clinic of Plastic Surgery Kosovo for treatment between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2015. During the period of our research, male patients were predominant, accounting for 835 cases (65.85%) of burns while 433 (34.14%) patients were female. The average age in this study was 23 years. Our findings, even with the caveats known to this study, suggest that there is still a high number of patients with burn injury requiring hospital admission.Item Seroprevalence of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies among Municipal Staff in the Municipality of Prishtina(AAB College, 2025-07-15) Gashi, BujarBackground: Some studies have assessed the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in different populations. Very few studies have explored seroprevalence in municipal workers, an important and potentially high-risk population. This study aims to determine the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in municipal workers, with the additional examination of the association of prevalence with various demographic, health-related, and epidemiological factors. Methods: We surveyed and tested for seroprevalence 418 public servants from the municipality of Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo. The primary prespecified outcome was the seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, IgG, and IgM. Additional outcomes were crude and adjusted odds ratios of seroprevalence by different factors. Results: 21.1% of municipal workers tested positive for either IgM or IgG. Of these, 9.6% were positive for IgM and 19.4% for IgG. Data showed high levels of adherence to protective measures, e.g., social distancing in the office, but calculation of ORs did not show a significant difference between those reporting adherence to such measures and those reporting nonadherence. Of other examined factors, significantly lower odds were observed for smokers (0.52, 95% CI 0.28, 0.97), while municipal workers with infected family members had elevated odds of seropositivity according to both crude (2.19, 95% CI 1.34, 3.59) and adjusted (2.00, 95% CI 1.17, 3.41) ORs. Conclusions: Most answers from public servants demonstrated compliance to social-distancing policies in the workplace, but analysis of crude and adjusted odds ratios did not suggest a significant effect between municipal workers who followed these guidelines and those who did not. Results from this study help Kosovo policy makers in understanding the level of prevalence of COVID-19 in municipal workers and the effect of different factors on such prevalence. Results from the study could inform future decisions on the design and application of protective measures for municipal workers. Our findings should encourage further research to assess the extent of the spread of COVID-19 to other essential workers in Kosovo, including retail workers.