ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic represents a new challenge that has not yet been sufficiently explored. There are thus limitations in controlling the effects this crisis has caused worldwide. The pandemic constitutes a public health emergency, so there is a need for it to be considered in the context of people trafficking. Although it is not possible to fully predict the pandemic's effects on trafficking in human beings, previ-ous experiences in other crisis situations could provide valuable insights into changes related to the forms of exploitation and the specifics of victims of this crime. The aim of this paper is to establish what effects the COVID-19 crisis has had on trafficking in human beings in the Republic of Serbia by analysing data collected by the Centre for the Protection of Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings. This paper will present relevant data from years before the pandemic and the year in which the pandemic occurred (2020). The primary aim is to determine what changes took place in the forms of exploitation, as well as in the gender and age of victims, to create adequate conditions for the trends in this area to be followed. © 2020 Kriminologie. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of repurposing health care facilities in response to COVID-19 on the access of patients with thyroid disease to health care. METHODS: This study consisted of a web-based survey. The survey was anonymous and consisted of forty questions. RESULTS: This survey included 206 respondents. 91.3% of the respondents had health insurance through the Republic Fund of Health Insurance, 9.7% had private or both health insurances, and 3.4% did not have any health insurance. A significant proportion of respondents (60.4%) had to switch from public to private health care to reach a physician and 73.8% had to switch from public to private laboratories. For the 91.9%, this was perceived as a financial burden. Before the pandemic, 83.1% of respondents reported regular follow-up by physicians, which decreased to 44.9% during the pandemic (p < 0.01). 76.3% of the respondents regarded that their thyroid disease was managed optimally before the pandemic, while this figure declined to only 48% during the pandemic (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the medical care of thyroid patients in Serbia. For the patients treated in the public health care system, access to general practice was hindered, while access to specialist care was disrupted. It led to a switch from public to private health care, which was perceived as a financial burden for almost all the respondents. However, private health care proved to be an important safety net when the public system was overwhelmed.