Changes in the organizational structure of public health nurse service in the Republic of Croatia 1995 to 2012.

Since 1996, after the privatization of primary health care, public health nurse (PHN) in Croatia remained employed within the health center, mainly responsible for the preventive care of the inhabitants from defined catchment's area. Before that time they were part of general practice teams. The main aim of the study was to investigate what are the trends in the organizational structure of PHN service in Croatia, from 1995-2012. The main source was the Croatian Health Service Yearbooks. The obtained results shows that they are college educated and mostly in full-time jobs. The important findings are the lack of nurses and theirs regional differences. In highly demanding societies, with growing numbers of elderly, mental, social and economic problems, it will be worthy to consider the lower standard then 5 100 inhabitants per one PHN. Also, it should be taken into account to invest into the lowering of regional disparities.

Did the structure of work in the public health nurse service of the Republic of Croatia change in the period 1995-2012?

In Croatia, public health nurses (PHN) have been members of family doctor (FD) teams for decades, conducting a multifunctional and polyvalent scope of activities, including health promotion, prevention, as well as part of the treatment for the inhabitants of a defined catchment area. The main aim of the study was to investigate the trends in the number and structure of PHN visits in the period from 1996 to 2012. The main sources of data were Croatian Health Service Yearbooks. The results strongly indicate that PHN's are overloaded by a high number of visits, especially to chronic patients. While mothers and new-born children are in the PHN care, pregnant women and small children are rather neglected. Considering different working conditions and differences in population needs, a review of the standard is recommendable.