Written Health Education Materials for Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus - Evaluation of Usefulness and Patients' Satisfaction.

BACKGROUND: Written health educational materials are an integral part of the treatment process. Because of the constantly increasing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) global rate, pregnant women require accessible, easy-to-understand and evidence-based medical information about this pregnancy complication. AIM: To adapt and elaborate printed educational materials on GDM and to evaluate the usefulness of the produced training materials and pregnant women's satisfaction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study implemented a methodological approach covering three phases: (1) systematic literature review; (2) compilation of printed educational materials for pregnant women with GDM; (3) evaluation of the usefulness and satisfaction with the produced educational materials through a focus group consisting of pregnant women. A seven-item self-administered feedback questionnaire was adopted for evaluation of patient satisfaction after the use of educational materials. RESULTS: An educational manual was developed in compliance with the main requirements for effectiveness of educational materials referring to content, structure, language, layout and illustrations. The usefulness of the educational manual and patient satisfaction were evaluated by a sample group of 20 women with GDM. Approximately 95% agreed or strongly agreed that the information in the educational manual was useful. The patients' assessment of the understanding and readability of the written materials showed a satisfaction rate of 85%. The overall assessment for the educational materials was very high - excellent (65%), very good (30%) and good (5%). CONCLUSION: The provision of educational materials on GDM can enhance pregnant women's health literacy as well as their responsibility, motivation and attitude to their personal health.

Regulatory Requirements for Food Supplements in the European Union and Bulgaria.

Data provided by the European Commission show that public expenditures for food supplements have been constantly increasing over the last decade. The aim of the present study was to analyze the major food supplements regulations in the European Union and in Bulgaria. Relevant publications were searched and found in MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus Database, Web of Knowledge, and in Internet-based search with predefined keywords. Numerous authors support the opinion that there is a real risk that low quality products may be distributed in countries with poor production control. Bulgarian national legislation have 6 regulations with different legal force for provision of healthy and safe food supplements on the market. Currently, the European Community is concerned about food products, including FS, launched on the market because the citizens require reliable protection of their health. This concern provoked the European Parliament and the Council to undertake a number of legislative initiatives in the field of production and control of food products. It is necessary to set more precise quality and safety criteria in future strategies associated with those products.