Determinants of job satisfaction of healthcare professionals in public hospitals in Belgrade, Serbia--Cross-sectional analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The quality of health care significantly depends on the satisfaction of the employees. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to establish the level of professional satisfaction of healthcare professionals in state hospitals in Belgrade, Serbia, and to determine and to rank the factors which impact on their satisfaction or dissatisfaction. METHOD: Professional satisfaction survey was designed and conducted as a cross-sectional study in 2008. Completed questionnaires were returned by 6,595 healthcare professionals from Belgrade's hospitals. Statistical analysis was performed using the Student's t-test, χ² test and ANOVA. Factor analysis was applied in order to define determinants of professional satisfaction, i.e. dissatisfaction. RESULTS: This study showed that the degree of professional satisfaction of Serbian healthcare professionals was low. The main causes of professionals'dissatisfaction were wages, equipment, the possibility of continuous medical education/training and the opportunities for professional development. Healthcare professionals with university education were more satisfied with all the individual aspects of job satisfaction than those with secondary school and college education. CONCLUSION: There were significantly more healthcare professionals satisfied with their job among males, older than 60 years, in the age group 50-59 years, with managerial function, and with 30 or more years of service. Development strategy of human resources in the Serbian health care system would significantly improve the professional satisfaction and quality of the provided health care.

Health-related quality of life, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in children with primary immunodeficiencies.

INTRODUCTION: The aims of this study were to evaluate levels of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and the presence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in children with primary immunodeficiency disease (PID) in Serbia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Self- and parent-rated data from 25 children with PID were available. As controls, data from 50 children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and 89 healthy children were included. The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory was used for HRQOL assessments. Anxiety symptoms were identified using the Screen for Child Anxiety-Related Emotional Disorders questionnaire, while depressive symptoms were identified using the Mood and Feeling Questionnaire. RESULTS: Children with PID had significantly lower Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory total scores compared to children with JIA and healthy children as child-rated (P=0.02) and parent-rated (P<0.001). Specifically, they had significantly lowered emotional functioning compared to children with JIA, and social functioning compared to both children with JIA and healthy children. School functioning was significantly lower among children with PID (parent-rated only). By parent-rated responses, six (24%) out of 25 children with PID had significant anxiety symptoms, while five (20%) children had significant depressive symptoms, which was statistically higher than among children with JIA and healthy controls (P=0.05). CONCLUSION: HRQOL could be significantly compromised in children with PID, particularly across such psychosocial domains as emotional, social, and school. These children were also found to be at an increased risk for suffering significant anxiety and depressive symptoms.