Suicide Methods in Slovenia - Characteristics andTime Trends 2001-2020.

Background: Between 2001 and 2020, Slovenia lost 8,952 lives due to suicides, two thirds of them by hanging. Aim: To analyze trends in suicide methods between 2001 and 2020 and to explore relationships between suicide methods and selected sociodemographic characteristic. Methods: We focused on methods accounting for 95.7% of all suicides. We performed joinpoint regression to examine changes in suicide rates by respective methods and multivariate logistic regression analyses to study sociodemographics associated with specific suicide methods. Results: A gender-specific annual decrease in suicide rates was observed in all methods except for sharp objects and jumping or lying in front of a moving object. Age was statistically significant in the use of firearms and jumping or lying in front of a moving object, while gender was significant in all methods. Associations were found between education, marital status, region of residence, and various suicide methods. Limitations: The results are potentially culturally specific. Conclusion: Certain sociodemographics seem to be associated with the selection of the method.

Psychometric Validation of an Instrument for Measuring Patient Experiences with Outpatient Healthcare.

Aim: Recently, a patient-reported experience measure (PREM) was developed in Slovenia to assess patients' experiences with outpatient specialist healthcare clinics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties (including factor structure, reliability, convergent validity, and response distribution) of the questionnaire. Methods: The sample consisted of 8,406 adult participants treated in 171 specialist clinics from different medical fields. Participants voluntarily and anonymously responded to either the paper or online survey. Results: Descriptive statistics show meaningful response patterns with a general tendency towards favourable assessments. The psychometric analyses of the scales evaluating doctor's and nurses' work, respectively, generally showed a good fit of the unidimensional factor model as well as the Rasch model, high factor loadings and very good to satisfactory reliability. The Rasch scaling showed that these scales were most informative for patients with relatively unfavourable experience ratings. Conclusions: The results are similar to those found in previous evaluations of PREMs in other countries. Given its good psychometric properties, the Slovenian PREM can be recommended for healthcare evaluations in Slovenia and as a model for the development of similar PREMs in other countries.

Psychological Well-Being and Resilience of Slovenian Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Introduction: Students' mental health is recognised as an important public health issue, and the strict measures and many changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated this. The aims of the study were thus to explore psychological well-being among university students in Slovenia during the beginning of the second lockdown, and to assess associations among their psychological well-being, demographic characteristics, presence of a chronic health condition, and resilience. Methods: The Slovenian online cross-sectional survey was performed as part of a large-scale international survey led by the COVID-HL Consortium, between the 2nd and 23rd November 2020. The study was carried out on a sample of 3,468 university students (70% female) in Slovenia, aged between 18 to 40 (M=22/SD=3). In addition to sociodemographic data and that on the presence of a chronic health condition, data on subjective social status (SSS), psychological well-being (WHO-5) and resilience (CD-RISC 10) was also gathered. Results: In our study 52% of university students reported good psychological well-being. Hierarchical binary logistic regression revealed that male, older students, those with higher perceived subjective social status, students without a chronic health condition, and those with higher score on resilience were more likely to have good psychological well-being. Resilience was the strongest predictor of psychological well-being in our study. Conclusions: Systematic preventive approaches/interventions in the field of mental health should be implemented among students in Slovenia. In this context it is important to develop and deliver programmes for enhancing resilience, which is an important protective factor in times of mental distress.