Determinants of COVID-19 vaccination intention in Central and Eastern Europe: A cross-sectional study in Poland, Romania, and Slovenia.

BACKGROUND: Identifying predictors of vaccination intention is critical to developing appropriate programs and campaigns targeting groups reluctant to be vaccinated. This study aimed to identify the determinants of vaccination intention at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in three Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries: Poland, Romania, and Slovenia. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a sample of unvaccinated 1723 Poles, Romanians, and Slovenians completed an online survey (April 2021). Questions included measures of vaccination intention, attitudes towards vaccines, conspiracy mindset, preference for a type of vaccine, and trust in information sources. RESULTS: The results showed that mistrust of vaccine benefits and concerns about commercial profiteering negatively predicted vaccination intention. Conversely, trust in information from medical professionals and scientists, official sources, and traditional media was positively related to vaccination intention, while trust in digital media was negatively related to vaccination intention. In addition, preference for mRNA vaccine type was a positive significant predictor of vaccination intention. The differences between countries are discussed. CONCLUSIONS: The study results deliver suggestions for developing appropriate vaccine uptake programs and campaigns that should consider presenting the positive outcomes of vaccines via official sources and traditional media based on scientific evidence and medical professionals' knowledge.

Emergency physician personnel crisis: a survey on attitudes of new generations in Slovenia.

BACKGROUND: Emergency departments globally are overburdened, and emergency medicine residency is losing popularity among students and physicians. This raises concerns about the collapse of a life-saving system. Our goal was to identify the key workforce reasoning and question medical staff employment behavior. METHODS: This was a prospective cross-sectional study. In December 2022, medical students and pre-residency doctors in Slovenia were invited to complete a web-based questionnaire. The data were analyzed using T-test, chi-square test, Mann‒Whitney-Wilcoxon tests, and principal component analysis. Open-ended questions were hand-categorized. RESULTS: There were 686 participatns who clicked on the first page and 436 of those finished the survey. 4% of participants gave a clear positive response, while 11% responded positively regarding their decision to pursue emergency medicine residency. The popularity of emergency medicine decreases significantly among recent medical school graduates upon their initial employment. People who choose emergency medicine are less concerned about its complexity and pressure compared to others. Most respondents preferred 12-hour shift lengths. The preferred base salary range for residents was I$ 3623-4529, and for specialists, it was I$ 5435-6341. The sample's primary personal priorities are achieving a satisfactory work-life balance, earning respect from colleagues, and engaging in academic activities. Factors that attract individuals to choose emergency medicine include high hourly wages, establishment of standards and norms, and reduced working hours. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that enhancing compensation, establishing achievable standards and norms, facilitating a beneficial work-life equilibrium, providing assistance with initial property acquisition, stimulating participation in deficit residency programs, fostering collegiality among peers, restricting the duration of shifts, and enabling pension accrual may be imperative in attracting more individuals to pursue emergency medicine residency.

Factors Affecting Attitudes towards COVID-19 Vaccination: An Online Survey in Slovenia.

While the problem of vaccine hesitancy is not new, it has become more pronounced with the new COVID-19 vaccines and represents an obstacle to resolving the crisis. Even people who would usually trust vaccines and experts now prefer to wait for more information. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Slovenia in December 2020 to find out the attitudes of the population regarding COVID-19 vaccination and the factors that affect these attitudes. Based on 12,042 fully completed questionnaires, we find that higher intention to get vaccinated is associated with men, older respondents, physicians and medical students, respondents who got the influenza vaccination, those who knew someone who had gotten hospitalised or died from COVID-19 and those who have more trust in experts, institutions and vaccines. Nurses and technicians were less likely to get vaccinated. In answers to an open question, sceptics were split into those doubting the quality due to the rapid development of the vaccine and those that reported personal experiences with side effects of prior vaccinations. Although the Slovenian population is diverse in its attitudes towards vaccination, the results are comparable to those found in other countries. However, there are potential limitations to the generalizability of the findings that should be addressed in future studies.