Original scientific paper
Efforts in Fighting against Cancer in Croatia Have to be Focused on the Primary Health Care
Ljiljana Majnarić Trtica
Marija Strnad
Rudika Gmajnić
Barbara Ebling
Zdravko Ebling
Ivana Marković
Mirko Šamija
Abstract
This manuscript is a comprehensive review of the long-lasting tradition and the state-of-the-art in the prevention and
early detection of cancer in Croatia. Compared with other European countries, Croatia holds a high and unfavourable
position in cancer morbidity and mortality. Global experience in implementation of national programmes for the early
detection of cancer clearly shows that such approach is the most successful and in the long term the least expensive
method for fighting against cancer. In Croatia, numerous separate actions in cancer care have been taken, but never systematically,
nor included in a health care policy. The National Programme for the Prevention and Early Detection of
Cancer of the common localizations for which effective screening tests are available (breast, uterine cervix, colon and
prostate) has recently been launched. Local long-standing experience of the Osijek-Baranja County in implementation of
programmes of cancer care contributed significantly to these initiatives. In this review, draft National Programme and
the early results of its implementation were presented. In addition, preparations for the research project »Model of early
cancer detection integrated in a practice of family physician«, recently set up by the Department of Family Medicine of the
School of Medicine, University of Osijek, were described. In this project, the programme of the early detection of cancer in
which family physicians take responsibility for the programme implementation is suggested. Possible advantages of this
model, compared with the model proposed by the National Programme, centrally directed and mostly supplied by the
public services, are pointed out.
Keywords
cancer; early detection; Croatia; the National Programme; primary health care; integrated model
Hrčak ID:
27063
URI
Publication date:
2.9.2008.
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