Health can be shaped by health behavior, which is influenced by health education, which is understood as a planned and systematic process during which people learn to take care of their own health and that of their communities. The aim of this type of education is to create an independent way of thinking and making independent choices as a necessary condition for initiating healthy behaviors. An important task here is to teach responsibility for behavior towards their own health, but also towards the health of the surrounding environment. Responsibility and care for health should be related to independent, well-established social attitudes as health competences.Health competences are defined as cognitive skills that promote good health (WHO, 1998). It is assumed that a low level of health literacy means, for example, that communication with a doctor is at a low level, which may lead to incomplete management of one's own health. The aim of the article is to indicate the importance of health education in shaping health behaviors as a consequence of health competences. Moreover, the aim of the article is to present the level of health competences in selected countries based on research.

Mastering writing skills is preceded by a significant developmental pathway of graphomotor abilities, which starts early in childhood. Considering that graphomotor ability and visual perception are prerequisites for mastering the writing, this study analyzed the graphomotor abilities in preschool-aged children, with the aim of identifying children exhibiting elements suspected of dysgraphia. The sample consisted of 100 preschool-aged children (age 5-6), of both genders (49 girls and 51 boys). Pre-writing skills were assessed using the Predictive Test for Dysgraphia. The research was conducted in a Preschool Institution in Danilovgrad, in March and April 2024. The results of analysis showed that preschool-aged children have specific difficulties in meeting the following criteria: accurately following the given sequence of figures and their careful and precise drawing (size and shape). It was also found that children of this age group have a particular problem in maintaining the specified distance of the figures from the edge of the rectangle (drawing around the edge). The only test item that the majority of respondents were able to respond to was perseverance in completing tasks, in terms of finishing the drawing (a series of started figures). Based on inadequate visual discrimination of the size and shape of given and drawn figures, and poor spatial orientation on paper, it is possible to identify children with graphomotor difficulties. Early detection of children with visual-perceptual and graphomotor difficulties will help overcome these deficiencies through systematic exercises through speech therapy treatments, so that children can start school being better prepared.

Given the urgent global warming situation and the need to decrease carbon emissions, this research project is essential for examining alternative energy sources, like hydrogen, for sustainable transportation and power production. The increasing urbanization and enhanced urban mobility emphasize the significance of building energy-efficient transport systems, such as Light Rail Transport, to offset environmental consequences. This study seeks to enhance the current discussion on moving towards a more sustainable and ecologically aware energy model by examining the practicality and advantages of these developing energy alternatives.

Prescription opioids are used for managing pain in persons with cancer, however, there are socioeconomic and racial disparities in medication access. Cannabis is increasingly used for cancer symptom management and as an opioid alternative. Limited data are available about patterns of opioid and cannabis use among patients with cancer. We used survey data from 4 National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers in 3 states (n = 1220) to assess perceptions, use of cannabis and opioids for pain, their substitution, and racial and ethnic differences in each outcome. Compared with White patients, Black patients were less likely to use opioids for pain (odds ratio [OR] = 0.66; P = .035) and more likely to report that cannabis was more effective than opioids (OR = 2.46; P = .03). Race effects were mitigated (P > .05) after controlling for socioeconomic factors. Further research is needed to understand cannabis and opioid use patterns and how overlapping social determinants of health create a disadvantage in cancer symptom management for Black patients.

Dominant lateralization refers to the phenomenon of having a leading extremity or leading sense during the execution of complex psychomotor activities. Writing represents a complex human ability and simultaneously the most complex form of linguistic activity, which includes knowledge, skills, and the art of proper letter formation. This study explores the relationship between lateralization and handwriting quality with the aim of identifying children with dysgraphic handwriting. The sample consisted of 90 younger elementary school students (third, fourth, and fifth grade), aged 8 to 11 years (AS = 9.93; SD = 0.84), of both genders (46 boys and 44 girls). The Handwriting Dysgraphia Assessment Test was used to assess handwriting quality. Dominant upper extremity lateralization was assessed using tests from the Sovak Test Battery (1979), while visual lateralization was assessed using a test from the General Defectology Diagnostics Practicum. The research was conducted at an elementary school in Trebinje, during February and March 2024. Research results show that a significant percentage of younger elementary school children have dysgraphic (21.1%) or severely dysgraphichandwriting (35.6%). Among the majority of participants, right-handed upper extremity dominance was observed (86.7%) along with right visual dominance (82.2%), with coordinated visual and upper extremity lateralization present in 88.9% of children. The results of investigation of the impact of uncoordinated upper extremity and visual lateralization on dysgraphic handwriting did not demonstrate statistical significance. Although our results did not confirm a link between lateralization and handwriting quality, for younger elementary school children with uncoordinated upper extremity and visual lateralization, exercises focusing on directing, practicing, and stabilizing lateralization are recommended.

The aim of the research was to determine the quality of life of visually impaired respondents in relation to gender. The research included 99 patients with cataracts, glaucoma, strabismus and eye injuries with a residual vision of 50% (visual acuity ≤0.5). All were in the terminal phase of the disease. For the purpose of the research, a survey questionnaire was used, which, in addition to sociodemographic data, also consists of a vision questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25), version 2000. The vision questionnaire is used by the National Vision Institute. The difference in the quality of life of the respondents was determined in relation to gender and diagnosis. For all 25 questions divided into three areas that refer to the respondents' assessment of the following elements: general health, vision, eye pain, distance and near activities, a discriminant analysis was performed. The results of the research confirmed that vision impairment affects the quality of life of the patient, as well as that there is a difference between the male and female respondents in the applied measuring instrument system. The greatest influence of different degrees of visual impairment was evident in the area of reading and access to information, somewhat less in the area of orientation and movement, and the smallest in the area of the patients' emotional state. The age of the respondents ranged from 5 to 78 years. The majority of respondents were men 50 (50.50%). The average chronological age of male respondents is 47.50±21.56 years, and female respondents 50.12±20.85. In the total sample, 45.5% of respondents have cataracts, 29.3% have glaucoma, 11.1% have strabismus and 14.1% have an eye injury. 47.5% of respondents consider their health to be average, 44.4% consider it to be above average, while 8.1% of respondents consider it to be below average. A higher percentage of male respondents have glaucoma (38%) and injuries/trauma (20%) compared to female respondents. A higher percentage of female respondents (55.1%) state that their quality of life is above average, while the percentage of male respondents is 34%. Quality of life is average for 56% of male respondents and 38.8% of female respondents.