The purpose of this study was to develop guidelines to enable the members of acne sufferers' support networks to become better sources of practical, emotional and social support. A literature study and an empirical investigation were done to investigate which factors could enable members of the acne sufferer’s support network to become better sources of support. A questionnaire was developed as an aid to identify the perceptions and emotions of acne sufferers, which was published on a website, (www.acnediaries.co.za) specifically designed for this purpose. Two semi-structured interviews with acne sufferers were also done to enrich the findings. Results of the study identified several guidelines for parents, teachers, siblings, friends and boyfriends or girlfriends of acne sufferers to enable them to give support to teenagers suffering from acne. / Further Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

Dans une perspective d’analyse des risques pour la santé publique, l’estimation de l’exposition revêt une importance capitale. Parmi les approches existantes d’estimation de l’exposition, l’utilisation d’outils, tels que des questionnaires alimentaires, la modélisation toxicocinétique ou les reconstructions de doses, en complément de la surveillance biologique, permet de raffiner les estimations, et ainsi, de mieux caractériser les risques pour la santé. Ces différents outils et approches ont été développés et appliqués à deux substances d’intérêt, le méthylmercure et le sélénium en raison des effets toxiques bien connus du méthylmercure, de l’interaction entre le méthylmercure et le sélénium réduisant potentiellement ces effets toxiques, et de l’existence de sources communes via la consommation de poisson. Ainsi, l’objectif général de cette thèse consistait à produire des données cinétiques et comparatives manquantes pour la validation et l’interprétation d’approches et d’outils d’évaluation de l’exposition au méthylmercure et au sélénium. Pour ce faire, l’influence du choix de la méthode d’évaluation de l’exposition au méthylmercure a été déterminée en comparant les apports quotidiens et les risques pour la santé estimés par différentes approches (évaluation directe de l’exposition par la surveillance biologique combinée à la modélisation toxicocinétique ou évaluation indirecte par questionnaire alimentaire). D’importantes différences entre ces deux approches ont été observées : les apports quotidiens de méthylmercure estimés par questionnaires sont en moyenne six fois plus élevés que ceux estimés à l’aide de surveillance biologique et modélisation. Ces deux méthodes conduisent à une appréciation des risques pour la santé divergente puisqu’avec l’approche indirecte, les doses quotidiennes estimées de méthylmercure dépassent les normes de Santé Canada pour 21 des 23 volontaires, alors qu’avec l’approche directe, seulement 2 des 23 volontaires sont susceptibles de dépasser les normes. Ces différences pourraient être dues, entre autres, à des biais de mémoire et de désirabilité lors de la complétion des questionnaires. En outre, l’étude de la distribution du sélénium dans différentes matrices biologiques suite à une exposition non alimentaire (shampoing à forte teneur en sélénium) visait, d’une part, à étudier la cinétique du sélénium provenant de cette source d’exposition et, d’autre part, à évaluer la contribution de cette source à la charge corporelle totale. Un suivi des concentrations biologiques (sang, urine, cheveux et ongles) pendant une période de 18 mois chez des volontaires exposés à une source non alimentaire de sélénium a contribué à mieux expliciter les mécanismes de transfert du sélénium du site d’absorption vers le sang (concomitance des voies régulées et non régulées). Ceci a permis de montrer que, contrairement au méthylmercure, l’utilisation des cheveux comme biomarqueur peut mener à une surestimation importante de la charge corporelle réelle en sélénium en cas de non contrôle de facteurs confondants tels que l’utilisation de shampoing contenant du sélénium. Finalement, une analyse exhaustive des données de surveillance biologique du sélénium issues de 75 études publiées dans la littérature a permis de mieux comprendre la cinétique globale du sélénium dans l’organisme humain. En particulier, elle a permis le développement d’un outil reliant les apports quotidiens et les concentrations biologiques de sélénium dans les différentes matrices à l’aide d’algorithmes mathématiques. Conséquemment, à l’aide de ces données cinétiques exprimées par un système d’équations logarithmiques et de leur représentation graphique, il est possible d’estimer les apports quotidiens chez un individu à partir de divers prélèvements biologiques, et ainsi, de faciliter la comparaison d’études de surveillance biologique du sélénium utilisant des biomarqueurs différents. L’ensemble de ces résultats de recherche montre que la méthode choisie pour évaluer l’exposition a un impact important sur les estimations des risques associés. De plus, les recherches menées ont permis de mettre en évidence que le sélénium non alimentaire ne contribue pas de façon significative à la charge corporelle totale, mais constitue un facteur de confusion pour l’estimation de la charge corporelle réelle en sélénium. Finalement, la détermination des équations et des coefficients reliant les concentrations de sélénium entre différentes matrices biologiques, à l’aide d’une vaste base de données cinétiques, concourt à mieux interpréter les résultats de surveillance biologique. / In the context of public health risk analysis, exposure assessments are of primary importance. Among the approaches used to assess exposure, tools such as food questionnaires, toxicokinetic modelling or reverse dosimetry, combined with biomonitoring allow to refine exposure estimates as well as toxicological health risk estimates. Such approaches and tools have been developed and applied to two contaminants of interest - methylmercury and selenium - due to the known toxic effect of methylmercury, the interaction between methylmercury and selenium which reduces its toxicity, and common sources of exposure through fish consumption. Hence, the main objective of this thesis consists in producing kinetic and comparative data for the validation and the interpretation of approaches and tools used for exposure assessment to methylmercury and selenium. These data are currently lacking. To achieve this goal, the influence of the method used to assess methylmercury exposure was determined by comparing daily intakes and health risk estimated with different approaches (direct exposure assessment using biomonitoring and toxicokinetic modelling or indirect exposure assessment using food questionnaires). Important discrepancies between these two methods have been observed: the questionnaire-based intakes are higher than modeled intakes higher by a six-fold factor. These two approaches lead to divergent health risk estimates considering that, with the direct exposure assessment, methylmercury daily intakes are above Health Canada guidelines in most cases (21 of 23 volunteers) while only 2 volunteers have intakes above guidelines when using the direct approach. Among possible reasons, discrepancies could be due to recall and desirability bias related to the completion of food questionnaire. Subsequently, the study of selenium distribution in different biological matrices following a non-dietary exposure (selenium-containing shampoo) aimed to study the kinetic of the selenium originating from this exposure as well as assess the contribution of this source to the total Se body burden. The time courses of selenium biological concentration in blood, urine, hair and nails over 18 months for volunteers exposed to a non-dietary source of selenium contributed to better elucidate the mechanisms of selenium transfer to blood (concurrency of regulated and non-regulated pathways). This study also confirms that, unlike methylmercury, the use of hair as a biomarker can lead to a significant overestimate of the actual selenium body burden if confounding factors such as the use of selenium-containing shampoo are not controlled. In addition, a detailed analysis of selenium biomonitoring data from 75 published studies in the literature was conducted in order to better understand the kinetic of selenium in the human body. In particular, this analysis led to the development of a tool that relates daily intakes and selenium concentrations in biological matrices using mathematical algorithms. Consequently, by using these kinetic data expressed as a system of logarithmic equations and graphical representations, it enables the assessment of daily intakes in an individual from various biological sampling. Moreover, it facilitates the comparison of selenium biomonitoring data from studies using different biomarkers. Overall, these results show that the approach used to assess exposure has a sound impact on health risk estimates. Research showed that selenium from a non-dietary source does not contribute significantly to total body burden, however it constitutes a confounding factor. Finally, the determination of equations and coefficients using an extensive kinetic database relating selenium concentrations from different biological matrices helps to better interpret biomonitoring data.

En cancérologie, la qualité de vie relative à la santé (QdV) est considérée comme second critère de jugement principal dans les essais cliniques en l’absence d’effet sur la survie globale. L’interprétation des scores de QdV et d’une différence de scores cliniquement pertinente entre deux temps de mesure est un problème majeur en QdV. Cette différence peut être significative d’un point de vue statistique sans être cliniquement significative du point de vue du patient. La différence minimale cliniquement importante (DMCI) a ainsi été définie comme la plus petite différence de score de QdV qui serait considérée comme ayant un sens clinique pour le patient. L’analyse longitudinale de la QdV est complexe, en particulier en raison de l’occurrence de l’effet « Response Shift » qui est susceptible de biaiser les résultats d’analyse longitudinal et en particulier les résultats de la DMCI. Dans ce contexte, le premier objectif de ce travail de thèse est une revue de la littérature concernant la détermination de la DMCI selon les méthodes les plus couramment utilisées : les méthodes basées sur l’ancre et les méthodes basées sur la distribution. Deuxièmement, calculer la DMCI par les méthodes basées sur l’ancre et la distribution en appliquant différents critères de distribution et plusieurs ancres différentes. L’objectif est de comparer les résultats obtenus par les différentes méthodes et de les comparer également avec les résultats obtenus par les études antérieures. Enfin, étudier l’impact de l’occurrence de l’effet Response Shift sur la détermination de la DMCI pour les questionnaires de QdV en cancérologie. / In oncology, the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is generally considered as a second endpoint in the clinical trials. The interpretation of the results of the longitudinal analysis of such data must be made in both statistical and clinical point of view in order to produce meaningful results for both patients and clinicians. The main objective is to assess the impact of the treatment on patient’s HRQOL level over time. The minimal clinically important difference (MCID) was defined as the smallest change between two scores in a treatment outcome that a patient would identify as important. Indeed, the longitudinal analysis of HRQOL remains complex, particularly due to the potential occurrence of a Response Shift effect characterizing the process of adaptation of the patient in relation to the illness and its treatment. Hence, the first objective of this work is a literature review concerning the determination of the MCID by the most commonly used methods: anchor-based and distribution-based methods. Secondly, calculating the MCID using anchor-based and distribution-based methods by applying different distribution criteria and several different anchors. The objective is to compare the results obtained by the different methods and to compare them to others obtained by previous studies. Finally, studying the impact of the Response Shift effect on the determination of MCID for the HRQOL questionnaires in cancer research using several data corresponding to different therapeutic situations and cancer locations.

The purpose of this study was to develop guidelines to enable the members of acne sufferers' support networks to become better sources of practical, emotional and social support. A literature study and an empirical investigation were done to investigate which factors could enable members of the acne sufferer’s support network to become better sources of support. A questionnaire was developed as an aid to identify the perceptions and emotions of acne sufferers, which was published on a website, (www.acnediaries.co.za) specifically designed for this purpose. Two semi-structured interviews with acne sufferers were also done to enrich the findings. Results of the study identified several guidelines for parents, teachers, siblings, friends and boyfriends or girlfriends of acne sufferers to enable them to give support to teenagers suffering from acne. / Further Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)

L'évaluation de la qualité de vie des patients a une place centrale en santé, en particulier dans les recherches et les politiques de santé publique. De nombreux instruments de mesure sont développés et les discours sur la qualité de vie en santé se multiplient. Diverses approches du concept cohabitent. Mais ce développement et cette diversité s'accompagnent de doutes persistants sur la validité des concepts de qualité de vie en santé. Pour comprendre et peut-être réduire cette confusion, il faut d'abord s'accorder sur un niveau d'analyse commun du concept de qualité de vie en santé. Or, à notre connaissance, un tel niveau d'analyse n'existe pas. Ce niveau d'analyse est pourtant nécessaire pour expliciter, comparer et examiner les choix théoriques qui déterminent la conception de la qualité de vie, et surtout de la bonne qualité de vie, sous-jacente aux instruments de mesure. C'est la conceptualisation de la valeur, de ce qu'il y a de bon dans une vie qui est d'abord en jeu. Or ceci est occulté. En effet, l'approche de la qualité de vie en santé est conçue généralement, mais à tort, comme neutre par rapport à la valeur. Cette occultation de la valeur explique probablement pourquoi un cadre d'analyse commun des concepts en usage de qualité de vie liée à la santé fait défaut. A partir d'une compréhension de la logique de la valeur spécifique à la qualité de vie, nous tentons de développer ici ce cadre d'analyse conceptuelle. / The evaluation of quality of the patients' life is central in health, especially in Public Health research programs and policies. Many instruments are developed and discourses on health related quality of life grow in number and diversity. Several approaches and accounts of the concept coexist. However, this growth and diversity is synonymous with enduring doubts about the validity of the existing concepts of health related quality of life. In order to understand and maybe dissolve the confusion, we have first to agree on a common framework of analysis for the concept of quality of life. But, to our knowledge, this framework of analysis is not available. And yet this framework is necessary in order to explicit, compare and test the theoretical choices that determine the concept of quality of life, and most of all of the good quality of life, underlying the measuring instruments. It is indeed the conceptualization of value, of what is good in life, which is at stake. But this aspect is concealed: the approach of quality of life in health is generally but mistakenly conceived as value free or neutral. This concealment probably explains why a common framework of analysis of the existing concepts of health related quality of life is not available. From an understanding of the logic of value specific to quality of life, we try to develop such a framework of conceptual analysis.

Title: Comparison of the quality of life of persons diagnosed with intervertebral disc herniation in relation to surgical and conservative treatment. Objectives: The aim of the diploma thesis was the research and evaluation of the quality of life in patients with intervertebral disc lesion with and without surgery, assuming that both monitored groups will be treated with individual rehabilitation treatment. Methods: This research was carried out using a standardized Short Form 36 (SF - 36) questionnaire on quality of life based on health. The Czech version used corresponds to MUDr. Petra, Ph.D. (2000). The study was conducted at the Na Homolce hospital at the rehabilitation clinic, where appropriate respondents (n = 170) were selected for this research. The final results were divided into the respective age groups in both groups. Subsequently, a statistically significant deviation between the respective files was verified in each age group and therefore it can be said that there are no significant differences between the analyzed files. Effects: The average age of the respondents who underwent the surgery was 49.2 years, with the respondents treated conservatively at an average age of 47.6 years. In terms of total physical health (physical activity, physical limitation, physical pain, general...

Background Patient safety is an undisputable part of healthcare. The use of clinical practice guidelines, usually based on evidence-based practice/best practice, promotes patient safety and high quality care, reduces unnecessary patient suffering, and healthcare costs. Analysing results from venous blood specimen collection is one of the most commonly used services within healthcare, and a substantial number of decisions on diagnosis, treatment, and treatment evaluation are based on the results. Hence, the accuracy of these tests are vitally important. Earlier research has demonstrated that healthcare staff report suboptimal adherence to venous blood specimen collection guidelines together with the need for improved practices. Blood sample collection is carried out by several professionals, among them registered nurses and, as a consequence, nursing students too. University nursing students learn and practice venous blood specimen collection in one of their first semesters. After initial skill training at clinical skill laboratories, they continue to perform the task during clinical placements in various clinical settings. Few or no studies have been performed on nursing students, hence it seemed important to assess guideline adherence to venous blood specimen collection among university students as well as to further explore adherence to guidelines among healthcare staff. Therefore, the overall aim for this thesis was to explore adherence to, and factors influencing venous blood specimen collection guidelines practice among university nursing students and healthcare staff. Methods The thesis includes four studies. Study I-III had a quantitative, cross-sectional design, study IV had a qualitative approach. Study I included 164 healthcare staff from 25 primary healthcare centres. Study II included 101 nursing students in their 5th and 6th semesters, and study III included 305 nursing students in their 2nd, 4th, and 6th semesters. To assess adherence to venous blood specimen collection guidelines, data were collected using the Venous Blood Specimen Questionnaire, completed with background variables (I, II, III) and additional scales (III). Descriptive statistics, multilevel and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to analyse the data. In study IV, data were collected through five focus group interviews among 6th semester nursing students (n=26). Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results Workplace affiliation was found to explain variances in reported adherence between different primary healthcare centres. Associations between reported venous blood specimen collection practices and individual as well as workplace factors were revealed. Nursing students were found to increasingly deviate from guideline adherence during their education. Also among students, several associations between guideline adherence and other iv factors were revealed. Reported research use at clinical practice was associated with higher levels of adherence, as were higher capability beliefs regarding both evidence-based practice and academic ability. Analyses from focus group interviews summarised students’ reflections on deviations from VBSC guidelines in the overall theme ‘Striving to blend in and simultaneously follow guidelines’. Conclusion Both healthcare staff at primary healthcare centres and nursing students demonstrate decreasing levels of guideline adherence with time. Factors influencing adherence are both individual as well as contextual. This indicate that both students and staff are subjected to socialisation processes that influences levels of adherence. In order to enhance venous blood specimen collection practices and thereby patient safety, actions must be taken - both in healthcare clinical contexts and by educators. The use of models in practical skill training, and in the ambition to bridge the theory-practice gap may be the path to success. It is reasonable to assume that collaboration between, on the one hand, education representatives and on the other, supervising RNs in clinical settings, will be fruitful. Finally, by empowering students their self-efficacy may be strengthened, and hence their ability to maintain guideline adherence.

Questionnaires were sent by mail and e-mail to 143 members of the Sociological Practice Association. The purpose of the questionnaire was to measure the role expectations as qualities (competencies), role expectations as actions, and role enactments of the respondents'. An additional goal was to examine how respondents perceived their work to be sociological in nature, and how they saw their work as different from the practices of social workers, counselors, and psychologists. The first question that was addressed was, “Do sociological practitioners have clear and unambiguous role expectations for their work as practitioners?” The data showed that most role expectations measured as competencies were clear and unambiguous, and only a few were ambiguous and unclear. The second question addressed was, “Do sociological practitioners perceive their role enactments to differ from other helping professionals such as social workers, counselors, and psychologists?” The data showed that sociological practitioners do perceive their role enactments to be different because of their use of sociological theory and their focus on social structures. The final question asked was, “How do sociological practitioners perceive their work as sociological in theory, methods, or both?” The data showed that sociological practitioners perceive their work as sociological based on their use of sociological theory. Most respondents reported that they used common scientific methods, and few reported the use of psychological theory.

Health-related quality of life (HRQL) has become an important outcome in asthma, since traditional outcomes, such as respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function, might not entirely express the patient’s perception of the limitations caused by the disease. The aim of this thesis was to study HRQL in asthma and to analyse if HRQL was related to asthma onset and prognosis. Other aims were to identify determinants of low HRQL in clinically-verified asthmatics, and to study whether low HRQL was a predictor of mortality. In 1990, a self-administered questionnaire was completed by 12,560 individuals from three age groups (16, 30-39, and 60-69 years) in two counties of Sweden. In a second phase, all subjects who reported a history of obstructive respiratory symptoms (n = 1,851) and 600 randomly-selected controls were invited to a clinical investigation including spirometry, allergy testing, and assessment of HRQL with the Gothenburg Quality of Life instrument. In 2003, the eligible subjects in the cohort (n=11,282) were sent a new questionnaire. Mortality data in the cohort was followed up during 1990–2008 using data from the National Board of Health and Welfare Mortality Database. The 616 subjects with clinically-verified asthma 1990 had significantly lower HRQL than subjects without asthma. In the 2003 follow-up, the 305 subjects with persistent asthma had a lower HRQL than the 155 subjects who showed improvement in asthma during the follow-up. Subjects who had developed asthma by the follow-up had a significantly lower HRQL at baseline than those who did not develop asthma. Significant determinants of quality of life in asthma were female sex, smoking habits, higher airway responsiveness to irritants, respiratory symptom severity, positive skin prick test, and absenteeism from work or school. Low HRQL was related to increased mortality, but this association was not found when analyzing the asthmatic group alone. In conclusion, measurements of HRQL are of value for evaluating both the impact and progression of asthma. / <p>medicine doktorsexamen</p>

<p>Poremećaji disanja tokom spavanja (Sleep disordered breathing &ndash; SDB) obuhvataju spektar bolesti koje nastaju usled povećanog otpora u gornjem disajnom putu i reflektuje se na spavanje. Najveća podgrupa SDB su prekidi disanja tokom spavanja ili sleep apnea sindrom (Sleep Apnea Syndrome &ndash; SAS). SDB su prisutni kod 20% op&scaron;te populacije, dok je 82% mu&scaron;karaca i 93% žena koje imaju umerenu i te&scaron;ku OSA nedijagnostikovano. Kako osnovna dijagnostička metoda, polisomnografija, zahteva stručan kadar i adekvatnu laboratorijsku opermu nameće se potreba za brzom, efikasnom i jeftinom skrining metodom pri dijagnostici SAS. Cilj ove studije jeste da se uradi validacija i prevođenje &ldquo;STOP BANG&ldquo; upitnika sa engleskog na srpski jezik i utvrdi njegova specifičnost i senzitivnost u odnosu na vrednosti AHI indeksa kod odraslih ispitanika pri dijagnostikovanju SAS i da se utvrdi senzitivnost i specifičnost &ldquo;STOP BANG&ldquo; upitnika i Epfortove skale pospanosti zajedno. Istraživanje je u potpunosti sprovedeno u Centru za patofiziologiju disanja sa medicinom sna Instituta za plućne bolesti Vojvodine, Sremska Kamenica. Studijsku grupa se sastojala od 102 ispitanika koji su popunjavali oba upitnika, a potom je svima urađena polisomnografija. Testiranje &bdquo;STOP BANG&ldquo; upitnikom, kao i retest nakon mesec dana uradilo 30 ispitanika. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da su u uzorku dominirale osobe mu&scaron;kog pola 69,6%. Prosečna starost je iznosila 50,1&plusmn;13,8 godina. Najveći broj ispitanika je imao poremećaj disanja tokom spavanja (73,5%). Prema stepenu težine najveći broj ispitanika (30,4%) je bolovao od te&scaron;kog oblika (apnea/hipopnea indeks- AHI&gt;30), a prema tipu poremećaja dominirali su opstruktivni poremećaji sa 66,7% u ukupnom uzorku. Prekomerna dnevna pospanost, merena Epfortovom skalom pospanosti, bila je prisutna kod 58,8% ispitanika i korelirala je sa stepenom težine poremećaja (r=0,43). Dobijena senzitivnost i specifičnost za &bdquo;STOP BANG&ldquo; upitnik je iznosila 62,7% i 51,9% respektivno. &bdquo;STOP BANG&ldquo; upitnik je preveden na srpski jezik, a zatim je urađen test i retest upitika gde nije bilo razlike u odgovorima. Dobijena je granična vrednost za &bdquo;STOP BANG&ldquo; upitnik koja iznosi 4.5, a senzitivnost i specifičnost testa za različit stepen težine SAS je zadovoljavajuća i iznosila je 70,7%/66,7% za laku, 78,6% /60,9% za umerenu i 87,4%/ 50,7% za te&scaron;ku sleep apneu. Pri poređenju oba upitnika zajedno dobijena je bolja specifičnost 85,2%, 76,1%, 69,0% ali lo&scaron;ija senzitivnost 53,3%, 58,9% ,71,0% za laku , umerenu i te&scaron;ku sleep apneu respektivno u grupi ispitanika koji su imali vrednosti oba upitnika iznad graničnih vrednosti. U grupi ispitanika gde je jedan od upitnika imao vrednosti iznad granične vrednosti dobijena je bolja senzitivnost ali lo&scaron;ija specifičnost u odnosu na samo &bdquo;STOP BANG&ldquo; upitnik. Istraživanjem je utvrđen skrining metod -&ldquo;STOP BANG&ldquo; upitnik, koji stratifikuje pacijente na osnovu kliničkih simptoma, fizičkog pregleda i prisustva faktora rizika, na one pacijente sa visokim rizikom kojima treba hitno uraditi polisomnografiju i uputiti ih dalje na lečenje i na one kojima polisomnografija nije potrebna.</p> / <p>Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) includes a spectrum of diseases occurring due to an increased resistance in the upper airway, which affects sleeping. The major SDB subgroup is sleep apnea syndrome (SAS). SDB is present in 20% of the general population, and among the subjects with a moderate or severe SAS, 82% of males and 93% of females remain undiagnosed. Since polysomnography - the basic diagnostic method, requires a well-trained staff and adequate laboratory equipment, the need for a fast, efficient and cheap screening method in the diagnosis of SAS has breen imposed. Objectives of the study are to evaluate and translate the &ldquo;STOP BANG&ldquo; questionnaire from English to Serbian, establish its specificity and sensitivity in relation to the apnea hypopnea index (AHI) values while diagnosing SAS in adults, and to assess the cumulative sensitivity and specificity of the &ldquo;STOP BANG&ldquo; questionnaire and Epworth Sleepiness Scale. The investigation has been entirely carried out in the Lung Function and Sleep Medicine Centre of the Institute for Pulmonary Diseases of Vojvodina, Sremska Kamenica. The study cohort included 102 subjects who were all, having answered both questionnaires first, submitted to polysomnography. Thirty subjects were tested by the &bdquo;STOP BANG&ldquo; questionnaire, and retested a month later. Results of the investigation show the male sex predominated in the study sample (69.6%). The subjects&#39; mean age was 50.1&plusmn;13.8 years. Most subjects had SDB (73.5%). The majority of ther subjects (30.4%) had a serious SDB form (AHI&gt;30). Obstuctive disorders prevailed, registered in 66.7% of the study population. Excessive daily sleepiness, measured by the Epworth sleepiness scale, was registered in 58.8% of the examined subjects, correlating well to the disorder severity level (r=0.43). Sensitivity and specificity obtained for the &bdquo;STOP BANG&ldquo; questionnaire amounted to 62.7% and 51.9% respectively. The &bdquo;STOP BANG&ldquo; questionnaire was translated to Serbian first, followed by testing an retesting using the questionairre, providing no differences in the obtained answeres. The obtained cut-off value for the &bdquo;STOP BANG&ldquo; questionnaire was 4.5, and the test sensitivity and apecificity for different SAS severity levels were satisfactory, amounting to 70.7%/66.7% for mild, 78.6% /60,9% for moderate, and 87.4%/50.7% for severe sleep apnea. The cumulative comparation of the two questionnaires has disclosed a better specificity of 85.2%, 76.1%, and 69.0%, but a worse sensitivity of 53.3%, 58.9%, and 71.0% for a mild, moderate and severe sleep apnea respectively in the group of subjects whose values for both questionnaires exceeded the cutoffs. In the group of subjects with one of the questionnaire values exceeding the cutoffs, a better sensitivity but a worse specificity were obtained related to only the &bdquo;STOP BANG&ldquo; questionnaire. The investigation has established the screening method &ndash; the &ldquo;STOP BANG&ldquo; questionnaire which (on the basis of the clinical symptoms, physical examination and present risk factors) stratifies the patients into the high risk group requiring urgent polysomnography and referral for further treatment, and to those requiring no polysomnography.</p>