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The article addresses the decision-making process of career choice among high-school students and emphasizes the importance of supporting their informed decisions by trained teachers acting as career-guidance counselors. While, ideally, school counselors handle career counseling, their limited availability necessitates the involvement of other resources, such as trained teachers. The present study introduces a career-guidance training program for teachers, implemented with 20 Romanian and 20 Serbian teachers. The research conducted simultaneously with the training aimed to assess the effectiveness of this cross-national program in enhancing teachers’ competence in career guidance. Utilizing a longitudinal mixed methodology, the study assessed the teachers’ perceptions of the training’s effectiveness and sustainability over a period of 24 months. Two questionnaires featuring multiple-choice and open-choice questions were employed. The results consistently indicated that teachers rated the training as excellent or very good across various dimensions, including content, trainers, didactic materials, and applications. Challenges were noted in designing and implementing group career activities compared to individual ones, with no significant differences observed between Serbian and Romanian teachers. After 24 months, a deductive content analysis of open-ended questions assessed the sustainability of acquired competencies. Our findings indicated active teacher participation in career-guidance activities, primarily with final-year students serving as class teachers or subject instructors. In the context of a scarcity of career-counseling specialists, training teachers as career-guidance advisors emerges as a viable solution. The study highlights the potential of such training programs to address the critical need for comprehensive career guidance in schools.

Inclusive attitudes are considered an important predictor of the quality of educational inclusion. Child-related, teacher-related, and environment-related factors were measured over time in connection with teachers’ positive inclusive attitudes. This study aimed to contribute with insights from Romania to the comprehensive understanding of the attitudinal dimensions of inclusive education and the factors that predict it. A quantitative, non-experimental, correlational research design was undertaken in September–October 2022 to determine the factors that can significantly predict the dimensions of inclusive attitudes. A convenience sample of 1040 Romanian teachers participated in the study. The MATIES scale was used to measure the dimensions of inclusive attitudes: cognitive, affective, and behavioral. The results showed that there are a number of universally known factors that have been found to predict inclusive attitudes, like the school environment, close relationships with people with disabilities, and training in special education. Their predictive power is relatively low, ranging between 2% and 9%, suggesting the presence of unexplored influential variables and emphasizing the need for future studies to consider additional factors. The specific and significant factor for Romanian culture was found to be the need for training in special education. The data can be informative for curriculum designers, training providers, and policymakers, signaling the need for comprehensive training in special education in the initial and continuous training of all teachers.

Psychosocial adaptation to chronic disease plays a central role in determining quality of life. Yet the mechanisms linking clinical factors to adaptation remain insufficiently understood, especially in Eastern European contexts and across different chronic conditions. This study tested whether self-efficacy mediates the relationship between comorbidities and number of medications on adaptation to chronic disease (as indicators of clinical burden and treatment complexity) and examined perceived social support and resilience as alternative mediators. Participants were 263 adults with chronic diseases recruited from public hospitals in Romania. Measures included the SEMCD (self-efficacy), CIAS (adaptation; total and the compliant behavior [CIAS-f2] and emotional support [CIAS-f4] subscales), BRS (resilience), and MOS-SSS (social support), with higher scores indicating higher levels. A cross-sectional design was used, and four simple mediation models were estimated, each with one mediator, using bootstrapping with 5000 resamples (95% bias-corrected CIs) in JASP 0.19. Using unstandardized coefficients, the indirect effect of comorbidities on adaptation through self-efficacy was significant (a×b = -0.17, 95% CI -0.29 to -0.09), while the direct path was not, indicating complete mediation. For the number of medications, the indirect effect through self-efficacy was -0.02 (95% CI -0.04 to -0.01), with a nonsignificant direct effect. Mediation emerged for CIAS-f2 (compliant behavior) but not for CIAS-f4 (emotional support needs). Social support showed a direct positive association with adaptation (b = 0.45, P < 0.001) without mediation, whereas resilience showed no significant effects. The findings indicate a significant indirect pathway through which comorbidities and complex medication regimens are associated with adaptation via self-efficacy. Social support showed a direct, rather than mediating, association with adaptation, whereas resilience appeared to have a limited role. These results suggest that clinical practice may benefit from focusing on simplifying treatment regimens, enhancing self-management efficacy through personalized education, and mobilizing social support.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection remains a major global health issue, with effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) extending life expectancy but also increasing age-related issues like osteopenia and osteoporosis. This cross-sectional study examines bone mineral density (BMD) and related risk factors in Romanian HIV-positive patients, emphasizing regional and therapy influences. The patients varying in HIV infection duration underwent DXA scanning to measure BMD in the lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total femur. A high prevalence of low BMD, especially in the lumbar spine, was identified along with significant associations between reduced BMD and factors such as smoking, alcohol use, vitamin D deficiency and serum phosphorus levels. ART like Protease Inhibitors and Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors were linked to increased bone loss, emphasizing the multifactorial nature of osteoporosis in HIV-infected individuals and underscore the importance of regular BMD assessments, lifestyle adjustments, and careful management of antiretroviral therapy to minimize fracture risk and enhance overall health and quality of life.

Adaptation to chronic disease is an important factor for the quality of life of patients and their families. This research aimed to identify the psychosocial and clinical factors that determine significant differences and best predict the patients' adaptation to chronic diseases. Understanding these factors enables the design of evidence-based preventive interventions that promote early adaptation. A quantitative, non-experimental comparative and predictive study design was conducted. Several clinical, demographic, and psychological factors were measured with an online questionnaire. This study was conducted on a convenience sample of 263 patients with chronic diseases: 63 (24%) had chronic kidney disease with dialysis dependency, 49 (18.6%) had solid neoplasms, 61 (23.2%) had hemopathies, 64 (24.3%) had HIV infection, and 26 (9.9%) had tuberculosis. Adaptation to chronic disease varies based on the type of diagnosis, with lower adaptation seen in conditions that significantly impact daily life, involve comorbidities, and require frequent treatments, like chronic kidney disease. The most significant predictor of adaptation to the chronic disease is the female gender. Other predictive factors are medication adherence, social support, and self-efficacy in managing chronic disease. Patients without comorbidities and fewer medications are more prone to illness denial, alongside younger, urban, employed, and higher-educated patients, potentially neglecting treatment. Patients with comorbidities and the older patients require greater emotional support, with psychological counseling and support groups being beneficial. Current data underlines the need for an individualized approach to chronic disease management, which should consider demographic and psychological factors in addition to clinical ones. It is important to design early interventions for the development of adaptation to chronic disease, which could include individual and family counseling and education programs for medication administration, treatment at home, adherence to a healthy lifestyle, and inclusion of the patient and his family in social support groups.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has determined an extraordinary challenge to healthcare systems worldwide. The extraordinary circumstances, characterized by elevated stress levels, prolonged working hours, new medical procedures, media attention, and high population expectations, have created an extremely stressful situation for healthcare professionals. This period has offered a unique opportunity to examine the medical system and the responses of healthcare practitioners to stress. This research aimed to identify the work-related factors that significantly impact the mental health of healthcare professionals. Patients and Methods: Three mental health variables were assessed: anxiety, depression and stress. The work-related factors considered were professional degree, type of medical unit (COVID or non-COVID), the number of hours spent at work in a single shift, type of shifts, monthly on-call frequency, and number of COVID-19 treated patients per month. In the spring of 2022, three inventories and a demographic survey were distributed and completed online by 300 healthcare professionals from Timisoara's public hospitals in Romania. Results: Among the respondents, 47.7% reported mild symptoms of anxiety, 65.3% reported moderate levels of stress, and 33% of the participants reported mild symptoms of depression. The intensity of anxious, depressive, and stress symptoms varied significantly depending on the professional degree, number of on-calls per month, the type of medical unit where the participants worked, and the number of SARS CoV-2 patients treated in the previous month. Conclusion: Current data underlines the urgency of implementing effective strategies to reduce the stress and anxiety of medical practitioners who work with COVID-19 patients. Possible interventions encompass a variety of approaches, such as improving working conditions, reducing working hours where possible, increasing access to mental health services, and promoting team-building activities to enhance social support among colleagues. Digital mental health interventions, including online counseling and stress management programs, have also shown promise in these challenging times. Sustaining the mental health of medical practitioners is vital to support the continued provision of first-rate care to patients and to build a resilient healthcare workforce capable of navigating future health crises. Keywords: healthcare professionals, SARS-CoV-2, stress, anxiety, depression

The heavy dependence on online education during the COVID-19 pandemic has long-term consequences for teaching and learning. The problem statement of the present study is to identify, from a student-centered perspective, solutions for a teaching approach in the virtual environment to increase student involvement and stimulate active relevant learning. The research objectives are to describe the team dynamics in Project-Based Virtual Learning (PBVL) and to identify the advantages and disadvantages of learning in PBVL, from the students’ perspective. At three separate intervals, 102 undergraduate students enrolled in three different courses wrote down reflections of their experience with PBVL in an online self-administrated reflective journal. Following a data-driven systematic qualitative content analysis of the students’ learning journals, four main themes emerged regarding the learning experience in virtual teams: collaboration, communication, trust, and learning. Based on the results, a three-stage framework for PBVL team dynamics was proposed: Teambuilding–Teamwork–Team performance (TTT) framework. The results show that PBVL favors the development of professional, learning, and personal skills through collaboration.

This research was conducted as a collaborative project between the West University of Timișoara (Romania) and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway) to develop a transnational learning activity. The students learned in virtual collaborative study groups; developed project-based teams; shared experiences, skills, and professional competencies; and collaborated directly with their teachers, the researchers, and the labor force. Three virtual learning groups of undergraduate students (N = 131), presenting comparable course descriptors and disciplinary group compositions, participated in the study. This study aimed to determine the effects of disciplinary composition on virtual learning group process dynamics from the students’ perspectives. This study applied a quasi-experimental between-subjects study design: quantitative methods were used to validate a research instrument and to determine statistical differences in the group process dynamic between the three groups; a qualitative method was applied to identify an in-depth understanding of the students’ perception about the group learning experience. By analyzing the group dynamics in the three settings—mono-disciplinary, cross-disciplinary, and cross-cultural—the research results show the advantages of each virtual learning composition in the group dynamic and learning outcomes in terms of group skill acquisitions. The conclusions can help teachers design virtual team compositions, a crucial stage in ensuring the achievement of desired learning outcomes.

This study explores the impact of a transnational team-based virtual learning experience on students’ self-perceived learning outcomes. The purpose of this research is to identify students’ self-perceived learning outcomes in virtual classrooms and describe the attributes of team members considered valuable for achieving team goals and learning success. Students who participated in a team-based international joint course across three editions from 2020 to 2022 completed reflective learning journals, which served as data collection research instruments. The researchers utilized a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods, along with thematic content analysis, to examine 327 validated source documents. The results revealed that students highly valued the transnational team-based learning activities during the virtual course. Participants highly valued the transnational nature of the course, as it facilitated effective collaboration within international teams and developed cross-cultural understanding skills. The virtual learning environment played a crucial role in enabling cultural exchange and understanding, fostering active participation, and encouraging reflective practice for groups of students from different countries and universities. Additionally, the study emphasized the development of digital skills as students engaged in transnational collaborative online learning using advanced technologies for communication and teamwork across distances. The digital learning environment positively influenced students’ motivation, sense of belonging, and camaraderie. The research identified 16 self- and hetero-identified attributes of team members, deemed valuable by participating students for achieving teamwork goals and learning outcomes. Attributes such as effective communication, collaboration, goal-oriented attitudes, and organizational skills were among the most highly regarded. These findings underscore the importance of transnational team-based virtual learning experiences in preparing students for global labor market demands. The study highlights the significance of fostering collaboration, cultural understanding, and digital literacy skills in educational settings.