UNICEF PROGRAM OF PROMOTING NURSING ACHIEVES SUCCESS IN CROATIA

( Editorial: --> 7630 ) ZAGREB, 11 Dec (Hina) - Representatives of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) held a press conference in Zagreb on Thursday on the occasion of UNICEF Day. The conference, held at the Clinic for Children's Diseases, was aimed at presenting the results achieved through UNICEF's program for the promotion of nursing in Croatia. The head of the UNICEF office in Croatia, Ute Deseniss-Gross, said that in only one year the number of maternity wards with the status 'Children Friendly Hospitals' rose from four to eight. Other maternity wards are expected to earn the same status soon. According to the results of the program for the promotion of nursing, Croatia is behind Scandinavian countries, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, but it is considerably better than western European countries and the United States. Detailed programs for the education of parents in the area of child nutrition and health care would be based on the results of a survey which was conducted last year among parents in all Croatian counties and was aimed at establishing how informed parents were about children's health problems. (hina) jn rm 111716 MET dec 97