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Increased levels of hostility are associated with the increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), and with poorer outcomes in CAD patients. The purpose of this paper is to estimate the level of hostility in CAD patients and in health care (HC) workers, as potential groups for intervention programmes.

A qualitative cross‐sectional study was undertaken. Hostility questionnaires were distributed in a non‐randomized fashion in a group of 236 CAD patients (187 men, 49 women), aged from 33 to 69 years (average 52 years) and 181 health care workers (52 men, 129 women), aged from 19 to 65 (average 31 years). The results of the survey were discussed in a focused group.

The results showed that the high level of hostility in both CAD patients and HC workers exceeded the risk value of 10 in 89 per cent of CAD patients and 95 per cent of HC workers. No difference was found in the hostility scores between CAD patients and HC workers. There was a tendency to higher scores of hostility or of its subcategories (cynicism, anger, aggression) in physicians and nurses of the invasive cardiology or the intensive care units.

This paper is of value by showing how increased level of hostility was the issue in both patients and HC workers, with potential consequences of health risk for individuals, as well as deteriorated interpersonal relations and a conflict‐generated corporate culture for organizations. Differently tailored programmes for hostility management for particular target groups may help to prevent negative developments.

The aim of the study was to examine the use of Porter’s generic strategies and their effect on performance in the context of the Slovak hospital industry. Using mail survey the study first identified the natural taxonomy of four strategic types of Slovak hospitals, based on their use of Porter’s generic strategies in pure form and in combination. Next the study examined whether different strategic types were associated with different levels of organisational performance, while controlling for such variables as size and location, which have been argued to influence the hospital performance. The findings indicate that hospitals which follow a “stuck‐in‐the‐middle” strategy, in general, have superior performance on all used performance measures, while hospitals that place only low emphasis on cost leadership, differentiation and focus, labelled “wait and see” in this study, perform the poorest. The study concludes that the research provided body of knowledge relevant for the Slovak hospital industry, that may be used by hospital managers in the strategy formulation process as well as by the researches in exploring the influence of different contingencies on hospitals’ strategic orientation.

This study reports the findings of the first survey of the knowledge and needs for training in evidence based medicine (EBM) of health‐care workers in Slovakia. This study was primarily qualitative and based on a triangular approach, which included: analysis of the situation in pre‐ and postgraduate education in Slovakia aimed at estimating needs in EBM and critical appraisal skills (CAS) training; analysis of questionnaires distributed in a sample of medical doctors and university educated public health workers undergoing postgraduate training; and focus group discussions. The findings revealed a real gap in knowledge in EBM and CAS in Slovakia and identified several areas as the focus for intervention. The results showed also some important behavioural and cultural aspects, including low individual responsibility for education; tendency to delegate responsibility to authorities (experts, top management, Ministry of Health); and persistence of the state paternalistic type of education. Concludes that managers planning to implement EBM in Slovakia should therefore consider a broader behavioural and cultural context for change, not just introduction of a training EBM module.