A remarkable example of dedication to science and the resilience of the Ukrainian people.
A scientific article by Tengiz Verulava, Professor at Caucasus University, entitled “Care fragmentation and cardiometabolic control among adults with multimorbidity in Georgia: a multicentre cross-sectional study,” has been published in the Ukrainian Therapeutical Journal (Український терапевтичний журнал), an international peer-reviewed scientific journal indexed in the Scopus database.
The study examines fragmentation in healthcare delivery for patients with chronic diseases in Georgia and its association with the control of cardiometabolic risk factors.
Conducted across eight medical centres in Georgia, the study included 535 patients with multiple chronic cardiometabolic conditions. Its aim was to assess the relationship between fragmentation of healthcare services and treatment outcomes.
The findings revealed that patients receiving care from multiple physicians with insufficient coordination were significantly more likely to have inadequately controlled blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol levels. Among patients experiencing high levels of care fragmentation, 64% had inadequately controlled cardiometabolic risk factors, compared with 31.3% in the low-fragmentation group.
The findings highlight the importance of strengthening primary healthcare in Georgia, expanding the role of family physicians, and improving coordination across healthcare services.
This publication is particularly significant not only from a scientific perspective but also because of the circumstances in which Ukrainian scientists and the journal’s editorial team continue their work.
The article was published in a country at war, where people must fight every day to protect their lives, ensure their safety, and preserve a sense of normality.
As Professor Tengiz Verulava notes, collaborating with the Ukrainian journal’s editorial team was an especially moving and memorable experience. During the manuscript review and publication process, editorial staff repeatedly informed him that they had been forced to suspend their work and seek shelter due to air raid alerts. Once the immediate danger had passed, they returned to their scientific work.
Despite these extremely difficult conditions, Ukrainian scientists and editors continue to review manuscripts, collaborate with authors, and publish an international scientific journal.
According to Professor Tengiz Verulava, their efforts exemplify not only a high level of professional responsibility but also extraordinary human resilience, dignity, and dedication to science.
“I have had numerous international publications throughout my scientific career, but this article holds a special emotional significance for me. Imagine people who take shelter during air raid alerts and then return to their workplaces to review scientific manuscripts, communicate with authors, and continue publishing a journal. To me, this is much more than professional responsibility. It is an extraordinary example of human resilience, dignity, and dedication to science. The Ukrainian people are truly heroic. Even under the most difficult circumstances, they preserve their desire to create knowledge and their free spirit,” Professor Tengiz Verulava says.
In his view, the exceptional value of this publication lies not only in the journal’s international scientific standing but also in the people who continue to serve science despite the realities of war.
Professor Tengiz Verulava expresses his gratitude to the journal’s editorial team for their professionalism, humanity, and dedicated work under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
“More than anything, I hope the day will come when the messages I receive from my Ukrainian colleagues no longer contain the words ‘bombing,’ ‘shelter,’ and ‘air raid alert.’ I hope they will be able to work, conduct research, and live in peaceful surroundings. Peace to Ukraine!” Professor Tengiz Verulava says.
This publication serves as another reminder that science transcends national borders and that international academic collaboration becomes especially meaningful when it is grounded in human solidarity, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to peace.
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