About

Tanya Zlateva is a Professor of the Practice of Computer Science and Education, serving as the Dean of Metropolitan College and Extended Education. She is also the Education Director at the Center for Reliable Information Systems & Cyber Security, focusing on information security and cyber security. Her role involves overseeing educational programs and initiatives related to these fields, contributing to the development of curriculum and research in reliable information systems and cybersecurity.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Sociology
• Political Science
• Pediatrics
• Engineering management
• Medicine
• Engineering
• Economics
• Economic growth
• Knowledge management
• Pedagogy
• Human–computer interaction
• Internal medicine
• Intensive care medicine
• Physical therapy
• Business

Selected publications

• Burnout Among Medical Doctors Working in Paediatric Intensive Care Units in Bulgaria

  Preprints.org · 2025-04-03

  preprintOpen access

  Introduction. Paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) provide special and comprehensive care and treatment to critically ill children. These factors lead to the exposure of the personnel to stress and the risk of developing burnout syndrome. Methods and participants. In order to evaluate burnout syndrome among physicians employed at PICUs, we carried out our study between September and December of 2023. With the authors' consent, we used a survey that was published in June 2023 in Acta Paediatrica (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com). The survey was distributed to the physicians working in the existing PICUs in Bulgaria after being translated and reviewed. Results. A total of 37/43 (83.7%) doctors and two clinical psychologists completed the survey. More women than men took part in the study. Of the respondents, 36% were paediatricians, and 30% were specialists in Anesthesiology and Intensive care. In total, 70.3% of the staff reported working between 40-50 hours/week, and 24.3% working more than 50 hours/week; 73% of the employees experienced an episode of overheating, depression, and anxiety. Of all, 75.6% felt exhausted from work, and 43.2% defined themselves as "crushed”. Despite the difficulties that the staff faced, the majority of the doctors express satisfaction with their work and would choose the same specialty again. Conclusion. This study presents for the first time quantitative data on Bulgarian physicians' burnout in PICUs. Burnout among healthcare professionals is a worldwide issue that has a detrimental effect on staff productivity, patient care quality, and hiring medical personnel. Specific solutions are required, such as the establishment of paediatric intensive care as a distinct specialty.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Usability and acceptance of a digital screening tool for diabetes in four European countries: the DigiCare4You study

  Universal Access in the Information Society · 2024 · 1 citations

  • Computer Science
  • Computer Science
  • Human–computer interaction
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Growth Hormone Treatment Of Small For Gestational Age Children

  Scripta Scientifica Medica · 2024-04-21

  articleOpen access

  Children born small for gestational age (SGA) have been the focus of extensive scientific interest in recent decades. A SGA child is defined as one whose birth weight and/or length is below -2 SDS (2.3rd percentile) for their gestational age, according to selected reference growth curves. Approximately 80–85% of these children experience catch-up growth by the end of their second year of life, and around 90% by age four. The birth of a SGA child may be due to many reasons, and special attention should be paid to the presence of genetic ones. Early identification, close monitoring, and timely intervention can help modulate both short- and long-term complications associated with the condition.This review aims to summarize the current literature regarding the use of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) therapy in children born SGA.Treatment with rhGH, developed in the 20th century, has demonstrated positive effects in SGA children who fail to achieve postnatal catch-up growth (commonly referred to as "short SGA children"). Improvements have been observed not only in final height, but also in metabolic markers and cognitive development. Multiple factors influencing treatment outcomes have been identified, and awareness of these factors is crucial for optimizing therapeutic results.

  PublisherDOI

• Barriers and facilitators in the Programme for Early Detection and Follow-Up of Full-Term and Preterm Children Born Small for Gestational Age

  Известия на Съюза на учените – Варна Серия „Медицина и екология” · 2023-12-19

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Introduction In 2021 the Programme for Early Detection and Follow-Up of Full-Term and Preterm Children Born Small for Their Gestational Age (SGA) started in two stages, aiming to prevent early and late consequences of this still not taken seriously enough condition. Aim This paper aims to assess the expected and discovered barriers and facilitators in the first stage of the Programme. Materials and Methods From the beginning, each month two coordinators contacted the participating neonatology units and collected data on the number of detected and registered SGA children, as well as on the number of all newborns. While working on the Programme, all barriers were strictly recorded, as well as the steps taken to address them. On the 7th month from the beginning of the Programme and after the first analysis of the results, a survey was conducted among the participating neonatologists, aiming to assess the barriers and facilitators from their point of view. The survey was conducted using the electronic platform Monkey Survey. Results The survey was sent to neonatologists from 21 clinics (27 participants) in the country with a participation rate of 44.4% (n = 12). Initially, 3 main barriers were expected – overload with clinical work, parents’ fear of the invitation, and cultural and social factors. In the course of the work, in addition to these, several others were discovered – the lack of medical specialists, the use of new measuring devices, growth curves and criteria. The Programme began during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which proved to be a serious and multifaceted barrier. Facilitating measures were taken – trainings, maintenance of platforms (e-mail and Facebook page), etc. While Programme contributed to its successful implementation. The alarming results obtained were used to intensify contacts with the participating units until the end of the Programme. Conclusion Despite the interest and efforts of some neonatologists, the lack of sufficient staff and the large amount of clinical work made the work of the Programme difficult. In order to have a greater success rate, it is necessary that such type of programmes be mandatory with previously specified resources for their implementation.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Are Research Universities Meeting the Educational Challenge of the New Economy?

  2022

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Political Science
  • Computer Science
  • Sociology
  PublisherDOI

• Design and specific features of the Programme for Early Detection and Follow-Up of Full-Term and Preterm Children, Born Small for Their Gestational Age

  Известия на Съюза на учените – Варна Серия „Медицина и екология” · 2022-06-15

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  In 2007 the International Consensus for Management of Children Born Small for Their Gestational Age (SGA) was published. SGA birth is connected to many complications in different periods of life. Often in practice children born with small sizes are underestimated and not always referred timely to а pediatric endocrinologist. Thеse children represent а significant part of children with growth problems. In our country there is not enough information for the condition and algorithm for its follow-up. Having all this in mind, Varna Pediаtric Endocrine Society (VAPES) and Bulgarian Neonatology Association (BNА) created the Programme for Early Detection and Follow-Up of Full-Term and Pre-Term Children , Born SGA . The current publication presents the design of the study. The Programme is scientifically applied investigation for early detection of full-term and preterm SGA children, aiming to facilitate timely diagnosis of syndromes and conditions connected to SGA births and, if needed, to recommend additional testing, including genetic. Through the Programme we expect to update the data for the prevalence of SGA births and SGA children without postnatal catch-up in our country. At the end of the Programme, we will evaluate its cost-effectiveness and will create an algorithm for detection and treatment of these children.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Chronic Kidney Disease, Bone Changes and Physiotherapy

  Actual Nephrology · 2021

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Medicine
  • Physical therapy
  • Pediatrics

  Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a complex, multisystem process. There are multiple changes in terms of etiology, development of the process and the complications in adults and children. The current review discusses the new aspects in the literature in regard to CKD, focusing mainly on the bone changes and physical activity in patients in pediatric population. Renal osteodystrophy is linked not only to decreased bone density, due to decreased production of vitamin D, but also to rickets changes. So far there is no data in the literature for physiotherapy treatment, currently practiced with children with CKD. Studies in recent years pay attention to physical activity in the pediatric population.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Initial results from the treatment with growth hormone of short, small for gestational age children

  Известия на Съюза на учените – Варна Серия „Медицина и екология” · 2021-12-14

  articleOpen access

  Introduction: Growth is important indicator of a child`s health. According to the literature, every year between 3 and 7% children are born with birth length and/or weight less than the 10 th percentile for the corresponding gestational age. From those born short for gestational age (SGA), one in every ten children cannot catch up in growth. Recently, these children are defined in the literature as “short, SGA children”. Namely, in those children, especially in those untreated, metabolic and cardiovascular changes can be seen with age. In Bulgaria there is still no reimbursement for growth hormone (GH) treatment of this indication, and treatment is supported by a nation-wide charity (The Bulgarian Christmas). Aim: The aim of this article is to assess patients born SGA, without catch-up growth, regarding the age at start of the treatment, duration and effect of growth hormone treatment. Patients and Methods: Patients’ data was collected retrospectively from the maintained VECRED record. Statistical analysis was conducted by means of the SPSS programme. The most important factors regarding growth hormone treatment efficacy were assessed. Results: Currently at the center there are 43 SGA patients with short stature at an average age of 10.3 ± 7.1 y (1.7–40.1), 26 (60.5%) at an average age of 10.3 ± 4.2 y (3.7–17.3) are treated with growth hormone and 17 (39.5%) are just followed. The average age when the GH treatment was initially started is 6.5 ± 3.7 y (1.4–12.1). The gender distribution of the group is nearly 1:1 (22 boys:21 girls). The most common specific diagnosis is Silver-Russell Syndrome (22, 51.2%), followed by Noonan syndrome (3, 6.9%), Di George Syndrome (2, 4.7%), Lowe syndrome, etc. On the average the treatment duration is 39.3 ± 30.2 months (4–120). From the start of the treatment until the current survey, the height of the patients has increased with 1.23 ± 1.8 SDS. Conclusion: Growth hormone treatment in short SGA children leads to good results and that is why it is currently an accepted standard worldwide. This is also confirmed by the current results.

  PublisherDOI

• Digital Learning Impact Factors: Student Satisfaction and Performance in Online Courses

  International Journal of Information and Education Technology · 2014-01-01 · 40 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  As digital learning continues to spread and gain in popularity and acceptance, it is essential for both the providers and the users to understand the factors that impact student satisfaction and performance in online courses.In this study student evaluation parameters from 93 online graduate courses with total of 4920 student enrolments were analyzed for their interdependences as well as their correlation with student performance measured through final grade distributions. The results show that student course satisfaction is strongly correlated with students' instructor satisfaction, while the students' course satisfaction is moderately correlated with student satisfaction with facilitators. There is a positive correlation between students' final grade distribution and their overall satisfaction with the course as well as between the students' final grade distribution and the satisfaction with the instructor. On the other hand, the correlation of the students' satisfaction with the facilitators did not have statistically significant correlation with the final grade distribution. The results point to the critical importance of the instructor of record in online courses and to the significant impact of the students' satisfaction with instructor's performance. Moreover, the same factors have statistically significant impact on the performance of students in the class, together with the student perception of the overall academic quality of the course. At the same time, the data show that facilitators have a significantly lower impact than the instructors to the students' overall educational experience in online courses.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Analytics Dashboard Parameters for Digital Learning Management Systems

  2014-01-01

  article
  Publisher

Frequent coauthors

• Lou Chitkushev

  Boston University

  9 shared

• Konstantinos Votis

  Centre for Research and Technology Hellas

  6 shared

• Katerina Skoumpourdi

  Centre for Research and Technology Hellas

  4 shared

• Sofia Segkouli

  Centre for Research and Technology Hellas

  4 shared

• Konstantinos Makrilakis

  4 shared

• Andreas Triantafyllidis

  Information Technologies Institute

  4 shared

• Yannis Μanios

  Harokopio University of Athens

  3 shared

• Stuart Jacobs

  Boston University

  3 shared

Education

• MD, Medicine

  Medical University of Varna

  2017

Awards & honors

• Best Presentation Award (2014)