Annali dell'Istituto Superiore di Sanità
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Knowledge and attitudes towards Zika virus: An Italian nation-wide cross-sectional study
Get PDFBackground: Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arthropod-borne virus transmitted through infected mosquitos. The aim of this Italian nation-wide study was to evaluate general population’s knowledge and attitudes towards ZIKV, its transmission, and travel-related preventive measures.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between July and August 2017, through a validated questionnaire. Predictors of knowledge were analysed through multivariate regression.
Results: Among 1119 respondents, 20% and 71% knew etiological agent and transmission route of ZIKV infection, respectively. Approximately 43% ignored the preventive measures to be taken after returning from endemic areas. At multivariate analysis, predictors of poor knowledge were age, living in Central or South Italy and Islands, being poorly educated, having never heard of or attended a travel clinic.
Conclusions: This study captures an overall poor knowledge of Zika among general public. This research highlights the need of designing and implementing measures to improve travellers’ awareness and protection against ZIKV
Prevalence of breastfeeding and birth practices during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic within the Italian Baby- Friendly Hospital network. What have we learned?
Get PDFBackground. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers were faced with difficult decisions about maternity care practices. The evidence-based practices recommended by the WHO/UNICEF Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) were confirmed by Italian national guidance.Aim. To describe, in a number of facilities that are part of a national Baby-Friendly network, the adherence to some steps of BFHI standards during the COVID-19 emergency.Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional online survey, inviting all hospitals interested in the Initiative, to fill out a semi-structured questionnaire.Results. Out of the 68 participating hospitals, 30.9% were hubs and 69.1% spokes. During May 2020, 61.8% of hospitals had COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 clinical pathways, while 38.8% were only non-COVID-19. None was dedicated exclusively to COVID-19 pathways. The BFHI was effective in guaranteeing ≥80% exclusive breastfeeding, the presence of companion of mother’s choice, skin-to-skin and rooming-in. The type of accreditation was associated with the presence of a companion of the mother’s choice during labour (p=0.022) and with skin-to-skin (p<0.001). According to the narratives, increased interpersonal distance made interactions with mothers difficult and the absence of a birth companion was reported as a major issue.Discussion and conclusions. The BFHI is a highly-structured, evidence-based caremodel. Investing in strong collaborative care approaches contributes to hospitals’ preparedness
Retroviruses: A broad view of SARS-COV-2 and its relatives, with a narrative essay on the current state of biomedical sciences
Get PDFThe actual “pandemic” times, beside their burden of sorrow in terms of both victims, destruction of societal links and economic consequences, are an unprecedented occasion to give a closer look to the status of biomedical research. Beside the undoubted technological advances, the general impression is alarming: the fragmentation of science culture prevents any wise synthesis of the many aspects involved in a global phenomenon as SARS-CoV-2 epidemics. Here we try to acquire a “detached” view to some evolutionary and physiological aspects of the human-virus interaction highlighting the need to revitalize science by a strong departure from ultra-specialization toward a real integration of different fields of investigation
Adapting the World Health Organization rapid Assistive Technology Assessment (rATA) to the Italian context: implementation of a TRAPD-based approach
Get PDFBackground. Measuring access to assistive technology (AT) has become a global priority. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed the rapid assistive technology assessment (rATA), a population-based household survey that measures the use, need, unmet need, and barriers to accessing AT.Objective. The aim of this paper is to report on the translation and adaptation process undertaken to implement the rATA survey in the Italian context.Method. The Translate, Review, Adjudicate, Pretest, and Document (TRAPD) approach was used to translate and adapt the rATA from English to Italian. Eleven independent reviewers and 23 AT users were involved to validate the Italian translation of the rATA and pilot the survey, respectively.Results. The feedback provided by the first users of the rATA indicate that the data collected are reliable and well reflect the state of AT provision in Italy.Conclusion. This study confirmed the applicability of the rATA survey to the Italiancontext. The Italian version of the rATA can be used to support the government, thehealth system as well as the civil society to monitor the current state of AT access (andabandonment) in the country
Health Belief Model efficacy in explaining and predicting intention or uptake influenza vaccination during pregnancy
Get PDFIntroduction. The influenza vaccination is a priority during pregnancy due to infection-related-outcomes. The study aim is to assess the acceptance by women of influenza vaccination during pregnancy based on Health Belief Model (HBM).
Methods. A multicentre observational study was carried out with a convenience sample of 300 respondents.
Results. Most women (53.7%) declared that they worried to contract influenza during pregnancy and 80.7% of them agreed that there is a risk of contracting influenza during the first months of life. Vaccine benefits (ORa 4.3 CI 95% 1.7-10.9 p<0.01), information on vaccination (ORa 2.6 CI 95% 1.2-5.5 p<0.01) and trust in guidelines (ORa 3.5 CI 95% 1.6-7.3 p<0.01) are some factors associated with intent/vaccination during pregnancy.
Conclusions. HBM confirms its effectiveness in explaining/predicting health behaviours. It’s necessary to create trust in the vaccinations trough an integrated work of health professionals to set up training programs and to provide effective health communication
Health in contaminated sites: the contribution of epidemiological surveillance to the detection of causal links
Get PDFThe search for cause-effect relationships is a central aspect of epidemiological surveillance programs applied to populations living close to contaminated sites. Here are described needs for assessing causality in using different epidemiological study designs in association with the aim of promoting environmental public health, where uncertainties should be considered under a precautionary driven approach
Self-reported compliance with drug therapy during the first SARS-CoV-2 Italian lockdown in patients with respiratory disease
Get PDFBackground. Low compliance with drug therapy in patients with chronic respiratory diseases was a well-known issue even before the coronavirus pandemic, but its causes are not yet fully defined.Objective. To verify the adherence to drug therapy in patients with respiratory disease during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods. From June to September 2020, about 700 patients of the Forlanini Hospital who had been unmonitored during the March-May 2020 lockdown in Italy received a questionnaire during the pneumological check-up based on self-reported information on compliance with therapy during lockdown.Results. 284 out of the 418 returned questionnaires could be used in this study: 179 patients (63.0%) responded positively to the continuation of therapy, 18 (6.3%) reduced the dosage of their medication and 82 (28.9%) interrupted the therapy.Conclusions. The low percentage of patients that reduced their drug dosage may be due to an increased awareness of drug treatment benefits, and may also be ascribed to the Government healthcare strategy during lockdown
Knowledge, attitude, barriers and facilitators to developing Clinical Practice Guidelines in Italy: a cross sectional national survey among the registered scientific and technical societies
No full textBackground. To explore knowledge, attitude, and barriers of the Italian National Guidelines System (SNLG) for the development of clinical practice guidelines (CPG) among scientific-technical societies (STS) of health care professional.Methods. A cross-sectional survey was distributed to the STS registered in the Italian Ministry of Health (n = 336). The questionnaire consisted of three sections: Respondent characteristics; Perception, knowledge, attitude, and use of CPGs; Knowledge of the SNLG.Results. The survey sample was 194 (57.7%) STS: 69% STS members stated they “often consulted CPGs”. Two out of three STS perceived scientific activities as extremely important. Additionally, 20.6% STS had submitted at least one CPG to the SNLG platform after the Gelli-Bianco Law went into effect (median 1 CPG; interquartile range, IQR, 1-4). The most often cited barrier (62.7%) to CPG submission was limited economic resources.Conclusions. STS members hold a positive attitude towards CPGs despite barriers to CPG development