1,721,067 research outputs found
Mortality amenable to health care services and health inequalities across the regions of Italy
No full textBackground: Amenable mortality is an indicator that measures the extent to which health services contribute to the improvement of the health of a population. It can also highlight geographical and socioeconomic inequalities. Therefore, it is used to assess quality and performance of health care systems, both at national and subnational level. The Italian National Health Service sets the essential levels of care (Livelli Essenziali di Assistenza, LEA), a health-benefit package for all citizens. Because every region is responsible for providing the LEA and can offer additional health care, monitoring the performance of the Regional Health Services (RHSs) is of increasing interest.
Methods: We used Nolte and McKee's list of amenable conditions to analyze the temporal trend of the standardized mortality rate (per 100.000) in Italy from 2006 to 2015, overall and by gender. We also examined the standardized rate at regional level by comparing the two-year periods 2006/7 and 2014/5, overall and by gender.
Results: Between 2006 and 2015, the overall mortality rate decreased from 81 to 68 per 100.000 population; this reduction was more pronounced in men (91 to 76 per 100.000, -16.5%) than in women (72 to 62 per 100.000, -13.9%). The decreasing trend in amenable mortality affected Italian regions differently, with northern regions showing steeper reductions as compared to southern regions. As a result, 2014/5 was the first time men's mortality in North Italy (68 per 100.000) was lower than women's mortality in South Italy (72 per 100.000).
Conclusions: The overall reduction of amenable mortality shows that Italy's health care services keep contributing to the improvement of population health. Nevertheless, by analyzing RHS performance we saw that differences in organization of care lead to differences in health care quality and performance across regions. Deaths amenable to health care services contribute to inequalities between Northern and Southern Italy
Gender differences and multiple determinants of perceived physical and mental health in Italy
Full text linkBackground: Perceived health is largely dependent on multiple socio-demographic and behavioral lifestyles and healthcare related factors. This could be accentuated when gender is taken into account. The aim of this study is to explore gender-related differences in multiple socio-demographic and behavioral lifestyles and healthcare related factors associated with individual health status and to identify those responsible for changes in perceived physical and mental health among men and women in Italy. Study design: We conducted a cross-sectional retrospective study to investigate the association between multiple socio-demographic and behavioral lifestyles and healthcare related factors and individual health status of 99,479 adults in Italy, using data and information obtained from a nationwide survey. Methods: To identify the factors that correlate with the perceived physical and mental health status between males and females, we employed a censored regression analysis, a Tobit model, stratifying the analysis by gender. Results: Socio-demographic and behavioral lifestyles factors differently impact on males and females and this impact is stronger on perceived physical than mental health. The perceived physical and mental health status resulted better for men than for women. The integrated analysis of gender differences in socio-demographic and behavioral lifestyles and determinants of health revealed important inequalities, mainly related to citizenship and educational level, among the socio-demographic factors, and smoking habit and obesity, among the behavioral lifestyle factors. Conclusions: Gender imbalances mainly fall into inequality in social inclusion, educational level, and healthy lifestyle. This demonstrates how gender differences are still abundantly present in the modern Italian society. Such information should be taken into consideration by policy makers when interventions to improve the health and quality of life of the population are planned or evaluated
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 vaccines: The promises and the challenges ahead
Full text link: The development of a new vaccine usually consists of a linear sequence of several steps and lasts many years [...]
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Effectiveness of psychological intervention in psoriatic patients relative to standard care
No full textChanges in private health service utilisation and access to the Italian National Health Service between 2006 and 2019: A cross-sectional comparative study
Full text linkObjectives: Previous research highlighted that in the early 2000s a significant share of the Italian population used and paid out of pocket for private healthcare services even when they could potentially have received the same treatments from the National Health Service (NHS). The decrease in public investments in healthcare and the increase in health needs due to the population ageing may have modified the use of private health services and equity of access to the Italian NHS. This study aims to investigate the change in the prevalence of individuals who have fully paid out of pocket for accessing healthcare services in Italy between 2006 and 2019 and the main reasons behind this choice. Design: Cross-sectional comparative study. Participants and comparison: Two representative samples of the Italian population were collected in 2006 and 2019. Outcome measures: Prevalence of access to fully paid out-of-pocket private health services; type of service of the last fully paid out-of-pocket access; main reasons for the last fully paid out-of-pocket access. Results: We found an increase in the prevalence of people who declared having fully paid out of pocket at least one access to health services during their lifetime from 79.0% in 2006 to 91.9% in 2019 (adjusted OR 2.66; 95% CI 1.98 to 3.58). 'To avoid waiting times' was the main reason and it was significantly more frequent in 2019 compared with 2006 (adjusted OR 1.75; 95% CI 1.45 to 2.11). Conclusions: This comparative study, conducted the year before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighted an increase in the prevalence of Italian residents who have fully paid out of pocket for access to health services to overcome long waiting times. Our findings may indicate a reduced access and possible worsening of the equity of access to the public and universalistic Italian NHS between 2006 and 2019.Objectives Previous research highlighted that in the early 2000s a significant share of the Italian population used and paid out of pocket for private healthcare services even when they could potentially have received the same treatments from the National Health Service (NHS). The decrease in public investments in healthcare and the increase in health needs due to the population ageing may have modified the use of private health services and equity of access to the Italian NHS. This study aims to investigate the change in the prevalence of individuals who have fully paid out of pocket for accessing healthcare services in Italy between 2006 and 2019 and the main reasons behind this choice. Design Cross-sectional comparative study. Participants and comparison Two representative samples of the Italian population were collected in 2006 and 2019. Outcome measures Prevalence of access to fully paid out-of-pocket private health services; type of service of the last fully paid out-of-pocket ac..
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