1,720,971 research outputs found
Hepatitis A: epidemiology and prevention in developing countries
No full textHepatitis A is the most common form of acute viral hepatitis in the world. Major geographical differences in endemicity of hepatitis A are closely related to hygienic and sanitary conditions and other indicators of the level of socioeconomic development. The anti-hepatitis A virus (HAV) seroprevalence rate is presently decreasing in many parts of the world, but in less developed regions and in several developing countries, HAV infection is still very common in the first years of life and seroprevalence rates approach 100%. In areas of intermediate endemicity, the delay in the exposure to the virus has generated a huge number of susceptible adolescents and adults and significantly increased the average age at infection. As the severity of disease increases with age, this has led to outbreaks of hepatitis A. Several factors contribute to the decline of the infection rate, including rising socioeconomic levels, increased access to clean water and the availability of a hepatitis A vaccine that was developed in the 1990s. For populations with a high proportion of susceptible adults, implementing vaccination programs may be considered. In this report, we review available epidemiological data and implementation of vaccination strategies, particularly focusing on developing countries
QuAVaTAR: indagine sul consenso informato in 3 centri vaccinali del lazio
No full textOBIETTIVI: Passare da un sistema sanitario che sancisce la obbligatorietà
della vaccinazione a un sistema basato su una volontaria adesione alla
pratica vaccinale costituisce un obiettivo importante per il servizio sanitario
di un Paese che individui nella espressione consapevole del consenso la
legittimazione sociale degli atti medici. Riguardo alle modalità di acquisizione
del consenso il Comitato Nazionale di Bioetica ritiene che lo stesso possa
essere espresso oralmente o scritto.
MATERIALI: Nell’ambito del progetto di ricerca “Misure di Qualità in Sanità”
(MQS) è stato avviato lo studio “QUAVATAR” (Quality in Vaccination Theory
and Research) per misurare alcuni aspetti della qualità dei servizi vaccinali
di tre ASL del Lazio: RMB, RMF e RMH. Ai fini dello studio sono stati scelti
i servizi che erogano vaccinazioni pediatriche fino ai tre anni di età e
vaccinazioni anti-HPV. Tra gli aspetti indagati si è chiesto agli stakeholder
(utenti e operatori sanitari) di esprimere un giudizio in merito all’efficienza di
un servizio che, dopo aver adeguatamente informato, si preoccupi o meno
di ottenere la firma su un documento formale.
RIASSUNTO: Per quanto riguarda le vaccinazioni pediatriche, i risultati
preliminari sul consenso informato (CI) ottenuti dai giudizi di 176 utenti e 16
operatori sanitari mostrano un’efficienza media di 84,2±26 per un servizio
che dopo aver informato in modo esauriente si preoccupi di far firmare il
consenso e un’efficienza media di 41,7±36 per un servizio che dopo aver
informato in modo esauriente non richiede la formalizzazione scritta del
consenso. Per quanto riguarda le vaccinazioni anti-HPV, i risultati preliminari
sono stati ottenuti dai giudizi di 108 utenti (genitori e accompagnatori), 16
operatori sanitari e 35 vaccinande mostrano un’efficienza media di 83,6±25,2
per un servizio che dopo aver informato in modo esauriente si preoccupi di
far firmare il consenso e un’efficienza media di 46,1±34,4 per un servizio
che dopo aver informato in modo esauriente non richiede la formalizzazione
scritta del consenso.
CONCLUSIONI: Dai primi dati sembra emergere una tendenza da parte
degli stakeholder legata ad una preferenza per la firma del consenso informato.
La firma del CI, dopo adeguata informazione, sembra rappresentare per
utenti e operatori sanitari un indice di maggiore efficienza rispetto alla mancata
formalizzazione dello stesso
Knowledge and worry as basis for different behaviors among university students: the case of Pandemic Flu H1N1v
No full textIntroduction
Attitudes towards the pandemic were different across countries and cultures and confounding news caused some to question whether unnecessary alarm and public panic resulted.
The aim of this study was to detect behavior, perception and worry about pandemic flu among undergraduate students considered a group at major risk to contract and spread the infection.
Methods
In November 2009, during the pandemic peak in Italy, we conducted a survey about pandemic flu by means of anonymous multiple choice self-administered questionnaires among students, attending different courses at the Tor Vergata University in Rome. To investigate the relationship between the level of concern about H1N1v and the attitude to prevention the sample was divided in three groups based on the level of the declared worry.
Results
Among the 436 students that answer the questionnaires a statistical correlation was found between the level of worry and the disposition to change habits and the will to undergo vaccination. Males were less worried than females and more students living outside Rome would accept the vaccine.
Discussion and Conclusions
The results of the study, generally in agreement with those of similar research, confirmed the need to know the relationship between fear and attitude in order to organize effective preventive campaigns
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
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
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