1,721,183 research outputs found
Waste incinerator and human health: a state-of-the-art review.
No full textEmissions of municipal solid waste incinerator plants consist as a suspected risk factor for the human health. Scientific literature about this theme appears contradictory: main sanitary outcomes actually evaluated, stating on geographic- or occupational-based epidemiologic approaches, produced inconsistent results. Research procedures applied, and effective quality of analyzed data, are the likely causes of such dissimilarities. Up to date, respiratory, cardiovascular renal, and hormonal pathologies, and also neoplasia, and developmental/reproductive disorders have been related to this kind of exposures: otherwise, an objective review of available data suggests a consistent relation only between residential or occupational exposure and the latter outcomes, always as a topic of multifactorial models. Finally, rigorous public health surveillance programs on exposed subjects appear mandatory steps to be established by Institutional Authorities. Also more accurate epidemiologic studies should be designed, eventually associating the retrieval of data relative to biomarkers of exposure or early health effect
Personal beliefs and misconceptions, not evidence guide general practitioners in the managing of travelers’ diarrhea: Results from a pilot study (North-Western Italy, 2019)
No full textBackground: The present study aims to characterize knowledge, attitudes and practices in a sample of general practitioners (GPs) on management of travelers’ diarrhea (TD). Methods: A total of 158 GPs (44.3% males; mean age 40.2 ± 12.4 years) completed a web questionnaire on antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) and/or an antibiotic treatment (AT) in TD cases. Participants were inquired on knowledge status (KS), risk perception and effectively applied recommendations for AP/AT through a specifically designed questionnaire. Multivariate odds ratios (OR) for predictors of AP/AT were calculated through regression analysis. Results: All in all, while 15 (9.5%) participants recommended AP for TD, 61 of them (39.4%) recommended AT. KS was largely unsatisfying as participants extensively ignored the most recent AP/AT recommendations. Acknowledgment of TD as a severe disorder was predictive for recommendation of AP (OR 37.843, 95% CI 4.752–301.4). As for AT, it was relatively elevated in GPs ≥ 10 years (OR 2.653, 95% CI 1.169–6.019), but more rarely reported in participants with higher KS (OR 0.056, 95% CI 0.021–0.153). Conclusions: Adherence of GPs to official recommendations for TD management was unsatisfying, particularly in older participants. Continuous Education of GPs should be improved by sharing up-to-date official recommendations on AT/AP for TD
The role of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) in the decision-making
No full textThe review describes the evolution of the environmental policies in Italy underlying current delays and discords between the environment and its effects on human health. It also tries to define the major barriers to the introduction of the health impact assessment (HIA) in government policy-making process in Italy; the lack of regulations and the lack of methods to perform an HIA are the main reasons for its limited use. Epidemiology is a fundamental tool to produce effective health impact assessments along with a deep knowledge of medicine, environmental hygiene and risk communication. In conclusion, should the Italian scientific community agreed on a common and constructive approach avoiding possible exploitations and conflicts of interest, HIA could be a valuable method for helping to develop environmental policies and assisting policy-makers in important decisions
85;87Rb NMR Relaxation Rates T1 and T2 in Rb3C60, at various Fields, in the Normal and in the Superconducting Phases
No full text
Vaccinating Front-Line Healthcare Workers: Results of a Pre-Pandemic Cross-Sectional Study from North-Eastern Italy on First Responders
Full text linkFirst responders are front-line healthcare workers who are potentially exposed to different infectious agents. Characterizing their knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) towards immunization, therefore, has the potential to significantly improve occupational health and safety. A cross-sectional study was performed in October 2018 using a sample of 161 first responders from the Parma Province (mean age 45.1 ± 14.1 years; seniority 10.8 ± 8.6 years). The participants were questioned on three recommended vaccinations (i.e., the seasonal influenza, measles, and pertussis vaccines) and on meningococcal vaccines (not officially recommended for first responders). The participant’s knowledge status and risk perception were assessed as percentage values through a specifically designed questionnaire. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) for factors associated with vaccination status were calculated by means of a binary logistic regression analysis. The internal consistency result, calculated using a general knowledge test, was good (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.894), but the corresponding score was unsatisfying (46.5% ± 32.4), evidencing uncertainties surrounding the recommendations for measles and meningococcal vaccines (39.1% and 34.2% incorrect answers, respectively). While the large majority of respondents were favorable towards the meningococcal (89.4%), measles (87.5%), and pertussis vaccines (83.0%), 55.3% exhibited a favorable attitude toward the seasonal influenza vaccine, the uptake of which in 2018, was reported by 28.0% of respondents, compared to the self-reported lifetime status for meningitis (26.1%), measles (42.2%), and pertussis (34.8%). Not coincidentally, all assessed infections were associated with a low-risk perception score, particularly influenza (33.9% ± 18.4). Interestingly enough, neither knowledge status nor risk perception were associated with vaccination rates. More precisely, the main predictor for being vaccinated against seasonal influenza in 2018 was a seniority of ≥10 years (aOR 3.26, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.35–7.91), while both pertussis and measles were positively associated with higher educational achievement (aOR 3.27, 95%CI 1.29–8.30; and aOR 2.69, 95%CI 1.09–6.65, respectively). The reasons for vaccination gaps among the sampled first responders, apparently, did not find their roots in inappropriate knowledge status and risk perception alone. However, the very low rates of sampled immunization lead us to recommend stronger and more appropriate information campaigns
[The role of Health Impact Assessment (HIA) in the decision-making]
No full textThe review describes the evolution of the environmental policies in Italy underlying current delays and discords between the environment and its effects on human health. It also tries to define the major barriers to the introduction of the health impact assessment (HIA) in government policy-making process in Italy; the lack of regulations and the lack of methods to perform an HIA are the main reasons for its limited use. Epidemiology is a fundamental tool to produce effective health impact assessments along with a deep knowledge of medicine, environmental hygiene and risk communication. In conclusion, should the Italian scientific community agreed on a common and constructive approach avoiding possible exploitations and conflicts of interest, HIA could be a valuable method for helping to develop environmental policies and assisting policy-makers in important decisions
- …
