0000000000054238
AUTHOR
Luigi Nigri
The Health Risks of Electronic Cigarettes Use in Adolescents
The evidence to date suggests that vaping is not a safe alternative to smoking tobacco. This, coupled with the worrying trend of young nonsmokers being attracted to vaping, raises fears of yet another generation suffering from chronic lung disease and other acute and chronic health conditions. Finally, due to the insufficient regulations in several countries, up-to-date data on the prevalence of e-cigarette use and studies on the health's implications of their use are urgently needed to inform policy at a national and international level (ie, European Union). Pediatricians are typically on the front line for identifying emerging risks for children and adolescents ; therefore, they may effec…
The Economic Burden of Child Maltreatment in High Income Countries.
Maltreatment is a common cause of children’s functional and emotional impairment. Costs for the society are high, as a substantial amount of resources have been allocated for various types of services connected to maltreatment of children. These include acute treatment, long-termcare, family rehabilitation programs, and judiciary activities.There is a long-lasting debate on how child abuse could be prevented or reduced. How can the costs of related services be contained? What is the role of pediatricians in such efforts? This article raises these important questions within the framework of the debate opened by the article by Gerber-Grote et al regarding the role of health economics in impro…
Prevention and contrast of child abuse and neglect in the practice of European paediatricians: a multi-national pilot study
AbstractBackgroundChild abuse and neglect, or maltreatment, is a serious public health problem, which may cause long-term effects on children’s health and wellbeing and expose them to further adulthood vulnerabilities. Studies on child maltreatment performed in Europe are scarce, and the number of participants enrolled relatively small. The aim of this multi-national European pilot study, was to evaluate the level of understanding and perception of the concepts of child abuse and neglect by European paediatricians working in different medical settings, and the attitude toward these forms of maltreatment in their practice.MethodsThe study was performed by a cross-sectional, descriptive, onli…
The "Invisible Children": Uncertain Future of Unaccompanied Minor Migrants in Europe.
Because of their particular helpless condition, the unaccompanied minor migrants are at serious risk to be further deprived of their rights, and to become de facto “invisible” to the authorities, to the public health services, and in general to the public opinion. Furthermore, when they arrive at a destination, or during their journey through Europe, many children often vanish. The full dimension of such phenomenon that further hits the unaccompanied minors along their European migration routes currently is unknown. However, the intense migration that has affected the south Mediterranean borders of the EU over the last 10 years has allowed the collection of sufficient data to raise the high…
The Child Health Care System in Italy
Pediatric care in Italy has been based during the last 40 years on the increased awareness of the importance of meeting the psychosocial and developmental needs of children and of the role of families in promoting the health and well-being of their children. The pediatric health care system in Italy is part of the national health system. It is made up of 3 main levels of intervention: first access/primary care, secondary care/hospital care, and tertiary care based on specialty hospital care. This overview will also include a brief report on neonatal care, pediatric preventive health care, health service accreditation programs, and postgraduate training in pediatrics. The quality of the Ital…
An Appeal for Implementing Social Assistance and Welfare Programs for European Children Challenged by Parental Loss
The authors of this commentary, many of whom are part of a working group on social pediatrics supported by some of the European national pediatric societies member of EPA-UNEPSA, conclude that more studies are needed to cross the boundaries between disciplines, for example, looking at the inter-relationship of family life and child health and how parental loss is affecting the micro and macro level of child healthcare service systems. Therefore, this article aims to alert pediatricians to the impact of parental loss on child health and wellbeing. It emphasizes the importance of implementing preventive and social support programs for achieving health promotion and health-protective effects.
Foster Care: A Fragile Reality Needing Social Attention, and Economic Investments.
The combination of psychosocial, medical, and educational care usually leads to immediate and long-term extra cost, which may pay out only decades later. This social and economic investment may be regarded by economists as being hardly affordable, especially during recession periods. However, we strongly believe that there are alternatives allowing adequate care even in times of economic turmoil. The aim of this report is to raise the awareness of the pediatric community and the public opinion toward the importance of investing in health programs offering adequate protection, prevention, and provision of care for orphan, abandoned, maltreated, and neglected children.