Health Tecnology Assessment: bisogni formativi teorici e pratici nelle Scuole di Specializzazione in Igiene e Medicina Preventiva

Objective: The aim of our study was to perform a survey of Italian graduate students (medical doctors) attending Public Health Schools, in order to assess the importance and training needs concerning Health Technology Assessment (HTA) during their public health postgraduate education. Methods: In July 2010, we sent by e-mail a questionnaire to all graduate medical students attending Public Health Schools from four Italian Regions (representing Northern, Center and Southern Italy). The questionnaire included two sections: 1) knowledge on HTA; 2) assessment of the importance of HTA training during academic public health education. Main results: Eighty-two Public Health graduate students from …

Is there a lack of information on HPV vaccination given by health professionals to young women?

Objective: The aim of this survey is to compare the main sources of information about vaccination against Human papillomavirus (HPV) of young women aged over-18 and under-18 years.Methods: A multicenter study was carried out in Italy through the administration of a questionnaire. Univariate analyses were conducted to evaluate possible differences between age groups and different locations (chi-square test and Fisher test where possible).Results: The sample consisted of 987 young women. The main sources of information about HPV vaccination are represented by magazines/books (23.1%) and TV (20.5%) for the over-18s, while for the under-18s the sources are general practitioners (22.6%) and pedi…

Validation of a questionnaire for young women to assess knowledge, attitudes and behaviors towards cervical screening and vaccination against HPV: survey among an Italian sample

Normal 0 14 false false false IT X-NONE X-NONE Background: The aim of this pilot study was to assess the reliability and validity of the questionnaire in young women ≥18 years as tool to examine knowledge, attitudes and behaviors towards screening and vaccination against HPV and reliable source of information. Methods: Reliability analysis was tested and content validity was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha to check internal consistency with the intention to obtain no misunderstanding results. The questionnaire - composed by n. 3 section for a total of n. 69 items- was administered to 30 girls. The study was conducted in 4 Italian cities: Ferrara, Rome, Cassino and Palermo and data were col…

A multicenter study on the appropriateness of hospitalization in obstetric wards: application of Obstetric Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (Obstetric AEP)

The cross-sectional study has been based on the implementation of the Obstetric Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (OAEP) in seven hospitals to determine inappropriate hospital admissions and days of stay. The outcomes were: inappropriateness of admission and "percentage of inappropriateness" for one hospitalization. A total number of 2196 clinical records were reviewed. The mean percentage of inappropriateness for hospitalization was 22%. The percentage of inappropriateness for the first 10 d of hospitalization peaked in correspondence of the fourth (42%). The logistic regression model on inappropriated admission reported that emergency admission was a protective factor (OR = 0.4) and to …

Prevalence of influenza vaccination among nurses and ancillary workers in Italy: Systematic review and meta analysis

Italian Ministry of Health recommends vaccination for seasonal influenza to all healthcare workers (HCW), particularly to nurses who have an important interaction with patients. The aim of this study is to conduct a systematic review in order to estimate the pooled prevalence of influenza vaccinations among nurses and ancillary workers in Italy and analyze the enhancing and hindering factors. Results: The review was performed using 15 articles, 6 containing the prevalence of vaccination for nurses and ancillary workers, while the others qualitative analysis. In all the selected articles the score calculation has been performed by using a protocol for observational studies. The nurses and an…

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Smoking Behaviours among Physicians Specializing in Public Health: A Multicentre Study

Background. Healthcare professionals have an important role to play both as advisers—influencing smoking cessation—and as role models. However, many of them continue to smoke. The aims of this study were to examine smoking prevalence, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours among four cohorts physicians specializing in public health, according to the Global Health Profession Students Survey (GHPSS) approach.Materials and Methods. A multicentre cross-sectional study was carried out in 24 Italian schools of public health. The survey was conducted between January and April 2012 and it was carried out a census of students in the selected schools for each years of course (from first to fourth year …

Tobacco use prevalence, knowledge and attitudes, and tobacco cessation training among medical students: results of a pilot study of Global Health Professions Students Survey (GHPSS) in Italy

Aim The aims of this study were to examine tobacco use prevalence, knowledge and attitudes, and tobacco cessation training among students attending Italian medical schools using the Global Health Professions Student Survey approach and to identify possible factors associated with smoking status. Subjects and Methods A multicentre cross-sectional pilot study was carried out in five Italian Schools of Medicine from March to April 2009. Questionnaires were administered in anonymous, voluntary and self-administered form to third year students attending medical schools. The outcome measure was “being a current smoker”. A logistic regression was used to evaluate possible factors associated with s…

Appropriateness of admission and hospital stay in obstetric wards: an Italian cross-sectional study comparing Sicilian settings

Appropriateness is one of the main topics of health policy and should be estimable in order to analyze the efficacy of hospital services. The Review and Use of the Hospital Protocol (in Italian: Protocollo di Revisione dell’Uso dell’ Ospedale-PRUO) allowed us to evaluate the appropriateness of hospitalizations, starting from daily available clinical records in a selected hospital. Methods The cross-sectional study applied the PRUOmethod on a sample of medical records (N=575; years: 2008–2010) related to ordinary admissions to obstetric wards of Lipari and Pantelleria Hospital (both Minor Islands of Sicily: MI) and to the Teaching Hospital of the University of Palermo (P) in order to evaluat…

Vaccinazione ANti-HPV in Italia: conoscenza, attitudini e comportamenti delle vaccinande e delle madri delle vaccinande in uno studio multicentrico

Knowledge, opinions and attitudes of Italian mothers towards HPV vaccination and Pap test

Aim This study evaluated the knowledge and attitudes of Italian mothers – whose daughters had been vaccinated in 2012 – towards primary (anti-HPV vaccination) and secondary (Pap test screening) cervical cancer prevention, as well as sources of information and mother-daughter communication on health issues. Methods The survey – part of a multicenter study carried out in 4 Italian cities (Ferrara, Rome, Cassino and Palermo) – was conducted through self-administered questionnaires. The first univariate analysis evaluated differences between mothers of under-18s and over-18s relative to knowledge and attitudes on HPV vaccination and Pap test. The second univariate analysis evaluated differences…