The Economic Burden of Child Maltreatment in High Income Countries.

2015

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…

The pediatric endoscopy practice in Italy: A nationwide survey on behalf of the Italian society of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutriti…

2019

The Child Health Care System in Italy

2016

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…

Actual and perceived motor competence: Are children accurate in their perceptions?

2020

The aims of this study were (1) to investigate whether 6−7-year-old children are accurate in perceiving their actual movement competence, and (2) to examine possible age- and gender-related differences. A total of 603 children (301 girls and 302 boys, aged 6 to 7 years) were assessed on the execution accuracy of six locomotor skills and six object control skills using the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2). The perceived competence of the same skills, plus six active play activities, was also gauged through the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence (PMSC-2). The factorial validity of the TGMD-2 and PMSC-2 scales was preliminarily ascertained using a Bayesian structura…

Epidemiological trends of pediatric IBD in Italy: A 10-year analysis of the Italian society of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition r…

2022

Introduction: The present study aimed at evaluating Italian epidemiological trends of pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) over the period 2009–2018. Materials and methods: Data from 1969 patients enrolled in the Italian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Registry, by 49 pediatric IBD centers throughout the country, were analyzed, comparing three different time intervals (2009–2012, 2013–2015, 2016–2018). Results: The number of new IBD diagnoses ranged from 175 to 219 per year, evenly distributed over the examined period of time. From 2009 to 2018, the minimal incidence ranged from 1.59 to 2.04 /105 inhabitants aged < 18 years, with an overall slight p…

Physical Activity and Physical Competence in Overweight and Obese Children: An Intervention Study

2020

With the current obesity epidemic and the decline of fitness among school-aged children, the importance of obesity interventions to promote physical activity and healthy habits has become indisputable. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of a school-based multicomponent intervention in increasing physical activity (PA) levels, actual physical abilities, and perceived physical abilities in clinical and nonclinical samples of overweight/obese boys and girls aged 10–12 years. The clinical intervention group (n = 35) participated in a 7-month after-school program in addition to curricular physical education lessons, while the nonclinical control group (n = 29) received usual cu…

Changes in Physical Activity, Motor Performance, and Psychosocial Determinants of Active Behavior in Children : A Pilot School-Based Obesity Program

2020

The obesity epidemic and the decline of fitness among children highlights the need for suitable interventions designed to promote Physical Activity (PA) and healthy habits. The purpose of our pilot study was to assess the feasibility of a school-based program among overweight and obese children, by examining changes in their body composition, PA, physical fitness, and some psychosocial determinants of active behavior. An additional objective was to investigate the reciprocal relationship over time between PA and body image. Self-reported PA and health-related fitness tests were administered to 18 overweight and obese children (11.3 ± 0.4 years), before and after a 6-month intervention inclu…