VACCINATION AND IMMUNIZATION STATUS AGAINST VACCINE-PREVENTABLE DISEASES IN AN ITALIAN SAMPLE OF HEALTH-CARE WORKERS OPERATING IN GYNAECOLOGY AND OBSTETRICS HOSPITAL DEPARTMENTS

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are an important group of professionals exposed to infectious diseases transmitted through several ways. Nevertheless, vaccination coverages of HCWs are often lower than standards recommended by international Public Health authorities. Recently, the Italian Ministry of Health has issued the guidelines for recommended vaccination during pregnancy, child-bearing age and feeding-time. This study aimed at investigating knowledge, attitudes, practices and immunization status in a sample of Italian HCWs employed in gynaecology and obstetrics departments. A survey was conducted between November 2017 and February 2018 throughout an online self-administered questionnaire, p…

Determinants of European parents' decision on the vaccination of their children against measles, mumps and rubella: A systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT Low measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) immunization levels in European children highlight the importance of identifying determinants of parental vaccine uptake to implement policies for increasing vaccine compliance. The aim of this paper is to identify the main factors associated with partial and full MMR vaccination uptake in European parents, and combine the different studies to obtain overall quantitative measures. This activity is included within the ESCULAPIO project, funded by the Italian Ministry of Health. ORs and CIs were extracted, sources of heterogeneity explored and publication bias assessed. Forty-five papers were retrieved for the qualitative study, 26 of which were i…

TUBERCOLOSI: DUE POPOLAZIONI A CONFRONTO. ITALIANI E STRANIERI NELL’A.O.U.P. “P. GIACCONE” DI PALERMO

EPIDEMIOLOGIA DELLA LEISHMANIOSI IN SICILIA: STIMA DEL BURDEN DI MALATTIA ATTRAVERSO L’ANALISI DEI FLUSSI SANITARI CORRENTI.

INTRODUZIONE: La Sicilia è notoriamente terra endemica per la leishmaniosi, ma mancano, allo stato attuale, dei sistemi di sorveglianza attiva che permettano di quantificare precisamente il carico di malattia attribuibile a questa patologia protozoaria. Obiettivo del presente lavoro è stato quello di analizzare i flussi sanitari correnti disponibili al fine di stimare l’impatto della leishmaniosi sulla popolazione siciliana residente. MATERIALI E METODI: Lo studio ha analizzato due fonti: a) tutte le notifiche in classe II di leishmaniosi effettuate tra gennaio 2010 e dicembre 2013; b) le schede di dimissione ospedaliera (SDO) riportanti i codici ICD9-CM 085.1, 085.2, 085.3, 085.4, 085.5 ed…

Healthcare-associated infections over an eight year period in a large university hospital in Sicily (Italy, 2011–2018)

Background: Up to 7% of hospitalised patients acquire at least one healthcare-associated infection (HAI). The aim of the present study was to quantify the burden of HAIs in an Italian hospital, identifying involved risk factors. Methods: Prevalence point study carried out from 2011 to 2018. For each recruited patient, a data entry form was compiled including information on demographics, hospital admission, risk factors, antimicrobial treatment, and infection if present. Results: A total of 2844 patients were included and 218 (7.03%) reported an infection. HAI prevalence rates showed a significant increase (average annual per cent change (AAPC) +33.9%; p=0.018) from 2011 to 2014 whereas from…

Qualitative analysis of determinants of measles, mumps, rubella vaccine uptake in European parents

Background Parental concerns about measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination negatively influence decision to vaccinate their children, this leading to the recently reported vaccine coverage drop in Europe. The ESCULAPIO project, funded by the Italian National Centre for Disease Prevention and Control of the Ministry of Health (CCM), is investigating the main factors underlying decisions on vaccinations, in order to implement targeted campaigns and plan effective strategies. Methods A systematic literature review was carried out on studies describing the determinants underlying MMR vaccination uptake in European parents. Results A total of 45 studies were included in the analysis. The mo…

Information sources and knowledge on vaccination in a population from southern Italy: The ESCULAPIO project

Vaccine knowledge of the general population is shaped by different information sources and strongly influences vaccination attitudes and uptake. The CCM-Italian Ministry of Health ESCULAPIO project attempted to identify the role of such information sources, in order to address adequate strategies to improve information on vaccines and vaccine preventable diseases. In the present study, data on 632 adults from Southern Italy regarding information sources were collected, and their perceived and actual knowledge on vaccinations were compared and analyzed in relation to socio-demographic characteristics and information sources. The main reported reference sources were general practitioners (GPs…

STUDIO MULTICENTRICO IN NETWORK DI CENTRI UNIVERSITARI ITALIANI SULLA PREVALENZA DELL’INFEZIONE TUBERCOLARE LATENTE (ITBL) IN STUDENTI DI AREA SANITARIA E MEDICI IN FORMAZIONE SPECIALISTICA

Introduzione. La tubercolosi (TB) rappresenta ancora oggi un problema di salute pubblica a livello globale. Sebbene l’incidenza mostri ampie differenze geografiche, la TB rappresenta una delle più importanti cause di morte e quella principale da singolo agente infettivo (3). Si stima che un terzo della popolazione mondiale risulti infettata in forma latente da ceppi di Mycobacterium tuberculosis. L’infezione tubercolare latente (ITBL) e la TB costituiscono ancora oggi, un rischio professionale per gli operatori sanitari e soggetti a questi equiparati, quali studenti che svolgono attività formativa professionalizzante in ambito assistenziale. La maggior parte dei casi di malattia attiva di o…

Methodological issues in a cross-sectional survey on cervical cancer screening using telephone interviews in Sicily (Italy): a SWOT analysis

Objective A cross-sectional study on knowledge, perceptions, and adherence to cervical cancer screening was conducted using telephone interviews of Sicilian women that were performed in 2016. This study aimed to identify areas that need to be addressed to improve the validity of data collection and to minimize possible biases. Methods We performed a qualitative study through SWOT analysis, which is a multidimensional method based on evaluation of Strengths (S), Weaknesses (W), Opportunities (O), and Threats (T) of the research project. The contents of the SWOT forms underwent categorical, inductive, and deductive data analysis using the long table analysis method. Results The full availabil…

Influenza vaccine effectiveness among high-risk groups: a systematic literature review and metaanalysis of case-control and cohort studies

Vaccination represents the most effective intervention to prevent infection, hospitalization and mortality due to influenza. This meta-analysis quantifies data reporting influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) on influenza visits and hospitalizations of case-control and cohort studies among high-risk groups. A systematic literature review including original articles published between 2007 and 2016, using a protocol registered on Prospero with No. 42017054854, and a meta-analysis were conducted. For three high-risk groups (subjects with underlying health conditions, pregnant women and health care workers) only a qualitative evaluation was carried out. The VE quantitative analysis demonstrated a…

Salvate Eva in Sicilia: indagine conoscitiva 2016 sull’adesione allo screening organizzato del cervicocarcinoma.

In Sicilia, a fronte di un incremento dell’estensione dello screening organizzato del cervicocarcinoma, non corrisponde un aumento dell’adesione. Nei mesi di gennaio-giugno 2016 è stata condotta un’indagine trasversale somministrando un questionario standardizzato a un campione di 365 donne, per descrivere le ragioni del fenomeno e promuovere interventi mirati. Per le variabili di atteggiamento e conoscenza è stato utilizzato l’Health Belief Model, che ha esplorato la percezione della donna della suscettibilità (rischio di sviluppare il cancro), della gravità della patologia e dei benefici derivanti dal pap-test. Dai risultati emerge che il 66,6% delle intervistate ha effettuato un pap- tes…