Reasons for low cervical cancer survival in new accession European Union countries: a EUROCARE-5 study.

Purpose: With better access to early diagnosis and appropriate treatment, cervical cancer (CC) burden decreased in several European countries. In Eastern European (EE) countries, which accessed European Union in 2004, CC survival was worse than in the rest of Europe. The present study investigates CC survival differences across five European regions, considering stage at diagnosis (local, regional and metastatic), morphology (mainly squamous versus glandular tumours) and patients’ age. Methods: We analysed 101,714 CC women diagnosed in 2000–2007 and followed-up to December 2008. Age-standardised 5-year relative survival (RS) and the excess risks of cancer death in the 5 years after diagnosi…

Il metodo Joint Commission International applicato nell’ambito del Progetto Biennale per “La gestione del Rischio Clinico presso le strutture del Sistema Sanitario della Regione Siciliana: risultati preliminari”.

KNOWLEDGE AND VIEWPOINTS ON THE EFFECTS OF CORRUPTION ON HEALTHCARE: A SURVEY CONDUCTED AMONG STUDENTS OF PALERMO UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL, ITALY

Corruption affects healthcare effectiveness and efficiency and limits equity in access to health services. Aim of the survey was to document knowledge and viewpoints on the impact of corruption on healthcare system in a sample of students attending pre-lauream healthcare professional courses at Palermo University Medical school and to evaluate any improvement in their awareness on this topic after a dedicated multidisciplinary educational intervention. An anonymous questionnaire was administered to students before and after the intervention. Absolute and relative frequency of correct and incorrect answers was computed. Chi-squared test was used to compare answers given before and after the …

Sorveglianza della mortalità infantile nella provincia di Palermo. Dati prelminari.

Students’ social networks and vaccination behaviour in Italian junior high schools: preliminary results from the "VacciniAmo le Scuole" project.

Students; social networks; vaccination; behavior; high schools

Evaluation of radon levels in indoor gymnasia of palermo (Sicily) and Sassari (Sardinia)

<p><strong>Background</strong>: In the last decades, there has been increased worldwide interest in the management of health risks from indoor radon.</p><p><strong>Methods</strong>: From 2006 to 2008, a survey on air radon levels was carried out in a total of 57 indoor gymnasia respectively located in the urban area of Palermo (Sicily) and Sassari (Sardinia).</p><p><strong>Results</strong>: The indoor radon levels were generally low with different geometric means in the two geographic areas (14.3 Bq/m3 in Palermo and 36 Bq/m3 in Sassari, respectively). Overall, in both groups increasing values of radon were found during the n…

“La notifica delle malattie infettive – Vademecum per il Medico” –

The accreditation system of Italian medical residency programs: fostering quality and sustainability of the National Health Service

Summary. Background and aim: In June 2017, University and Health Ministries jointly enacted a decree imple-menting a new accreditation system for the Italian post-graduate medical schools (residency programs). We report the innovations introduced through the reform. Methods: Universities were called to submit post-gradu-ate medical school projects to the National Observatory on medical residency programs, the inter-institutional committee responsible for the entire accreditation process, through an interactive web platform. The adherence to minimum standards, requirements and the performances were measured. After this first assessment, universities were asked to provide programs of improvem…

THE BIAS (BULLYING IN SICILIAN SCHOOL) PILOT STUDY: INVESTIGATING THE PREVALENCE OF BULLYING IN SCHOOL OF PALERMO CITY. A RESEARCH STUDY PROTOCOL

Being a serious threat to physical and emotional health of children and adolescents all over the world, bullying in school represents an important public health issue. Since 2007, in Italy, the Ministry of Education (MIUR) has promoted activities to face and prevent bullying in schools of all levels while at the same time national and local Health Authorities have implemented effective social-health strategies. To date, the lack of consistent data needed to properly describe the concerning increase of this Public Health phenomenon prevents both the ability to systematically survey and measure the effectiveness of the public health strategies against bullying. The Bullying In Sicilian School…

The management of multiple sclerosis by reference centers in Italy: health demands and needs in Campania region.

This cross-sectional study has investigated the diagnostic and therapeutic management of patients suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS) in the Campania Region (Italy). A survey involving all the reference centers for MS in Campania Region was conducted from March to August 2011. Centers responded to a web-administered questionnaire on management and clinical characteristics of MS patients. In the study period, 3263 patients (mean age 37 years, 66 % females) accessed the centers. Patients received a first diagnosis of MS in 161 cases (4.9 %). About 37 % of the subjects without a previous diagnosis came to the centers on their own initiative. All patients underwent a complete neurological ex…

Vaccinazioni: stato dell’arte, falsi miti e prospettive. Il ruolo chiave della prevenzione.

La pratica vaccinale in Italia è organizzativamente incardinata all’interno del Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN) e nei Servizi Sanitari Regionali (SSR). I luoghi “classici” in cui viene effettuata la procedura/prestazione vaccinale sono i servizi di vaccinazione della Aziende Sanitarie Locali (ASL) o Provinciali (ASP) delle varie Regioni.

Prognosis and cure of long-term cancer survivors: A population-based estimation.

Background: Increasing evidence of cure for some neoplasms has emerged in recent years. The study aimed to estimate population-based indicators of cancer cure. Methods: Information on more than half a million cancer patients aged 15-74 years collected by population-based Italian cancer registries and mixture cure models were used to estimate the life expectancy of fatal tumors (LEFT), proportions of patients with similar death rates of the general population (cure fraction), and time to reach 5-year conditional relative survival (CRS) >90% or 95% (time to cure). Results: Between 1990 and 2000, the median LEFT increased >1 year for breast (from 8.1 to 9.4 years) and prostate cancers (from 5.…

Could university training and a proactive attitude of coworkers be associated with influenza vaccination compliance? A multicentre survey among Italian medical residents Assessment and evaluation of admissions, knowledge, skills and attitudes

Background: Although influenza vaccination has been demonstrated to be safe and effective, vaccination coverage rates among health care workers and among medical residents appear generally low. Several investigations have been performed worldwide to analyze the healthcare workers' educational deficiencies. This multicentre survey aimed to investigate at a nationwide level training quality and work environment associated with seasonal influenza vaccination uptake among Italian medical residents. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was carried out from April 2012 to June 2012 on medical residents regularly attending the post-graduate medical schools of 18 Italian Universities via an anonymo…

Application of Lean Six Sigma methodology to a school based immunization project in Italy.

Studio trasversale sulle variabili di stress lavoro-correlato nei medici in formazione specialistica del maggiore Policlinico Universitario della Sicilia

Introduzione: Il rischio stress lavoro-correlato è uno degli obiettivi della valutazione e prevenzione dei rischi occupazionali negli operatori sanitari (O.S.). I medici in formazione specialistica (MIFS) rappresentano una tipologia di OS sovrapponibile ai dirigenti medici in termini di esposizione lavorativa e quindi di insorgenza di sindromi da stress lavoro-correlato. Obiettivi: Obiettivo dello studio è valutare un set di fattori di rischio stress lavoro-correlato nei MIFS del principale Policlinico Universitario della Sicilia, sottoposti a sorveglianza sanitaria. Materiali e Metodi: Studio trasversale condotto mediante questionario anonimo ed autosomministrato. Risultati: Il 45% dei MIF…

Preventing Legionella in HVAC Systems

Worldwide comparison of ovarian cancer survival: Histological group and stage at diagnosis (CONCORD-2)

Abstract Objective Ovarian cancer comprises several histological groups with widely differing levels of survival. We aimed to explore international variation in survival for each group to help interpret international differences in survival from all ovarian cancers combined. We also examined differences in stage-specific survival. Methods The CONCORD programme is the largest population-based study of global trends in cancer survival, including data from 60 countries for 695,932 women (aged 15–99years) diagnosed with ovarian cancer during 1995–2009. We defined six histological groups: type I epithelial, type II epithelial, germ cell, sex cord-stromal, other specific non-epithelial and non-sp…

Rilevazione nazionale in tema di formazione specifica di medicina generale in Italia

Physicians have to get a “specific” diploma attending a threeyear training course provided by each regional health service in order to practice as General Practitioners in Italy. In the last years, there has been an ongoing debate about the need to evolve the specific regional courses into integrated specialization training courses, organized and managed by universities with the contribution of regional health services. The Italian Junior Doctors Association and the Giotto Movement carried out a national survey with the aim to identify strengths and weaknesses of the specific regional training courses. Three-hundred-two junior General Practitioners in training (61,2% females) answered to a …

Characteristics of the colorectal cancers diagnosed in the early 2000s in Italy. Figures from the IMPATTO study on colorectal cancer screening

The impact of organized screening programmes on colorectal cancer (CRC) can be observed at a population level only several years after the implementation of screening. We compared CRC characteristics by diagnostic modality (screen-detected, non-screen-detected) as an early outcome to monitor screening programme effectiveness. Data on CRCs diagnosed in Italy from 2000 to 2008 were collected by several cancer registries. Linkage with screening datasets made it possible to divide the cases by geographic area, implementation of screening, and modality of diagnosis (screen-detected, non-screen-detected).We compared the main characteristics of the different subgroups of CRCs through multivariate …

Effectiveness of an educational intervention on seasonal influenza vaccination campaign adherence among healthcare workers of the Palermo University Hospital, Italy.

Introduction. Healthcare workers are continuously exposed to the risk of being infected by influenza viruses during their work, thus representing a threat especially for fragile patients. Although the Italian Ministry of Health strongly recommends influenza vaccination for all HCWs, coverage levels in Italy are still far from the expected. Several studies report that one of the preferred strategies to improve vaccination coverage among Healthcare Workers is improving vaccination knowledge through specific multidisciplinary courses. To assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention on influenza vaccination coverage among Healthcare Workers a study was conducted at "Paolo Giaccone" U…

Changes in life expectancy for cancer patients over time since diagnosis

Highlights • Research question: how cancer impacts on LE changes during patients’ entire life • LE increased in patients surviving the first years and decreasing thereafter. • Patients’ LE in the end approached but seldom reached the general population’s LE. • This method describes when cancer survivors’ excess risk of death became negligible. • Life expectancy indicator is easy to be understood and interpreted by patients.

Autism spectrum disorder in Italy: demand for an integrated epidemiological surveillance system.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental syndrome of emerging public health concern, according to a documented significant increase of diagnosed cases of ASD in Europe and USA. In Italy, actually, it is not possible to estimate at national level a reliable ASD occurrence by using existing health and scholastic data flows. The lack of information has implications on social and healthcare services dedicated to subjects affected by ADS. The database of the Italian institute in charge of social and security assistance was accessed at the provincial level to investigate the ASD cases occurred in the Palermo province. The official reports of all subjects visited in 2013 by I…

Impact of the environment on the health: From theory to practice

The Erice 56 Charter titled "Impact of the environment on the health: from theory to practice" was unanimously approved at the end of the 56th course of the "International School of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine G. D'Alessandro" held from 3th to 7th November 2019 in Erice - Sicily (Italy) and promoted by the Study Group of "Environment and Health" of the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health. The course, that included lectures, open discussions and guided working groups, was aimed to provide a general training on epidemiological and toxicological aspects of the environmental health impact, to be used by public health professionals for risk assessment, with…

Euromediterranean Biomedical Journal: the renewed journal of young doctors aims even higher.

In January 2006, a new journal, Capsula Eburnea, was born in the Italian scientific pub-lishing scene, with the initial goal of creating, at the same time, “an open scientific forum and a blog”. Until December 2009, the vast majority of manuscripts was still published in Italian, restricting the number of readers. From the end of 2009, the journal has undergone extensive changes, becoming indexed in the main scientific search engines (Scopus, Directory of Open Access Journal, Google Scholar, Ulrich Periodical Directory), and renewing its Editorial Team with a role reassign-ment and expanding the Editorial Board to up to 40 young doctors with proven scientific experience from 15 countries ar…

I tumori dei bambini e degli adolescenti nella provincia di Palermo: i dati del Registro Tumori di Palermo e provincia.

Tumori infantili; Registri Tumori; Incidenza

La Genomica in Sanità Pubblica.
Sintesi delle evidenze e delle conoscenze disponibili sull’utilizzo della genomica ai fini della prevenzione.

Sorveglianza della mortalità infantile nella Provincia di Palermo

Analysis of the traditional approaches for astronauts’ personal hygiene in outer space

Various approaches adopted in the years for astronauts' personal hygiene in microgravity conditions are revisited and analysed in this paper. For each approach, benefits, critical aspects of sanitation and comfort, along with the possibility of recycling the amount of used water, are discussed and evaluated.

Test and treat, anche per la popolazione geriatrica con HP-infezione? Dati preliminari

Earlier appearance of the ossification centre of the femoral head in breast fed versus formula fed infants.

Il Registro incontra i Sindaci: l’iniziativa di comunicazione del Registro Tumori di Palermo e Provincia

Registri Tumori; epidemiologia tumori; comunicazione rischio oncologico