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Background: Healthcare associated foodborne outbreaks (HA-FBO) can result from exposure to contaminated food in premises where highly vulnerable patients are cared, including hospitals and nursery homes. The probability of developing severe foodborne diseases such as invasive listeriosis is much higher for susceptible populations. There is limited knowledge on the data on food exposures that could be used to investigate HAFBOs. There is also lack of data relating to specific policies in the health facilities aimed to prevent the administration of potentially risky foods, possibly bringing them from home. Methods: This study was in the framework of One Health EJP Project NOVA. A semistructured questionnaire was administered to 4 general hospitals, 1 specialist clinic and 3 nursing homes located in the Abruzzo and Molise regions, Italy. The questionnaire included 25 questions in 3 sections (I. General organization of the catering service; II. Food menu data; III. Food from home). Results: In most facilities (75%) external catering companies used inhouse kitchens. Trace-back of food to individual patients was possible in 5 premises out of 8 (62.5%), but only in 1 nursery home out of 3 (33.3%). Data were collected in electronic format (hospitals) or paper (nursery homes) and stored 1-12 months. Food at risk of Listeria monocytogenes were not excluded from the menus, such as pre-sliced cooked meat products (served in 4 out of 8 premises, 50%), smoked fish (20%), soft cheese (20%). The consumption of food brought from home was possible in ‘‘special occasions’’, mostly in the nursery homes (66.6%). Conclusions: In case of HA-FBO it could be difficult to trace back the food particularly in the nursery homes where food data are not individually collected and usually on paper. More studies are needed in order to understand the effective exposure to foodborne pathogens, given that some types of foods considered by EFSA as at high risk of microbial contamination are commonly served. Key messages: · Served food could not be traced back to the patient mostly in nursery homes. · Foods at risk of Listeria monocytogenes contamination are commonly served to patients and residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The annual meeting of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging, EuroEcho-Imaging, was held in Milan, Italy, in December 2018. In the present paper, we report a summary of the 'Highlights' session. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: After rising for years, vaccination rates in Italy fell until 2015 because of unfounded safety concerns, abetted by some government and court actions. Public education and a 2017 law on mandatory vaccination have boosted rates since then. So far only a few papers have examined the correlation between beliefs and attitudes towards vaccines and the level of trust in the scientific community regarding vaccinations in the general population. Methods: Data were extracted from the Italian section of the last two editions of the European Social Survey (ESS), the first carried out between September and November 2017, the latter between December 2018 and March 2019. A descriptive analysis was conducted using survey data. In the two editions respectively 2,626 and 2,745 persons were interviewed. The main outcomes assessed was comparing the two surveys, so as to highlight the key changes in public opinion on vaccines. Results: In the 2017 edition, 19% of the respondents believed in the harmfulness of vaccines, out of them 29% did not even have trust in the scientific community while those confident in the safety of vaccines were 50%. In the 2019 survey, the proportion of those who believed vaccines to be harmful fell to 15%, the undecided rose to 15%, those opposed to the idea that vaccines are harmful became 63%, not responding people were 8%. Correspondingly, trust in the scientific community about vaccines has increased from 57% in the first survey to 70% in the last one. Conclusions: The scientific community and research bodies in the last years, in support of the Ministry of Health, have made a huge effort in the public debate on vaccines. This might play a role in increasing the public confidence in the safety of vaccines and the adherence to vaccination campaigns, changing the climate with regard to vaccination in general. Key messages: Italians changed their opinions on vaccines between two ESS surveys. The scientific community had a relevant role in the public debate on vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mental health, particularly among young adults, has been severely affected during the COVID-19 pandemic, partially because of both forced social isolation measures and loneliness. Numerous papers on the short-term consequences of lockdown measures reported high psychological distress, as well as an increase of depressive and anxiety symptoms and psychotropic drug use. This study evaluated potential risk and protective factors, such as resilience, loneliness, social and family context, in order to detect vulnerable individuals. Methods: This prospective longitudinal study was carried out in a two phase survey: the first one, during lockdown in Spring 2020 (T1), and, the second one, in Summer 2020 (T2), when restrictive measures were slackened. The main outcomes included the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale. The secondary outcomes included mental health care needs (MHCN), use of psychotropic drugs and family and social contacts. Results: This study evaluated risks and protective factors in mental health in 825 emerging adults aged from 18 to 25 years old in Belgium and in Italy. Participants were divided into three groups according to their MHCN before and after lockdown measures. 5% of the participants experienced an increase in MHCN at T1, including the start of a psychotropic treatment. At T1, statistically significant differences were found in mean RSA total scores and RSA Perception of Self scores between groups. At T2, the group who experienced an increase in MHCN displayed a significant decrease of mean loneliness scores compared with the other groups. This decrease is linearly correlated with resilience competencies. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictive measures cause a negative impact on youth’s mental health, particularly among vulnerable individuals. Resilience and social contacts are protective factors that need to be taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue: After the announcement of Public Health Emergency of International Concern about COVID19 by WHO, health authorities need to implement strategies to face the emergency. These responses included early diagnosis, patient isolation, quarantine and symptomatic monitoring of contacts. In this context, integrated care and telemedicine are the best instruments for COVID management. Description of the problem: The COVID19 epidemic needs a real time integration of epidemiological, clinical and laboratoristic data, in order to better manage patients and to improve public health surveillance. Based on a tool previosly used by GPs for flu vaccination and diabetes integrated care, the Local Health Authority of Pescara, Abruzzo Region, Italy, developed a web-based platform (QuickwebConnect), accessible to public health practitioners (PHP), GPs, infectious diseases physicians and laboratories, in order to integrate information about COVID19 patients. This platform contain individual-level information on patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID19, symptoms, reported onset dates, and basic demographics. Information are in real time accessible to all actors involved in the process. In addition, GPs can use this tool to directly book diagnostic tests for symptomatic or suspected patients. Results: With the use of this platform, the management of pandemic emergency was improved, allowing direct management of epidemic data both at person and population level. The real time evaluation of clinical and epidemiological data improved patients care, clinical survellance of COVID19 contacts and development of tailored preventive measure in areas with high incidence. Lessons: COVID19 patients care need to be quick, needing the integrate support of different actors. In addition, public health actions have to be supported by strong data. The use of a cost-effective web platform allow physician and PHP to better manage patiens and develope focused interventions. Key messages: Integrated care and telemedicine are best instruments for COVID management. The real time evaluation of data aimed to develop tailored preventive measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The present work aimed at conducting a real-world data analysis on the management costs and survival analysis comparing data from non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases diagnosed in the Veneto region before (2015) and after (2017) the implementation of a regional diagnostic and therapeutic pathway including all new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Methods: This study considered 254 incidental cases of NSCLC in 2015 and 228 in 2017 within the territory of the Padua province (Italy), as recorded by the Veneto Cancer Registry. Tobit regression analysis was performed to verify if total and each item costs (2 years after NSCLC diagnosis) are associated with index year, adjusting by year of diagnosis, sex, age, and stage at diagnosis. Logistic regression models were run to study overall mortality at 2 years, adjusting by the same covariates. Results: The 2017 cohort had a lower mortality odd (odds ratio, 0.93; P = .02) and a significant increase in the average overall costs (P = .009) than the 2015 cohort. The Tobit regression analysis by cost item showed a very significant increase in the average cost of drugs (coefficient = 5,953, P 5 .008) for the 2017 cohort, as well as a decrease in the average cost of hospice care (coefficient = -1,822.6, P = .022). Conclusions: Our study showed a survival improvement for patients with NSCLC as well as an economic burden growth. Physicians should therefore be encouraged to follow new clinical care pathways, while the steadily rising related costs underscore the need for policymakers and health professionals to pursue the most rational utilization of public resources. Key messages: • Our work underscores the importance of real-world assessment of costs in oncology, especially in case of a disease like NSCLC, which has such a high impact on treatment costs and patient outcomes. • New therapies prolong survival for patients with NSCLC but their sustainability reminds of the importance of prevention: the earlier the diagnosis, the longer the survival and the lower the costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vaccine hesitancy is the reluctance or refusal to be vaccinated. While it has been widely studied for various contagious diseases, there is still a lack of knowledge about this phenomenon for COVID-19, especially if health workers’ hesitancy is considered. Methods: An extensive review of the literature was conducted to identify the main determinants of vaccine hesitancy in health workers, as well as to find already validated surveys to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors (KAB) of health workers towards vaccination, both in general and with specific regard to COVID-19. Building on the available information, a new survey was developed to assess the KAB of Italian health care workers towards COVID-19 vaccination after validation with a pilot study in a diverse sample of 30 Italian health workers. Results: A new survey was validated to assess the KAB of health workers towards COVID-19 vaccination in Italian health workers. The survey requires about 6 minutes to complete and is composed of 30 questions, investigating different domains: sociodemographic and professional characteristics (6); health status (2); attitudes (11); behaviors (6); knowledge (4). The survey will be administered to a representative sample of at least 385 Italian health workers through the web platform Survey-Monkey in the period June-September 2021. Preliminary results will be available by the end of October 2021. Conclusions: By analyzing KAB towards COVID-19 vaccination with a new tool, the magnitude and determinants of health worker’s COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy will be evaluated to understand how to improve health workers’ perception towards COVID-19 vaccination and, consequently, foster their positive influence on the general population. Key messages: We explore the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors towards COVID-19 vaccination in all categories of health workers operating on the Italian territory to understand the reasons of vaccine hesitancy. Understanding the determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Italian health workers is necessary given their influence on the perception of the general population in Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]