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Traumatic wounds are one of the most common problems leading people to the Emergency Department (ED), accounting for approximately 5,4 % of all the visits, and up to 24 % of all the medical lawsuits. In order to provide a standardized method for wound management in the ED, we have organized a workshop, involving several Italian and European experts. Later, all the discussed statements have been submitted for external validation to a multidisciplinary expert team, based on the so called Delphi method. Eight main statements have been established, each of them comprising different issues, covering the fields of wound classification, infectious risk stratification, tetanus and rabies prophylaxis, wound cleansing, pain management, and suture. Here we present the results of this work, shared by the Academy of Emergency Medicine and Care (AcEMC), and the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction provides some insights on this special issue of Mortality, entitled Dying and Death in Former Communist European Countries, setting the issue against the general background of death studies and, more specifically, of death studies in eastern European countries. Some relevant references to the Dying and Death in 18th-21st Century Europe International Conference, organised in Romania, at the '1 Decembrie 1918ʹ University of Alba Iulia, Romania, between 2007 and 2019, are also made. The rationale and also the limitations of this special issue are brought into attention. The papers that form this issue are briefly presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite technological innovations and continuous improvement in evidence‐based treatments, mortality in the intensive care unit (ICU) remains high. Consequently, a large group of family members may be in need of, and could benefit from, bereavement follow‐up support. Aims and Objectives: To explore the elements, organization, and evaluation of ICU bereavement services in European countries. Specific objectives were to investigate: (a) the model of bereavement follow‐up services (elements of support), (b) the workforce model (organization of staff), and (c) the evaluation model (evaluation strategies). Design: This was a cross‐sectional survey of conference delegates. Methods: A paper‐and‐pen questionnaire, including a cover letter assuring the respondents of anonymity and confidentiality, was distributed to 250 delegates during the opening ceremony of the 2017 European federation of Critical Care Nurses associations Congress in Belfast. The questionnaire was developed from a previously validated tool describing bereavement care practices in ICUs, including questions about the content and organization of bereavement follow‐up services. Frequencies were calculated using yes/no questions, and content analysis was applied in additional free‐text comments. Results: We received 85 responses from publicly employed nurses, mainly in mixed adult ICUs. Respondents were 48 (56.5%) bedside nurses, and the remaining respondents represented clinical nurse specialists, researchers, managers, or academic nurses. Bereavement follow up had existed for about 1 to 15 years. Important follow‐up elements were: viewing the deceased in the unit, 77 (90.6%); providing follow‐up information, 67 (79.8%); sending a letter of sympathy, 17 (20%); and calling the family to arrange a meeting, 27 (31%). Conclusions: Bereavement follow up is common but variable in European ICUs. We recommend the development, implementation, and evaluation of evidence‐based, but culture‐specific, bereavement follow‐up guidelines for European ICUs. Relevance to Clinical Practice: More critical care nurses are realizing the need for bereavement follow‐up guidelines. This paper provides an overview of common elements that might be considered. WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THIS TOPICMany families experience the death of a loved one in intensive care unit (ICU).Bereavement services are offered at some ICUs.WHAT THIS PAPER ADDSBereavement services are not systematically offered in European ICUs.Culture‐specific guidelines are needed for bereavement follow up in ICUs.Common elements of bereavement services have been identified, for example, viewing the deceased in the unit, providing follow‐up information, sending a letter of sympathy, and calling the family to arrange a meeting.Consequences of bereavement in ICU have been discussed, for example, prolonged or complicated grief and lack of closure in the bereaved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been concerns about the decline of health promotion as a practice and discipline and, alongside this, calls for a clearer articulation of health promotion research and what, if anything, makes it distinct. This discussion paper, based on a review of the literature, the authors’ own experiences in the field, and a workshop delivered by two of the authors at the 8th Nordic Health Promotion Conference, seeks to state the reasons why health promotion research is distinctive. While by no means exhaustive, the paper suggests four distinctive features. The paper hopes to be a catalyst to enable health promotion researchers to be explicit in their practice and to begin the process of developing an agreed set of research principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides updates on issues related to the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) as of October 2019. Topics covered include opportunity of the World Health Organization to renew its vision for health in Europe beyond 2020, a white paper published by the European Commission in March 2017 setting out five possible paths for the future of Europe, and EUPHA's statement on what European political parties are stating on health.

Background Frailty is a common, multi-factorial, age-related syndrome commonly observed in people with diabetes. Although older diabetics are prone to adverse healthcare outcomes and diabetes increases the risk of developing frailty, little is known about the effects of frailty on diabetes. This paper examines the association between diabetes, frailty, and mortality in Europeans aged ≥50 years. Methods Data were included from The Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) waves one and six. A participant's first interview was taken as the baseline and subsequent waves were used for mortality follow-up (time and cause). Frailty and pre-frailty were measured using established cut-offs using the Physical Phenotype (SHARE-FI) and a 55-item Frailty Index (FI-55). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to assess the relationship between frailty and mortality in people with diabetes and significance tested using log-rank test. Cox regression was used to adjust for potential confounders (age, sex, education, income, employment, alcohol use, smoking, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, myocardial infarction, stroke, metastatic cancer, chronic lung disease, polypharmacy, self-perceived health and depression). Results Data from 8,954 diabetics aged 50-99 years were included with 1,598 deaths (17.8%). According to the SHARE-FI, 1,971 (22.0%) were frail, 4,183 (46.7%) pre-frail and 2,800 (31.3%) robust. According to the Kaplan-Meier log-rank test survival varied significantly across frailty strata according to both indexes (p<0.001). At 10-year follow-up, adjusting for confounders SHARE-FI frailty and pre-frailty were significantly associated with mortality, adjusted Hazard Ratio (HR) 2.19, (95% CI:1.66-2.89), and 1.38 (95% CI:1.09-1.74), respectively. Results were similar using the FI-55, HR for frailty 1.66 (95% CI:1.09-2.54). Causes of mortality were significantly different according to frailty status (p<0.05). Conclusion Frailty and pre-frailty are independent risk factors for mortality in diabetics. The identification of frailty is important for the risk-stratification and management of middle aged and older patients with diabetes and should be included in the routine assessment of these high-risk individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on several European Cancer Rehabilitation and Survivorship (ECRS) meetings in which 140 papers published in Acta Oncologica. It mentions the course and risk of late effects in childhood cancer survivors are well described and risk factors identified are all closely related to the specific treatment provided for the cancer disease; and also mentions the papers address Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) use and readiness for e-health solutions during therapy and rehabilitation.

The article presents a presidential address delivered at the 18th European Society for Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery and Arthroscopy (ESSKA) Congress in Glasgow, Armadillo Auditorium on May 10th, 2018. Topics included scientific papers, demonstrations of surgical techniques, discussions and debates and workshops.

Background: Over the past 30 years, the international conference on Artificial Intelligence in MEdicine (AIME) has been organized at different venues across Europe every 2 years, establishing a forum for scientific exchange and creating an active research community. The Artificial Intelligence in Medicine journal has published theme issues with extended versions of selected AIME papers since 1998.Objectives: To review the history of AIME conferences, investigate its impact on the wider research field, and identify challenges for its future.Methods: We analyzed a total of 122 session titles to create a taxonomy of research themes and topics. We classified all 734 AIME conference papers published between 1985 and 2013 with this taxonomy. We also analyzed the citations to these conference papers and to 55 special issue papers.Results: We identified 30 research topics across 12 themes. AIME was dominated by knowledge engineering research in its first decade, while machine learning and data mining prevailed thereafter. Together these two themes have contributed about 51% of all papers. There have been eight AIME papers that were cited at least 10 times per year since their publication.Conclusions: There has been a major shift from knowledge-based to data-driven methods while the interest for other research themes such as uncertainty management, image and signal processing, and natural language processing has been stable since the early 1990s. AIME papers relating to guidelines and protocols are among the most highly cited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to summarize the outcomes of the Euroguidelines in Central and Eastern Europe (ECEE) conference held in Warsaw in February 2016. The main aim of this conference was to facilitate a discussion on European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) guidelines implementation across the region and neighbouring countries and to present the current obstacles in benchmarking HIV care in Europe. Methods During a 2-day meeting, there were country-based presentations using a predefined template so as to make the data comparable and focus the discussion. Areas covered were country epidemiology, surveillance, national strategy for treatment and prevention, standards of care, access to care and treatment availability. Each participant filled in a questionnaire investigating HIV guidelines usage per country. Results In total, 16 Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and neighbouring countries were represented at the conference: Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia and Turkey. EACS guidelines version 7.1 were used in 14 (87%) countries. In 11 (69%) countries, national guidelines were available, of which eight had been recently updated. Half of the countries declared that they use World Health Organization (WHO) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) guidelines, over one-third the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) HIV testing guidelines and one in five the International Antiviral Society USA (IAS-USA) Panel guidelines from 2012. Conclusions Participants declared their will to promote the widespread use of EACS guidelines for HIV infection in the CEE region and neighbouring countries by signing the Warsaw Declaration. They also emphasized the need to increase publishing of data from national cohorts in that region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facing the considerable variation in the computation of disability-adjusted life years (DALY) in the numerous updates of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study and many independent studies, the European burden of disease network (burden-eu) launched a series of systematic literature reviews (SLR) to explore the key assumptions used in the European burden of disease (BoD) studies. The SLR will provide an overview of the existing BoD studies and the computational variations used and will also help identifying ways to harmonize the approaches enhancing the comparability of BoD estimates. The SLR was split in four parallel reviews: noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), communicable diseases (CDs), injuries and risk factors. For the first three, the search strategy included terms describing the population (GBD area ‘‘European region’’) and the BoD measures (years lived with disability, years of life lost, and DALYs). We included studies published between January 1990 and April 2020, without language restrictions. The search strategy was run in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Embase. OpenGrey, OAIster, CABDirect, WHO and targeted public health agency websites were screened for grey literature. In addition, burden-eu members were asked to supplement the list of publications with any material available within their national public health institutes. Data extraction focused on methodological information. The title, abstract and full-text screening resulted in the final inclusion of 165 papers regarding NCDs, 189 with CDs, and 124 papers regarding injuries. The final list includes peer-reviewed articles and reports showing a variability in data sources used (e.g. patient medical records, disease registries, insurance claims sources) and model assumptions (e.g. use of multi-morbidity adjustments, use of disability weights). Further data extraction and analysis is in process, and will be presented during the workshop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to a report published by the European Commission in November 2013, Spain remains the leading destination for European university students in the Erasmus exchange scheme. Both this non-domestic audience and the launch of the European Higher Education Area have caused far-reaching changes in the Spanish university system. A more recent phenomenon to be added to this scenario is the arrival of Chinese students, of whom around 100 chose the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC) in 2014-2015, a university whose first official language is not Spanish, but Galician. This new situation has serious consequences for this university, both in managerial and teaching terms. The aim of this paper is to build on the experience of Chinese students and their teachers by focusing on how Spanish literature is taught and learned at the USC. Managerial aspects will be discussed within the context of current corporatization of universities, and teaching aspects in relation to comparative literature as intercultural pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several papers discussed at Second Global Conference on Contraception and Sexual and Reproductive Health and the 14th congress of the European Society for Contraception and Reproductive Health (ESC) held from 4-7 May 2016, at Basel, Switzerland is presented. Topics include reproductive health care and cultural and political issues of reproduction. The author reflects on ESC congress. He states that conference focused on reproductive health issues and its solutions.

The International Psycho-oncology Society (IPOS) has just celebrated its 30th anniversary. The growth of psychosocial oncology has been exponential, and this relatively new field is becoming a core service that focuses on prevention, reducing the burden of cancer, and enhancing the quality of life from time of diagnosis, through treatment, survivorship, and palliative care. Looking back over the past 30 years, we see that cancer care globally has evolved to a new and higher standard. Today, 'cancer care for the whole patient' is being accomplished with an evidence-based model that addresses psychosocial needs and integrates psycho-oncology into the treatment and care of patients. The President's Plenary Session in Lisbon, Portugal, highlighted the IPOS Mission of promoting global excellence in psychosocial care of people affected by cancer through our research, public policy, advocacy, and education. The internationally endorsed IPOS Standard of Quality Cancer Care, for example, clearly states the necessity of integrating the psychosocial domain into routine care, and that distress should be measured as the sixth vital sign after temperature, blood pressure, pulse, respiratory rate, and pain. The plenary paper also discussed the global progress being made in Europe, North America, and Australia in providing quality cancer care for the whole patient. Collaborative partnerships between IPOS and organizations such as the European Partnership Action Against Cancer and the World Health Organization are essential in building capacity for the delivery of high-quality psycho-oncology services in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) has onset in adolescence, but is typically first diagnosed in young adulthood. This paper provides a narrative review of the current evidence on diagnosis, comorbidity, phenomenology and treatment of BPD in adolescence. Instruments available for diagnosis are reviewed and their strengths and limitations discussed. Having confirmed the robustness of the diagnosis and the potential for its reliable clinical assessment, we then explore current understandings of the mechanisms of the disorder and focus on neurobiological underpinnings and research on psychological mechanisms. Findings are accumulating to suggest that adolescent BPD has an underpinning biology that is similar in some ways to adult BPD but differs in some critical features. Evidence for interventions focuses on psychological therapies. Several encouraging research studies suggest that early effective treatment is possible. Treatment development has just begun, and while adolescent-specific interventions are still in the process of evolution, most existing therapies represent adaptations of adult models to this developmental phase. There is also a significant opportunity for prevention, albeit there are few data to date to support such initiatives. This review emphasizes that there can be no justification for failing to make an early diagnosis of this enduring and pervasive problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report provides abstracts of papers to be presented at the 8th European Public Health Conference in Milan, Italy, from October 14 to 17, 2015, covering topics such as chronic diseases, mental health and health promotion.

Background: COVID-19 has reinforced the centrality of health workers at the core of a well performing and resilient health system. It has concomitantly exposed the risks of staffing and skills shortages and the importance of protecting the health workforce. This paper focuses on highlighting some of the lessons learnt, challenges and future needs of the health workforce in Europe in the context of COVID-19. Methods: We use secondary sources and expert information. Results: During the pandemic innovative and flexible approaches were implemented to meet increasing demand for health workers and new skills and responsibilities were adopted over a short period of time. We have seen the rapid adaptation and use of new technologies to deliver care. The pandemic has underlined the importance of valuing, protecting and caring for our health workforce and the need to invest appropriately and adequately in the health workforce to have sufficient, capable and wellmotivated health workers. Some of the main challenges that lie ahead of us include the imperative for better investment, to need to improve recruitment and retraining whilst better retaining health workers, a focus on domestic sustainability, redeploying and developing new skills and competences among health workers, enabling more effective multi-professional collaboration and team work, improving the quality of education and training, increasing the public health focus and promoting ethical and sustainable international recruitment of health workers. Conclusions: The WHO European Region through its European Programme of Work 2020-2025 is fully committed to support countries in their efforts to continue to respond to COVID-19 and whilst addressing upcoming health workforce challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a brief overview of, and elaborates on, some of the presentations, discussions and conclusions from Day 4 of the 'WHO EURO 2014 International Healthy Cities Conference: Health and the City - Urban Living in the 21st Century', held in Athens, Greece on 25 October 2014. The Internet of Things (IoT) is made of sensors and other components that connect our version of the world made of atoms, i.e., humans/our bodies, our devices, vehicles, roads, buildings, plants, animals, etc., with a mirror digital version made of bits. This enables cities and regions to be self-aware and dynamically reconfigurable in real-or near-real-time, based on changes that are continuously monitored and captured by sensors, similar to the way the internal biological systems of a living being operate and respond to their environment (homeostasis). Data collected by various IoT sensors and processed via appropriate analytics can also help predict the immediate future with reasonable accuracy, which enables better planned responses and mitigation actions. Cities and regions can thus become more adaptable and resilient in face of adversity. Furthermore, IoT can link atoms (humans) to other atoms (humans) (again via bits), resulting in the formation of 'smart(er) communities' that are socially connected in new ways and potentially happier. Cities, but also less urbanised regions and the countryside, could all benefit from, and harness the power of, IoT to improve the health, well-being and overall quality of life of the local populations, actively engage citizens in a smarter governance of their region, empower them to better care for one another, promote stronger social inclusion, and ensure a greener, sustainable and more enjoyable environment for all. Technology can also help reverse the 'brain drain' from the countryside and smaller towns to larger metropolises by making the former more attractive and connected, with better services akin to those found in larger cities. The article also discusses some ways of measuring and benchmarking theperformance of smart cities and their impact on well-being. However, it should be emphasised that technology is not a panacea and that other factors are equally important in creating happier and healthier cities and regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present paper is to present the message transmitted by the Presidential Lecture given during the first congress of arthroscopy organised in Romania, in March 2016, by the Romanian Society of Arthroscopy and Sports Trauma (SRATS). The goal was to present the evolution of medical care in Romania over the years, with the remarkable progress made in the first half of the twentieth century and the current status of arthroscopic surgery as seen from the point of view of medical professionals, as well as from a governmental point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aim of Com.HeNet is among others to identify competences which are needed to implement and manage a health network on regional level in European countries. Description: All participating countries have used the same method for data gathering. Templates in terms of method guidelines were developed and used uniformly. First, a structured literature search was conducted to gather data regarding circumstances, structures and challenges in relation to RHNM. Relevant existing papers, reports and officially released documents from public facilities or e.g. reports from governmental authorities have been included. Grey literature from online websites and resources were also accessed. The second method represents semi-structured guided expert interviews. The interview guideline was developed by European experts (n = 10) from divers fields e.g. Public Health, Sport science and Management. Afterwards pre-testing the interview guideline, relevant experts and stakeholders from diverse fields, were interviewed e.g. Public Health, Health Promotion, clinical services, politics, practitioners or research. Overall n = 33 interviews were carried out [Austria = 5, Bulgaria = 5, Germany = 5, Hungary =5, Spain= 6, Poland =7]. Afterwards the interviews have been transcribed and analysed. The statements were evaluated in a structured and summarizing analysis for homogeneity / diversity / quantity of the various opinions. All results were incorporated in a uniform predefined template (competence profile). Conclusions: Semi-structured/ guided interviews represent a suitable method to gather data in terms of required competences for health network management. Desktop research / literature search is appropriate to support the qualitative data gathering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social prescribing is seen as a mechanism for addressing the social determinants of health, preventing exacerbation of preexisting diseases, reducing attendance in primary and emergency care and improving general population health and well-being. Social prescribing involves individuals being referred/self-referring to non-medical interventions run by a third-party organisation. Social prescribing has received widespread attention internationally; however, the evidence base to support social prescribing lacks rigour, and gaps remain. The complexity of social prescribing, in that it involves multiple referral routes, partners, pathways and outcomes, poses challenges for its evaluation and research. Researchers across Europe have developed different projects of research to address the challenges associated with evaluating social prescribing. Development of the evidence base for social prescribing is crucial in informing policy and public health systems to deliver effective interventions that contribute to individual, community and systemic outcomes. This workshop aims to share different approaches that have been taken across Europe to address issues in producing evidence base and share learning about the challenges and solutions that researchers have developed, specifically regarding research about implementation and evaluation of social prescribing. The workshop will be structured in a first part of presentations and the second part of open discussion with presenters and the audience. This workshop will present five papers which will address two key questions: 1. What have we learned about developing the evidence in social prescribing?; 2. What challenges have we experienced, and what solutions have we come up with? The short presentations will cover examples of social prescribing initiatives based on implementation and evaluation studies conducted in diverse European countries. Learning shared with the audience through the presentations will stimulate discussions around challenges with implementing and evaluating social prescribing. This workshop will inform the development of an overarching guidance on implementing social prescribing interventions, as well as identify parallel challenges in other areas of public health. Key messages: • Interactive session to discuss strategies for successful social prescribing projects addressing complex health issues that are relevant to stakeholders and for research to inform practice and policy. • Collaboration with interdisciplinary stakeholders is crucial in developing the evidence base for social prescribing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the Travel and Tourism Research Association European Chapter Conference held from April 20–22, 2016 at the Shannon College of Hotel Management, Ireland. Topics discussed include the speakers at the conference including Professor Frederic Dimanche, the best research paper award presented by John Markham, and the people who wrote the award winning paper including Anita Legerer, Mike Peters and Chung-Shing Chan.

Background Despite missing theoretical clarity, quality of life (Qol) has become a major concept as outcome in intervention studies in dementia research. There is no generally accepted definition of Qol for people with dementia. Lawton's model (1991), which includes subjective and objective components, is widely used as framework for the development of Qol measurements and interventions. The aim of the study is the identification of factors that affect dementia-specific quality of life (Qol). Material and methods The meta-synthesis (PROSPERO 2013:CRD 42013005014) followed four methodological steps: (a) database search without time limit including forward and backward citation tracking, (b) data extraction, (c) quality appraisal using formal criteria from the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme, (d) synthesis of findings based on principles and procedures of grounded theory. In particular, the constant comparative method leads the coding, identification of categories and synthesis. Two independent reviewers carried out all four methodological steps. Results The literature search and removal of duplicates revealed 3475 abstracts; 63 full texts were screened for eligibility. Eleven studies from seven countries, published between 1996 and 2011, were included. The papers comprised reports on the perspectives of 410 people with dementia in all stages of dementia on their Qol. The studies were based on narrative and semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews, the latter partly supported by music and art therapy. Conclusions The meta-synthesis will contribute to the theoretical development of the concept of Qol of people with dementia. The resulting model of factors which affect dementia-specific Qol will provide a framework for the development, adaption and validation of dementia-specific Qol measurements and development of psycho-social nursing interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EPA has undergone substantial structural changes in the last few years. It currently consists of 2 councils, the council of the individual members as well as the Council of the representatives of the National Psychiatric Associations. The aims of this presentation are to highlight ongoing projects of the Council of the NPAs on one side and raise important questions for the future as to how the EPA can develop and what role the NPAs will play in European Psychiatry in general. The Council consists of 34 Society/Association members from 30 European countries, representing 77,000 psychiatrists. The mission of the Council of NPAs is to support the general mission of the EPA and promote the highest possible quality of professionals, training and services for psychiatric patient care throughout Europe. Its aim is to initiate programs for working groups, prepare guidance papers on different relevant subjects to psychiatry and psychiatrists and furthermore, to support scientific symposia. The aim of this symposium is to initiate a fruitful discussion on timely topics central as well as to EPA as to European psychiatry in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]