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The demographic projections on the European population predict that people aged over 60 will increase by about two million/year in the next decades. Since 2012, the Campania Reference Site of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing supports the innovation of the Regional Health System, to face up demographic changes and sustainability. Campania Reference Site provides the opportunity to connect loco-regional stakeholders in social and health care services (universities, healthcare providers, social services, local communities and municipalities), with international organizations, in order to adopt and scale up innovative solutions and approaches. This paper describes the building process of Campania Reference Site and the main results achieved, that have been allowing it to become a hub for open innovation in the field of active and healthy aging at regional, national and international level.

Objectives: The present normative study aimed to (1) develop the Italian version of the Starkstein Apathy Scale (SAS-I) and (2) construct a shortened version including only the most sensitive items to “pure apathy” experiences. Methods: The normative sample included 392 healthy subjects. A regression-based procedure was used to explore the effects of sex, age, and education on the raw SAS-I score. A correction grid was designed for adjusting raw scores by adding or subtracting the contribution of any significant variable and net of sociodemographic interindividual differences. Cutoff scores were also calculated and fixed at the external tolerance limit on the ninety-fifth centile. To obtain the shortened version, each SAS-I item was correlated with the Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI) score. The only items showing no correlation with BDI were implemented to bypass the well-known overlap between apathetic and depressive symptoms. Results: The mean raw SAS-I score was 11.27 (SD = 4.42). A significant education effect was observed, with highly educated subjects obtaining lower scores than lowly educated ones. The proposed general cutoff score was 20.68. The SAS-I had fair internal consistency and discriminant validity. Internal consistency increased by removing item 3. The new SAS-6 included items 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, and 13 of the original scale. Conclusion: The SAS-I is a reliable assessment tool to support the diagnosis of apathy. The SAS-6, instead, is a brief questionnaire useful for quickly screening apathetic symptoms in outpatient practice, addressing or not the clinician to further investigations.

Objective: The aims of the present study were: (a) to obtain new normative data of the Italian version of the Mini-Mental Examination State (MMSE) (Measso et al. in Dev Neuropsychol 9:77–85, 1993) by administering the tool to a sample of normal Italian individuals more representative of the current Italian population; (b) to compare the sensitivity of this tool in detecting patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (AD according to NIA-AA), as compared to the those reported in previous normative Italian studies. Methods: MMSE was administered to 314 normal subjects recruited among individuals (and/or their relatives) attending the Offices of General Practitioners (GP) or Memory Clinics in Campania (Italy) by convenience sampling. A group of 47 patients with AD were included into the study. The effect of demographic variables on the raw MMSE scores of normal subjects was checked by multiple linear regression assuming MMSE scores as dependent variable and age, gender and education as the independent one(s). Therefore, a simultaneous regression model was constructed to correct the raw scores according the sensitive variables. Correction grid and equivalent scores were devised to classify subject’s performance. Results: The mean raw MMSE score was 27.78 (SD = 1.80) (range 22–30/30). There was no significant difference between scores achieved by men or women (p = 0.688). Multiple linear regression analysis showed a significant effect of age and years of school attendance on the MMSE raw score, whereas gender did not show any significant effect. The cutoff score, distinguishing between pathological and normal performances, was fixed at the fifth centile corresponding to 24.9/30, higher than the current score of 23.8/30. The new cutoff value was able to identify 44/47 patients with AD, in contrast to 38/47 subjects detected by currently used norms. Conclusions: (1) A more updated and representative population sample; (2) a new cutoff threshold able to distinguish between normal and pathological performances; (3) a correction grid that reduces the risk of false-positive and false-negative values due to the influence of the main demographic factors; (4) greater sensitivity, compared to previous Italian normative studies in identifying people with dementia. Objective: The aims of the present study were: (a) to obtain new normative data of the Italian version of the Mini-Mental Examination State (MMSE) (Measso et al. in Dev Neuropsychol 9:77–85, 1993) by administering the tool to a sample of normal Italian individuals more representative of the current Italian population; (b) to compare the sensitivity of this tool in detecting patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (AD according to NIA-AA), as compared to the those reported in previous normative Italian studies. Methods: MMSE was administered to 314 normal subjects recruited among individuals (and/or their relatives) attending the Offices of General Practitioners (GP) or Memory Clinics in Campania (Italy) by convenience sampling. A group of 47 patients with AD were included into the study. The effect of demographic variables on the raw MMSE scores of normal subjects was checked by multiple linear regression assuming MMSE scores as dependent variable and age, gender and education as the independent one(s). Therefore, a simultaneous regression model was constructed to correct the raw scores according the sensitive variables. Correction grid and equivalent scores were devised to classify subject’s performance. Results: The mean raw MMSE score was 27.78 (SD = 1.80) (range 22–30/30). There was no significant difference between scores achieved by men or women (p = 0.688). Multiple linear regression analysis showed a significant effect of age and years of school attendance on the MMSE raw score, whereas gender did not show any significant effect. The cutoff score, distinguishing between pathological and normal performances, was fixed at the fifth centile corresponding to 24.9/30, higher than the current score of 23.8/30. The new cutoff value was able to identify 44/47 patients with AD, in contrast to 38/47 subjects detected by currently used norms. Conclusions: (1) A more updated and representative population sample; (2) a new cutoff threshold able to distinguish between normal and pathological performances; (3) a correction grid that reduces the risk of false-positive and false-negative values due to the influence of the main demographic factors; (4) greater sensitivity, compared to previous Italian normative studies in identifying people with dementia.