Online CME usage patterns.

The paper reports the findings of the analysis of a sample of 829 online Continuous Medical Education (CME) enrolments aimed at inspecting users' preferences and behaviours. The contents of the analyzed course are provided as online SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) resources together with the corresponding Pdf downloadable versions allowing different usage patterns (online only, Pdf only, online AND Pdf, mixed online OR Pdf). The results point out that there is not a specific preference for one of the four patterns and that most of the users access both navigable modules and Pdf documents.

E-learning for occupational physicians' CME: a study case.

The present study reports the results of the evaluation of an e-learning CME course in the field of Occupational Medicine. In particular the following aspects have been investigated: If and how the course contents have met the educational users' needs; The effectiveness of the course in terms of knowledge improvement; Users' behaviour. Attendance data and results of a sample of 1128 attendees have been analyzed via ad hoc developed tools for direct inspection of Moodle CMS database.

[Obesity and work: an emerging problem].

In Italy, 42.5% of adult males is overweight and 10.5% obese, while 26.

Earnings in e-learning: knowledge, CME credits or both? Hints from analysis of attendance dynamics and users' behaviour.

Many papers report and convey positive opinion about the use of e-learning in the healthcare sector. The issue is how to exploit at best such a powerful instrument. Starting from data regarding the usage of a CME e-learning course, attendance dynamics and users' behaviour have been inspected with the aim of getting some hints about how to improve the development and the delivery of e-learning courses for CME, and to promote knowledge acquisition at best.

[E-learning and occupational medicine: results of one experience in Italy].

In Italy, there is at present a certain drive in order to make e-learning for Continuous Medical Education (CME) to take off, even though a normative framework for distance CME has not been completely defined yet. This paper describes the phases of course supply and usage of an e-learning system in the occupational medicine area in Italy. The system provides 10 courses for occupational physicians and one course for nurses, physiotherapists and occupational physiotherapists.

Usage and effectiveness of e-learning courses for continuous medical education.

The paper describes the results of an e-learning experimental project for Continuous Medical Education (CME) in Occupational Medicine in terms of: extent of the e-learning courses usage by the healthcare personnel, knowledge acquisition and satisfaction. 11 courses have been available for 11 months during which 2,034 users all over Italy enrolled in 5,183 courses with a success percentage of 72% and a significant difference between test scores performed before and after attending the e-learning courses. Also user's satisfaction, inspected through a questionnaire, has provided good results.

[Usability study of an e-learning system for CME in occupational medicine: preparatory analysis and remedial actions].

This paper describes the activities carried out in order to make an e-learning system for CME be a good tool in terms of usability. The following steps are described:--the needs analysis of the potential users;--the prototype of the e-learning system that has been set up;--the usability evaluation of the prototype by a sample often users before and after the implementation of the identified remedial actions. The obtained results support the hypothesis of an effective usage of the system in the near future.

Preliminary evaluation of an e-learning course for healthcare personnel.

Preliminary evaluation of an e-learning system for nurses and physiotherapists is presented. The results lead to positive conclusions, but traditional paper-based materials still play an important role in learning activity.

Development of an e-learning system for occupational medicine: usability issues.

The aim of the present paper is to describe the process of developing an e-learning system for continuous medical education in the field of occupational medicine, with special focus on usability. The following steps are described: the needs analysis of the potential users; the prototype of the system that has been set up; the usability evaluation of the prototype by a sample of ten users; the analysis of the potential improvements; the evaluation of the revised system. The results of the usability tests point out that investing in improving usability was useful, even when they have not been recommended as mandatory.

[Polychlorinated biphenyl serum levels in two Italian population groups: sex pattern and correlation with age].

Objective: To examine the congener-specific concentrations and patterns of polychlorinated biphenyls in the Italian general population.

Design: Two population groups were selected and monitored for the determination of up to 60 congeners in human serum. A very detailed questionnaire was administered to each participant to collect information concerning demographic, lifestyle, and medical factors.

Reference values of coplanar and non-coplanar PCBs in serum samples from two Italian population groups.

The main goal of this study is to establish the reference values of individual Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in non-occupationally exposed subjects. Since the PCB pattern in human serum is related to the living area, two different population groups from North and Central Italy, were compared. Serum concentrations of both coplanar and non-coplanar PCB congeners were measured by using gas chromatography coupled with low-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC-LRMS).

[Judgment on work capacity of a health worker with schizophrenia].

We show the case of a worker affected with schizophrenia who was declared by the psychiatrist fit to work. The "Medico Competente" on the contrary, on the basis of his studies and in particular on his deep knowledge of the features of the office and the place where that worker works, decides that he is not fit to do that job. This judgement is confirmed by the "ASL-Collegio Medico".

[Judgement of fitness to work in a health worker with schizophrenia].

We show the case of a worker affected with schizophrenia who was declared by the psychiatrist fit to work. The "Medico Competente" on the contrary decides that he is not fit to do that job and his judgement is also confirmed by the "ASL-Collegio Medico" according to the D.Lgs 626/94, item 17, which extends the judgement of the fitness to work given by the "Medico Competente" even to the psychic sphere of the worker.

[VDT and work: descriptive epidemiologic research].

We report the statistical elaboration of some data pertinent to a population of workers professionally exposed to VDT. These first data also confirm that the length of the use of VDT doesn't influence the judgement of fitness to work.

[Phenomenon of occupational accidents in hospitals: a retrospective study with reference to introduction of preventive measures and safety specified by D.Lgs 626/94].

The work analyzes the phenomenon of the professional accidents in the Policlinico S. Matteo in Pavia, in the quadrenium 1995-1998 to appraise the effects of the application of the D. Lgs 626/94.

[Evaluation of trends in occupational pathology in clinical cases].

The study considered all patients admitted to the 1st Division of Occupational Medicine, Department of Preventive, Occupational and Community Medicine of the University of Pavia between January 1st 1989 and December 31st 1995 with a diagnosis of occupational disease. It was useful in illustrating the evolution of occupational disease as regards both changes in etiology and in the symptoms and systems involved. A decrease in the number of occupational diseases diagnosed from 1993 to 1995 was revealed, but it is difficult to draw any significant conclusions from these data since the need for hospitalization when diagnosing this type of disease has diminished greatly.

[Employment and alcohol: analysis of a clinical casuistic].

The relationship between alcohol and work was studied in a group of 537 voluntary patients (393 male and 144 female) admitted to the department of Medicina del Lavoro, Pavia University for alcohol rehabilitation. The highest incidence of alcohol abuse was found in non-working subjects (pensioners, unemployed, housewives) although the start of excessive drinking takes place after beginning a working activity; a cause-effect relationship between these two factors can not be clearly determined, however. It is true that the stress provoked by this new condition (introduction to the work experience) can, in certain subjects, be a contributing factor in alcohol abuse.

[Acute alcoholic myopathy].

A case of acute alcoholic myopathy in a subject with a 20 year history of alcohol abuse is described. The condition emerged during an episode of delirium tremens and had a quickly deadly outcome. The rapid evolution of the clinical situation accompanied by variation in the biohumoral indices (CPK, LDH, myoglobin) is stressed and although this prevented from obtaining anatomopathological samples of the rhabdomyolisis, the specific diagnosis was made with reasonable certainty.

[The psychosocial problems in a population of emigrant Italian workers].

The psycho-social problems of a group of 365 Italian emigrants to Switzerland, admitted to psychiatric hospitals, were studied. It was found that non professional subjects (housewives, unemployed, retired) and manual workers (builders, waiters, factory workers) were more likely to suffer from psycho-social disorders. Only 11.

[Indoor pollution: a report of 2 clinical cases of occult carbon monoxide poisoning].

A large part of the general population is potentially exposed to excessive concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), both in the domestic and work environment. Beside acute, often fatal poisoning, the possibility of occult intoxication should be considered; this condition can affect people who are often unaware of the existence of a toxic exposure in their homes or work places. We describe two non-smoking patients, husband and wife, 53 and 57 years old, respectively, who suffered cephalea, nausea and neurobehavioural disturbances during a period of approximately one year; these symptoms were reported to improve or disappear on several occasions during the patients' absence from home.

[Alcohol and work: comments on a clinical case load].

The relationship between alcohol and work was studied in a group of 260 voluntary patients (186 male and 74 female) admitted to the unit of Medicina del Lavoro, Pavia University for alcohol rehabilitation. The highest incidence of alcohol abuse was found in non-working subjects (pensioners, unemployed, housewives) although the start of excessive drinking takes place after beginning a working activity; a cause-effect relationship between these two factors can not be clearly determined, however. It is true that the stress provoked by this new condition (introduction to the work experience) can, in certain subjects, be a contributing factor in alcohol abuse.