Characteristics of Italian, German and Spanish Socio-Economic, Public Health and Long-Term Care Systems Associated with COVID-19 Incidence and Mortality in the First Pandemic Year: Lessons for Future Sustainability in an International Perspective.

The main outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic can be used to assess the capability and sustainability of public healthcare and Long-Term Care (LTC) systems. This study aims to identify the population's demographic and socio-economic characteristics, as well as other national resources associated with the incidence and mortality of COVID-19, by comparing three European countries during the first pandemic period (Italy, Spain, and Germany). The results will identify possible strengths and weaknesses that could be considered as hints of the need for health and social intervention.

Value-Based Healthcare Delivery: A Scoping Review.

Healthcare systems are transforming from the traditional volume-based model of healthcare to a value-based model of healthcare. Value generation in healthcare is about emphasising the health outcomes achieved by patients and organisations while maintaining an optimal relationship with costs. This scoping review aimed to identify the key elements and outcomes of implementing value-based healthcare (VBHC).

Long-term care needs and the risk of household poverty across Europe: a comparative secondary data study.

Purpose: Population ageing and rising poverty are two of the most pressing issues today, even in Western European nations, growing as a result of the recent global economic crisis and the COVID-19 containment measures. This study explores the relationship between long-term care (LTC) needs and risk of poverty at household level in eight European countries, representing the different European care regimes.

Methods: The main international databases were scoured for study variables, categorized according to the following conceptual areas: home care, residential care, health expenditure, service coverage, cash benefits, private services, population, family, education, employment, poverty, disability and care recipients, and life expectancy.

The Impact of Long-Term Care Needs on the Socioeconomic Deprivation of Older People and Their Families: Results from Mixed-Methods Scoping Review.

Background: Long-term care (LTC), poverty, and socioeconomic deprivation are globally significant social issues. Ongoing population aging trends and the recent social and health emergencies caused by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis have highlighted the need for macro-level LTC and welfare system sustainability strategies.

Aims: This scoping review (ScR) explores the relationship between LTC needs, the health status of older people, and the risk of socioeconomic deprivation for their households.

Association of socio-economic deprivation with COVID-19 incidence and fatality during the first wave of the pandemic in Italy: lessons learned from a local register-based study.

Background: COVID-19 has been characterised by its global and rapid spread, with high infection, hospitalisation, and mortality rates worldwide. However, the course of the pandemic showed differences in chronology and intensity in different geographical areas and countries, probably due to a multitude of factors. Among these, socio-economic deprivation has been supposed to play a substantial role, although available evidence is not fully in agreement.

The Special Care Unit for People with Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (SCU- B) in the Context of the Project "RECage-Respectful Caring for Agitated Elderly": A Qualitative Study.

Background: Dementia is a priority for global public health. The management of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) is one of the highest ongoing challenges and needs new approaches. The special care unit for people with dementia and BPSD (SCU-B) is viewed in this context as a further medical intervention.

The impact of long-term care needs on the socio-economic deprivation of older people and their families: A scoping review protocol.

Major global problems such as population ageing, long-term care and the socio-economic burden of chronically ill older people and their families are urgent issues. Research in this field contributes to the growing international literature on health-related quality-of-life instruments, but little is known about the links between the related variables. Thus, the scoping review this protocol refers to plans to examine the socio-economic consequences of older people's poor health on their economic conditions and their families.

Effect of a Social Networking Site Training on Cognitive Performance in Healthy Older People and Role of Personality Traits. Results from the Randomized Controlled Trial Ageing in a Networked Society-Social Experiment (ANS-SE) Study.

Objectives: The study aimed to evaluate the short-term efficacy of social network sites (SNSs) training on cognitive performance in cognitively healthy older individuals, and to explore the influence of personality traits on cognitive benefits of SNSs training.

Methods: The Aging in a Networked Society-Social Experiment study was a randomized controlled trial with three arms: intervention group (course on SNSs use), active control group (lifestyle education) and waiting list. Among the 180 eligible participants, 144 participated, 115 completed the study.

The Effect of Information and Communication Technology and Social Networking Site Use on Older People's Well-Being in Relation to Loneliness: Review of Experimental Studies.

Background: In the last decades, the relationship between social networking sites (SNSs) and older people's loneliness is gaining specific relevance. Studies in this field are often based on qualitative methods to study in-depth self-perceived issues, including loneliness and well-being, or quantitative surveys to report the links between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and older people's well-being or loneliness. However, these nonexperimental methods are unable to deeply analyze the causal relationship.

Between Migrant Care Work and New Occupational Welfare Tools: Changing Home Care Arrangements in Italy.

Austerity measures on services provision, introduced due to recent economic crises, have stimulated the search for innovative welfare solutions, including options that are not directly or entirely funded by public sources. In Italy, recent legislation has promoted the development of occupational welfare (OW) measures, aimed at strengthening the supply of services to support employees with informal (elder) care responsibilities. This paper aims to describe how the newly introduced OW schemes might innovate existing care arrangements, by identifying their impact on the different actors involved in home care provision (care recipients, family carers, home care service providers and migrant care workers), as well as at a macro level in terms of promoting social innovation.

Assessing the impact of Social Networking Site use on older people's loneliness and social isolation. A randomized controlled trial: The Aging in a Networked Society-Social Experiment Study (ANS-SE).

Introduction: An ageing society poses unprecedented challenges to societies. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), including Social Networking Sites (SNSs), may contribute to contrast loneliness and social isolation in old age. Despite of the potentialities of SNSs, there is only a handful of studies assessing the causal relationship of SNS use and older people's well-being.

Social Innovation in Long-Term Care: Lessons from the Italian Case.

The debate on policies addressing the challenges posed by population ageing pays increasing attention to sustainable and innovative ways to tackle the multidimensional impact this phenomenon has on society and individuals. Moving from the findings of two European research projects, a qualitative study based on a rapid review of the literature, expert interviews, focus groups and case studies analysis has been carried out in Italy. This study illustrates which social innovations have been recently implemented in this country's long-term care (LTC) sector, and the areas in which further steps are urgently needed in the future.

Changes in the Provision of Family Care to Frail Older People in Familistic Welfare States: Lessons From Israel and Italy.

Our article aims to investigate changes in the rate of informal care provision, which occurred in Israel and Italy in the last decade. In addition, we analyze typology and magnitude of the main factors contributing to explain the probability of providing informal care. We used data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) at two selected time points (2006/2007 and 2015).

Innovating Long-Term Care Provision in Mediterranean Welfare States: A Comparison Between Italy and Israel.

Social innovations in long-term care (LTC) may be useful in more effective responses to the challenges of population aging for Western societies. One of the most investigated aspects in this regard is the role of family/informal care and strategies to improve its integration into the formal care system, yielding a more holistic care approach that may enhance opportunities for aging in place. This article reports the findings of a comparative research focusing on the Italian and Israeli LTC systems as representative of the Mediterranean "family-based" care model.

Valuing and Integrating Informal Care as a Core Component of Long-Term Care for Older People: A Comparison of Recent Developments in Italy and Spain.

The international long-term care (LTC) debate has recently been focusing on how to strengthen home care provision. In this regard, a major role has been played by informal care and how to best integrate it in a holistic care approach. Italy and Spain, usually labeled as "familialist" or "family-based" care models, have been promoting national reforms or actions to support the integration of "informal" actors into the overall LTC system.

Predictors of religious participation of older Europeans in good and poor health.

Religious attendance is an important element of activity for older Europeans, especially in more traditional countries. The aim of the analysis is to explore whether it could be an element contributing to active ageing as well as to assess differences between the religious activity of older individuals with and without multimorbidity defined as an occurrence of two or more illnesses. The analysis is conducted based on the SHARE database (2010-2011) covering 57,391 individuals 50+ from 16 European countries.

Familiarity of physicians, translational researchers, nurses, and other health professionals with evidence-based medicine terms and resources.

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is a central theme in health practice and training. The understanding of EBM technical terms and the familiarity with EBM resources were surveyed in four different health professional categories. A self-administered questionnaire on the familiarity with EBM terminology and resources was proposed to 218 health professionals (physicians, translational researchers, nurses, and others) working in the oncology field.

CREST biorepository for translational studies on malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer and other respiratory tract diseases: Informatics infrastructure and standardized annotation.

Advances in molecular epidemiology and translational research have led to the need for biospecimen collection. The Cancer of the Respiratory Tract (CREST) biorepository is concerned with pleural malignant mesothelioma (MM) and lung cancer (LC). The biorepository staff has collected demographic and epidemiological data directly from consenting subjects using a structured questionnaire, in agreement with The Public Population Project in Genomics (P(3)G).