Cross-national Psychometric Evaluation of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Medical Student Version.

This study aimed to examine the factorial structure of the Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Medical student version (JSE-S) and assess items' discriminatory ability at higher and lower empathy levels in medical student populations from different countries and languages. JSE-S datasets were retrieved from previous studies of 4113 first- and/or second-year medical students from Switzerland, Portugal, Italy, Brazil, France, Spain, New Zealand, UK, Ireland, Mexico, and Peru. Parallel principal component analyses and item response theory were applied.

Twelve-year (2008-2019) trends in socioeconomic inequalities in cardiovascular risk factors in a Swiss representative survey of the general population.

Objective: We assessed trends in socioeconomic inequalities in cardiovascular risk factors prevalence among Swiss adults from 2008 to 2019.

Methods: Using data from the Bus Santé study, an annual survey of adults living in Geneva, Switzerland, we calculated the prevalence per period and by demographic and socioeconomic indicators, assessing inequality trends using the relative index of inequality (RII) and the slope index of inequality (SII).

Results: Among 10,739 participants, most CVD risk factors decreased over time, while diabetes, obesity, and smoking prevalence remained steady.

Socioeconomic inequalities in sport participation: pattern per sport and time trends - a repeated cross-sectional study.

Background: Sport participation is an important component of a healthy lifestyle and is known to be more common among privileged individuals. However, few studies examined socio-demographic patterns of participation by type of activity. This study aims at quantifying socio-economic inequalities in sport participation by sport type, and to analyse their trend over 15 years.

Trajectories of Seroprevalence and Neutralizing Activity of Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in Southern Switzerland between July 2020 and July 2021: An Ongoing, Prospective Population-Based Cohort Study.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic continues, and evidence on infection- and vaccine-induced immunity is key. We assessed COVID-19 immunity and the neutralizing antibody response to virus variants across age groups in the Swiss population.

Study Design: We conducted a cohort study in representative community-dwelling residents aged five years or older in southern Switzerland (total population 353,343), and we collected blood samples in July 2020 (in adults only, N = 646), November-December 2020 (N = 1457), and June-July 2021 (N = 885).

Prevalence and association of frailty with SARS-CoV-2 infection in older adults in Southern Switzerland-Findings from the Corona Immunitas Ticino Study.

Background: Frailty is an age-associated state of increased vulnerability to stressors that strongly predicts poor health outcomes. Epidemiological evidence on frailty is limited during the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether frailty is associated with the risk of infection is unknown.

Objectives: We derived a robust Frailty Index (FI) to measure the prevalence of frailty and its risk factors in community-dwelling older adults in Southern Switzerland (Ticino), and we explored the association between frailty and serologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Associations between Depression and Self-Reported COVID-19 Symptoms among Adults: Results from Two Population-Based Seroprevalence Studies in Switzerland.

(1) Mental health may modulate the perceived risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, it is unclear how psychological symptoms may distort symptom perception of COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 infection. We assessed whether depressive symptoms predicted self-reported COVID-19 symptoms, independently of serologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Dementia is (not) a natural part of ageing: a cross-sectional study on dementia knowledge and misconceptions in Swiss and Italian young adults, adults, and older adults.

Background: Increasing public awareness and understanding of dementia is the second key action area of the 2017 WHO Global action plan on a public health response to dementia. To achieve this aim, the first indispensable step is to understand the average level of dementia knowledge and to identify areas of low dementia knowledge. We aimed to quantify dementia knowledge in the general population, and to explore the extent to which it differs by age, sex, education, and indirect experience with dementia.

Determinants of adolescents' Health-Related Quality of Life and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: We examined the determinants of adolescents' Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and psychological distress (self-reported and parent-reported) during the COVID-19 pandemic, using a random sample of the population of Geneva, Switzerland.

Methods: Data was drawn from participants aged 14-17 years, who participated with their families to a serosurvey conducted in November and December 2020. Adolescents' HRQoL was evaluated using the validated adolescent-reported KIDSCREEN-10 and parent-reported KINDL® scales.

Evaluating measurement properties of subjective cognitive decline self-reported outcome measures: a systematic review.

Background: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is present in the early stage of preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is associated with an increased risk of further cognitive decline and AD dementia later in life. Early detection of at-risk groups with subjective complaints is critical for targeted dementia prevention at the earliest. Accurate assessment of SCD is crucial.

Why Vaccinate Against COVID-19? A Population-Based Survey in Switzerland.

This study examined factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination intention at the very beginning of the vaccination campaign in a representative sample of the population in southern Switzerland. In March 2021, we measured vaccination intention, beliefs, attitudes, and trust in a sample of the Corona Immunitas Ticino study. Of the 2681 participants, 1933 completed the questionnaire (response rate = 72%; 55% female; mean = 41, SD = 24, range = 5-91).

Students' intentions to practice primary care are associated with their motives to become doctors: a longitudinal study.

Background: Medical schools can contribute to the insufficient primary care physician workforce by influencing students' career preferences. Primary care career choice evolves between matriculation and graduation and is influenced by several individual and contextual factors. This study explored the longitudinal dynamics of primary care career intentions and the association of students' motives for becoming doctors with these intentions in a cohort of undergraduate medical students followed over a four-year period.

Health-related biological and non-biological consequences of forgoing healthcare for economic reasons.

Forgoing healthcare for economic reasons has been previously associated with adverse health outcomes, including a higher risk of hospitalization, a lower quality of life, and worse self-reported health. However, the exact cause-to-effect relation between forgoing healthcare and health-related outcomes has been insufficiently described. Here, we investigate the prospective health consequences of forgoing healthcare for economic reasons using data from "ReBus" (N = 400), a prospective study examining the health consequences of forgoing healthcare (Baseline: 2008-2013, Follow-up: 2014-2016).

Occupational risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and reinfection during the second pandemic surge: a cohort study.

Objectives: This cohort study including essential workers, assessed the risk and incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection during the second surge of COVID-19 according to baseline serostatus and occupational sector.

Methods: Essential workers were selected from a seroprevalence survey cohort in Geneva, Switzerland and were linked to a state centralised registry compiling SARS-CoV-2 infections. Primary outcome was the incidence of virologically confirmed infections from serological assessment (between May and September 2020) to 25 January 2021, according to baseline antibody status and stratified by three predefined occupational groups (occupations requiring sustained physical proximity, involving brief regular contact or others).

Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies, risk factors for infection and associated symptoms in Geneva, Switzerland: a population-based study.

To assess SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence over the first epidemic wave in the canton of Geneva, Switzerland, as well as risk factors for infection and symptoms associated with IgG seropositivity. Between April and June 2020, former participants of a representative survey of the 20-74-year-old population of canton Geneva were invited to participate in the study, along with household members aged over 5 years. Blood samples were tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin G.

SARS-CoV-2 infection as a trigger of humoral response against apolipoprotein A-1.

Background: Unravelling autoimmune targets triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infection may provide crucial insights into the physiopathology of the disease and foster the development of potential therapeutic candidate targets and prognostic tools. We aimed at determining (a) the association between anti-SARS-CoV-2 and anti-apoA-1 humoral response and (b) the degree of linear homology between SARS-CoV-2, apoA-1 and Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) epitopes.

Design: Bioinformatics modelling coupled with mimic peptides engineering and competition experiments were used to assess epitopes sequence homologies.

Trajectories of learning approaches during a full medical curriculum: impact on clinical learning outcomes.

Background: No consensus exists on whether medical students develop towards more deep (DA) or surface learning approaches (SA) during medical training and how this impacts learning outcomes. We investigated whether subgroups with different trajectories of learning approaches in a medical students' population show different long-term learning outcomes.

Methods: Person-oriented growth curve analyses on a prospective cohort of 269 medical students (M=21years, 59 % females) traced subgroups according to their longitudinal DA/SA profile across academic years 1, 2, 3 and 5.

Italian version of the short 10/66 dementia diagnostic schedule: a validation study.

Objectives: To determine the criterion and concurrent validity of the Italian version of the short 10/66 Dementia Diagnostic Schedule and algorithm in a sample of Italian native speakers, older adults.

Design: A cross-sectional, validation study.

Setting: The study was conducted with older adults living in the community and in nursing homes in the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland, and the Piedmont region in Italy between March and August 2019.

Risk assessment and seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in healthcare workers of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 hospitals in Southern Switzerland.

Background: Hospital healthcare workers (HCW), in particular those involved in the clinical care of COVID-19 cases, are presumably exposed to a higher risk of acquiring the disease than the general population.

Methods: Between April 16 and 30, 2020 we conducted a prospective, SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study in HCWs in Southern Switzerland. Participants were hospital personnel with varying COVID-19 exposure risk depending on job function and working site.

Risk of Reinfection After Seroconversion to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): A Population-based Propensity-score Matched Cohort Study.

Background: Serological assays detecting anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies are being widely deployed in studies and clinical practice. However, the duration and effectiveness of the protection conferred by the immune response remains to be assessed in population-based samples. To estimate the incidence of newly acquired SARS-CoV-2 infections in seropositive individuals as compared to seronegative controls, we conducted a retrospective longitudinal matched study.

Assessing communication skills during OSCE: need for integrated psychometric approaches.

Background: Physicians' communication skills (CS) are known to significantly affect the quality of health care. Communication skills training programs are part of most undergraduate medical curricula and are usually assessed in Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) throughout the curriculum. The adoption of reliable measurement instruments is thus essential to evaluate such skills.

Patterns of Change in Approaches to Learning and Their Impact on Academic Performance Among Medical Students: Longitudinal Analysis.

Several medical education studies suggest that deep approaches to learning (DA) are associated with better academic performance, whereas surface approaches (SA) are associated with worse academic performance. However, no study has assessed how these approaches change at the individual level during undergraduate medical training and how these trajectories contribute to academic performance. We assessed individual patterns of change in learning approaches throughout five years of medical training to determine whether and how DA and SA evolve during the curriculum and whether initial levels and rates of change predict performance in Year 5.

Mapping Neutralizing and Immunodominant Sites on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Receptor-Binding Domain by Structure-Guided High-Resolution Serology.

Analysis of the specificity and kinetics of neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection is crucial for understanding immune protection and identifying targets for vaccine design. In a cohort of 647 SARS-CoV-2-infected subjects, we found that both the magnitude of Ab responses to SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) and nucleoprotein and nAb titers correlate with clinical scores. The receptor-binding domain (RBD) is immunodominant and the target of 90% of the neutralizing activity present in SARS-CoV-2 immune sera.

Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in Geneva, Switzerland (SEROCoV-POP): a population-based study.

Background: Assessing the burden of COVID-19 on the basis of medically attended case numbers is suboptimal given its reliance on testing strategy, changing case definitions, and disease presentation. Population-based serosurveys measuring anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (anti-SARS-CoV-2) antibodies provide one method for estimating infection rates and monitoring the progression of the epidemic. Here, we estimate weekly seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the population of Geneva, Switzerland, during the epidemic.

Psychometric proprieties of the Test of Gross Motor Development-Third Edition in a large sample of Italian children.

Objectives: The Test of Gross Motor Development-3 (TGMD-3) evaluates fundamental gross motor skills across two domains: locomotor and ball skills. This study aimed to perform a full psychometric assessment of this test in a large sample of Italian pre- and primary school children.

Design: Cross-sectional and test-retest study design.

Empathy trajectories throughout medical school: relationships with personality and motives for studying medicine.

Empathy remains a widely discussed topic within medical education research. Studies on empathy changes among medical students are not univocal: empathy may decline, remain stable or increase. A largely unexplored research question regards inter-individual variability in empathy change, namely if different longitudinal trajectories of empathy exist.