Use of emergency services in response to a flood: an account of the aftermath of the May 2023 flood in Romagna, Italy.

Background: Extreme weather events due to human activities have significantly increased the frequency and severity of hydrological disasters like floods, impacting human health and healthcare systems worldwide. This study analyses the patterns of emergency service utilisation of the May 2023 flood in Romagna, Italy, and specifically investigates the differences in emergency department (ED) visits and mortality between individuals exposed and not exposed to the flood.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted including 813 724 citizens of Romagna, Italy, from 15 May to 31 August 2023 (ie, 14 weeks after flood inception).

Transitional Care Support for Medicaid-Insured Patients With Serious Mental Illness: Protocol for a Type I Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: People diagnosed with a co-occurring serious mental illness (SMI; ie, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia) but hospitalized for a nonpsychiatric condition experience higher rates of readmissions and other adverse outcomes, in part due to poorly coordinated care transitions. Current hospital-to-home transitional care programs lack a focus on the integrated social, medical, and mental health needs of these patients. The Thrive clinical pathway provides transitional care support for patients insured by Medicaid with multiple chronic conditions by focusing on posthospitalization medical concerns and the social determinants of health.

Evaluating the impact of robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty on quality of care through patient-reported outcome measures in a third-level hospital in Italy: A prospective cohort study.

Background: With the shift towards personalized medicine, understanding the impact of robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty (TKA) on patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) is essential for evaluating its effectiveness and patient satisfaction. The QUAROB (Quality-assessment-of-ROBotic-orthopedic-surgery) study aims at assessing the impact of robotic surgery on quality of care and joint functionality at 6 months post-surgery among patients undergoing robotic-assisted TKA.

Methods: This observational, prospective cohort study included patients from Ravenna Hospital, Italy, who underwent elective robotic TKA (2022-2023), and a historical cohort who underwent traditional TKA (2019).

Motivational Network Intervention to Reduce Substance Use and Increase Supportive Connections for Emerging Adults in a Supportive Housing Program.

Background: For transition-aged youth experiencing homelessness (TAYEH) moving to transitional housing, a motivational network intervention (MNI) may help modify high-risk networks, thereby reducing substance use and strengthening prosocial connections.

Methods: Thirty-six TAYEH received a four-session MNI integrated into usual housing case management or usual case management. Intervention acceptability, feasibility, and motivational interviewing fidelity were evaluated.

Impact of the 2008 economic crisis on the burden of hepatitis B and C diseases in Southern European countries.

Background: The economic crisis that began in 2008 has severely affected Southern (Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain) Western European (SWE) countries of Western Europe (WE) and may have affected ongoing efforts to eliminate viral hepatitis. This study was conducted to investigate the impact of the economic crisis on the burden of HBV and HCV disease.

Methods: Global Burden of Diseases 2019 data were used to analyse the rates of epidemiological metrics of HBV and HCV acute and chronic infections in SWE and WE.

Corrigendum: Time-Trends in Air Pollution Impact on Health in Italy, 1990-2019: An Analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2023.

Injury Patterns and Gender in Italy.

Introduction: Globally, injuries pose significant public health challenges, with road traffic accidents in particular being responsible for considerable morbidity, mortality, and economic distress. Italy has been significantly impacted due to its high population density and frequency of road traffic and domestic incidents.

Method: This study set out to investigate the incidence of self-reported road traffic and home and leisure accidents in the Italian general population.

Analyzing the 20-year declining trend of hospital length-of-stay in European countries with different healthcare systems and reimbursement models.

The study aims to investigate the last 20-year (2000-2019) of hospital length of stay (LOS) trends and their association with different healthcare systems (HS) among 25 European countries. A panel dataset was created using secondary data from Eurostat and Global Burden of Disease study databases, with dependent and control variables aggregated at the national level over a period of 20 years. A time trend analysis was conducted using a weighted least squares model for panel data to investigate the association between LOS, HS models [National Health Service (NHS), National Health Insurance, Social Health Insurance (SHI), and Etatist Social Health Insurance], healthcare reimbursement schemes [Prospective Global Budget (PGB), Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG), and Procedure Service Payment (PSP)], and control variables.

Factors Influencing the Healthcare Workers' Willingness to Receive the COVID-19 Booster Dose in Tuscany (Italy).

Background: The World Health Organization has defined vaccine hesitancy as behavior influenced by several factors, including trust in the vaccine itself or its provider or the perceived need for vaccination. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors influencing the willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine among the employees and healthcare professionals of the Central Tuscany Local Health Authority (CT-LHA) in Italy.

Methods: From July to October 2022, a cross-sectional study was conducted.

Time-Trends in Air Pollution Impact on Health in Italy, 1990-2019: An Analysis From the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

We explored temporal variations in disease burden of ambient particulate matter 2.5 μm or less in diameter (PM) and ozone in Italy using estimates from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. We compared temporal changes and percent variations (95% Uncertainty Intervals [95% UI]) in rates of disability adjusted life years (DALYs), years of life lost, years lived with disability and mortality from 1990 to 2019, and variations in pollutant-attributable burden with those in the overall burden of each PM- and ozone-related disease.

Identifying patient subgroups with different trends of patient-reported outcomes (PROMs) after elective knee arthroplasty.

Background: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are increasingly being used to assess the effectiveness of elective total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, little is known about how PROMs scores change over time in these patients. The aim of this study was to identify the trajectories of quality of life and joint functioning, and their associated demographic and clinical features in patients undergoing elective TKA.

Changes in private health service utilisation and access to the Italian National Health Service between 2006 and 2019: a cross-sectional comparative study.

Objectives: Previous research highlighted that in the early 2000s a significant share of the Italian population used and paid out of pocket for private healthcare services even when they could potentially have received the same treatments from the National Health Service (NHS). The decrease in public investments in healthcare and the increase in health needs due to the population ageing may have modified the use of private health services and equity of access to the Italian NHS. This study aims to investigate the change in the prevalence of individuals who have fully paid out of pocket for accessing healthcare services in Italy between 2006 and 2019 and the main reasons behind this choice.

Predict, diagnose, and treat chronic kidney disease with machine learning: a systematic literature review.

Objectives: In this systematic review we aimed at assessing how artificial intelligence (AI), including machine learning (ML) techniques have been deployed to predict, diagnose, and treat chronic kidney disease (CKD). We systematically reviewed the available evidence on these innovative techniques to improve CKD diagnosis and patient management.

Methods: We included English language studies retrieved from PubMed.

Biased, wrong and counterfeited evidences published during the COVID-19 pandemic, a systematic review of retracted COVID-19 papers.

In 2020 COVID-19 led to an unprecedented stream of papers being submitted to journals. Scientists and physicians all around the globe were in need for information about this new disease. In this climate, many articles were accepted after extremely fast peer-reviews to provide the scientific community with the latest discoveries and knowledge.

Trust in science, medicine and medical providers and its relations to vaccine beliefs: A latent class analysis.

Aim: People may differ in their vaccine-related beliefs (i.e. efficacy, safety, purpose), with a host of factors influencing these differences.

Association between Economic Growth, Mortality, and Healthcare Spending in 31 High-Income Countries.

This study aims to investigate the association between gross domestic product (GDP), mortality rate (MR) and current healthcare expenditure (CHE) in 31 high-income countries. We used panel data from 2000 to 2017 collected from WHO and OECD databases. The association between CHE, GDP and MR was investigated through a random-effects model.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of Emergency Departments in Italy.

Background: During 2020, COVID-19 had a diversified distribution in Italy, the first nation in Europe to experience the outbreak of the epidemic. This was linked to geographical differences in population density and distribution of healthcare facilities, including Emergency Departments (EDs). This study aims to assess the impact of the pandemic on ED utilization in 2020 across different subpopulations and geographical locations in Italy.

The impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on cause-specific mortality patterns: a systematic literature review.

Background: Understanding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cause-specific mortality should be a priority, as this metric allows for a detailed analysis of the true burden of the pandemic. The aim of this systematic literature review is to estimate the impact of the pandemic on different causes of death, providing a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the phenomenon.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Scopus, and ProQuest for studies that reported cause-specific mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic, extracting relevant data.

Patient reported outcomes measures (PROMs) trajectories after elective hip arthroplasty: a latent class and growth mixture analysis.

Background: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are an extensively used tool to assess and improve the quality of healthcare services. PROMs can be related to individual demographic and clinical characteristics in patients undergoing hip arthroplasty (HA). The aim of this study is to identify distinct subgroups of patients with unique trajectories of PROMS scores and to determine patients' features associated with these subgroups.