The long psychological shadow of COVID-19 upon healthcare workers: A global concern for action.

Introduction: The outbreak of COVID-19 has posed unprecedented psychological pressure upon every National Health Service in the world. In Piedmont, one of the most affected areas in Italy, 4550 healthcare workers were assessed online in May-June 2020, after the acute outbreak of March-April 2020, that compelled the Italian government to enforce, what was then, the first total lockdown in the Western world.

Methods: Socio-demographic information of healthcare workers was gathered along with responses to: General Anxiety Disorder-7, Impact of Event Scale-Revised, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire.

Quality of life, alcohol detoxification and relapse: is quality of life a predictor of relapse or only a secondary outcome measure?

Purpose: To estimate variations in Overall Quality Of Life (OQOL) within 12 months following alcohol detoxification and to evaluate the predictive value of OQOL for relapse and alcohol use severity.

Methods: Alcohol use disorders and four OQOL domains (physical health, psychological health, social relationships and environment) were assessed in 199 patients entering in-patient alcohol detoxification. Follow-up assessments were performed at 6 and 12 months after discharge.

Presence and significant determinants of cognitive impairment in a large sample of patients with multiple sclerosis.

Objectives: To investigate the presence and the nature of cognitive impairment in a large sample of patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and to identify clinical and demographic determinants of cognitive impairment in MS.

Methods: 303 patients with MS and 279 healthy controls were administered the Brief Repeatable Battery of Neuropsychological tests (BRB-N); measures of pre-morbid verbal competence and neuropsychiatric measures were also administered.

Results: Patients and healthy controls were matched for age, gender, education and pre-morbid verbal Intelligence Quotient.

Prevalence and significant determinants of post-traumatic stress disorder in a large sample of patients with multiple sclerosis.

Chronic and life-threatening neurodegenerative diseases may be associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Therefore, the current study was an investigation of the prevalence of PTSD in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, and identification of significant determinants of PTSD. Two hundred thirty-two MS patients were consecutively recruited and screened for the presence of PTSD with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised, corroborated by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV.

Assessment Battery for Communication: development of two equivalent forms.

Unlabelled: The aim of this paper was to develop and test two equivalent forms of the Assessment Battery for Communication (ABaCo), a tool for evaluating pragmatic abilities in patients with neuropsychological and psychiatric disorders. The equivalent forms were created using the data from a sample of 390 children, then tested in a sample of 30 patients with traumatic brain injury. Equivalent forms of the same test are useful in clinical practice and intervention research, when performance needs to be tested on two separate occasions, for example before and after a rehabilitation program.

Sexual function in women with type 1 diabetes matched with a control group: depressive and psychosocial aspects.

Introduction: Sexual dysfunction in women with diabetes, despite its important consequences to their quality of life, has been investigated only recently with conflicting results about its prevalence and association with complications and psychological factors.

Aims: To assess the prevalence of the alteration of sexual function and the influence of metabolic control and psychological factors on female sexuality.

Methods: Seventy-seven adult Italian women with type 1 diabetes, matched with a control group (n=77), completed questionnaires evaluating sexual function (Female Sexual Function Index, FSFI), depressive symptoms (Self-Rating Depression Scale, SRDS), social and family support (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support), and diabetes-related quality of life (Diabetes Quality of Life).

Comparison of experienced burnout symptoms in specialist oncology nurses working in hospital oncology units or in hospices.

Objective: This study aimed to clarify the differential contributions of situational and individual factors to burnout symptoms experienced by two independent groups of specialist oncology nurses working in oncology hospital units or in hospices.

Method: The study involved a group of specialist oncology nurses working in hospital oncology units (n = 59) and a group of specialist oncology nurses working in hospices (n = 33). Participants were invited to provide demographic data, and indicate the clinical setting in which they worked and their work experience; the Italian versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) (a measure of burnout symptoms), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) (a measure of anxiety and depression), and the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) (a measure of relational style) were then administered.

Four-year follow-up of long-stay patients settled in the community after closure of Italy's psychiatric hospitals.

Objective: This study reports on the final phase (1996-1999) of closure of Italy's psychiatric hospitals. In this phase the last group of patients was resettled in community-based care. These patients were particularly difficult to resettle, and many hospital staff considered their discharge impossible or inappropriate.