Prevention and contrast of child abuse and neglect in the practice of European paediatricians: a multi-national pilot study.

Background: Child abuse and neglect, or maltreatment, is a serious public health problem, which may cause long-term effects on children's health and wellbeing and expose them to further adulthood vulnerabilities. Studies on child maltreatment performed in Europe are scarce, and the number of participants enrolled relatively small. The aim of this multi-national European pilot study, was to evaluate the level of understanding and perception of the concepts of child abuse and neglect by European paediatricians working in different medical settings, and the attitude toward these forms of maltreatment in their practice.

[The health determinants in young children: testing a new surveillance system in Italy].

In recent years, the scientific community has stressed the need to invest in the first 1,000 days of life - the time spanning between conception and the 2nd birthday - because it is during this period that the foundations of health are laid and whose effects will be present throughout the life and may influence the next generation. Taking this into account, in 2013 the National Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CCM) of the Italian Ministry of Health promoted and financed a project to test a surveillance system of the main determinants of health concerning the child between the conception period and the 2nd years of life which are included in the National Programme "GenitoriPiù": folic acid before and during pregnancy, abstention from tobacco and alcohol during pregnancy and lactation, breastfeeding, infant sleep position, vaccination attitude, and early reading. The Project, started in January 2014 and ended in August 2016, has piloted the design, testing, and evaluation of the surveillance system with the view to national extension and the repeatability over time.

Young-adult carriers of Neisseria meningitidis in Puglia (Italy): will the pattern of circulating meningococci change following the introduction of meningococcal serogroup C conjugate vaccines?

Studies of meningococcal carriage are essential in improving knowledge of the epidemiology of meningococcal disease. The aim of this study is to ascertain the carrier rate and the serogroups of Neisseria Meningitidis circulating in a sample of students from the University of Bari. The population consisted of university students from the University of Bari - School of Medicine, who were invited to take a nasopharyngeal swab.

High level immunity against poliomyelitis in African and Asian refugees in southern Italy.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of poliomyelitis immunization in refugees residing in the Asylum Seeker Center in Bari. The study was carried out during 2008 and involved 573 refugees. An antibody titer >or=1:8 was found in 99.

Simultaneous administration of vaccines in immunization protocols: an audit in healthcare workers in the Puglia region of Italy.

Through a standardized questionnaire, this study investigated the opinions and attitudes of Vaccine Service staff in the Puglia Region of Italy regarding simultaneous administration of vaccines. Co-administration was practiced by 89.4%, and the staff's positive opinions were that it is important for work organization (80.

[Risk factors for mortality during a heat-wave in Bari (Italy), summer 2005.].

Introduction: The Italian Heat Health Watch Warning System (HHWWS) was set up following the over 3000 excess deaths which occurred in Italy during the heat wave of 2003, In June 2005 the warning system issued a heat warning in various Italian cities.

Methods: A case control study was performed in one of these cities (Bari) in order to identify individual and environmental risk factors as well as preventive strategies for reducing mortality during future heat waves. Cases were defined as subjects aged <65 years who had died during the heat wave and whose death certificate listed one of the following as the cause of death: heat, cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disorders, neurocognitive disorders, dehydration or fever/infection not otherwise specified.