Publications by authors named "Valentina Baltag"

Objectives: There is little experience in the use of the WHO Standards for improving the quality of care (QOC) for children at the facility level. We describe the use of 75 WHO Standard based Quality Measures to assess paediatric QOC, using service users as a source of data, in Italy.

Study Design: In a cross-sectional study including 12 hospitals, parents/caregivers of admitted children completed a validated questionnaire including 75 Quality Measures: 40 pertinent to the domain of experience of care; 25 to physical/structural resources; 10 to COVID-19 reorganisational changes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: There is little experience on the use of the WHO Standards for improving the quality of care (QOC) for children. We describe the use of four prioritised WHO Standard-based Quality Measures to assess the provision of care for children with pain in emergency departments (EDs).

Methods: In a multicentre observational study in 10 EDs with different characteristics in Italy, we collected data on 3355 children accessing the EDs between January 2019 and December 2020.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: There is no documented experience in the use of the WHO standards for improving the quality of care (QOC) for children at the facility level. We describe the use of 10 prioritised WHO-Standard-based Quality Measures to assess QOC for children with acute diarrhoea (AD) in Italy.

Methods: In a multicentre observational study in 11 paediatric emergency departments with different characteristics and geographical location, we collected data on 3061 children aged 6 months to 15 years with AD and no complications.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: There is little experience in implementing the WHO Standards for improving the quality of care (QOC) for children. We describe the use of 75 WHO-Standard based Quality Measures to assess paediatric QOC, using health workers (HWs) as data sources.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: During adolescence, behaviours are initiated that will have substantial impacts on the individual's short-term and long-term health and well-being. However, adolescents rarely have regular contact with health services, and available services are not always appropriate for their needs. We co-developed with adolescents a health and well-being check-up programme (Y-Check).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Worldwide, the climate is changing and affecting the health and well-being of children in many ways. In this review, we provided an overview of how climate change-related events may affect child and adolescent health and well-being, including children's mental and physical health, nutrition, safety and security, learning opportunities, and family caregiving and connectedness.

Methods: In this narrative review, we highlighted and discussed peer-reviewed evidence from 2012-23, primarily from meta-analyses and systematic reviews.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The Global Action for the Measurement of Adolescent health (GAMA) Advisory Group was established in 2018 to enhance how adolescent health is measured, culminating in a draft list of 52 indicators published in 2022.
  • The selection process for the GAMA-recommended indicators involved evaluating data availability, stakeholder feedback, and alignment with existing health measurement practices, leading to input from various experts and organizations.
  • Ultimately, 47 indicators across six health domains were identified, facilitating improved measurement of adolescent health worldwide, with an emphasis on engaging young people in the process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Calzolari and colleagues invited others to have an "open…professional dialogue" on how Italy can introduce school nurses into their system. This editorial is a response to that invitation. Although factors such as a broader nursing shortage and limited health resources definitely contribute to a global shortage of school nurses, three foundational reasons continue to challenge the demand for school nursing globally.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Comprehensive local data on adolescent health are often lacking, particularly in lower resource settings. Furthermore, there are knowledge gaps around which interventions are effective to support healthy behaviours. This study generates health information for students from cities in four middle-income countries to plan, implement and subsequently evaluate a package of interventions to improve health outcomes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

argue that school health programmes have the potential to mitigate a growing epidemic of malnutrition in children and adolescents

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: This article describes the selection of priority indicators for adolescent (10-19 years) health measurement proposed by the Global Action for Measurement of Adolescent health advisory group and partners, building on previous work identifying 33 core measurement areas and mapping 413 indicators across these areas.

Methods: The indicator selection process considered inputs from a broad range of stakeholders through a structured four-step approach: (1) definition of selection criteria and indicator scoring; (2) development of a draft list of indicators with metadata; (3) collection of public feedback through a survey; and (4) review of the feedback and finalization of the indicator list. As a part of the process, measurement gaps were also identified.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Several months after the onset of the epidemic, COVID-19 remains a global health issue. Scientific data on pregnancy, perinatal outcomes and vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 are constantly emerging but are still limited and unclear. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize current evidence on vertical transmission rates, maternal, perinatal and neonatal outcomes and mode of delivery in pregnancies affected by COVID-19.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objectives: Evidence showed that, even in high-income countries, children and adolescents may not receive high quality of care (QOC). We describe the development and initial validation, in Italy, of two WHO standards-based questionnaires to conduct an assessment of QOC for children and young adolescents at inpatient level, based on the provider and user perspectives.

Design: Multiphase, mixed-methods study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Teleconsultations are increasingly used to deliver health care, yet guidance on how to maximize health outcomes and ensure the quality and rights-based principles of adolescent health care during teleconsultations is lacking. This scoping review synthesized the literature on teleconsultations with adolescents, with the objective of informing a practical guidance for healthcare professionals.

Methods: Eight databases were searched to identify articles published between 2010 and 2020 in English, French, or Spanish that provided evidence or guidance on synchronous teleconsultations with 10- to 19-year-olds.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: This global survey of experts assessed the suitability of different health-related interventions for inclusion in school health services (SHSs) to inform development of the World Health Organization global guideline on SHSs.

Methods: A review of 138 global World Health Organization publications identified 406 health service interventions for 5- to 19-year-old individuals. These were consolidated, pretested, and pilot-tested in a questionnaire as 86 promotion, prevention, care, or treatment interventions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: School health services (SHS) can be defined as health services provided to enrol pupils by health professionals and/or allied professions. The aim of this study was to explore the current state of the governance, organization and workforce of SHS and their provision of preventive activities in European countries.

Methods: Observational study.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Adolescence and young adulthood constitute a period when exploratory behaviors can evolve into risky behaviors. Most causes of adolescent ill health are preventable; therefore, it is a priority to detect them early before they turn into health problems. Previsit multidomain psychosocial screening tools are used by professionals to detect and prioritize potentially problematic issues.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF