Maria Luisa Di Pietro's research while affiliated with Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and other places

Publications (182)

Article
Full-text available
Background Food insecurity (FI) is a major public health concern, due to its association with a variety of adverse health outcomes. The aim of this study is to provide a picture of the EU policy response and adherence to the international recommendations in terms of FI mitigation and prevention. Methods A scoping review was carried out based on PR...
Article
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Introduction Food insecurity represents a public health issue that has been associated with poor birth outcomes. We describe the methodological steps followed to structure and validate a questionnaire, which has the potential to contribute to the planning and conduction of future studies investigating the possible association between maternal food...
Article
Background Despite literature’s evidence about COVID-19 vaccines safety, concerns have arisen regarding adverse events, including the possible impact on fertility, accentuated by misinformation and anti-vaccine campaigns. The present study aims to answer the question: Is there any impact of COVID-19 vaccines on the fertility of men and women of rep...
Article
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Introduction: Preconception health is a public health issue, concerning aspects that could have repercussions on pregnancy outcomes. Despite the importance, often there is a lack of knowledge, particularly among young women. This cross-sectional study aims to evaluate knowledge, attitudes and health status of young women regarding preconception he...
Article
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Background. This systematic review summarizes the preconception health needs of women in childbearing age, necessary to be addressed to have an eventual safe and healthy pregnancy. Methods. Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus were searched. We excluded studies involving women with reproductive system pathologies and referring to interconceptive or pr...
Article
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Background: The elderly, commonly defined as subjects aged ≥65 years, are among the at-risk subjects recommended for annual influenza vaccination in European countries. Currently, two new vaccines are available for this population: the MF59-adjuvanted quadrivalent influenza vaccine (aQIV) and the high-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccine (hdQIV). T...
Article
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Introduction Well-conducted observational studies may represent valuable tools for getting insight to disease etiology, detecting the effect of age-related changes, and providing an important perspective on health risk factors and disabilities in an aging population. Nevertheless, this kind of research poses several challenges for researchers. The...
Chapter
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Major public and private laboratories entered into a race to find an effective Covid-19 vaccine. With the arrival of the vaccines, governments have to implement vaccination programs to achieve the necessary immunization levels to prevent further transmission of the disease. In this context, the ethical dilemma of compulsory vaccination vs. voluntar...
Article
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Il vaccino antinfluenzale Fluenz Tetra® (vaccino vivo attenuato quadrivalente, spray nasale, in sospensione) sarà disponibile in Italia per la prevenzione e il control- lo dell’influenza per la stagione influenzale 2021-2022. Tale vaccino è indicato per la profilassi dell’influenza in bambini e adolescenti di età compresa tra i 24 mesi e i 18 anni....
Article
Full-text available
Major public and private laboratories have entered into a race to find an effective Covid-19 vaccine. When that vaccine arrives, the governments will have to implement vaccination programs to achieve the necessary immunization levels to prevent the disease transmission. In this context, the ethical dilemma of compulsory vaccination vs. voluntary va...
Article
Background: The last decades' increasing infertility risk factors have brought to a growing number of infertile couples. Knowledge regarding infertility and possible treatments ishowever-poor, leading to difficulty in coping and understanding. Knowing infertile couples' perceptions and needs may help clinicians develop services that better address...
Article
Considering the importance of evidence on interventions to tackle mental health problems in healthcare workers (HCWs) during pandemics, we conducted a systematic review, aiming to identify and summarize the implemented interventions to deal with mental health issues of HCWs during infectious disease outbreaks and report their effectiveness. Web of...
Article
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In this paper, we analyse the most important documents establishing the criteria for the treatment and exclusion of COVID-19 patients, especially in regard to the giving of respiratory support, in Italy and Spain. These documents reflect a tension that stems from limited healthcare resources which are insufficient to save lives that, under normal c...
Article
Breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in women, the second most frequent cancer overall, and it causes the greatest number of cancer-related deaths among women. The significant increased concern of breast cancer worldwide may be attributed to the prolonged life expectancy and the adoption of the western lifestyle with its related risk...
Article
Background: While many studies focus on specific aspects of Unaccompanied Migrant Minors’ (UMMs) health, especially mental well-being, there is a lack of tools comprehensively assessing their needs. To fill this gap, we developed and validated a questionnaire to thoroughly assess unAccompaniEd miGrant mInorS’ physical, psychological, legal, spiritu...
Article
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Background Several healthcare systems facing respiratory viral infections outbreaks, like COVID-19, have not been prepared to manage them. Public health mitigation solutions ranging from isolation of infected or suspected cases to implementation of national lockdowns have proven their effectiveness for the outbreak’s control. However, the adjustmen...
Article
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Background Food insecurity, an issue also affecting developed countries, is associated with different negative outcomes. Particularly in pregnant women, a vulnerable population group, it has a double burden, as it affects both the woman and her child. Food insecurity has been associated with low birth weight and shorter gestational age, but there i...
Article
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Background: Informed consent is one of the key elements in biomedical research. The introduction of electronic informed consent can be a way to overcome many challenges related to paper-based informed consent; however, its novel opportunities remain largely unfulfilled due to several barriers. Objective: We aimed to provide an overview of the et...
Article
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Considering food insecurity is a problem, even in developed countries, and the evidence gap regarding this issue in Italy, we aimed to assess the prevalence of food insecurity in a sample of Italian children and examine socio-economic and health correlates. This cross-sectional study was conducted in paediatric practices. Parents answered to the 18...
Article
Genomic testing expansion is accompanied by an increasing need for genetic counselling and intrafamilial communication. Genetic counselling can play an important role in facilitating intrafamilial communication and relationships. We conducted a cross-sectional, multicenter study including 252 Italian women, using a questionnaire divided in two sect...
Article
Background Current health challenges are highlighting as Global Health (GH) is a discipline of growing importance for future physicians. Although its training is globally recommended, it has not universally entered the curricula of degree courses in Medicine and Surgery. A cycle of 6 seminars in global health has been promoted by researchers and pu...
Conference Paper
Background Pre-conceptional health refers to women's conditions before pregnancy. Women's knowledge, behavior and lifestyle in this period greatly influence the health of the future mother and child. This study aimed at creating and validating a questionnaire to describe the knowledge, behaviors, health status and access to healthcare services of y...
Conference Paper
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Background Extended evidence has established that healthcare workers face several mental health problems during a disease outbreak, which could have a long-term impact. To address these issues, elaboration and implementation of psychological/psychiatric interventions or strategies is of utmost importance. In this context, this systematic review aim...
Article
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The availability of several effective and safe vaccines enables health systems to counteract annual influenza epidemics. However, the criteria of appropriateness and sustainability require that each citizen should receive the right vaccine. The value of each vaccine can be assessed within well-known frameworks, such as the Health Technology Assessm...
Article
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is one of the 25 syndromic forms of obesity, in which patients present—in addition to different degrees of obesity—intellectual disability, endocrine disturbs, hyperphagia and/or other signs of hypothalamic dysfunction. In front of a severe/extreme obesity and the failure of non-invasive treatments, bariatric surgery is...
Article
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The standard of the patient's best interests is the main bioethical standard used in the decision-making process that involves incompetent patients (i.e. neonatology, pediatric patients and incompetent adults). This standard has been widely criticized as being self-destructive, individualistic, vague, unknown, dangerous and open to abuse. With the...
Preprint
BACKGROUND Informed consent is one of the key elements in biomedical research. The introduction of electronic informed consent can be a way to overcome many challenges related to paper-based informed consent; however, its novel opportunities remain largely unfulfilled due to several barriers. OBJECTIVE We aimed to provide an overview of the ethica...
Article
Background: In Europe, there is not routinely collected data on children's food insecurity. Indirect data show that food insecurity is on the rise in Europe, which may have a great impact on children's health. Methods: Considering that, we systematically reviewed any evidence coming from European countries in the last 10 years that reported the...
Conference Paper
Background Food insecurity poses a major threat to population’s health status. Children, if affected, are particularly vulnerable to the possible sequels of food insecurity. Considering that, we aimed to assess the prevalence of children (born in Italy, from Italian parents) living in food insecure households and the association with their health a...
Article
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Background: The elderly, defined here as subjects aged ≥ 65 years, are among at-risk subjects for whom annual influenza vaccination is recommended. For the 2018/19 season, three vaccine types are available for the elderly in Italy: trivalent inactivated vaccine (TIV), adjuvanted TIV (aTIV) and quadrivalent inactivated vaccines (QIV). No health tec...
Article
The article presents a rare case of uterine rupture at the 19th week of gestation, in the presence of a scar after a caesarean section practiced two years earlier. The fetus was pulled out alive, but given the gestational age, died within a few minutes. The uterus was preserved, but the woman was advised to proceed with tubal ligation and, in any c...
Article
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Background: Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive genetic disease. Two models for screening CF are normally used: newborn screening and population-based CF carrier screening. In turn, there are three main models of population-based CF carrier screening: prenatal carrier screening, preconception carrier screening, and carrier screening out...
Article
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Introduction: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder caused by mutations in the CFTR gene. In Italy, the reported prevalence is approximately 0.70 per 10,000 inhabitants. Our aim was to summarize the available evidence, using the HTA approach, on the genetic tests for cystic fibrosis carrier screening. Methods: systematic literature search was...
Article
This brief note presents a few examples of successful health collaboration to improve healthcare in Arab countries. Considerable growth has been noticed in the past years in the health sector of the Middle East and North Africa region countries due to the need to address health service capacity gaps and improve the quality of health infrastructure....
Article
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ABSTRACT: Preventive newborn male circumcision has been at the center of scientific debate for many years. The reason for promoting preventive newborn male circumcision, is the reduction of the incidence of UTIs (in the first six months of life), penile cancer, transmission of STDs/HIV infection/AIDS. However preventive interventions in the newborn...
Article
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Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is the main extraintestinal manifestation affecting patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The Health Technology Assessment approach was applied to evaluate the sustainability of intravenous (IV) iron formulations in the Italian hospital setting, with particular focus on ferric carboxymaltose. Data on the epid...
Article
Objective: To analyze breakfast consumption, regularity of meals, fruit and vegetable consumption in the Italian university student population on a national level. Design: Descriptive analysis evaluating data taken from the Sportello Salute Giovani (SSG) questionnaire. Participants: 12 000 university students who self-administered a confidenti...
Article
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The opposition to vaccinations is a well-known phenomenon that dates back to the Victorian age when it was self-limited by the awareness of the importance to be protected against fearsome infectious diseases. In the XX century, the mass use of vaccination has - instead-consented to eradicate or drastically reduce the burden of diseases such as smal...
Article
INTRODUCTION Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder caused by mutations in CFTR gene. In Italy, reported prevalence is approximately .70 per 10,000 inhabitants (1). The practice and recommendations for Cystic Fibrosis carrier screening are very heterogeneous in Europe. A proposal of a carrier genetic test in the general population raises many q...
Article
INTRODUCTION Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA), a common cause of anemia in the world, is a frequently neglected disease that represents the main extraintestinal manifestation affecting patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (1). The release of new intravenous (IV) iron compounds represents a great opportunity for both physicians and patients, b...
Article
Clinical research has an ambivalent nature for the benefits it promises and the risks we inevitably incur. When the subjects involved are minors, ethical issues become more complicated. The ethical importance of the matter is revealed especially when assessing clinical trials in which children are exposed to high risk (it can involve even the subje...
Article
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For too long children have received medicines not sufficiently studied for their needs and, in fact, being considered as small replicas of adults, it was deemed sufficient to adjust the dosage of a drug approved for adults. Together with the limited availability of appropriate drug formulations, especially for neonates and toddlers, this approach h...
Article
Genetic tests affect not only single patients but also their genetic relatives. In some cases, they in fact allow to acquire information not only about a single patient, but also about those who are genetically linked (genetic relatives). By appealing to the principle of autonomy, the patient can refuse to be informed of the test result, or to info...
Article
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Since its inceptions, the standard of best interest of the child was linked to decisions about suspend life-sustaining treatments in neonatal units and evaluation of treatments applied to children in terms of their quality of life. This origin has conditioned the interpretation of the standard from two extremes: a vitalistic one, and a non vitalist...
Article
The concept, and therefore definition, of “health” and “public health” have evolved in time. This chapter analyzes briefly some of the most important interpretations of these concepts and their philosophical basis. It is also important to understand the different objectives and approaches involved in health promotion and disease prevention . In fac...
Article
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People had contradictory opinions on using vaccinations over time: an initial opposition, later large favour and then doubts and perplexities. In recent times, some movements, blogs and associations stigmatize the use of vaccinations and they are increasingly asking to remove mandatory vaccinations in countries where they are active. The impact of...
Article
Background. The use of psychoactive substances is one of the most important public health issues. Tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs are among the top risk factors for illhealth defined by World Health Organisation. The risky behaviours acquired in teenage can be magnified or decreased during university when a person starts having more awareness ab...
Article
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Background. Students' ability of learning is influenced by study habits. Among these, the use of technologies has assumed a controversial role. The aim of this paper is to analyse studying approach, the use of technologies and how they affect study habits in a population of university students addressed by the "Sportello Salute Giovani" ("Youth Hea...
Article
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Objective: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is treated with anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive drugs and off-label biologics. Belimumab is the first biologic approved after 50 years as an add-on therapy for active disease. This paper summarizes a health technology assessment performed in Italy. Methods: SLE epidemiology and burden were as...
Article
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Objective: The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) approach was applied to denosumab in the prevention of osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women. Method: Epidemiological, clinical, technical, economic, organizational, and ethical aspects were considered. Medical electronic databases were accessed to evaluate osteoporosis epidemiology and...
Article
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La gastroenterite da rotavirus (GARV) rappresenta uno dei principali bisogni assistenziali durante l’età pediatrica. Purtroppo, in Italia, in assenza di notifica obbligatoria e di specifici sistemi di sorveglianza, le uniche valutazioni epidemiologiche disponibili sulle GARV sono rese possibili dall’analisi delle ospedalizzazioni. Il presente lavor...
Article
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Aim: The purpose of this research was to show the translation and linguistic validation of the PedsQL™ 4.0 Generic Core Infant Scales Parents Report for Infants (ages 13-24 months) from its original English version to Italian language. Methods: The linguistic validation consists in three steps: a) different forward translations from the original...
Article
The shortage of available cadaveric organs for transplantation and the growing demand has incresed live donation. To increase the number of transplantations from living donors, programs have been implemented to coordinate donations in direct or indirect form (cross-over, paired, and domino chain). Living donors with complex medical conditions are a...
Article
In Europe there are various directives on living organ donation (LOD) that are applied differently in member countries. The objectives of this study were as follows: (1) to identify the most relevant normative differences among the countries of Western Europe, and (2) to evaluate the evolution of LOD data in these countries. We performed comparativ...
Article
Abstract The exposure to cancer treatments (chemotherapy; radiotherapy; surgery) can adversely affect all aspects of reproductive health, possibly determining temporary or permanent hypogonadism of a primary or secondary form. In prepubertal male patients the only option for preserving fertility is testicular tissue banking. Although significant pr...
Article
Background Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) is a common cause of Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) and Invasive Pneunmococcal Diseases (IPD). Risk for infection increases in particular in elderly. The aim of the study was to evaluate the introduction of 13-valent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine (PCV13) among patients ≥50 years. Methods The epide...
Article
Come modalità di ricerca multidisciplinare, i programmi di Health Technology Assessment (HTA) hanno da sempre previsto, almeno in via teorica, la realizzazione anche delle valutazioni etiche sull’impiego di tecnologie sanitarie alla stregua di quelle sulla sicurezza, l’efficacia, l’impatto economico, l’impatto organizzativo, ecc. Nella pratica, tut...
Article
As multidisciplinary research, from a theoretical point of view, HTA programs should include the ethical assessment on the use of health technologies and also the assessment of safety, efficacy, economic impact, organizational impact, etc.. Nevertheless, in practice, the integration of the ethical dimension into HTA reports has been often limited....
Article
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p>In 2004, Omar Abdulcadir - a gynecologist of the Centre for the prevention and therapy of female genital mutilation (FMG) at the Careggi Hospital (Florence) - proposed a “harmless and symbolic” alternative to FMG, which consists in the puncture of the clitoris under local anesthesia, in order to allow the outflow of some drops of blood (1). The...
Article
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The use of techniques of analysis of fetal nucleic acid present in maternal peripheral blood for noninvasive prenatal genetic diagnosis (NIPD) is a reality in clinical practice in the case of certain diseases. In the coming years, it will become part of routine prenatal screening and diagnostic techniques for fetal diagnosis. A bioethical reflectio...
Article
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Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a condition in which a thrombus (a solid mass of blood constituents) forms in a vein. VTE represents an extremely common medical problem manifested as either deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) affecting apparently healthy as well as hospitalized patients. Often PE is the physiopathological conseq...
Article
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The debate over compulsory or merely recommended vaccination remains open, albeit latent, in those countries that have mandatory vaccine schedules. Despite the advantages of preventive immunization from the point of medical, economic and social features, it's clear, in the current status of medical ethics, that the exercise of patient autonomy call...
Article
In paediatric female patients the only option for restoring fertility after chemotherapy and radiotherapy is ovarian tissue banking. Even if this procedure is considered the most promising available, anyway it is still an experimental option due to the paucity of data. The possibility to offer an experimental preventive technique with potential ben...
Article
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The deep meaning of the word fecundity is not just fertility. To be a fecund man or a fecund woman is in relation with our origin, the love of God, and with our own nature: we are called to love. From this perspective and after thirty years, Familiaris consortio has become a prophetic document not only for those who have discovered their vocation t...
Article
A case of congenital rubella syndrome has been the reason to seek damages but a Civil Court of Rome sentenced against this and in favor of sued doctors. We discussed the high level of social attention and the feeling present in our western culture behind the request for damages. Legal considerations above the Italian abortion Law is provided to und...
Conference Paper
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Determining and defining human death in age of life-sustaining technologies is a matter of controversy and touch on some of society’s deepest human questions. A great part of controversy seem to be caused by an imprecise, ambiguous, confusing and misleading use of terms. Medical literature in English language and web sites in Italian language conce...
Article
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The use of techniques that analyse the fetal nucleic acids present in maternal peripheral blood for the preparation of non-invasive prenatal genetic diagnosis, is a clinical reality in the case of certain diseases. In the coming years, it will become part of the routine monitoring for fetal diagnosis. This study analyzes the current status of these...
Article
Full-text available
The use of techniques of fetal nucleic acids analysis present in maternal peripheral blood for noninvasive prenatal genetic diagnosis is a reality in the clinical practice of diagnosing certain diseases. In the coming years, it will become part of the routine monitoring for fetal diagnosis. This study analyzes the current status of these techniques...
Article
L’articolo focalizza l’importanza di un dialogo tra bioetica e letteratura. Entrambe rivendicano ciò che manca o è andato perduto nella pratica medica e che riguarda soprattutto la relazione medico-paziente. L’intento è quello di far emergere il ruolo attivo della letteratura nella riflessione biomedica. L’introduzione nei curricula delle Facoltà d...
Article
La riflessione bioetica clinica compare in senso proprio a partire dagli anni ’60, e pur affondando le sue radici nell’etica medica tradizionale, trae particolare impulso dalla nuova fisionomia che la medicina contemporanea assume, nonché da un nuovo setting sociale, religioso e culturale che a partire dalla seconda metà del XX secolo si è andato d...

Citations

... BMC Public Health (2024) 24:464 of experts who rate a single item with a score of 4 or 5 to the total number of experts engaged, and it ranges from 0 to 1, or from 0 to 100%. According to scientific literature, we determined that an agreement level of 80% was the threshold at which an item was deemed appropriate for inclusion; if it fell between 70 and 79%, it suggested a need for item revision; and if the CVI was less than 70%, it indicated potential item removal [9,[16][17][18][19][20]. This tool was used to outline the final set of priorities, not to suggest an order of importance among them. ...
... 12 This evidence-primarily comes from observational studies, which are subject to confounding and selection bias issues. 13 Therefore, it is important to review the evidence both from observational and interventional studies before making any conclusions about the role of breast surgery in metastatic breast cancer. Further, the evidence generally considers systematic therapy as the main treatment modality in case of metastasis. ...
... Some health authorities rely on data analyzed by individual research institutes using Health Technology Assessment (HTA) or similar methodologies. Recent reports include evaluations of LAIV, QIVc, aQIV, and HD-QIV [83][84][85][86]. Since implementation of vaccination campaign and procurement activities are fully delegated to regional health authorities, use of evidence varies widely in Italy. ...
... Although not directly investigated in our survey, fear of vaccine adverse effects, such as infertility, might have constituted an implicit barrier for vaccination among healthcare workers. Infertility fears were raised early in the pandemic as potential adverse effect of mRNA vaccines, although such a connection has not been demonstrated to date [30]. In multivariable analysis, neither gender nor the interaction between age and gender (in sensitivity analysis) had any significant effect, and young women were not particularly hesitant to receive the vaccine in our cohort. ...
... El peso y la talla pregestacional de las embarazadas fueron obtenidos y verificados de los datos de la historia clínica. Para realizar el cálculo del índice de masa corporal (IMC) se utilizó la fórmula de peso en kilogramos dividido entre la talla en metros cuadrados (7,8) . Las pacientes fueron catalogadas según el IMC pregestacional como obesas (IMC mayor de 30 kg/m2; grupo A) y aquellas con sobrepeso (IMC entre 25 y 30 kg/ m2; grupo B) y fueron comparadas con las gestantes de peso normal (IMC entre 20 y 25 kg/m2; grupo C). ...
... Additionally, the evidence on the influence of paternal preconception health will be categorised into four primary health outcome themes: knowledge, behaviour and attitudes, health status and access to healthcare services. 17 No quality appraisal will be undertaken, consistent with the scoping review methodology. 15 Patient and public involvement Patients or the public will be involved as stakeholders in the design, conduct, reporting or dissemination plans of our research as appropriate. ...
... Database searches returned 124 records; from this, 40 duplicates were removed, leaving 84 reports. Fourteen papers were assessed against the inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulting in 10 full-text papers for inclusion in the review [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. The PRISMA 2020 diagram is presented in Figure 1. ...
... Some health authorities rely on data analyzed by individual research institutes using Health Technology Assessment (HTA) or similar methodologies. Recent reports include evaluations of LAIV, QIVc, aQIV, and HD-QIV [83][84][85][86]. Since implementation of vaccination campaign and procurement activities are fully delegated to regional health authorities, use of evidence varies widely in Italy. ...
... Aunque la mayoría de las personas infectadas experimentan síntomas leves a moderados, la enfermedad puede causar complicaciones graves. Los adultos mayores o aquellos con comorbilidades tienen más probabilidades (4)(5)(6) de desarrollar una enfermedad grave . ...
... In Europe, the importance of whole-system changes in healthcare se ings has been highlighted as crucial for enhancing staff health and wellbeing. A systematic review by Brand et al. emphasized the need for interventions that understand local staff needs, engage staff at all levels, and ensure strong and visible leadership [32]. This approach aligns with findings from Northern Italy, where a significant percentage of healthcare workers experienced moderate-to-severe PTSD and anxiety during the pandemic [33]. ...