Attitudes and perceptions of Italian Students in Healthcare Settings on COVID-19 vaccines and vaccinations strategies, one year after the immunization campaign.

Background: The topic of vaccine confidence is increasingly relevant, particularly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. This issue is even more critical for students in healthcare settings, given their future role not only as vaccine recipients but also as advocates for vaccination. In light of this, achieving a good level of vaccine acceptance is crucial. Hence, the aim of our study was to evaluate the attitudes and perceptions of healthcare students regarding vaccines and COVID- 19 vaccination. Methods: Medical and pharmaceutical area students attended an Elective Teaching Activity on COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination campaign, organized at the University of Florence (Italy) and participated in filling two anonymous questionnaires. The first questionnaire was submitted before the Elective Teaching Activity was focused on students' attitudes and perceptions toward vaccines. The second questionnaire was designed to evaluate the students' satisfaction with the course topics. Both descriptive and inferential analyses were performed on the results. In addition, the Vaccine Confidence Index was calculated to evaluate the propensity of students toward vaccinations. Results: A total of 423 students attended the Elective Teaching Activity in the early beginnings of 2022. Overall, students have shown greater confidence in vaccines, compared to COVID-19 vaccines, especially as regards the safety profile. Students' Vaccine Confidence Index was very close to 0.25 value, which indicates being in favor of vaccinations. Nevertheless, in the satisfaction questionnaire filled in at the end of the course, the percentage of students in favor of COVID-19 vaccination increased for both medical (from 94% to 99%) and pharmaceutical area students (from 81% to 97%). Conclusions: Our study suggests that educational activities such as this Elective Teaching Activity, could be considered an effective teaching strategy to improve vaccine acceptance rates among students in healthcare settings.

Long-term use of pharmacological treatment in Alzheimer's disease: a retrospective cohort study in real-world clinical practice.

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of long-term use of different drugs commonly prescribed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) on its clinical course and to identify clinical and therapeutic factors associated with a delay in AD progression. METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled 50 patients visited at the Neurology Unit, Careggi University Hospital (Florence), followed for at least 24 months. AD diagnosis was made according to clinical diagnostic criteria for probable/possible AD dementia, always supported at least by one biomarker. Clinical features, MMSE scores evaluated at diagnosis and every 6 months, and AD drugs used for at least 6 months, were recorded. Cox regression analysis was performed to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) for AD progression, assuming as the "final event," the progression to a more severe disease stage, defined as the achievement of an MMSE score less than 10. RESULTS: At baseline, the median MMSE score was 22. During follow-up (median of 41 months), 56% of patients progressed to a more severe disease stage. The use of memantine, either alone (HR 0.24; 95% CI 0.09-0.60) or combined with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (HR 0.35; 95% CI 0.14-0.88) and a higher MMSE score at baseline (HR 0.82; 95% CI 0.70-0.96) were associated with a significantly lower risk of AD progression. CONCLUSION: Nowadays, effective disease-modifying therapy for AD is missing. Nevertheless, when the diagnosis is established, our results support the advantage of long-term use of available pharmacological treatments, especially in combination, in delaying AD progression to its more severe disease stage.

[First aid for multiple trauma patients: investigative survey in the Firenze-Bologna area]. / Il primo soccorso al politraumatizzato: indagine conoscitiva nelle aree di Firenze e Bologna.

Overall mortality ascribable to multiple traumas, that in Italy is responsible for about 8,000 death/year, is strictly dependent on the function of the so called Trauma Care System. This study reports on an epidemiological survey conducted in the urban area of Florence along a 23-month period (from Jan 97 to Nov 99), with the aim to identify the typology of traumas and the first aid care delivered to the person until hospital admission. These data were compared to those collected in the urban area of Bologna because the composition of the first-aid team is different, being nurses, in Bologna, an integral component of the first aid system. On a total of 118 multiple traumas, 17% was represented by isolated head trauma, while in 72% involvement of other organs was present in addition to the head; 11% of cases were abdominal or thoracic traumas, 1% of lower extremities. In 46% the cause of trauma was a car accident. The complexity of care delivered to the person with trauma was less in the Florence survey, as indicated by the immobilization of patients, performed in only 11% of cases as compared to 47% in Bologna, by the application of the cervical collar, applied in 12% versus 62% of traumas. Although the two samples are not strictly comparable, these data suggest that the presence of nurses in the Trauma Care System can be one of the elements of improvement of the quality of delivered care.