Development of an effective communication strategy for the prevention of burns in children: the PRIUS project.

This study has developed a learning kit for the prevention of domestic burns in childhood. The main objective was to trial an educational package for children (nursery and primary classes), for the prevention of burns, to be implemented through education in schools. The educational kit comprises posters, information leaflets, comic books, and pre and post education evaluation materials for school children, parents and teachers. Recipients of the preliminary study were the students of nine schools in the eight Italian cities where Burn Centers are located. In order to reach the target groups of children, it was necessary to identify the most effective communication strategy to convey the burn prevention message. For nursery school children, it was not possible to use tools with written texts alone, as they were not yet literate. Moreover, even for older children, it was necessary to find an attractive tool to catch their attention and interest, promoting the understanding and memorization of lessons learned. The most suitable means was found to be comic strips, allowing the messages to be conveyed through images as well as words. A total of 370 children (195 from nurseries and 175 from primary schools) participated in the trial of the educational kit. Overall, for every environment represented in the evaluation table, the ability to recognize the dangers among both the pre-school and primary school children increased significantly after the training activity. In conclusion, the educational kit has been positively assessed.

Cette étude a permis de mettre au point un kit d'apprentissage pour la prévention des brûlures domestiques chez les enfants. L'objectif principal était d'expérimenter un ensemble éducatif pour enfants (crèches et écoles primaires), pour la prévention des brûlures, à mettre en oeuvre à travers des actions d'éducation dans les écoles. Le kit éducatif est composé de posters, de brochures d'information, de bandes dessinées, et d'un matériel d'évaluation pré et post enseignements, pour enfants, parents et enseignants. Cette'étude préliminaire a rassemblé les élèves de 9 écoles, appartenant aux 8 villes des Centres de grands brûles en Italie. Concernant l'éducation des enfants, il était nécessaire d'identifier la stratégie de communication la plus efficace pour leur transmettre les messages de prévention. Pour les élèves de maternelle, il n'a pas été possible d'utiliser des outils avec textes, puisqu'ils n'étaient pas encore capables de lire et écrire; en outre, même pour les enfants plus âgés, il était nécessaire de trouver un outil attrayant pour attirer leur attention et susciter leur intérêt, promouvoir la compréhension et la mémorisation des leçons apprises. La bande dessinée a été jugée l'outil le plus approprié (langage complexe qui utilise l'outil verbal et les codes iconiques).Au total, 195 enfants de maternelle et 175 d'écoles primaires ont participé à l'évaluation du kit pédagogique. Nos résultats démontrent que, pour chaque environnement représenté dans le tableau d'évaluation, la capacité à reconnaître les dangers a augmenté d'une manière significative après la formation aussi bien dans le groupe des élèves de maternelle que dans celui des élèves d'écoles primaires. En conclusion, le kit pédagogique a été évalué positivement.

[The STF Project: Female Tumor Screening]. / Il progetto STF--Screening Tumori Femminili.

A pilot study has been carried out to evaluate women's compliance to a screening program for cervical cancer. The study, initiated in 1994, was performed in conjunction with the ACRO project of the CNR by the Italian National Health Institute, in collaboration with La Sapienza University of Rome and the National Institute for Cancer Research in Genoa. A preliminary telephone survey was carried out on a sample of 400 women (200 in Rome and 200 in Genoa) to assess, among other factors, their attitude towards the screening program. Afterwards, an ad hoc advertising campaign was launched and 21,827 women, randomly chosen from the register office's lists, were sent a personal invitation to participate in the screening. Most women showed interest in attending the screening program at the interview, but the percentages of participation were low (25.7% in Genoa and 27.3% in Rome). On the other hand, a high percentage of women who participated in the screening had already had a Pap test in the previous three years (Genoa, 73%; Rome, 76%). The recruiting techniques that were used in this study, and that are commonly used, do not seem to reach the core of the target population for cervical screening, i.e. women who have never had a Pap test or who had a Pap test more than 5 years earlier. New methods of recruiting aimed at categories at risk and based more on direct contacts need to be developed.

Attitude of women towards early cancer detection and estimation of the compliance to a screening program for cervix and breast cancer.

Before the start of a feasibility study for cervical and breast cancer screening in two towns (Genoa and Rome) in Italy, a random sample (N = 349) of the target population was interviewed with the aim of evaluating (i) the degree of knowledge as to the purpose of the screening tests; (ii) the attitude towards early detection of these cancers; and (iii) the potential compliance to the program. Pap test: 48.7% of women were correctly informed about the object of the test; information was associated with the degree of education (p < 0.0001). Periodic Pap test was reported by 77.9% of women: the proportion was higher among younger (p = 0.013) and married women (p = 0.001). A 1-year interval between two tests was more frequently reported by younger women (p < 0.001). Estimated participation in the cervical cancer screening program was 63.3%. Increasing age (OR = 0.78; CI = 0.6-1.0), the married status (OR = 0.39; CI = 0.18-0.83) and lack of knowledge of the object of the test (OR = 0.47; CI = 0.25-0.87) hindered participation in the program. Mammography: 53.3% of women reported that it is a method used for early detection of breast cancer. Well-educated women were more likely to be correctly informed (p < 0.0001). Previous mammography was reported by 49.3% of women aged 50 to 69 years who never experienced breast cancer symptoms; married women more frequently reported having had the test (p = 0.02). Estimated participation in the breast cancer screening program was 59%. Women aged 60 years and over were less prone to participate (OR = 0.44; CI = 0.22-0.89). Increasing age was the most relevant barrier to participation in screening programs, and strong efforts should be made to involve older women, due to their greater chance of getting cancer.