[Epidemiologic approaches, in school health education programs with particular attention to dentistry]. / Approccio epidemiologico per interventi di educazione sanitaria nella scuola con particolare attenzione al campo odontoiatrico.

At the request of the Cultural Union of the Upper Aniene Valley, the social-health workers dealing with school medicine of the Teaching District of Affile (Rome) have tried to define the programming lines for a health education intervention in the elementary schools of the district. The basic requisites of the intervention were pinpointed as: effectiveness, in terms of improvement of health conditions; short-term results; cognitive-transformative methodology having a spiral progression (cognitive, decision-making, implementative and of verification). The departure point of the intervention was the cognitive study on the social-health situation of the school population based on an analysis of the individual data contained in the medical files compiled by the school doctor, standardised and filled out with the pupils' social and family data. Out of 257 children, 212 were examined, namely 82.4% of the school population. The first social-anamnestic data on pupils' families was in respect of parents' level of education, giving the following results: 65% with elementary schooling only, 11% semi-illiterate and 10.5% diploma- or degree-holders. In respect of parents' working activities, on the other hand, a clear difference emerged: compared with 50.4% of worker or artisan fathers and about 33.3% engaged in the tertiary sector, almost all the mothers were still home-based (90.9% housewives). Another interesting fact emerged from the cards, namely that only 69% of the boys and girls have undergone the full cycle of antidiphtheria-antitetanus vaccinations, and only 80% of antipolio vaccinations. As regards pupils pathological anamnesis, cases of hospitalisation were for the following causes: 5.7% fractures and/or burns, followed by intestinal infections (4.5%). Whereas, as regards current pathology the high incidence of a cariogenic pathology emerged, with such high values as to indicate, in the field of prevention and health education, oral hygiene as the priority intervention to be undertaken in respect of the pupils included in the teaching district. The stages of the planned intervention were fixed as follows: -campaign to make teachers and families, considered as the primary educators, aware of this health problem; -meetings with pupils for the purpose of informing them in a simple way of the problem of caries and of discussing together behaviours liable to ensure greater dental hygiene; -involvement of the school and local administrative authorities for the implementation of any measures aimed at favouring the improvement of the behavioural and eating habits of the boys and girls (access for all to school canteens, free dental examinations, etc.).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

[Retrospective demographic study in a small mountainous region of the province of Rome]. / Studio demografico retrospettivo di un piccolo centro montano della provincia di Roma.

This retrospective study takes into consideration demographic and epidemiological data relative to the population of Arcinazzo Romano, a little village on the mountains situated at 831 m. above sea level in the province of Rome. The socio-economic structure of the village is mainly agropastoral, though, in the last decades, 50% of the ground has been left uncultivated due to emigration and commuting. ISTAT data relative to population censuses of 1951, 1961, 1971 and 1981 have been used to study the population natural movement from 1943 to 1987. The active/passive rate and the population ageing index have also been considered. Whenever possible local population data have been compared with similar data on a provincial, regional and national level. From 1943 (1697 inhabitants according to the archives of the Civil Status Office) the population of Arcinazzo R. has been increasing until 1955 (1903 inhabitants). Afterwards, there has been a slow, but constant, decrement till 1987 (1435 inhabitants). The reason for this is undoubtedly the migration movement (mainly towards Rome) due to the scarcity of job possibilities in the zone. This has resulted in a decrease in both active population and agricultural manpower. From 1943 to 1987 there has been a continuous decrease in birth-rate. Starting from 33.5 in 1943, the lowest value (4.6) is reached in 1981; in the last decade the index has settled on average values (11.22) which are slightly higher than national and regional averages (10.2 and 9.7 respectively). The general death-rate has its highest value in 1944 (19.3) and its lowest value in 1958 (4.8). From this date on, the index settles on an average of 12.0, which is slightly higher than national and regional averages (9.5 and 8.4 respectively). The infant death-rate starts from a value of 228/1000 in 1943 to decrease in following years. Keeping into account that the number of children born each year in Arcinazzo R. is very small, a comparison with national or regional averages is not felt to be appropriate. In fact, local values of this index may casually result very high: for instance, in 1981, the death of two premature twins, on a total of seven children born in the same year, brings the infant death-rate to a value of 285/1000 while in the years 1982-87 the infant death-rate is 0. The population natural growth index is obtained from the difference between general birth- and death-rates.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)