Prevalence of smoking habits, attitudes and knowledge on counteractive strategies among a sample of healthcare employees: results of the smoking-free health environments project in the province of Palermo, Italy.

Introduction: Tobacco use is responsible for over 7 million deaths annually, making smoking the leading cause of preventable mortality globally. Over the last two decades in Italy, the prevalence of smoking among physicians has consistently decreased, while it remains higher and is gradually decreasing among non-physician healthcare workers. The aim of this study was to investigate the Prevalence of smoking habits, attitudes, and knowledge on counteractive strategies among employees in the Primary Healthcare Facilities in the Province of Palermo, Italy. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between June 2020 and December 2020 through a previously validated anonymous questionnaire structured in four sections including 34 items. Data were analyzed using Stata/MP 12.1 statistical software. Results: Overall, 2,645 participants answered the questionnaire. The prevalence of either current or former smokers was 18.6%. Based on the multivariable analysis conducted, a significantly higher frequency of current smokers was observed among male participants (AdjOR: 1.29; CI95%: 1.02-1.64) and those belonging to the Surgical Unit (AdjOR: 1.92; CI95%: 1.27-2.90). Conversely, the prevalence of current smokers was significantly lower among those with at least one child (AdjOR: 0.67; CI95%: 0.49-0.91), with an educational qualification equal to or greater than a graduation degree (AdjOR: 0.56; CI95%: 0.43-0.73), those who considered second-hand smoke harmful (AdjOR: 0.06; CI95%: 0.008-0.60), those who had observed smoking or detected the smell of smoke in their workplace (AdjOR: 0.64; CI95%: 0.45-0.91). Furthermore, the prevalence of current smokers was significantly lower among participants who believed that healthcare professionals could play a crucial role in influencing their patients' lifestyles (AdjOR: 0.67; CI95%: 0.50-0.90) and among those who recommend their patients to quit smoking (AdjOR: 0.35; CI95%: 0.24-0.51). Discussion: The results of the current research demonstrate that, despite the decline in smoking prevalence among physicians, the rate of smokers among healthcare facility employees remains unacceptably high. This underscores the need to re-evaluate current anti-tobacco strategies in the workplace.

Prevalence of the bullying phenomenon in a schools sample of Palermo, Sicily: a pre-post intervention observational study among teachers.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK: Bullying involves a significant percentage of school-age children. According to the latest available surveillance data, in Sicily, the estimated prevalence among 11-15 years old children is 14%. This study aimed to estimate a prevalence of the bullying phenomenon, observed by teachers, in a sample of secondary schools of Palermo, Sicily. Moreover, after the conduction of preventive interventions among teachers, aimed to evaluate any modification in bullying prevalence. METHODS: A cluster sampling selection according to socio-economic level of the school neighborhood was carried out. Two anonymous online questionnaires, pre and post-intervention, were administered to the 63 teaching staff, belonging to second and third year classes of ten secondary schools enrolled. Preventive interventions were conducted among teachers by experienced researchers. RESULTS: Prevalence of bullying reported decreased significantly from 44.4% to 19.0% (p-value 0.001), comparing pre and post-intervention questionnaires. A reduction in the prevalence of verbal and physical bullying and a concomitant slight increase of indirect bullying were also observed. All the characteristics, reported by the teaching staff, for describing bullies, victims and observers of bullying have been categorized under three different content domains (affective-relational discomfort, socio-cultural context, and character/natural disposition). CONCLUSIONS: The present study estimated the prevalence and the characteristics of bullying phenomenon in a sample of secondary schools of Palermo, evaluating the reduction of bullying episodes among students, after a preventive interventions conducted among teaching staff. Data obtained confirmed the effectiveness of this approach and suggested an extension of the project at Regional Level.