Overview of Facebook Use by Hospitals in Italy: A Nationwide Survey during the COVID-19 Emergency.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Schiavone B
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8304234 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundLithium is considered the gold standard treatment for bipolar disorder (BD). Current clinical guidelines and scientific evidence support its use as a first-line treatment in BD. However, over the last two decades, there has been a downward tendency in lithium's use in several developed countries. Based on a nationwide survey, this study's objective is to analyze in a large sample of psychiatrists relevant issues of the use of lithium salts in BD.MethodsData were collected through an anonymous survey sent by email among 500 psychiatrists who belong to a National Society of Psychiatry (Spanish Society of Biological Psychiatry). The survey is a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 21 items on the most key aspects of lithium's use (indication, dosage, monitoring, and information for patients).Results212 psychiatrists completed the survey. 70% of psychiatrists prescribe lithium to more than 50% of patients diagnosed with BD. Adverse effects are the main reason not to use lithium salts. Over 75% of the participants consider lithium salts the treatment of choice for the maintenance phase of BD, both in women and men. Most of the participants (> 50%) start lithium after the first affective episode, use conservative plasma concentrations (0.6-0.8 mmol/L), and generally prescribe it twice a day. 57% of psychiatrists who treat patients under 18 do not use lithium in this population. About 70% of the survey respondents use official protocols to inform and monitor patients on lithium treatment.ConclusionsFrom the results of the present study, it can be concluded that the use of lithium in Spain is in line with the recommendations of the main international clinical guidelines and current scientific literature. The first reason not to prescribe lithium in our country is the perception of its adverse effects and not the aspects related to its practical use or its effectiveness. Considering that BD is a chronic disease with a typical onset in adolescence, the low rate of prescription of lithium salts in patients under 18 must be thoroughly studied.
| S-EPMC7941362 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This survey assessed the symptoms/signs, protective measures, awareness, and perception levels regarding COVID-19 among dentists in Lombardy, Italy. Moreover, an analysis of the answers gathered in areas with different prevalence of the disease was carried out. All Lombardy's dentists were sent an online ad hoc questionnaire. The questionnaire was divided into four domains: personal data, precautionary measures (before patient arrival; in the waiting room; in the operating room), awareness, and perception. Three thousand five hundred ninety-nine questionnaires were analyzed. Five hundred two (14.43%) participants had suffered one or more symptoms referable to COVID-19. Thirty-one subjects were positive to the virus SARS-CoV-2 and 16 subjects developed the disease. Only a small number of dentists (n = 72, 2.00%) were confident of avoiding infection; dentists working in low COVID-19 prevalence areas were more confident than those working in the Milan area and high prevalence area (61.24%, 61.23%, and 64.29%, p < 0.01 respectively). The level of awareness was statistically significantly higher (p < 0.01) in the Milan area (71.82%) than in the other areas. This survey demonstrated that dentists in the COVID-19 highest prevalence area, albeit reported to have more symptoms/signs than the rest of the sample, were the ones who adopted several precautionary measures less frequently and were the more confident of avoiding infection.
| S-EPMC7312000 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Pharmacists play a vital role in recommending and providing vaccines to improve public health and are on the front line of mass immunization efforts. The objective of this study is to evaluate pharmacists' perceptions on COVID-19 vaccines prior to emergency use authorization (EUA) amid a global pandemic. A voluntary, anonymous, cross-sectional survey was conducted between September and November 2020. Survey respondents included a convenience sample of licensed pharmacists in the United States. The primary outcomes were pharmacists' willingness to receive and recommend hypothetical COVID-19 vaccines. Covariates assessed in the survey included COVID-19 exposure or personal experience, primary pharmacy practice setting, background in training, geographic region, and prioritization of clinical data. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. This study surveyed 763 pharmacists and results from 632 participants were included in final analysis. Overall, 67.1% of the pharmacists were willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and 63.4% of the pharmacists were willing to recommend a COVID-19 vaccine at ≤1 year from the time of vaccine approval. At >1 year after vaccine approval, 78% of the pharmacists were willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and 81.2% of the pharmacists were willing to recommend a COVID-19 vaccine. Survey findings suggest that, while a majority of pharmacists surveyed indicate acceptance of hypothetical COVID-19 vaccines, there remains to be hesitancy among pharmacists to receive or recommend vaccination.
| S-EPMC8396166 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BACKGROUND:Although health care organizations such as hospitals and clinics have widely embraced social media as a means to educate the community on health topics and increase patient loyalty and satisfaction, little is known about the content these organizations actually share when using social media channels. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to explore the types of content US hospitals post on their Facebook pages and how hospitals' Facebook activities differ with regard to content types. METHODS:We collected and thematically analyzed more than 1700 Facebook posts made over a 3-month period by 17 US hospitals. During the first phase, the 2 researchers coded a set of 159 posts and created an initial thematic web of content. During the second phase, the researchers coded the remaining posts and then revised, refined, and validated the initial web of content accordingly. Coding consensus was achieved on 1184 of the 1548 analyzable sampled posts (76.49%). RESULTS:We identified a list of 13 unique health social media post themes and classified those themes into 3 thematic groups that included announcing, sharing, and recognizing activities. The most frequently used theme was sharing health information, which appeared in 35.81% (424/1184) of the posts analyzed. Such posts sought to provide health tips and advice to community members. Recognizing special days and recognizing employees were the second and third most frequently used themes, respectively, with 14.95% (177/1184) and 11.82% (140/1184) of the posts containing those themes. The frequency of these themes was surprising as the content was geared more toward stakeholders internal to the organization, although most previous literature has focused on social media as a tool to connect with external stakeholders. In addition, we found many of the posts involved more than one theme, and selected sets of themes co-occurred frequently. For example, 25.4% (45/177) of the posts recognizing special days also included content to share health information, and approximately 38% (32/85) of the posts announcing research activities also included content to share health information. Finally, we found similarities and differences between the sampled hospitals in terms of the types of content they posted more frequently on their Facebook pages. CONCLUSIONS:Hospitals use Facebook as an inexpensive way to educate people on health and wellness topics and to communicate different types of information and news to the public audience. Hospitals and clinics that are expanding their social media activities or are starting to embark on social media strategies can use the results of this study to better formulate their activities on Facebook.
| S-EPMC5976865 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundIn Italy, as in many developed countries, a decline in blood component (BC) consumption, especially red blood cells (RBC), has been described, but not studied at a national level. We, therefore, designed a nationwide survey to determine the main features of BC recipients and obtain a picture of the clinical use of BC for the first time in Italy, in order to understand BC demands better and identify specific fields in which to apply Patient Blood Management (PBM).Material and methodsA nationwide survey of all Italian Blood Establishments working as Hospital Blood Banks (HBB) was performed. Data were collected through an online report form recording information on the number and geographic area of the responding HBB, year of birth and sex of the BC recipients, and clinical indications for every unit of RBC, platelets and plasma transfused in a 24-hour period.ResultsOn the survey date, 153/237 (64.5%) of the HBB returned 4,356 forms, reporting 7,523 transfusions. The median and mean ages of the recipients were 73 (range, 0-106) and 67.5 years, respectively; 33.0% were >80 years old and 64.9% >65 years old, with no relevant differences between males and females. Overall, 6,309 RBC units were transfused to 3,850 recipients, 66.7% of them for a medical indication and 32.4% for a surgical indication. The commonest medical indication was acquired, non-cancer-related anaemia and more than 30% of the transfusions occurred in the Emergency Department. Five hundred and sixty platelet transfusions were given to 520 recipients, 62.7% of them for prophylaxis and 28.6% for bleeding before or during an invasive procedure or surgery or for thrombocytopenia. One hundred and ninety-four patients received 654 units of plasma, 71.1% of which were for therapeutic purposes in bleeding patients.DiscussionWe collected a picture of blood transfusion epidemiology in Italy. The data suggest that future PBM plans should be focused on medical anaemia especially in the setting of Emergency Departments.
| S-EPMC8486606 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-BSST563 | biostudies-other
Project description:The safety of minimally invasive procedures during COVID pandemic remains hotly debated, especially in a country, like Italy, where minimally invasive techniques have progressively and pervasively entered clinical practice, in both the hepatobiliary and pancreatic community. A nationwide snapshot of the management of HPB minimally invasive surgery activity during COVID-19 pandemic is provided: a survey was developed and conducted within AICEP (Italian Association of HepatoBilioPancreatic Surgeons) with the final aim of conveying the experience, knowledge, and opinions into a unitary report enabling more efficient crisis management. Results from the survey (81 respondents) show that, in Italian hospitals, minimally invasive surgery maintains its role despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with the registered reduction of cases being proportional to the overall reduction of the HPB surgical activity. Respondents agree that the switch from minimally invasive to open technique can be considered as a valid option for cases with a high technical complexity. Several issues merit specific attention: screening for virus positivity should be universally performed; only expert surgical teams should operate on positive patients and specific technical measures to lower the biological risk of contamination during surgery must be followed. Future studies specifically designed to establish the true risks in minimally invasive surgery are suggested. Furthermore, a standard and univocal process of prioritization of patients from Regional Healthcare Systems is advisable.
| S-EPMC7259429 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundEpidemiological evidence suggests that anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties of statins may reduce the risk of infections and infection-related complications.ObjectiveWe aimed to assess the impact of prior statin use on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) severity and mortality.MethodsIn this observational multicenter study, consecutive patients hospitalized for COVID-19 were enrolled. In-hospital mortality and severity of COVID-19 assessed with National Early Warning Score (NEWS) were deemed primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. Propensity score (PS) matching was used to obtain balanced cohorts.ResultsAmong 842 patients enrolled, 179 (21%) were treated with statins before admission. Statin patients showed more comorbidities and more severe COVID-19 (NEWS 4 [IQR 2-6] vs 3 [IQR 2-5], p < 0.001). Despite having similar rates of intensive care unit admission, noninvasive ventilation, and mechanical ventilation, statin users appeared to show higher mortality rates. After balancing pre-existing relevant clinical conditions that could affect COVID-19 prognosis with PS matching, statin therapy confirmed its association with a more severe disease (NEWS ≥5 61% vs. 48%, p = 0.025) but not with in-hospital mortality (26% vs. 28%, p = 0.185). At univariate logistic regression analysis, statin use was confirmed not to be associated with mortality (OR 0.901; 95% CI: 0.537 to 1.51; p = 0.692) and to be associated with a more severe disease (NEWS≥5 OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.067-2.71; p = 0.026).ConclusionsOur results did not confirm the supposed favorable effects of statin therapy on COVID-19 outcomes. Conversely, they suggest that statin use should be considered as a proxy of underlying comorbidities, which indeed expose to increased risks of more severe COVID-19.
| S-EPMC7833194 | biostudies-literature
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC7206930 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundHospital infection control measures against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are often based on expert discretion due to the lack of detailed guidelines.AimTo survey the current strategies for preventing the transmission of COVID-19 in medical institutions.MethodsThirteen key issues related to the prevention of COVID-19 transmission within medical institutions were selected via discussion among infectious diseases specialists, and related critical questions were obtained following a review of national-level guidelines in government databases. Six hospitals had an open survey between 11th and 25th August 2020 to provide responses to these topics. An online questionnaire developed from these data was sent to infection control teams at 46 hospitals in South Korea between 31st January 2021 and 20th February 2021.FindingsAll 46 hospitals responded to the survey. All operated screening clinics, but 89.1% (41/46) allowed symptomatic patients without COVID-19-associated symptoms to visit general outpatient clinics. Most hospitals (87.2%, 34/39) conducted polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for all hospitalized patients. Of 35/46 (76.1%) hospitals with pre-emptive isolation policies for hospitalized patients, 31 (88.6%) released patients from isolation after a single negative PCR test, while most (76.9%, 20/26) allowed shared-room accommodation for patients meeting the national criteria for release from isolation despite positive PCR results with above cycle threshold values (34.6%, 9/26), or after a certain period that satisfied the national criteria (26.9%, 7/26).ConclusionIndividual hospitals in South Korea are currently relying on experience to frame relevant guidelines, and responded differently to some infection control issues on hospital settings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
| S-EPMC9391228 | biostudies-literature