ABSTRACT
Introduction: The European Joint Action on Vaccination (EU-JAV) is a European project that aims at spurring long-lasting European cooperation against vaccine-preventable diseases. In the context of the EU-JAV's Work Package 8, the Italian National Institute of Health, in collaboration with the Bambino Gesu Children's Hospital (Rome, Italy), developed a web platform designed to monitor vaccination discourse on the web and on social media. Materials and methods: We collected data on vaccine-related content from Twitter, Reddit, Wikipedia and Google Trends, through validated keyword filters, in Italian, French and Spanish. The platform's analysis layer included two machine learning-based algorithms: the influencer analysis, aimed at identifying the most influential users involved in the vaccine discourse;and the early-signal detection, used to identify new hashtags emerging in the conversation.
ABSTRACT
Italy was the first country in Europe to face the coronavirus pandemic. The aim of the study was to analyze healthcare workers' (HCWs) level of information, practice, and risk perception towards COVID-19. We set up a cross-sectional study through SurveyMonkey<sup> R</sup> and distributed the link through Facebook and Whatsapp closed groups. The research instrument was a 31 items questionnaire distributed using Facebook and Whatsapp. It was conducted in Italy from February to May 2020. The study participants were general practitioners, pediatricians and other health professionals. A total of 958 participants were included: 320 (33.4%) general practitioners, 248 (25.9%) pediatricians and 390 (40.7%) other health professionals. The highest response rate was from Northern Italy (48.1%), followed by Central Italy (29.9%) and Southern Italy (22.0%). Less than a half (46%) of respondents felt they had a good level of information of COVID-19 case definition and of national prevention guidelines. Respondents reported to have changed their clinical practice;particularly, they increased the use of masks (87.1%, p < 0.001), disinfection and sanitization of doctors' offices (75.8%, p < 0.001), the use of protective glasses (71.2%, p < 0.001), alcoholic hand solution (71.2%, p < 0.001), and hand washing (31.8%, p = 0.028). HCWs are at high risk of infection;less than a half of them felt adequately prepared to face COVID-19 pandemic, so they need extensive information and awareness of the disease to take adequate precautionary measures, and they are crucial to disseminate good practices.