Mediterranean diet: knowledge and adherence in Italian young people.

INTRODUCTION: In November 2010 the Mediterranean Diet was recognized by the UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It is an heritage that brings together the dietary habits of the peoples of the Mediterranean countries, consolidated over the centuries remained almost unchanged until the 1950s. Numerous scientific studies have also shown that the Mediterranean Diet is an healthy diet that helps to prevent the main chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, bulimia and obesity and thanks to the antioxidant power of olive oil combined with vegetables consumption, an important means of cancer prevention. The aim of our study was to investigate the knowledge and the adherence to the Mediterranean diet of young people living in the Mediterranean area. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The survey was carried out by administering a web-based anonymous questionnaire from March to May 2019 to Italian young people. In this survey we asked for socio-economic conditions, knowledge, awareness and adherence to the Mediterranean diet (through the KIDMED test) both in childhood and at present time. Parental educational status and family income were used as indicators of socio-economic status (SES). RESULT: The sample was made up by 507 Italian young people between the ages of 17 and 35 (123 males and 384 females), with an average age of 22.88 years (DS 7.02). Only 11.4% knew the Mediterranean diet. During childhood 70.8% of respondents had breakfast and 58% ate fruit and vegetables daily. Today they have maintained the correct eating habits, in fact, 71.2% had breakfast, 60.2% ate fruit and 64.7% ate vegetables. In addition, only 48.3% eat fish and the majority of respondents consume carbohydrates (76.9%). To a lesser extent they consume junk foods like candy and various snacks (18.1%) or fast food meals (9.1%). Moreover, we asked for physical activity and we found that 48.9% did it. We found age, exercise and sex high significant variables (p<0.01). Higher adherence to MD was found in older interviewees. CONCLUSION: Our study we found high knowledge to a Mediterranean diet into 90.5% of the sample and poor adherence into 23.5% of them, medium into 53.4% while higher only in 23.1% of the interviewees. Lower adherence was found among those who do not engage in physical activity and the two regressor with higher weight on the adherence to MD were "eat at home "and "eat fruit and vegetables". Furthermore, in our sample more increased the age more increased adherence to traditional diet models.

"Vaccinate your child for best protection": attitude towards vaccination in a group of pregnant women.

BACKGROUND: Although the benefits and importance of vaccination before and right after pregnancy, are well known, vaccination coverage among pregnant women remains very low. The aim of our study was to evaluate pregnant women's knowledge and attitude towards vaccination. STUDY DESIGN: A cross sectional study was performed from October 2018 to June 2019 at the University of Messina. METHODS: We gave pregnant women >18 years old a non-self-compiling paper questionnaire. We stratified the sample according to age (<30 and >30 years old), marital status (single/divorced, in a relationship and married) and level of education (<8 and >8 years of school attendance). All possible correlations between collected data were analysed using software R. RESULTS: The sample included 156 women (mean age 32±0.49 years old). Only 1.4% of the subjects were aware of all the vaccines indicated for children. Luckily, 86.7% of the sample had a positive attitude, believing in the effectiveness and safety of immunization, despite a limited lack of confidence and a belief in false myths was expressed by some of the subjects. Interestingly, results showed that information about vaccination were more frequently obtained from family/friends (52.6%), mass media (49.1%), blogs/forums (19.3%), rather than from medical institutions (only 17.5%) or the family physician (only 35.0%), reflecting the quality of the information obtained. CONCLUSIONS: Our results proved that a general positive attitude emerged among our sample towards vaccination, however, correct information was not always provided to women, making it a crucial issue for public health in the future.

Effects of aerators, filters and chlorination on contamination of water samples: a nine years study in a Southern University Hospital.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to evaluate the microbiological contamination by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the water system of the University Hospital "G. Martino" in Messina over a period of nine years, in order to a) clarify possible relationship between the presence of aerators and contamination, b) to highlight the presence of a yearly variation and c) to verify the statistical difference between microbiological contamination of taps with and without filters. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We carried out our study between January 2010 and December 2018 through the collection of water samples that were analysed for total bacteria count and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The differences between the results recorded over the nine-year study period were evaluated using variance analysis. P values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Software R was used for statistical assessment. RESULTS: We analysed a total of 6168 samples with a positive rate of 9.31% and a decreasing trend over the years to a value of 2.44% (p<0.001), due to the elimination of the aerators of taps without filters and also to the introduction of filters in taps of high-risk wards and surgical rooms. We found statistical difference between taps with or without filter (p<0.001) and a higher positive rate during the summer season compared to the other months. CONCLUSIONS: These results reveal a high level of contamination of taps by opportunistic bacteria with severe implications especially for high-risk settings and therefore, the need to improve the management of these devices.

Management of two influenza vaccination campaign in health care workers of a university hospital in the south Italy.

BACKGROUND: In Europe, flu remains one of the major public health problems. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are a category at high-risk of contracting the infection and infecting their patients; consequently, for this category, vaccination is highly recommended. Unfortuntely, coverage levels remain insufficient with rates ranging between 4 and 40. STUDY DESIGN: The purpose of our work was to evaluate the adherence of HCWs to the influenza vaccination and to carry out a combination of educational and motivational interventions in order to increase the rate of adherence to the vaccination in this workers' category. METHODS: We conducted two different influenza vaccination campaigns, 2014-2015 and 2015-2016. The study was divided in two steps. In the first, preliminary step, an anonymous questionnaire was administered to HCWs containing a set of questions in order to gain information about the number of subjects willing to undergo the vaccination and the reasons that led others toits rejection. In the second step, vaccination campaigns were carried out preparing an appropriate vaccination calendar that was communicated to all interested Units and vaccination points located in various wards. RESULTS: We found a slightly improved compliance trend, from an average of 2.3% in the previous years to 3.3% in 2014 and 7.4% in 2015. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the observed increase, the adherence remains very low. We found that the main causes of this result are the fear of adverse effects, the negligence and indolence of the same workers and a lack of risk perception of contracting the disease and transmitting it to patients. Our work stressed the importance of offering correct information and of meeting the needs of HCWs, often unable to leave their ward for the excess workload. This could be, in future years, one of the possible solutions to increase vaccination adherence.

Response to anti-HBV vaccine and 10-year follow-up of antibody levels in healthcare workers.

BACKGROUND: Despite improvements in public health and antiviral treatments, vaccination is still the most effective means of prevention of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. However, little is known about the duration of protection given by the anti-HBV vaccine. Healthcare workers represent a category at risk not only of contracting infection but also of being a source of contagion to patients. OBJECTIVES: To assess individual responses to the anti-HBV vaccine and duration of protection 10 years after its administration in a cohort of healthcare workers employed by the University Hospital 'G. Martino' in Messina, Italy. METHODS: One hundred and seventy medical staff who had been vaccinated following an incident carrying risk of HBV infection were included in this study. The group was followed over a 10-year period, and HBV antibody levels were assessed using an automated microparticle enzyme immunoassay. RESULTS: Protective antibody levels (≥10 mIU/ml) were found in 65% of subjects who had completed the full vaccine schedule (three doses) and in 35% of subjects who had only received one or two doses of anti-HBV vaccine. Moreover, 10 years after vaccination, HBV antibody levels were inversely related to age at vaccination (P < 0.001). No differences were found between males and females. CONCLUSIONS: This study, in line with the literature, shows the importance of completing the full vaccine schedule (three doses). Moreover, in order to have an effective and durable antibody response and avoid the risk of contracting HBV after an injury at work, it is important to recommend anti-HBV vaccination at a young age, ideally during childhood in accordance with the national vaccination policy.

Understanding therapeutic beds.

The use of "high-tech" therapeutic beds has increased during the past 5 years as a result of advances in medical technology, the early stabilization of trauma patients, and changes in the reimbursement system. Orthopaedic nurses need to understand how specialty beds can help them more effectively care for the immobilized patient. This article provides an overview of five categories of therapeutic beds along with criteria for patient selection, reviews of pertinent scientific studies, and relevant nursing considerations.