Adapting the World Health Organization rapid Assistive Technology Assessment (rATA) to the Italian context: implementation of a TRAPD-based approach.

BACKGROUND: Measuring access to assistive technology (AT) has become a global priority. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed the rapid assistive technology assessment (rATA), a population-based household survey that measures the use, need, unmet need, and barriers to accessing AT. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to report on the translation and adaptation process undertaken to implement the rATA survey in the Italian context. METHOD: The Translate, Review, Adjudicate, Pretest, and Document (TRAPD) approach was used to translate and adapt the rATA from English to Italian. Eleven independent reviewers and 23 AT users were involved to validate the Italian translation of the rATA and pilot the survey, respectively. RESULTS: The feedback provided by the first users of the rATA indicate that the data collected are reliable and well reflect the state of AT provision in Italy. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed the applicability of the rATA survey to the Italian context. The Italian version of the rATA can be used to support the government, the health system as well as the civil society to monitor the current state of AT access (and abandonment) in the country.

What women think about menopause: An Italian survey.

INTRODUCTION: Menopause is a critical period for most women who experience associated symptoms while they are still socially and individually active. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to report how Italian women perceive and approach menopause. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey of 1028 Italian women aged 45-65 years was conducted by the Italian Center for Studies of Social Investments (CENSIS) through anonymous interviews using two methods: CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) and CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interviewing). PRINCIPAL OUTCOME MEASURES: Principal outcome measures were women's perceptions and experiences of menopause and its treatments. RESULTS: The global consciousness and understanding of menopause was common (82.8 %) among Italian women and it was usually considered a physiological condition (77 %). Overall, 74.6 % of the sample were postmenopausal. Hot flushes were reported to be the most frequent (37.9 %) and bothersome symptoms (43.1 %) while 12.9 % of the women were asymptomatic. As for menopausal therapies, 24.5 % were on treatment; herbal medications were the most common remedy (63.3 %) whereas 7.6 % of the women took hormone replacement therapy (HRT). About half of the sample (50.4 %) had not sought help from the Italian National Health System (INHS). Medical expertise in the field of menopause was thought to be moderately satisfactory by 54.5 % of the sample. CONCLUSIONS: Italian women consider menopause a physiological condition. Most postmenopausal women had experienced symptoms but relied on non-hormonal treatments. The median women's satisfaction with the role of the INHS and medical competence suggests the need to improve current knowledge and awareness concerning menopause.

Correction to: Nutrition behaviour and compliance with the Mediterranean diet pyramid recommendations: an Italian survey­based study.

The article "Nutrition behaviour and compliance with the Mediterranean diet pyramid recommendations: an Italian survey­based study", written by "Renata Bracale, Concetta M. Vaccaro, Vittoria Coletta, Claudio Cricelli, Francesco Carlo Gamaleri, Fabio Parazzini and Michele Carruba" was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal on 8th November 2019 without open access.

Nutrition behaviour and compliance with the Mediterranean diet pyramid recommendations: an Italian survey-based study.

PURPOSE: Adopting a Mediterranean-like dietary pattern may help in preventing several chronic diseases. We assessed the eating behaviour and compliance with the Mediterranean diet pyramid recommendations in Italy. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in subjects aged ≥ 20 years. A 14-question survey based on the updated Mediterranean diet pyramid was launched online from April 2015 to November 2016. At test completion, a personalized pyramid displaying the possible deficiencies and/or excesses was generated, that could be the basis to plan diet and lifestyle modifications. RESULTS: Overall, 27,540 subjects completed the survey: the proportion of females (75.6%), younger subjects (20.7%) and people with a University degree (33.1%) resembled those of the Italian population of Internet users rather than of the general population. 37.8% of participants declared a sedentary lifestyle, including 29.6% of those aged 20-29 years. A lower-than-recommended intake of all food categories included in the Mediterranean diet pyramid, along with excess of sweets, red and processed meats, emerged, that may affect health in the long term. Low adherence to recommendations was observed especially among females and older people. Notably, a discrepancy surfaced between the responders' perceived and actual behaviour toward the regular consumption of fruits and vegetables (81.8% vs 22.7-32.8%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The nutritional habits and lifestyle of Italian participants are poorly adherent to the Mediterranean diet recommendations. The personalized pyramid tool may help in raising the awareness of individuals and their families on where to intervene, possibly with the support of healthcare professionals, to improve their behaviour. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.