Knowledge on causes and consequences of Climate Change in a cohort of Italian students.

Background: Climate change (CC) is the greatest threat to the health of the planet. The scientific community has established its connection to human activities and its role in emerging and premature diseases. Our study helps to understand how students of various backgrounds and academic fields retrieve information on CC and highlights the knowledge on the main causes and consequences of global warming and on the role of healthcare workers in the fight towards this threat. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed through an online questionnaire administered to university students between January and December 2020. Univariable analyses were performed, Chi-square was calculated and multivariable analysis was used to investigate the relationship between the answers and socio-demographic variables. Statistical significance was set at a p-value of less than 5%. Results: More than 80% of the sample correctly identifies as major consequences of CCs the increase in Earth's temperature (95.0%), melting of ice caps (89.4%), rising sea levels (81.8%), and the more frequent occurrence of climate-related natural disasters. Across courses of study, the frequency on how CC is addressed differs (p<0.001): 31.5% of the students from the medical field reported the topic to be taught in class, compared to 49.0% from humanities and 63.4% from science and technology. Conclusion: The study shows that medical students are less prepared and less aware of the consequences and causes of CC than students in other faculties. Since CC will play a role in every aspect of patients' lives, barriers to health care will have to be overcome through the knowledge and skills acquired during undergraduate courses.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare-associated infections in intensive care unit patients: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: During the intensive care units' (ICUs) reorganization that was forced by the COVID-19 emergency, attention to traditional infection control measures may have been reduced. Nevertheless, evidence on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) is still limited and mixed. In this study, we estimated the pandemic impact on HAI incidence and investigated the HAI type occurring in COVID-19 patients. METHODS: Patients admitted to the main ICU of the Umberto I teaching hospital of Rome from March 1st and April 4th 2020 were compared with patients hospitalized in 2019. We assessed the association of risk factors and time-to-first event through multivariable Fine and Grey's regression models, that consider the competitive risk of death on the development of HAI (Model 1) or device related-HAI (dr-HAI, Model 2) and provide estimates of the sub-distribution hazard ratio (SHR) and its associated confidence interval (CI). A subgroup analysis was performed on the 2020 cohort. RESULTS: Data from 104 patients were retrieved. Overall, 59 HAIs were recorded, 32 of which occurred in the COVID-19 group. Patients admitted in 2020 were found to be positively associated with both HAI and dr-HAI onset (SHR: 2.66, 95% CI 1.31-5.38, and SHR: 10.0, 95% CI 1.84-54.41, respectively). Despite being not confirmed at the multivariable analysis, a greater proportion of dr-HAIs seemed to occur in COVID-19 patients, especially ventilator-associated pneumonia, and catheter-related urinary tract infections. CONCLUSIONS: We observed an increase in the incidence of patients with HAIs, especially dr-HAIs, mainly sustained by COVID-19 patients. A greater susceptibility of these patients to device-related infections was hypothesized, but further studies are needed.

Working in "smart" mode during the Covid-19 pandemic. Validation of a questionnaire in the healthcare sector.

CONCLUSIONS: The present tool is adequate to investigate attitudes towards Smart Working among healthcare workers. BACKGROUND: During the most difficult phases of the Covid-19 he-alth emergency, when access to the usual work location was not allowed due to the constraints related to the pandemic, Smart Working enabled business continuity in the face of the ongoing health emergency. Mo-dern technology serves a new way of working, allowing workers to effectively manage their professional and personal spheres in a world that increasingly requires them to optimize their time. The main objective of this research is to validate a Smart Working questionnaire administered to healthcare workers. METHODS: The questionnaire, reported in Annex I, consisting of 30 questions and submitted electronically through Google Forms, was administered in Italian to healthcare personnel of the Teaching hospi-tal Umberto I and Sapienza University of Rome between September and October 2020. The questionnaire analyzed the characteristics of the sample and investigated the perception and attitude of healthcare personnel towards seven different aspects of Smart Working. A descriptive analysis of the sample examined and an internal consistency analysis was performed through the use of the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) program version 25.0. Cronbach's alpha statistical indicator, which measures reprodu-cibility over time, reliability, and homogeneity of questions, was used for the analysis. RESULTS: A total number of 53 health care providers answered the online questionnaire. The majority of the respondents were female (60.4%); 73.6% of respondents reported having a college degree or a higher educational level. The analysis showed an overall standardized Cronbach's Alpha of 0.709, which corresponds to a good reliability. In the items analysis, the alpha value ranged from a minimum of 0.652 to a maximum of 0.756.