Health literacy and vaccination: A systematic review.

This systematic review describes the current relationship between health literacy (HL) and vaccination (including attitude to vaccines, intention to vaccinate, and vaccine uptake). The aim is to comprehend the role of HL as a determinant of vaccine hesitancy. For this purpose, the following databases were explored from 1 January 2007 to 15 January 2017: PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, ERIC, Health Evidence, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. Nine studies were included in the final synthesis. The role of HL in predicting vaccine hesitancy or acceptance seems to be influenced by a few key factors. These include country, age, and type of vaccine. However, the relationship between HL and vaccination remains unclear. New research studies are needed-particularly longitudinal ones that use multiple measurement tools. This would facilitate a better understanding of the role of HL in predicting vaccine uptake.

Health services and health literacy: from the rationale to the many facets of a fundamental concept. A literature review.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to make a critical analysis of the different definitions of health literacy to provide a framework of the concept. METHODS: A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, ERIC, Health Evidence, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination and Cochrane Library. Google and OpenGrey were searched to find additional papers and unpublished works. RESULTS: Among 7000 papers founded, we selected 26 works. During the 1990s, authors began to systematically study the relationship between health literacy and health status, according to a public health view. In the first decade of the new century, a new fundamental definition established three progressive degrees of health literacy: functional, interactive and critical health literacy. Sørensen (in 2012) provided a framework for the development of new assessment tools and interventions. CONCLUSION: The improvement of health literacy is a powerful tool for the development of a new type of relationship between individuals and the health system.

The first italian validation of the most widespread health literacy assessment tool: the Newest Vital Sign.

OBJECTIVE: This work represents the first attempt to validate, for the Italian population, the most widespread health literacy assessment tool: the Newest Vital Sign (NVS). DESIGN: The UK version of this tool was adapted for Italy using a translation/back-translation process. A web-based survey was then administered to a multidisciplinary panel of experts to assess its face validity. Finally, a preliminary study of construct validity was conducted, focusing on efficiency, comprehensibility, reliability, and sensitivity of the items of the test. For the evaluation of these dimensions we adopted Pearson's r correlation and calculated the average scores obtained for the subscales. RESULTS: Data analysis shows that the NVS-IT can be considered, under every aspect, an adequate tool for the assessment of individual health literacy grade level, given the optimal correlation among the experts' judgments and the average scores above the acceptability threshold. CONCLUSION: Our study aims to encourage use of the NVS for the Italian population and, furthermore, introduce a scientific approach to health literacy, an issue that is gaining interest even in our country, though, to date, this has mainly resulted in the production of theoretical works.

The burden of disease of Herpes Zoster in Tuscany.

Herpes zoster (HZ) is a disease caused by the reactivation of the latent α-herpes virus varicella zoster virus (VZV), for which, in Italy, a specific surveillance system does not exist, but around 200 000 cases are estimated each year. In older patients, who are at increased risk of developing HZ, symptoms are more severe and the chances to develop postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), the most severe complication, are substantially higher. A vaccine against HZ with demonstrated efficacy and an acceptable safety profile is now available and is recommended in Europe for adults >50 years.   In anticipation of the possible introduction of an immunization programme for the elderly in Tuscany, the burden of disease caused by HZ and its complications was assessed through a retrospective analysis of the hospital discharge records between 2002 and 2012, using the ICD-9-CM 053 code. In the period 2002-2012, 4475 hospital admissions were registered with annual means of 368 hospitalizations and 39 day-hospital admissions. Most of the hospitalizations (68%) involved subjects > 65 years; the mean length of stay was 9.5 days. Slightly more than half (51.2%) of total hospital admissions were complicated cases. The most frequent were neurological complications (24.2% of total admissions), followed by ophthalmic complications (16.5%). Cases with neurological complications were those with the higher average length of stay and higher average costs for case. This study confirmed the epidemiological impact of HZ and its complications and the positive impact on morbidity that the introduction of the HZ vaccination could have in older age groups.

[The state of the art on nutrition, food safety and food security]. / Stato della ricerca scientifica in materia di alimentazione e nutrizione.

In Italy, public health is experiencing a phase of crisis. A contraction of services and a staff reallocation have affected in particular Food Hygiene services. We explored Pubmed and Google Ngram Viewer© to define the state of the art of research in food and nutritional field from a quantitative point of view and we focused on some areas of interest in terms of improvement of professional practice. The Italian contribution to food and nutritional research is still limited. Our findings seem to demonstrate the need of an alliance between the world of research and Public Health services, so as to develop a sustainable and effective health system.