Do I need training in public health ethics? A survey on Italian residents' beliefs, knowledge and curricula.

INTRODUCTION: Ethics is needed to support the decision-making process in public health and to face moral issues during practice. However, professionals are often not adequately trained. OBJECTIVES: In 2015, the National Conference of Public Health Medical Residents of the Italian Society of Public Health started the "Public Health Ethics" workgroup to evaluate how the Italian Schools of Public Health train their residents in ethics, and which are residents' beliefs, knowledge and attitudes about public health ethics. METHODS: A survey was built and emailed to the Italian public health residents. RESULTS: Residents are interested in ethics/bioethics (83.2%) and are aware of its importance for professional practice (97.2%). However, few of them (19.6%) evaluated their competence above a satisfactory level. They believe that a training in ethics should be offered during residency (92.1%). Nonetheless, in Italy only two schools required a course on bioethics, and one a course in public health ethics. According to residents, a public health ethics trainer should be a public health professional (23.2%) or a social scientist (22.8%). CONCLUSIONS: In Italy, Schools of Public Health do not train future professionals in ethics or public health ethics during residency. Training should be implemented in curricula, and trainers should have a strong competence in both public health and ethics.

[Knowledge, attitudes and opinions about conventional and electronic cigarette smoking among University of Pavia medical students (Italy)]. / Conoscenze, atteggiamenti e opinioni relativi al fumo di sigaretta convenzionale ed elettronica: indagine condotta in un campione di studenti della Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia dell'Università di Pavia.

The aim of this study was to investigate attitudes and awareness about conventional and electronic cigarettes in a sample of students attending the Faculty of Medicine of Pavia University (Italy). An anonymous and self-reported questionnaire was administered to 226 students attending either the first or third years of medical school during the 2013 to 2014 school year. Participation was voluntary and required signing an informed consent form. The prevalence of smokers was 12%. Sixty-seven percent of smokers reported smoking less than 5 cigarettes/day, and 15% more than 10 cigarettes/day. Most smokers (63%) prefer packaged cigarettes and 33% handmade cigarettes; 86% began to smoke between the ages of 15 and 20 years and 45% were influenced by friends. Almost all the students are aware of electronic cigarettes but only one reported regularly using them. Prevalence of smokers and average number of cigarettes smoked per day were both found to be lower than that of the Italian population. Preference of packaged versus handmade cigarettes is the same as national data. E-cigarette use is lower than that reported in the Italian population. This study highlights the need for health education interventions aimed at medical students and family physicians.