Shall I trust you? From child-robot interaction to trusting relationships

Studying trust in the context of human-robot interaction is of great importance given the increasing relevance and presence of robotic agents in various social settings, from educational to clinical. In the present study, we investigated the acquisition, loss and restoration of trust when preschool and school-age children played with either a human or a humanoid robot in-vivo. The relationship between trust and the representation of the quality of attachment relationships, Theory of Mind, and executive function skills was also investigated. Additionally, to outline children\u2019s beliefs about the mental competencies of the robot, we further evaluated the attribution of mental states to the interactive agent. In general, no substantial differences were found in children\u2019s trust in the play-partner as a function of agency (human or robot). Nevertheless, 3-years-olds showed a trend toward trusting the human more than the robot, as opposed to 7-years-olds, who displayed the reverse pattern. These findings align with results showing that, for children aged 3 and 7 years, the cognitive ability to switch was significantly associated with trust restoration in the human and the robot, respectively. Additionally, supporting previous findings, a dichotomy was found between attribution of mental states to the human and robot and children\u2019s behavior: while attributing significantly lower mental states to the robot than the human, in the trusting game children behaved similarly when they related to the human and the robot. Altogether, the results of this study highlight that comparable psychological mechanisms are at play when children are to establish a novel trustful relationship with a human and robot partner. Furthermore, the findings shed light on the interplay \u2013 during development \u2013 between children\u2019s quality of attachment relationships and the development of a Theory of Mind, which act differently on trust dynamics as a function of the children\u2019s age as well as the interactive partner\u2019s nature (human vs. robot)

Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Second victims in healthcare: the stages of recovery following an adverse event

A second victim has been defined as "a healthcare worker involved in an unanticipated adverse patient event, medical error and/or a patient related-injury who becomes victimized in the sense that the worker is traumatized by the event". The aim of the present research study was to assess the "second victim" phenomenon in Italy. Fifty interviews were conducted with different health care professionals previously involved in medical errors. All study participants clearly remembered the event. Support obtained by second victims was poor and inefficient. Healthcare workers become second victims every day and, considering that human resources are the most important resource of healthcare organizations, it is fundamental to implement valid programs to support and train these workers about the phenomenon

Evaluating the quality of care in nursing homes: comparison of three International models

The aim of this observational descriptive study was to identify the main international models evaluating the quality of nursing homes for non self-sufficient elderly persons, and to apply them in the Italian health system. Firstly, a bibliographic search of institutional websites and Pubmed-Medline was performed to identify the main international models. Secondly, three variables were chosen to evaluate the level of implementability of the models: (1) frequency of use of quality indicators in the international models; (2) degree of constructability of the models in two Italian nursing homes; (3) perceived relevance of the indicators used by the chosen models, by nursing home workers. Thirdly, the chosen models were evaluated. Three international models were identified, respectively used in USA, Canada and Australia. About 80% of the indicators used by the three models were constructable in the two Italian nursing homes that were evaluated. The two nursing homes were "promoted" according to the Canadian model, "better than sufficient" according to the Australian model, but "failed" when US model indicators were applied. The poorest performances in the two Italian nursing homes, with respect to international quality standards, were related to indicators of incontinence, physical restraints (1,1% for USA and 13% for Canada and Australia, versus 55% in one of the nursing homes and 30% in the second home), diagnosis of depressive symptoms, and antipneumococcical vaccination (0% in the two nursing homes, in comparison with the 93,8% in the USA). A low level of performance in prevention and safety matters was identified, while performance was higher for aspects warranted by law. The survey also revealed thatnursing home workers' perceptions of the utility of specific indicators were often based on habit rather than on the actual relevance of care indicators. The development of a model of quality of care that offers a multidimensional evaluation of the level of performance of Italian nursing homes is needed

Shall I trust you? From child human-robot interaction to trusting relationships

Studying trust within human-robot interaction is of great importance given the social relevance of robotic agents in a variety of contexts. We investigated the acquisition, loss and restoration of trust when preschool and school-age children played with either a human or a humanoid robot in-vivo. The relationship between trust and the quality of attachment relationships, Theory of Mind, and executive function skills was also investigated. No differences were found in children’s trust in the play-partner as a function of agency (human or robot). Nevertheless, 3-years-olds showed a trend toward trusting the human more than the robot, while 7-years-olds displayed the reverse behavioral pattern, thus highlighting the developing interplay between affective and cognitive correlates of trust

[Evaluating quality and safety in long term care: results from the experimentation of the Smart Star model]

The Smart Star model is a rating system to evaluate the quality of care in nursing homes for the elderly; it uses a five star rating score. We tested the model in a sample of 16 nursing homes in Italy. The Smart Star model showed to be effective in the multidimensional evaluation of the performance of nursing homes. One of the major strengths of the model consisted in its flexibility of application, that suggested its possible adaptation for different areas of healthcare

Early-stage cervical cancer treatment – what’s new?

The gold standard of treatment for patients with early-stage cervical cancer is radical hysterectomy, in agreement with the entire scientific community. During the last decade, growing evidence has supported the minimally invasive approach. Several studies have suggested that the minimally invasive approach could improve surgical and perioperative outcomes. Because of these findings, ESCO/ESTRO/ESP guidelines state that a “minimally invasive approach is favoured” in comparison with open surgery, as a grade B recommendation. Because of the lack of a grade A recommendation, this randomized Laparoscopic Approach to Cervical Cancer trial evaluated open vs. minimally invasive approach in the early stage. It demonstrated an increase in mortality among patients treated with minimally invasive surgery, revolutionizing current thinking on the primary surgical approach to early cervical cancer. The aim of this study is to analyse which is the best treatment for early cervical cancer and which approach is the most effective at the moment. Further studies are needed to state with certainty the appropriateness of the treatments offered to patients with early cervical cancer