Is social capital associated with health ? Evidence from a study on the elderly italians

In the last decades there had been undoubted improvements in medicine and living conditions, still the distribution of health within and between regions is facing an increasing unbalance and many researchers from different fields have tried to understand why some individuals are more exposed to disease and mortality than others. An increasing interest on social capital as a key determinant for health has recently developed. This paper analyzes the association between social capital and self-perceived health among older adults in Italy. We used a multilevel approach to take into account the hierarchical structure of the population: individuals are nested in families which are nested into regions. Multilevel logistic regressions are performed using data on the fourth wave of the Survey on Health and Retirement in Europe. Two components of social capital are considered, bonding and bridging, in order to understand if relations inside or outside an individual’s inner circle are associated differentially with his/her health. The results demonstrate that both bridging and bonding are associated with self-reported health status. Consequently, in Italy, social capital plays an important role in explaining the heterogeneity in health perception among individuals

Social capital, income inequality and the health of the elderly

We explore the link among the health of the elderly and social capital and income inequality

A Benford’s Law view of inspections’ reasonability

Beyond offering room for methodological research, the assessment of data regularities has relevant implications for applications. In this respect, Benford’s Law represents one of the key instruments to detect the presence of possible data manipulation. This paper contributes to this debate by dealing with the analysis of the labor inspections’ reliability through an econophysic approach. Specifically, we check the validity of the Benford’s Law for a large set of Italian firms’ balance sheets and income statements, in both cases of firms inspected and not inspected by the National Institute of Social Security and for all the Italian regions. In so doing, we provide a panoramic view of the plausability of the inspection activities at a regional and financial item level

Two-part model with measurement error. Modello a due parti con errore di misura

In many applications, there are positive-valued phenomena which show a very high frequency at zero. One major difculty with this type of data is that the existence of a point-mass at zero makes common distributions unsuited for modeling the data. To cope with these difculties, some models have been developed. A popular example is the two-part model in which two stochastic models are assumed: the rst governs whether the response variable is zero or positive an the second, conditional on its being positive, models the level. We extend the two-part model to cope with measurement error on the dependent variables of both stochastic parts. This situation is common in many applied works

Passenger Travel Demand Models: Factors Underlying Work & Study-Related Travel

Il lavoro affronta la problematica dei modelli di generazione della domanda, utilizzati allo scopo di stimare gli spostamenti delle persone secondo l'area di origine. A partire da un'applicazione per la stima degli spostamenti per motivi di studio e di lavoro a livello provinciale, basata esclusivamente su variabili aggregate, vengono successivamente proposti modelli fondati sull'integrazione di data base contenenti sia informazioni individuali sia a livello territoriale aggregato. E' presentata un'applicazione condotta con alberi di regressione che ha consentito, a livello regionale, di stimare e di prevedere per un triennio il numero di spostamenti secondo diverse tipologie. Un'altra applicazione, tuttora in corso di realizzazione, riguarda l'integrazione dei dati censuari sul pendolarismo con archivi con informazioni a livello comunale

Teaching practices in the Teacher Training College in Badajoz

Las Prácticas de Enseñanza son un componente esencial en la formación del profesorado. También supone una extraordinaria oportunidad para que el estudiante y el profesor reflexionen sobre la enseñanza, el aprendizaje y la profesión docente. En el presente trabajo analizamos en primer lugar diferentes modelos de prácticas enmarcados en distintos paradigmas de formación de profesorado. En segundo lugar describimos el modelo de prácticas adoptado en la Escuela de Magisterio de Badajoz. El paradigma de profesor elegido es el de profesional reflexivo. El modelo de prácticas está basado en la colaboración entre los centros universitarios y los centros de primaria, integra en el currículo la teoría y la práctica y fomenta la reflexión de los estudiantes para profesor.The teaching practices are an essential component for the future of the student teacher. This is an advantageous opportunity for the student to be a teacher in training. These experiences gained allow the student to think about the training in general, the teaching tasks and what the future as a teacher would be like. First of all we analyze different models of practices in different models of teacher training. On the other hand we describe the model of practices chose in the Teacher Training College in Badajoz. The model of teacher chosen is a reflexive professional. This model of practices is based in the collaboration between the University Centers and the Primary Schools. lt includes theory and practice in the curriculum and promote the reflection of the students to be a teacher.peerReviewe

Mental health in Italy after two years of COVID-19 from the perspective of 1281 Italian physicians: looking back to plan forward

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has generated an unprecedented global crisis that is profoundly affecting mental health and mental health care. The aim of this study was to survey a relatively large group of Italian physicians about their perceived impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of the Italian population and about their suggestions on the best strategies to address the current and future challenges. Methods: One thousand two hundred eighty-one (1,281) physicians were surveyed between November 2021 and February 2022. Results: Eighty-one percent of respondents reported an increase in the number of people with mental illness presenting to their practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirty-four percent reported a 26-50% increase in the number of people with mental illness in their community; approximately 33% reported a 1-25% increase; and 26.9% reported a 51-75% increase. The most commonly reported mental issues that increased because of COVID-19 were agitation, mood and anxiety disorders. Regarding the suggested strategies to address future challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, 34.6% of respondents recommended providing psychoeducation to the general population for early detection of mental illness and developing strategies to reduce the impact of COVID-19-related stress. In addition, 12.6% of respondents suggested improving telehealth services, while 12.3% suggested the need for increased funding for community-based care. When asked about physicians' opinion on the possibility of an increased prevalence of mental illness in the next 12 months, more than 30% of them predicted an increase in stress-related illnesses, while 25.2% were more concerned about a worsening of the ongoing clinical conditions of patients with previous psychiatric disorders. However, 21% of respondents believed that people's ability to cope with the pandemic would increase in the next 12 months. Conclusions: This study confirmed a strong and negative impact on the mental health of the past 2 years of COVID-19 pandemic in the Italian population. Providing psychoeducation to the general population and improving the availability of telemedicine services could reduce the impact of future challenges related to the pandemic

Vulnerabilities in Mental Health due to Covid-19 Pandemic: The Response of the Italian Physicians

COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the pre-existing vulnerabilities and inequalities in societies. In this paper we analyse the categories that have suffered more than others from the pandemic and the restrictions on social life in terms of mental health. We rely on the Serendipity project based on a survey administered between November 2021 and February 2022 to a sample of Italian physicians (n = 1281). The survey aimed to assess the perception of general practitioners, paediatricians, geriatricians, and mental health specialists (psychiatrists, neurologists, child neuropsychiatrists), about changes in the mental health of the population as an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown. The strategies implemented by the doctors interviewed in terms of the intensity of the prevention, emergence, and treatment of mental health interventions, and their association with physicians' characteristics and their opinions on patient vulnerability have been illustrated by means of a multiple correspondence analysis. An overall result of the survey is the consensus of doctors on the worsening of mental health in general population, especially among their patients, due to the pandemic and on the onset of new discomforts. The most exposed individuals to the risk of onset or worsening of mental disorders include women, young people, and patients with psychiatric comorbidity. The paper also illustrates the interventions put in place by the physicians and deemed necessary from a public heath response perspective, that include providing psychoeducation to the general population, improving telehealth services, and increasing financial and human resources for community-based care