Precision medicine and precision nursing. The era of biomarkers and precision health

Precision health, by means of the support of precision medicine and precision nursing, is able to support clinical decision making in order to tailor optimal health-care decisions, around the individual characteristics of patients. The operational arm of precision health is represented by the use of biomarkers that can give useful information about disease susceptibility, exposure, evolution and response to treatment. Omics, imaging and clinical biomarkers are actually studied for their ability to positively impact health-care management. In this article, we try to address the role of biomarkers in the context of modern medicine and nursing with the view of improving patients care

ADVERSE COMPLICATIONS OF VENIPUNCTURE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

venipuncture is the most routinely invasive procedure performed in clinical settings as it is an important tool mainly for diagnosis, monitoring, drug administration an blood donation. This review discusses the complications that can occur during this procedure. we planned to include all the studies dealing with "venipuncture and complications" and venipuncture and verse events: "we excluded all the studies, whit did not properly fit our research question, and with insufficient data. Of the 2345 records found after removing duplicates, and after records excluded in title and abstract, 173 matched our inclusion criteria. After reading the full-text article. we decided to exclude 144 articles because non responding properly to our research questions or due to insufficient data. The final set included 29 articles.There are several complications resulting from VP such as pained fear, hematoma, thrombosis, infection, nerve damage. arterial puncture, vasovagal reactions, and also rare events. Improving quality in venipuncture site and vein section, also in venipuncture thecnique may help in lowering complications

Insomnia Prevalence among Italian Night-Shift Nurses

Background. Insomnia is one of the major health problems related with a decrease in quality of life (QOL) and also in poor functioning in night-shift nurses, that also may negatively affect patients’ care. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of insomnia in night shift nurses. This observational online web-based survey using Google®® modules specifically aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for insomnia among Italian nurses. Methods. Data collection for this study lasted one month, with the questionnaire available from 1 March 2021 to 1 April 2021. Continuous variables were considered as either mean ± standard deviation (SD) or median and interquartile range (IQR) based on their distribution. Comparison among insomnia categories was assessed by one-way ANOVA or Kruskal–Wallis test according to variable distribution. Categorical variables were analyzed using chi-square test. Results. A total of 2355 responses were included in the final analysis, with 917 from the Northern zone, 815 from the Western zone, and 623 from the Southern zone of Italy. The prevalence of insomnia in the overall population was 65.4% (1524 out 2355 nurses suffered from insomnia). Conclusions. Nursing is a high-pressure profession, with heavy duties and high professional risks. We found an important prevalence of insomnia in night shift nurses, and we hope it may help to solicit further studies aimed to identify the risk factors for this working disorder among nurses

Workplace Violence towards Healthcare Workers: An Italian Cross-Sectional Survey

Background. Workplace violence (WPV) is a major healthcare problem with important consequences in healthcare areas and may impact negatively not only healthcare workers but also the quality and safety of patient care. Objectives: This an observational online web-based survey using Google® Modules, specifically aiming to investigate the phenomenon of WPV in Italian healthcare services. Methods. Data collection for this study lasted one month, with the questionnaire available from 1 May 2021 to 31 May 2021. Continuous variables were considered as either mean ± standard deviation (SD) or median and interquartile range (IQR) based on their distribution. Comparison between groups was assessed by unpaired t-test or Mann–Whitney U test according to variable distribution. Categorical variables were analyzed using the chi-squared test. Results. The study population consisted of 203 healthcare workers, represented by nurses (61.6%), medical doctors (16.8%), patient care assistants (4.9%), and others (16.7%). Female gender was associated with a 2.6 times higher risk for the presence of aggression (p = 0.034), and nurse as a job with about 4 times increased risk for the presence of aggression (p = 0.006). The risk for aggression increased by 5% for each year of work experience. Conclusions. WPV is still matter of concern in Italian healthcare services. A strong organizational effort is demanded from healthcare institutions in order prevent internal and external violence in healthcare settings

Sistemas Agroflorestais como Estratégia de Adaptação aos Desafios das Mudanças Climáticas no Brasil

This paper analyzes the role of agroforestry systems (AFS) as an adaptative measure to climate change in Brazil. A treatment-effects model (Propensity Score Matching) was developed. We identified the main determinants of the use of AFS and if the municipalities in which this technique is used are less vulnerable to climate change. The results showed that socioeconomic variables (land ownership, financing options, access to information and technical assistance) and agronomic variables (water resources availability and soil quality) influence the adoption of agroforestry systems in Brazilian municipalities. Climate conditions (temperature and precipitation) also play an important role in the use of these systems, which confirms their role as an adaptative strategy. It was also concluded that the AFS have the potential to improve the Brazilian agricultural performance due to the fact that the land value tends to be higher in municipalities where these systems are used. Thus, the AFS can make the agricultural sector less exposed to the negative effects of climate change in both the present and in future scenarios