Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among nursing students of the University of Palermo: results from an online survey

Introduction: The aim of the study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices towards Sars-CoV-2 among nursing students of University of Palermo during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: This is cross-sectional study. A survey was provided to all nursing students and consisted of two parts: demographics and Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) survey. A multivariate linear regression model was used and adjusted Odds Ratios (aOR) are presented. Results: 575 students were interviewed and their mean age was 22.3. The overall score indicates good knowledge (p=0.046) and good practices among the four courses of study (p=0.038). Multivariate linear regression showed that Attitude score (ẞ=-0.29; p=0.024) and Knowledge score (ẞ=0.10; p=0.026) adjusted for age, gender, year of study, perceived economic status, perceived health status were significantly associated with Practice score. Conclusion: Our results suggest that proper health education is useful for encouraging optimistic attitudes and maintaining safe practices among future category of nurses. &nbsp

Isolated and Poor: the cost of remoteness from the capital city

This paper investigates whether areas isolated from the capital city are less de- veloped economically in Sub-Saharan Africa. We apply a boundary-discontinuity design using national borders that divide pre-colonial ethnic homelands to obtain quasi-experimental variation in distance to the national capital city. Based on night- lights and geocoded surveys, we find that a one percent increase in distance to the capital city causes a decrease in the probability of detecting nightlights by 3 percent- age points and a reduction in household wealth corresponding to 3.5 percentiles of the national wealth distribution. Our results suggest that a lower provision of public goods in isolated areas is a key link between remoteness and economic performance. Despite receiving worse services, people who are isolated exhibit a higher level of trust in their political leaders. We interpret this as pointing towards dysfunctional accountability mechanisms that reduce the incentives of state executives to invest into isolated areas

Infodemiology of flu: Google trends-based analysis of Italians’ digital behavior and a focus on Sars-CoV-2 Italy.

Introduction: The aim of the current study was to assess if the frequency of internet searches for influenza are aligned with Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) cases and deaths. Also, we evaluate the distribution over time and the correlation between search volume of flu and flu symptoms with reported new cases of Sars-CoV-2. Materials and methods: The reported cases and deaths of flu and the reported cases of Sars-CoV-2 were selected from the reports of ISS, the data have been aggregated by week. The search volume provided by Google Trends (GT) has a relative nature and is calculated as a percentage of query related to a specific term in connection with a determined place and time-frame. Results: The strongest correlation between GT search and influenza cases was found at a lag of +1 week particularly for the period 2015-2019. A strong correlation was also found at a lag of +1 week between influenza death and GT search. About the correlation between GT search and Sars-CoV-2 new cases the strongest correlation was found at a lag of +3 weeks for the term flu. Conclusion: In the last years research in health care has used GT data to explore public interest in various fields of medicine. Caution should be used when interpreting the findings of digital surveillance

Air pollution and respiratory infectious diseases

Recent research suggests that short-term exposure to air pollution is associated with an elevated prevalence of respiratory infectious disease. In this paper, we examine the relationship between the air quality index and weekly cases of COVID-19 and influenza-like illnesses (ILI) in the United States. We address potential bias from omitted variables and measurement error with an instrumental variable approach using atmospheric temperature inversions. Unlike other recent studies, we find no relationship between air quality and either COVID-19 or ILI cases

Covid-19: cities get hit first, but do not necessarily get hit harder

Is there a link between population density and COVID-19 spread and severity in the United States? Felipe Carozzi, Sandro Provenzano and Sefi Roth (Centre for Economic Performance, LSE) found denser locations were more likely to have an early outbreak, but do not necessarily suffer more in the longer run

Urban density and Covid-19

This paper estimates the link between population density and COVID-19 spread and severity in the contiguous United States. To overcome confounding factors, we use two Instrumental Variable (IV) strategies that exploit geological features and historical populations to induce exogenous variation in population density without affecting COVID-19 cases and deaths directly. We find that density has affected the timing of the outbreak, with denser locations more likely to have an early outbreak. However, we find no evidence that population density is positively associated with time-adjusted COVID-19 cases and deaths. Using data from Google, Facebook, the US Census and The County Health Rankings and Roadmaps program, we also investigate several possible mechanisms for our findings. We show that population density can affect the timing of outbreaks through higher connectedness of denser locations. Furthermore, we find that population density is positively associated with proxies for social distancing measures, access to healthcare and income, highlighting the importance of these mediating factors in containing the outbreak

Risk Factors for Addictive Behaviors: A General Overview

: Many people around the world have behaviors that are recognized as addictive behaviors, usually not causing significant health consequences except in a few cases, which consist typically of a low percentage of people who may develop addictive behavioral disorders that may be associated with functional impairment and distress [...]

Factors influencing flu vaccination in nursing students at Palermo University

Introduction. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the determinants of nursing students’ compliance with flu vaccination. Methods. In this cross-sectional study, an anonymous paper ques- tionnaire was administered to students attending the 3-year nurs- ing course at the University of Palermo. Adjusted Odds Ratios (aOR) are presented. Results. 403 nursing students (65% female) completed the ques- tionnaire (response rate 98.5%). The average age of the respond- ents was 22.0 years (SD ± 3.04). The dependent variable: “In the next season, do you intend to be vaccinated against flu? Yes”, displayed a statistically significant association with the follow- ing independent variables: “year of study: second” (aOR 2.66), “year of study: third” (aOR 1.72), “Perceived health status: medium-high” (aOR 6.61), “Did you get vaccinated against sea- sonal flu last year? Yes” (aOR 22.47). Conclusions. Although nursing students are not yet health pro- fessionals, they spend part of their time in health facilities for their clinical training and will be the health workers of the future. Involving nursing students in influenza vaccination campaigns can also help them take better care of themselves and their patients

Altered Food Behavior and Cancer: A Systematic Review of the Literature

: There is evidence of an association between cancer and certain types of altered eating behaviors, including orthorexia, food cravings, and food addiction. Given the growing interest in the topic throughout the scientific community we conducted a systematic review to summarize current evidence on the development of altered food behavior, including food addiction and cancer. The Cochrane Collaboration and the Meta-analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines were followed to perform this systematic review. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement was used to report the process and results. The structured literature search was conducted on 19 April 2022, on PubMed/Medline and Scopus, combining free-text terms and medical subject headings. A total of seven articles were included once the selection process was completed. Food craving has been associated with different types of cancer in adults and young patients, as well as with orthorexia; conversely, compulsive eating has only been explored in patients with prolactinoma treated with dopamine agonists. This systematic review explored a new area of research that warrants further investigation. More research is required to better understand the relationship between cancer and food behavior

Knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and sex-at-risk among Italian students of health professions. Data from a one-month survey

Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the knowledge and behavioral risks associated with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among the students of health professions at the University of Palermo divided into two age groups (18-22 years and 23-27 years). Materials and Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed. It was based on the risk health behavior survey and assessed behavior and knowledge in three areas: quality of information provided by public institutions, contraceptive methods, sexually transmitted disease and HPV vaccination. Results: The sample: 1022 individuals (70.8% females), age class 18-22 years (61.5%). Males have a greater risk of not knowing HPV (aOR 3.52). The 18-22 age group has a higher risk than the 23-27 age group to think of being not sufficiently informed to avoid contagion (aOR 3.92), never having STDs specific controls (aOR 2.90), not knowing HPV vaccine (aOR 1.86) and not knowing that it can be done in males (aOR 2.63)