Training Teachers as Health Promoters

In the context of the global changes that affect families and communities, including the current COVID-19 pandemic, today's young people face new threats to their health and most of them lack adequate nutrition, healthcare services and education. As children and adolescents spend a significant amount of their time at school (or remotely connected with teachers, as occurred in these last months of health emergency), educators have the great opportunity to positively contribute to their global growth, fostering physical, mental and social wellbeing, which has also a significant impact on students' academic achievements. Nowadays, training teachers as "health promoters" allows educational system to deal more effectively with health needs of the students, helping them in the prevention of risky behaviours (cigarette smoking, binge drinking, drug use etc). According to the recommendations provided by the World Health Organization and UNESCO, we highlight the need for pre-service and in-service teacher training on the major topics concerning young people health, as well as COVID-19 safety issues. Moreover, teachers should be trained on the most participatory and pro-active methodologies to effectively convey health-related contents in school setting, in order to trigger a personal interiorization of the knowledge acquired by the students, and to engage them in practical actions about healthy lifestyles (i.e. balanced nutrition and physical exercise, no smoking, no alcohol, no drugs). Teacher training on health topics enables educators to develop a new professional identity based on a health-centered vision, in the perspective of reducing social/health inequalities that still concern most disadvantaged children. Medical professionals and pedagogists could be appointed as available consultants respectively for training teachers on health contents and about the most effective didactic strategies useful for displaying educational interventions in school setting aimed at preventing unhealthy habits among young people. Health education should be included in scholastic curricula within scientific disciplines or treated as separate subject in extracurricular activities under direct responsibility of school staff

Decarbonisation, climate change, and human rights: a road map for the future of Puglia region

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Health Pedagogy and Narrative-based Strategies to Promote Healthy Eating Behaviours and Prevent Obesity in Schoolchildren: an Experimental Protocol Designed in Salento

Overweight and obesity in paediatric population are becoming serious public health problems, reaching epidemic proportions in the world and being recognized as the "new pandemic of the twenty first century". Food choices and nutritional habits are strictly linked to the cultural dimension of communities and symbolic representations of food. Even in Italy, young generations are moving away from the culture of Mediterranean Diet (MD) – recognized as Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO – being at risk of losing both their identity and the health benefits associated with MD. In this frame, health pedagogy (i.e. nutritional education) can play a fundamental role in promoting the adoption of healthy eating behaviours since childhood, addressing at the same time such crucial binomials as food-health and environment-sustainability. In the last decades, a huge variety of school-based obesity prevention programs have been introduced. Among those, according to scientific evidence, narrative-based strategies may be helpful in promoting healthy nutritional habits among schoolchildren. Actually, narration is a useful tool in didactic practice, impacting on the emotional and motivational dimension of learning, thus represent-ing a valuable vehicle of health contents. On these bases, as DREAM Laboratory of Health Pedagogy, we have proposed to the Department of Prevention of the Local Health Authority ASL Lecce – specifically involving the Food Hygiene and Nutrition Service (SIAN) – to implement a research protocol aimed at assessing if narrative-based strategies could be more effective than other educational approaches in promoting the adoption of healthy eating behaviours among schoolchildren

A general model of dioxin contamination in breast milk: results from a study on 94 women from the Caserta and Naples areas in Italy.

BackgroundThe Caserta and Naples areas in Campania Region experience heavy environmental contamination due to illegal waste disposal and burns, thus representing a valuable setting to develop a general model of human contamination with dioxins (PCDDs-PCDFs) and dioxin-like-PCBs (dl-PCBs).Methods94 breastfeeding women (aged 19-32 years; mean age 27.9 ± 3.0) were recruited to determine concentrations of PCDDs-PCDFs and dl-PCBs in their milk. Individual milk samples were collected and analyzed according to standard international procedures. A generalized linear model was used to test potential predictors of pollutant concentration in breast milk: age, exposure to waste fires, cigarette smoking, diet, and residence in high/low risk area (defined at high/low environmental pressure by a specific 2007 WHO report). A Structural Equation Model (SEM) analysis was carried out by taking into account PCDDs-PCDFs and dl-PCBs as endogenous variables and age, waste fires, risk area and smoking as exogenous variables.ResultsAll milk samples were contaminated by PCDDs-PCDFs (8.6 pg WHO-TEQ/98g fat ± 2.7; range 3.8-19) and dl-PCBs (8.0 pg WHO-TEQ/98g fat ± 3.7; range 2.5-24), with their concentrations being associated with age and exposure to waste fires (p < 0.01). Exposure to fires resulted in larger increases of dioxins concentrations in people living in low risk areas than those from high risk areas (p < 0.01).ConclusionsA diffuse human exposure to persistent organic pollutants was observed in the Caserta and Naples areas. Dioxins concentration in women living in areas classified at low environmental pressure in 2007 WHO report was significantly influenced by exposure to burns

Personalized paths for physical activity: developing a person-centered quantitative function to determine a customized amount of exercise and enhancing individual commitment

Background: Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are leading causes of mortality. These conditions are also known as chronic diseases of long duration and generally slow progression. Physical activity (PA) is a main factor to delay symptoms and consequences of NCDs. In last decades, reduced physical exercise has been observed across all ages. Despite educational campaigns aimed at modifying unhealthy habits, it is difficult to promote healthy lifestyles in general population. Poor interest, lack of motivation, as well as career and family commitments hinder people’s participation in regular PA programs. In this study we propose a theoretical person-centred approach to actively involve general population in enhancing their opportunity to perform PA based on personalized needs and targets. Methods: We defined four profiles of baseline PA levels (inactive, moderately inactive, moderately active, and active people) by referring to Metabolic equivalents (METs) based on individual answers to General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPPAQ). Results: Based on the answers to the GPPAQ and by computing the related METs for each profile of baseline exercise levels, we developed an innovative person-centered web-based algorithm/function for enhancing and measuring PA participation in community settings. This function can compute evidence-based standardized profiles of participants, personalized goals of PA being functional to the purpose of maintaining or gaining health benefits, as well as the type and duration of PA needed to reach these goals. Conclusion: It might be speculated that this approach would be a reliable method for increasing people’s self-efficacy and population adherence to recommended levels of PA. However, this theoretical proposal requires to be implemented in further research

Diagnostic and therapeutic path of breast cancer: Effectiveness, appropriateness, and costs â Results from the DOCMa study

none8noopenGiovagnoli, Maria Rosaria; Bonifacino, Adriana; Neglia, Cosimo; Benvenuto, Marco; Sambati, Francesco Vincenzo; Giolli, Lorenzo; Giovagnoli, Alessandra; Piscitelli, PriscoGiovagnoli, Maria Rosaria; Bonifacino, Adriana; Neglia, Cosimo; Benvenuto, Marco; Sambati, Francesco Vincenzo; Giolli, Lorenzo; Giovagnoli, Alessandra; Piscitelli, Prisc

Rare Case of Male Breast Cancer and Axillary Lymphoma in the Same Patient: An Unique Case Report

Breast cancer in men is uncommon, and even more rare is the simultaneous presentation of two different malignancies. A 39-year-old man was diagnosed with both breast cancer and axillary lymphoma. Familiar history revealed that his mother died because of breast cancer. The patient underwent fine needle aspiration leading to the diagnosis of malignant lesion. Modified radical mastectomy was performed. Histology revealed an infiltrating ductal carcinoma 2.8 cm wide, grade 2, with vascular and lymphatic invasion. Surprisingly, one of the second level nodes was confirmed as a high-grade large B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. No family inheritance or gene mutations (BRCA 1 and 2) were found. The patient underwent local radiotherapy, followed by 6 chemotherapy courses (RCHOP) and treatment with tamoxifen 20 mg/daily. To our knowledge, this is the first case reported in literature of male breast cancer and axillary lymphoma simultaneously confirmed in the same patient

Rare Case of Male Breast Cancer and Axillary Lymphoma in the Same Patient: An Unique Case Report

Breast cancer in men is uncommon, and even more rare is the simultaneous presentation of two different malignancies. A 39-year-old man was diagnosed with both breast cancer and axillary lymphoma. Familiar history revealed that his mother died because of breast cancer. The patient underwent fine needle aspiration leading to the diagnosis of malignant lesion. Modified radical mastectomy was performed. Histology revealed an infiltrating ductal carcinoma 2.8 cm wide, grade 2, with vascular and lymphatic invasion. Surprisingly, one of the second level nodes was confirmed as a high-grade large B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. No family inheritance or gene mutations (BRCA 1 and 2) were found. The patient underwent local radiotherapy, followed by 6 chemotherapy courses (RCHOP) and treatment with tamoxifen 20 mg/daily. To our knowledge, this is the first case reported in literature of male breast cancer and axillary lymphoma simultaneously confirmed in the same patient

coal mining and coal use the european perspective

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