Time trends in socioeconomic differences in incidence rates of cancers of gastro-intestinal tract in Finland

BACKGROUND: The magnitude of socioeconomic differences in health varies between societies, and over time within a given society. We studied the association between social class and incidence of cancers of the gastro-intestinal tract over time in a large cohort in Finland. METHODS: We studied social class variation among 45–69 year-old Finns during 1971–95 in incidence of cancers of the gastro-intestinal tract by means of a computerized record linkage of the Finnish Cancer Registry and the 1970 Population Census, which included social class data. RESULTS: There were 2.3 million individuals in the cohort under follow-up, with 1622 cases of cancer of the esophagus, 8069 stomach (non-cardia), 1116 cardia, 408 small intestine, 6361 colon, 5274 rectum, 1616 liver, 1756 gallbladder, and 5084 pancreas during 1971–1995. Cancers of the esophagus, stomach, cardia, gallbladder and pancreas were most common among persons belonging to a low social class. Cancers of the small intestine in males only, colon in both genders, and rectum in females were most common in the higher social classes. Incidence of stomach cancer decreased and incidence of colon cancer increased over time in both genders in all social classes, and the large differences between social classes remained unchanged over time. Incidence rates of cardia cancer did not change substantially over time. CONCLUSION: There is a large variation in incidence of cancer of the gastrointestinal tract by social class in Finland. Although much of the observed social class differences probably could be explained by known etiological factors such as diet, physical exercise, alcohol consumption, smoking and exogenous hormone use, part of the variation is apparently attributable to largely unknown factors

DOLORE E PERCEZIONE DI EFFICACIA DEL TRATTAMENTO: INDAGINE OSSERVAZIONALE

The study has evaluated the subjective pain treatment perception in hospitalized patients with an observational cross-sectional design, using a measurement model based on the American Pain Society-Pain Outcome Modified-Questionnaire (APS-POQ-M). The survey has been designed accordingly with other published studies for results comparison. Data were collected from 350 hospitalized patients - with diagnoses highly related to pain - in 46 medical-surgical units in a large university hospital. Results revealed that 73% of the interviewed declared pain. Current pain, ranged from 0-10, had a median score of 3.8. The worst pain over the last 24 hours scored 6.8 where the 24-hours average pain was 4.9. The patients surveyed reported interference caused by pain in the daily activity, however, they were also generally satisfied with the ongoing pain control treatment. Statistically significant relationships have been found between level of satisfaction with treatment and mood and relationships but none with pain

Undergraduate nursing students' attitudes towards organ donation: a survey in an Italian university.

Aims:\u2002 To examine undergraduate nursing students' attitudes towards organ donation and to determine whether or not attitudes were related to the students' education and training. Background:\u2002 Nurses' knowledge and personal opinion can influence patient's willingness to donate organs or to hold an organ donor card. It is unclear how Italy's future nurses view organ donation. Methods:\u2002 The study's source population consisted of third-year undergraduate nursing students enrolled in seven nursing schools from an Italian university during 2008. Respondents completed self-administered quantitative questionnaire with 61 questions, including the Organ Donation Attitude Scale. Findings:\u2002 Of the 378 students contacted, 183 (48%) completed all survey questions; 140 were females (76.5%) and the mean age of students was 25. The median score of students' attitude scores towards organ donation was 151 (the attitude is positive when the score is higher than 161). No significant correlations were found to exist between organ-donation attitude and sex, age, clinical practice in hospitals with a transplant unit, nursing care to patients waiting for a transplant or dialysis patients. Only 16% of the students had previously signed a donor card consenting to their own organ donation. The study revealed that doubts about transplantable organs still exist within the student body. Conclusions:\u2002 This study highlighted that students' awareness of organ donation was not adequate and that attitude levels were lower than in other countries. If these future workers would receive adequate training, they could promote organ donation to the general public and to other hospital personnel