Search

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) first emerged in China in November 2019. Most governments have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by imposing a lockdown. Some evidence suggests that a period of isolation might have led to a spike in alcohol misuse, and in the case of patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD), social isolation can favour lapse and relapse. The aim of our position paper is to provide specialists in the alcohol addiction field, in psychopharmacology, gastroenterology and in internal medicine, with appropriate tools to better manage patients with AUD and COVID-19,considering some important topics: (a) the susceptibility of AUD patients to infection; (b) the pharmacological interaction between medications used to treat AUD and to treat COVID-19; (c) the reorganization of the Centre for Alcohol Addiction Treatment for the management of AUD patients in the COVID-19 era (group activities, telemedicine, outpatients treatment, alcohol-related liver disease and liver transplantation, collecting samples); (d) AUD and SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Telemedicine/telehealth will undoubtedly be useful/practical tools even though it remains at an elementary level; the contribution of the family and of caregivers in the management of AUD patients will play a significant role; the multidisciplinary intervention involving experts in the treatment of AUD with specialists in the treatment of COVID-19 disease will need implementation. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly leading addiction specialists towards a new governance scenario of AUD, which necessarily needs an in-depth reconsideration, focusing attention on a safe approach in combination with the efficacy of treatment., (© 2021 The Authors. Addiction Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction.)

We aimed to develop and validate a COVID-19 specific scoring system, also including some ECG features, to predict all-cause in-hospital mortality at admission. Patients were retrieved from the ELCOVID study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04367129), a prospective, multicenter Italian study enrolling COVID-19 patients between May to September 2020. For the model validation, we randomly selected two-thirds of participants to create a derivation dataset and we used the remaining one-third of participants as the validation set. Over the study period, 1014 hospitalized COVID-19 patients (mean age 74 years, 61% males) met the inclusion criteria and were included in this analysis. During a median follow-up of 12 (IQR 7-22) days, 359 (35%) patients died. Age (HR 2.25 [95%CI 1.72-2.94], p < 0.001), delirium (HR 2.03 [2.14-3.61], p = 0.012), platelets (HR 0.91 [0.83-0.98], p = 0.018), D-dimer level (HR 1.18 [1.01-1.31], p = 0.002), signs of right ventricular strain (RVS) (HR 1.47 [1.02-2.13], p = 0.039) and ECG signs of previous myocardial necrosis (HR 2.28 [1.23-4.21], p = 0.009) were independently associated to in-hospital all-cause mortality. The derived risk-scoring system, namely EL COVID score, showed a moderate discriminatory capacity and good calibration. A cut-off score of ≥ 4 had a sensitivity of 78.4% and 65.2% specificity in predicting all-cause in-hospital mortality. ELCOVID score represents a valid, reliable, sensitive, and inexpensive scoring system that can be used for the prognostication of COVID-19 patients at admission and may allow the earlier identification of patients having a higher mortality risk who may be benefit from more aggressive treatments and closer monitoring., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Medicina Interna (SIMI).)

Following restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19, and subsequent vaccination campaigns, sentiments against such policies were quick to arise. While individual-level determinants that led to such attitudes have drawn much attention, there are also reasons to believe that the macro context in which these movements arose may contribute to their evolution. In this study, exploiting data on business activities which supported a major Italian anti-restriction and anti-vaccine movement, IoApro, using quantitative analysis that employs both a fractional response probit and logit model and a beta regression model, we investigate the relationship between socio-economic characteristics, institutional quality, and the flourishing of this movement. Our results suggest a U-shaped relationship between income and the proliferation of the movement, meaning that support for these movements increases the greater the degree of economic decline. Our results further indicate that the share of the population between 40 and 60 years old is positively related to support for such movements, as is institutional corruption., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

This article examines some of the ethical challenges of prioritizing intensive care resources during the Covid-19 pandemic by comparing the Italian and United States contexts. After presenting an overview to the clinical, ethical, and public debates in Italy, the article will discuss the development of triage allocation protocols in United States hospitals. Resource allocation criteria underwent increased scrutiny and critique in both countries, which resulted in modified professional and expert guidance regarding healthcare ethics during times of emergency and resource scarcity., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Background: Bronchiolitis is a common lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) affecting infants and young children. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has historically been the primary causative agent, but other viruses also contribute to the LRTI epidemiology. Recent changes in epidemiology and clinical patterns due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have raised concerns. This study aims to analyze the impact of the pandemic on bronchiolitis epidemiology and severity., Methods: Two consecutive bronchiolitis seasons (October 2021 to March 2022 and October 2022 to March 2023) were compared. Data on viral agents, hospitalization duration, clinical severity, and respiratory support requirements were collected from pediatric patients at San Marco Hospital, University of Catania., Results: In the 2021-2022 season, RSV was the predominant virus (40%), followed by other viruses, with mild clinical outcomes. In the 2022-2023 season, RSV remained prevalent (58.7%), but other viruses, including rhinovirus (RV) and influenza, showed a significant increase (p < .05) in bronchiolitis cases and severity. Notably, RSV-related bronchiolitis did not exhibit greater severity compared to non-RSV cases in the 2022-2023 season, contrary to the previous year., Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic appears to have shifted the epidemiological landscape of bronchiolitis, with a peak incidence in November instead of January/February. Non-RSV viruses (RV, influenza A and B, as well as metapneumovirus) have gained prominence, possibly due to viral competition and reduced pandemic-related restrictions. Traditionally, RSV has been the primary pathogen responsible for most bronchiolitis cases. Nonetheless, the findings of this study indicate a shifting landscape in bronchiolitis etiology, with RSV gradually diminishing in its role. Contrary to the previous year, RSV-related bronchiolitis did not exhibit greater severity compared to non-RSV cases in the 2022-2023 season., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The COVID-19 pandemic and the move to remote education exposed old and new inequities, yet it also represented an opportunity to rethink inclusive education. This paper presents findings from a one-year project "DIGITAL in a time of Coronavirus" and draws upon policy analysis and interviews with teachers, principals, and community leaders from six countries in the Global North and South (Italy, England, Malaysia, Australia, United States and Chile). By mobilising education assemblage theory to challenge binary divisions (included/excluded, modern/colonial, local/global), it presents five concepts to rethink inclusion and its relationship with technologies. It illustrates how during the pandemic alternative entanglements of digital and non-digital technologies challenged narrow and Eurocentric constructions of the digital divide enabling inclusive subjective experiences. Drawing upon local possibilities and histories, re-habilitating non-scientific knowledges, especially in view of future experiences of blended education, the paper seeks to provide policy tools to rethink current understandings of inclusive education.

Objective: This prospective study aimed to assess the physical and psychological health of construction workers and examine the relationship between their well-being and the preventive measures implemented against SARS-CoV-2., Methods: During occupational visit, the workers were invited to participate the survey. Two measurements were made and compared: after the Italian lockdown and on the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic., Results: Fifty-three workers participated in the study. The percentage of workers who considered themselves in good health increased from 66.0% to 81.1%, and there was a significant decrease in the 12-item General Health Questionnaire score (16.8 vs 14.0, P = 0.0003). This reduction was associated with a higher perception of security by preventive measures., Conclusions: The study highlights the importance of addressing the health and safety concerns of construction workers during the pandemic, and the positive impact of effective preventive measures., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: None declared., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.)

Introduction: We performed this study aiming to evaluate changes in epidemiology, clinical presentation and outcomes of children hospitalized for viral lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI)., Methods: We performed a retrospective study of children younger than 18 years of age hospitalized for LRTIs with a positive respiratory viral testing from 2018 to 2022. We compared need of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), invasive ventilation, and other respiratory support, viral etiologies, clinical presentations, imaging, and laboratory results in the precovid (2018-2019) and covid (2020-2022) period., Results: A total of 523 were included in the analysis. In the pandemic period, the detection of influenza was 95% less likely to occur (odds ratio [OR]: 0.05; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.02-0.12; p < .001), likewise the detection of adenovirus was 77% less likely to occur (OR: 0.23; 95% CI: 0.10-0.51; p < .001). In the pandemic period, the number of codetections increased from 15.52% in 2018 to 57.25% in 2022, resulting in a significantly increasing trend (p < .001). The odds of transfer to PICU was more than five times greater during the pandemic period (OR: 5.31; 95% CI: 1.78-15.86; p = .003)., Conclusions: We found that the pattern of LRTI in children during COVID-19 pandemic significantly changed in terms of etiologies and increased severity., (© 2023 The Authors. Pediatric Pulmonology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The paper describes the international research conducted in collaboration between the University of Padova, University of North Texas, and Windesheim University of Applied Sciences. The study explores how higher education faculty involved in professionalizing courses for the educational area perceive the pandemic-induced transition to digitalized education (DE), after one year of experience with it. This paper introduces the second phase of a research study that began as early as spring 2020, with an online survey distributed worldwide. It seeks to investigate possible changes after one year of digitalized education related to (1) perceptions of institutional support and professional training offered; (2) potential and challenges of DE; and (3) professional intentions for future uses of DE. Details on the instrument's reliability and structure will also be provided. We are exploring how the DE is changing teachers' routines and whether these changes are paving the way for collaborative, reflective, and student-centred approaches that could have long-term consequences. This is to help focus future training pathways to better support teachers in teaching effectively and efficiently for learning, both in times of crisis and in times of normalcy.

Background: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), characterized by pulmonary infection ranging from asymptomatic forms to respiratory insufficiency and death. Evidence of cardiac involvement in COVID-19 is increasing, and systemic inflammation or direct heart damage by SARS-CoV-2 can prolong the corrected QT interval (QTc)., Methods: In this observational study, a total of 333 consecutive patients admitted to the Covid Center of Verona University Hospital from November 2020 to April 2021 were included. Patients with bundle branch block, pacemaker-controlled heart rhythm and heart rate >120 beats/min were excluded. A complete electrocardiogram (ECG) was performed at admission, and QTc values of ≥440 ms for males and ≥460 ms for females were considered prolonged., Results: Overall, 153 patients had prolonged QTc (45.5%). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, male sex (odds ratio (OR)=6.612, p=0.046), troponin (OR=1.04, p=0.015) and lymphocyte count (OR=3.047, p=0.019) were independently associated with QTc prolongation. Multivariate logistic regression showed that QTc was independently associated with mortality (OR=4.598, p=0.036). Age, sex, the ratio between the partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) and the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) (P/F), and fibrosis-4 index for liver fibrosis (FIB-4) were also independently associated with mortality., Conclusion: QTc interval prolongation appears to be a frequent finding in patients with COVID-19. Moreover, prolonged QTc may be predictive of more severe forms of COVID-19 and worse outcome., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Introduction: To date, there are no known studies that have investigated the new need for volunteer services among cancer patients during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, it is essential for volunteer associations to heighten such knowledge to best guide their offer in this challenging period., Aim: The present study aims to provide a mapping of the cancer patients' needs for volunteer services followed at Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in Milan (Italy) during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since there are no specific questionnaires for this purpose, we created an ad hoc tool for which we report the preliminary result., Method: We used a mixed-method multiphase approach., Phase I: in April-May 2020 40 ad hoc paper questionnaires were distributed at the entrance of the aforementioned hospital, with the aim of investigating patients' needs through two open-ended questions then analyzed through thematic analysis., Phase Ii: the contents that emerged from Phase I were transformed into items and submitted to the judgment of a small group of "peers" (patients) and "experts" (professionals) in November-December 2020 to evaluate their comprehensiveness, representativeness and intrusiveness. Phase III: in January-February 2021 paper questionnaires, containing the items reviewed in Phase II, were distributed within the hospital to a representative sample of cancer patients. We applied descriptive statistics, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Cronbach's Alpha., Results: 32 patients completed Phase I, 3 "peers" and 9 "experts" participated in Phase II, 214 patients completed the questionnaire in Phase III. EFA highlights five kinds of needs during the Covid-19 pandemic, in order of priority: (1) need to be supported at the hospital; (2) need for emotional support; (3) need for daily errands; (4) need for practical support to family members; (5) need to share free time. Preliminary results on the tool are encouraging, although further studies are needed. These results will allow local volunteer associations to adapt their services during the pandemic., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

In Italy, the COVID-19 pandemic and the death of many elderly people have put in evidence the uneven territorial distribution of nursing homes, which have amplified the spread and severity of the pandemic. By applying a pooled OLS model to the Italian regions, over the 2010-18 period, we investigate the demand factors, market forces and institutional drivers of the spatial distribution of residential healthcare for the elderly. Using a fine-grained approach that considers specific regional and age-related elements and the market environment, which can reduce or increase the pressure on regional governments to provide formal assistance, we find that the financial resources and the availability of unemployed women as potential caregivers explain the distribution of expenditure better than the health needs of the elderly. As a result, the expenditure is concentrated in richer and more financially autonomous regions and it is not congruent with the distribution of chronicity, health and frailty factors or income among the elderly. These critical issues of the care services for frail elderly people, related to a highly decentralized governance and resulting in fragmented, market-driven provision, could be attacked only by a national reform., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Lockdowns imposed by many countries on their populations at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis forced teachers to adapt quickly and without adequate preparation to distance teaching. In this paper, we focus on one of the most formidable challenges that teachers faced during the lockdowns and even in the post-lockdown emergency period, namely, developing assessment that maintains the pedagogical continuity that educational institutions typically require. Based on the results of a previous study, focused on the analysis of answers to an open-ended questionnaire administered to a population of 700 teachers from France, Germany, Israel and Italy, a semi-structured interview series was designed and implemented by the authors of this paper with a small group of teachers. The transcripts of these interviews were analysed according to the interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology, with the aim of investigating teachers' own perspectives on the following: (a) the difficulties with which they had to contend, with respect to the question of assessment; (b) the techniques adopted to deal with these difficulties; and (c) the ways in which the lockdown experience could affect the future evolution of teachers' assessment practices. This analysis supported us in formulating hypotheses concerning the possible long-term effects of lockdown on modes of assessment in mathematics.

In the last two years, a growing number of studies have focused on the promotion of students' mental health to address the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, less studies have been conducted on sustaining teachers' mental health which has been affected by the sudden changes in online teaching and the difficulties in keeping and building relationship with students. Even before the pandemic, teaching has long been recognised as one of the most challenging occupations characterized by high levels of stress. Although the research highlighted the key role of mental health promotion among teachers, there is still a lack of programs enhancing teachers' wellbeing. This study examined the impact of the PROMEHS program, a school-based curriculum, on teachers' mental health. A total of 687 teachers participated in the study. Applying a pre- and post-training study design with experimental and waiting list groups, teachers were evaluated in social and emotional learning, resilience, and self-efficacy. The results showed that there was a significant improvement in all competences of the teachers in the experimental group compared to those in the waiting list group. The paper discusses the implications of the findings with recommendations for further studies in the area.

This paper explores the thesis of de-globalisation in relation to international education. Through interrogating accounts of international school leadership during the COVID-19 crisis, the tension between international expectations and localised realities is charted, with four central tenets of internationalism undermined by the pandemic experience. It is argued that the COVID-19 crisis, ostensibly a single global event, resulted in the fractalisation of international education; the conceptualisation of unified internationalism was undermined by the inherently localised material effects of the pandemic. In place of an internationalism that is unified, transcendent, inclusive and connected, international school leaders' accounts of leading through the pandemic focused on their sense that their schools were fractured, rooted, privileged and isolated. It is suggested that this international crisis demonstrates the precarious nature of the respatialising of the global that is intrinsic to international schooling.

School-home communication is a growing research field in social sciences, particularly in education sciences and communication studies. While previous studies have paid much attention to the importance of school-home interaction in supporting primary academic socialisation and progress of elementary school pupils, the role of teacher-parent communication and collaboration in influencing the development of children's and adolescents' digital skills remains an under-researched area. This paper employed thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with education experts in six European countries, providing an insight into their opinions and views on the problems in communication between homes and schools. The analysis identified main problems in and obstacles to school-home collaboration on children's digital skills development, and the changes the COVID-19 pandemic brought along in this field of education. The paper provides five policy recommendations for enhancing school-home collaboration on digital skills development.

Objective: This review summarizes evidence pertaining to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological health of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Materials and Methods: An electronic search was conducted using four major databases--PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Using an umbrella methodology, the reference lists of relevant papers were reviewed, and citation searches were conducted. The study included articles written in English between January 2020 and March 2021 that focused on the psychological health of autistic children and adolescents. Results: All eight studies included in the final review were cross-sectional. Three of the eight studies were conducted in Italy, two in Turkey, and one study each in Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom, with a total of 1,407 participants. All studies used a mixture of standardized and non-standardized questionnaires to collect data. The total number of patients were 1407 at a mean age of 9.53 (SD = 2.96) years. Seven studies report gender; male 74.7% (657/880) and female 25.3% (223/880). The finding showed that behavioral issues in children and adolescents with ASD have significantly increased; 521 (51.9 percent) of the 1004 individuals with ASD presented with behavioral changes, including conduct problems, emotional problems, aggression, and hyperactivity. Some studies also found increased anxiety and difficulties managing emotions. Only one study reported clinical stabilization in children with ASD during COVID-19. Finally, 82.7% of families and caregivers of children with ASD (544 out of 658) faced challenges during COVID-19. Conclusion: Although the studies in this review suggest a general worsening of ASD children's clinical status, it remains difficult to draw definitive conclusions at this moment, with newer COVID-19 variants on the rise worldwide. During this difficult pandemic period, caregivers, families, and healthcare professionals are recommended to pay more attention to the ASD patients' health and care needs.

During the second semester of the 2019/2020 academic year, due to the regulatory restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, Bologna University, like many others, was compelled to stop delivering its face-to-face offering and to switch, in a very short time, to the creation of a technological architecture that would enable students to continue their education through teaching via Distance Learning. After illustrating the active teaching model adopted in two courses offered by the University of Bologna Department of Education Studies, this paper addresses future educators by focusing on the main findings from a semi-structured online questionnaire completed by 84 students. The first part of the paper considers a rethinking of educational planning at the time of COVID-19, while the second and final part analyses student perceptions (using the questionnaire's open questions) of their Distance Learning experience in the initial phases of the pandemic scenario.

The research described in this paper focused on the issue of describing and understanding how mathematical discussion develops in a hybrid learning environment, and how students participate in it. The experimental plan involved several classes working in parallel, with pupils and teachers interacting both in their real classrooms and in a digital environment with other pupils and teachers. The research was based on a rich set of data collected from the M@t.abel 2020 project, which was developed in Italy during the COVID health crisis. Based on Complementary Accounts Methodology, the data analysis presented in this paper involved specialists from the fields of mathematics education and inclusive education. In the study we considered the complexity of learning and the different elements that have an impact on students' activity and participation, when they are engaged in mathematical discussions within the multilevel-digital environment that emerged due to the pandemic. These parallel analyses showed that 'mathematical discussion in the classroom' is a complex (and sometimes chaotic) phenomenon wherein different factors interweave. A complementary approach assists in developing a global vision for this dynamic phenomenon and in highlighting local episodes that are crucial in this interplay of factors. It is precisely in these episodes that the role of the teacher is fundamental: these episodes appear as catalysts for the different variables, with the teacher acting as mediator.

The genesis and spread of COVID-19 around the world since 2020 have caused severe impacts in every aspect of people's lives, from work life to recreation, social activities to physical health. Higher education has not been excluded. Universities have altered curriculum, changed delivery methods, provided more counseling, purchased new technology, and altered attendance policy for classroom, athletic, social and artistic events (Hamlin, 2021). To assess the impacts of these changes on college students, the authors created a questionnaire to ask students about their perceptions of these COVID-related impacts on their own personal lives. The survey had 56 questions about how the virus affected their academic, social, financial, physical and emotional lives. Over 800 students responded with objective input and subjective comments. Due to the volume of data, the authors have split the study into two parts. The survey results for the first part, academic and social aspects of the survey, were published in "Understanding the Impact of Covid-19 on College Student Academic and Social Lives," Research in Higher Education Journal Volume 41 (see http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/213347.pdf). It will sometimes be referred to herein to provide clarity to the reader. The actual survey itself can also be found at that site. This paper focuses on the impact of the coronavirus on student financial and physical well-being, which have become major stressors to this age group and have contributed to higher levels of anxiety and depression. It also examines how the virus has affected their social and emotional well-being. Lastly, recommendations are made to help educators understand the severity of the problem, and to take action to provide assistance for those students who have been adversely affected.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze how remote working has been carried out during the first wave of the pandemic in Italian SMEs, representing at the same time an organizational challenge and an excellent opportunity for individual and organizational learning. Design/methodology/approach: This paper involved 60 Italian SMEs of various sectors and 330 employees--217 clerks (average age 42) and 113 managers (average age 48) belonging to different functional units and with a different education backgrounds. Two different questionnaires, one addressed to clerks and one to managers/executives who coordinate the remote working activity, were prepared and sent. This paper investigates the issues of perceived productivity, technological preparation, coordination, programming and control with specific attention to how the participants faced the remote working experience from the learning point of view. Findings: Before the pandemic, Italian SMEs did not feel the necessity to adopt a structured policy on remote working. The COVID-19 emergency has forced them to consider that working remotely is possible and can produce benefits and positive results for what they learned in terms of autonomy, motivation and trust, to the detriment of physical presence, which is not as fundamental to ensure productivity. Originality/value: While large, formalized and structured companies encountered modest difficulties being already technologically and culturally prepared for remote working, the big challenge was that of SMEs, who found themselves obliged to adopt it. This paper examines how Italian SMEs lived and evaluated the switch to a new work organization and turned it into an occasion for workplace learning.

The M@t.abel2020 project supported Italian teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic period, proposing activities based on the mathematics laboratory teaching method which are suitable for distance learning situations. The project resulted in the establishment of an online community of 1,500 teachers. In this paper we present an exploratory study based on an open-ended questionnaire assigned to teachers involved in the project, with the aim of analyzing the results of this training project in terms of mathematics teacher's specialized knowledge. Results show that the project enriched teachers' knowledge not only in terms of pedagogical content knowledge but also in mathematical knowledge.

There is not a large body of literature about digital resources found and accessed autonomously by high school students while studying mathematics, whereas this topic has become more and more relevant in times of lockdown due to the pandemic. Italy has been one of the first countries facing lockdown for an extended time, making this country a paradigmatic example: in this paper we investigate what kind of digital resources are accessed by the Italians high school students who actually use them and why. According to our results, students' aims and expectations vary according to the school grade, but are not as much devoted to procedural learning as previous literature has shown. Also, we observe that the type of searched media (text, video, image, etc.) is related to the mathematical contents and to students' objectives.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected education at all levels in various ways. This paper provides a review of the literature on the challenges of online learning for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Method: In total, 17 studies from nine countries were analysed. The challenges of online learning for children with SEND reported by teachers and parents and the strategies applied to overcome the challenges were identified. Results: The challenges of online learning were the need of parental support, routine change, inequities of resources and access to technology, lack of accommodations, and social isolation. There was a considerable lack of interventions aimed at promoting the educational outcomes of children with SEND. Conclusions: The findings emphasise the importance of parent-teacher collaboration and communication. Suggestions for strategies to address challenges as well as for further research are also discussed.

Purpose: The study refers to a health-care organization engaged in adopting "home health care" as a new object of activity. This study aims to explore how the reconfiguration of the object influences the transformative perspective, affecting not just a service but a broader approach and meaning behind patient care. It also investigates the main contradictions at play and the levers to support inter-organizational learning while facing the new challenges and change processes. Design/methodology/approach: The work is based on a qualitative and ethnographic methodology directed to examine cultural, practical and socio-material aspects. The activity theory is assumed as a powerful approach to understand collective learning and distributed agency processes. Findings: The renewal of the new object of work is analyzed as a trigger for shifts in representations, cultural processes and collective support implemented by the organization. Three agentic trajectories -- technical, dialogical and collaborative agency -- were cultivated by the management to deliver home health care through joint exercises of coordination and control, dialogical spaces and collaborative process. Research limitations/implications: The data collection was disrupted by the pandemic. A follow-up study would be beneficial to inquire how the learning processes shifted or were influenced by the contextual changes. Practical implications: This contribution provides a practical framework for health-care organizations aiming to navigate and explore the physiological tensions and contradictions emerging when the object of work is changed. Originality/value: The paper develops the field of intra- and inter-organizational learning by presenting an intertwined and structural connection between these processes and the renewing of the object of work. It advises that processes of transformation must be handled with attention to the critical and collective dynamics that accompany sustainable and situated changes.

The paper takes a scientometric approach to measure the change in research productivity of Italian academics before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. We propose a composite output/input bibliometric indicator and apply it at the field level, conducting a longitudinal analysis. Although the number of academics in the national academic system has decreased, we register very strong growth in both the number of publications and their scholarly impact. The growth in productivity, with only rare exceptions, crosses almost all fields. However, in areas that are traditionally very internationalized (Biology, Physics, and Chemistry), growth is less sustained than overall average, and also the variability of productivity across fields seems reduced. The main reason for this detail would be the smaller margins for improvement in the fields that had already reached high international standing. What emerges from the analysis goes counter to some alarms of declining scientific productivity at the global level. The Italian case is partly explained by the historic adoption of policies aimed at strengthening competitive mechanisms, in particular through the introduction of systems of performance-based research funding, and bibliometric accreditation for professorship.

Aims: The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) outbreak has been recently associated with lower hospitalization rates for acute coronary syndromes. Aim of the study was to investigate whether a similar behaviour is observed in admissions for urgent pacemaker implant., Methods: This retrospective study included 1315 patients from 18 hospitals in Northern Italy with a high number of COVID-19 cases. Hospitalization rates for urgent pacemaker implant were compared between the following periods: 20 February to 20 April 2020 (case period); from 1 January to 19 February 2020 (intra-year control period); from 20 February to 20 April 2019 (inter-year control period)., Results: The incidence rate of urgent implants was 5.0/day in the case period, 6.0/day in the intra-year control period and 5.8/day in the inter-year control period. Incidence rate in the case period was significantly lower than both the intra-year [incidence rate ratio (IRR): 0.81, 95% CI 0.67-0.99, P = 0.040] and inter-year control periods (IRR: 0.79, 95% CI 0.66-0.95, P = 0.012); this reduction was highest after the national lockdown (IRR 0.68, 95% CI 0.52-0.91, P = 0.009). The prevalence of residents in rural areas undergoing urgent pacemaker implant was lower in the case period (36%) than in both the intra-year (47%, P = 0.03) and inter-year control periods (51%, P = 0.002). Elective pacemaker implants also decreased in the case period, with the incidence rate here being 3.5/day vs. 6.4/day in the intra-year (-45%) and 6.9/day in the inter-year period (-49%)., Conclusion: Despite severe clinical patterns, the COVID-19 outbreak has negatively affected the population presentation to Emergency Departments for bradyarrhythmias requiring urgent pacemaker implant in Northern Italy. This mainly occurred after the national lockdown and concerned patients living in rural areas., (Copyright © 2021 Italian Federation of Cardiology - I.F.C. All rights reserved.)

Background: We assessed the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on HIV suppression rates in people living with HIV (PLWH) attending a large Italian HIV clinic., Setting: The HIV outpatient clinic of the Infectious Diseases Department of Luigi Sacco Hospital, Milan, Italy, which serves more than 5000 PLWH per year., Methods: A before and after quasi-experimental study design was used to make a retrospective assessment of the monthly trend of HIV-RNA determinations of ≥50 among the PLWH attending our clinic, with "before" being the period from January 1, 2016 to February 20, 2020, and "after" being the period from February 21, 2020 to December 31, 2020 (the COVID-19 period). Interrupted time series analysis was used to evaluate any changes in the trend., Results: During the study period, 70,349 HIV-RNA viral load determinations were made, and the percentage of HIV-RNA viral load determinations of <50 copies/mL increased from 88.4% in 2016 to 93.2% in 2020 (P < 0.0001). There was a significant monthly trend toward a decrease in the number of HIV-RNA determinations of ≥50 copies/mL before the pandemic (β -0.084; standard error 0.015; P < 0.001), and this did not significantly change after it started (β -0.039, standard error 0.161; P = 0.811)., Conclusions: A high prevalence of viral suppression was maintained among the PLWH referring to our clinic, despite the structural barriers raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of simplified methods of delivering care (such as teleconsultations and multiple antiretroviral treatment prescriptions) may have contributed to preserving this continuum., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding or conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

With schools and universities closing across Europe, the COVID-19 lockdown left actors in the field of education battling with the unprecedented challenge of finding a meaningful way to keep the wheels of education turning online. The sudden need for digital solutions across the field of education resulted in the emergence of a variety of digital networks and collaborative online platforms. In this joint article from scholars around Europe, we explore the COVID-19 lockdowns of physical education across the European region, and the different processes of emergency digitalization that followed in their wake. Spanning perspectives from Italy, Germany, Belgium, and the Nordic countries, the article's five cases provide a glimpse of how these processes have at the same time accelerated and consolidated the involvement of various commercial and non-commercial actors in public education infrastructures. By gathering documentation, registering dynamics, and making intimations of the crisis as it unfolded, the aim of the joint paper is to provide an opportunity for considering the implications of these accelerations and consolidations for the heterogeneous futures of European education.

What 'sources' of knowledge do higher education students draw on, to prepare for exams? And has the pandemic made any difference? The study presented in this paper addresses these questions, in the belief that gaining awareness of the sources through which students learn is important for the instructional design of the courses and the evaluation methods as well. Framed within the 'Distributed Cognition' theory, the study is based on a questionnaire proposed in July 2021 (summer exam session) to all the students of two schools at Politecnico di Milano (the largest technical university in Italy); 5,369 students responded (16.5% of the total). The results show that students normally resort to a wide range of resources (lectures, lecturer's slides, group work with other students, notes taken by other students, etc.) and that, in the COVID-19 time, recorded lectures and 'exercises' (i.e. practical sessions with a teacher assistant) skyrocket in their perception of relevance, overcoming (almost all) other sources. Academies will need to face the challenge of students advocating for keeping this kind of support even after the COVID-19 era, which has the potential of revolutionising the way universities work, leading towards blended forms of education.

There is an urgent need to understand the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemics on older people's lives. However, conducting qualitative research is challenging, because of the shortage of guidelines and methodological research on how to recruit and interview participants during biological disasters, such as pandemics. This paper documents the procedures we adopted to recruit and interview 40 older people living in a rural area of Northern Italy that was subject to the first full lockdown in Europe. Despite the challenges arising when qualitatively researching the old age population in pandemic times, our study has shown that it is feasible to recruit and interview older people remotely. Specifically, community engagement and tailoring video-interviews according to older people's needs and ICT skills are the key aspects to consider when designing these types of studies.

The implementation of emergency remote teaching (ERT) in many institutions has led to radical changes in both teaching and studying approaches in Higher Education institutions worldwide. This pilot study examines the changes in study strategies from the first to the second term in the 2019-2020 academic year in the Foreign Languages and Literatures Department at the University of Verona. A survey was conducted with a group of 19 language students, all of whom studied English as a foreign language. They completed a questionnaire, which consisted of both closed and open-ended questions, as part of a mixed methods study of their perceptions of ways in which their learning strategies had changed from the first to the second term. They were also asked to identify which elements of the ERT experience they considered effective. The aim of the study was primarily to examine the changing strategies with an eye to determining elements to be integrated into our pedagogical approach in the future: to establish which factors had been positive and where the problems lay. This paper focuses mainly on the findings from the qualitative analysis of the open-ended questions section of the questionnaire, which underline the changes that came about as a consequence of the emergency. Whilst many strategies remained the same, a positive evaluation of the blending of asynchronous online resources with synchronous online lessons held in video-conferencing contexts also emerged. A partially mixed message, however, was noted. This was because, despite their endorsement of social interaction when studying in groups during streamed lessons, a preference for "studying alone" to prepare for their exams was also highlighted by participants.

Purpose: Before COVID-19 pandemic, translation students in higher education attended courses on computer-assisted translation to acquire operational knowledge of professional software, without experiencing collaborative/interactive learning. In few European universities skills labs were introduced to offer fieldwork-like activities, but without shared modelling standards and mainly held in presence for few consecutive days. As the COVID-19 pandemic further deprived students of crucial educational experiences, the purpose of this paper is to present an online collaborative learning environment exploiting a customised combination of information and learning applications the students already experienced during the pandemic to smoothen their learning curve and increase the educational effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach: A multi-framework methodology to build and operate a computer-supported online collaborative skills lab for translation students is proposed. Reference standards and guidelines are leveraged to provide participants with a common knowledge ground, to activate the computer-supported collaborative learning perspective, and to ensure an appropriate simulation fidelity. Findings: An end-to-end implementation of the proposed approach along with educational effectiveness analysis performed via complementary assessment strategies is presented. Achieved outcomes highlight significant participation rate, consistent improvement in technical and soft skills at both individual and collective levels, and clear activation of collaborative learning dynamics. Practical implications: Every master degree in translation teaching can adopt this approach by complying with the proposed guidelines. Originality/value: The proposed multi-framework approach is novel and applied to a teaching sector where it is highly needed to fill a pre-existing gap.

In 2020, the emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic brought a drastic and sudden change in teaching practices, from the physical space of the classrooms to the virtual space of an e-environment. In this paper, through a qualitative analysis of 44 collected essays composed by Italian mathematics teachers from primary school to undergraduate level during the spring of 2020, we investigate how the Italian teachers perceived the changes due to the unexpected transition from a face-to-face setting to distance education. The analysis is carried out through a double theoretical lens, one concerning the whole didactic system where the knowledge at stake is mathematics and the other regarding affective aspects. The integration of the two theoretical perspectives allows us to identify key elements and their relations in the teachers' narratives and to analyze how teachers have experienced and perceived the dramatic, drastic, and sudden change. The analysis shows the process going from the disruption of the educational setting to the teachers' discovery of key aspects of the didactic system including the teacher's roles, a reflection on mathematics and its teaching, and the attempt to reconstruct the didactic system in a new way.

Background: Particularly at the beginning of the pandemic, adults aged 65 and older were portrayed as a homogeneously vulnerable population due to the elevated health risks associated with contracting the COVID-19 disease. This portrayal, combined with travel restrictions, closures of economic sectors, country-wide lockdowns, and suggestions by governmental authorities to limit social contact, had important implications for the wellbeing of older individuals. However, older adults are a heterogeneous population who relies on different resources to cope with stressful periods, like the COVID-19 pandemic. Simultaneously, countries also employed differentmeasures to contain the virus. Research thus far has focused on the short-termconsequences of the pandemic, but studies have yet to address its long-term consequences. Objectives: We explore older adults' lived experiences nearly 2 years after the pandemic onset. Moreover, we focus on the bordering countries of Switzerland and Italy, who employed contrasting containmentmeasures. This paper analyzes (1) Howthe COVID-19 pandemic impacted the experiences of wellbeing of older adults in these regions and (2) How older adults coped with the stressors brought about by the pandemic, in particular social distancing. Methods: The paper draws on 31 semi-structured interviews with 11 Swiss natives residing in Switzerland, 10 Italian migrants residing in Switzerland, and 10 Italian natives residing in Italy. Interviews were conducted from December 2021 to March 2022. Results: Coping mechanisms of the three groups related to acceptance, hobbies, cognitive reframing, telephone use, vaccine use and social distancing. However, results show heterogeneous experiences of wellbeing, with Swiss natives sharing more positive narratives than the other two groups. Moreover, Italian migrants and Italian natives expressed the long-term negative consequences of the pandemic on their experienced wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on four e-initiatives that were precipitated by the coronavirus outbreak in Italy. These experiences played a relevant role in developing multilevel solidarity (from the local to the global level) both online and offline. They are represented by the hashtags "#iorestoacasa" (I stay at home) and "#andràtuttobene" (everything will be alright), "performances on the balcony," "influencers' campaigns," and "altruism and e-parochialism." These experiences represent revealing examples essential to understand the benefits that a mediated form of solidarity can produce. This is particularly important given the challenges that solidarity faces due to the technological acceleration imposed by the pandemic, which is likely to influence social relationships even in the post-pandemic era. Four lessons can be learned from these expressions of e-solidarity related to the capacity of information and communication technologies to (1) promote unconditioned altruism; (2) fight "parochialism" when the same disadvantaged condition is shared; (3) their capacity to develop a multilevel sense of community by connecting the local experience to the global dimension; and (4) to mediate between institutional sources and people, and connect family members, friends, vulnerable people with neighbors, and the global community. This last point suggests that the pandemic has offered fertile ground for both mechanical and organic forms of solidarity to emerge. On the one hand, it created a collective conscience based on shared vulnerabilities and interdependence. On the other hand, it is based on individualization and diversity. Indeed, these examples of Durkheimian collective effervescence show the paradox of a form of collective individualized and mediated solidarity, which is typical of contemporary society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are respiratory pathogens which significantly impact healthcare systems. Seasonal vaccination is recommended for all healthcare workers (HCWs) to reduce the risk for both operators and patients. Puglia, a region in Southern Italy, has been enforcing since 2018 a law mandating influenza vaccination in healthcare workers. However, vaccination coverages for this category have always been suboptimal. Our study tests the effectiveness of an active recall intervention on vaccination coverage for influenza and SARS-CoV-2 in the HCWs of a large Apulian hospital (Southern Italy). During the 2023-2024 influenza vaccination season, unvaccinated HCWs of Bari's Policlinico General Hospital were contacted. The e-mail reminded them of a regional law mandating influenza vaccination to all HCWs and offered an appointment for vaccination. SARS-CoV-2 vaccination was also offered. In 2022-2023, 43.16 % of HCWs were vaccinated against influenza and 21.87 % against SARS-CoV-2. Coverage changed during the 2023-2024 season to 54.11 % and 13.58 %, respectively. A regression model showed that vaccination uptake's increase was associated with the e-mail reception and with the operator being a physician vs. non-medical personnel. On the contrary, subjects who received the e-mail did not show an increased SARS-CoV-2 vaccination uptake, which was on the contrary influenced by the worker's age, sex, job title, and area of risk. Our soft-mandate intervention was effective in increasing vaccination uptake by HCWs. Communication with a trained specialist was probably useful, and the possibility to access vaccination services with dedicated appointments increased convenience. Mandatory vaccination policies and active recall seem to synergically impact vaccination uptake., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Evaluating how a COVID-19 seasonal vaccination program performed might help to plan future campaigns. This study aims to estimate the relative effectiveness (rVE) against severe COVID-19 of a seasonal booster dose over calendar time and by time since administration. We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis among 13,083,855 persons aged ≥60 years who were eligible to receive a seasonal booster at the start of the 2022-2023 vaccination campaign in Italy. We estimated rVE against severe COVID-19 (hospitalization or death) of a seasonal booster dose of bivalent (original/Omicron BA.4-5) mRNA vaccines by two-month calendar interval and at different times post-administration. We used multivariable Cox regression models, including vaccination as time-dependent exposure, to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HR) and rVEs as [(1-HR)X100]. The rVE of a seasonal booster decreased from 64.9% (95% CI: 59.8-69.4) in October-November 2022 to 22.0% (95% CI: 15.4-28.0) in April-May 2023, when the majority of vaccinated persons (67%) had received the booster at least 4-6 months earlier. During the epidemic phase with prevalent circulation of the Omicron BA.5 subvariant, rVE of a seasonal booster received ≤90 days earlier was 83.0% (95% CI: 79.1-86.1), compared to 37.4% (95% CI: 25.5-47.5) during prevalent circulation of the Omicron XBB subvariant. During the XBB epidemic phase, rVE was estimated at 15.8% (95% CI: 9.1-20.1) 181-369 days post-administration of the booster dose. In all the analyses we observed similar trends of rVE between persons aged 60-79 and those ≥80 years, although estimates were somewhat lower for the oldest group. A seasonal booster dose received during the vaccination campaign provided additional protection against severe COVID-19 up to April-May 2023, after which the incidence of severe COVID-19 was much reduced. The results also suggest that the Omicron XBB subvariant might have partly escaped the immunity provided by the seasonal booster targeting the original and Omicron BA.4-5 strains of SARS-CoV-2., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Vaccine hesitancy represents a major barrier to achieving Covid-19 vaccination coverage, including in Italy, where the vaccination rates suggest that Covid-19 vaccination has not been fully integrated into people's routine immunization schedules. While quantitative studies have generated ample data on factors influencing vaccination decisions, rarely was an overall picture of people's actual views and experiences with Covid-19 vaccines provided. To address this gap, this qualitative study aimed to explore, from a psychosocial perspective, the relationships between perceptions of Covid-19 vaccines, traditional vaccines, and general approaches to prevention. Following a Grounded Theory approach, we interviewed 25 Italian adults from different socioeconomic and working backgrounds. Findings revealed that, despite a generally positive attitude towards Covid-19 vaccines, they were often regarded as providing only partial protection-a "half prevention"-against the disease rather than a definitive preventive measure. In this sense, a gap emerged between the overall notion of prevention and the specific representations associated with Covid-19 vaccines. Therefore, to increase vaccination acceptance, interventions should prioritize the reduction of such a gap by promoting the idea that vaccination against Covid is, in all respects, a safe and effective preventive tool. This requires fostering a credible knowledge system and building trustful relationships among community members and stakeholders involved in the vaccination campaign, including general practitioners, healthcare professionals, and political authorities., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: Italy has been the first European Country dealing with SARS-CoV-2, whose diffusion on the territory has not been homogeneous. Among Italian regions, Sardinia represented one of the lowest incidence areas, likely due to its insular nature. Despite this, the impact of insularity on SARS-CoV-2 genetic diversity has not been comprehensively described., Methods: In the present study, we performed the high throughput sequencing of 888 SARS-CoV-2 genomes collected in Sardinia during the first 23 months of pandemics. In addition, 1439 high-coverage SARS-CoV-2 genomes circulating in Sardinia along three years (December 2019 - January 2023) were downloaded from GISAID, for a total of 2327 viral sequences that were characterized in terms of phylogeny and genomic diversity., Results: Overall, COVID-19 pandemic in Sardinia showed substantial differences with respect to the national panorama, with additional peaks of infections and uncommon lineages that reflects the national and regional policies of re-opening and the subsequent touristic arrivals. Sardinia has been interested by the circulation of at least 87 SARS-CoV-2 lineages, including some that were poorly represented at national and European level, likely linked to multiple importation events. The relative frequency of Sardinian SARS-CoV-2 lineages has been compared to other Mediterranean Islands, revealing a unique composition., Conclusions: The genomic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in Sardinia has been shaped by a complex interplay of insular geography, low population density, and touristic arrivals, leading on the one side to the importation of lineages remaining rare at the national level, and resulting on the other side in the delayed entry of otherwise common variants., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This paper uses the case of Italy during the Covid-19 pandemic to critically assess the EU legal framework on third-country national migrants' equal access to social benefits. In Italy, migrants are structurally excluded from core social protections, a situation that during the pandemic led to a worsening of existing patterns of inequality; migrants have been more exposed than citizens to poverty, unemployment, and destitution. The first part of the paper looks for the EU legal root of this situation: it examines the EU legal framework in the migration field, showing that it is affected by fragmentation and inconsistencies. These problems become even more acute at the national level, where the Italian legislature mis-transposed the EU migration directives, thus affecting the use of discretionary clauses therein and severely curtailing migrants' equal treatment rights. Then, the second part of the paper asks whether adopting a mainstreaming approach to enhance equality could improve the situation of migrants. The paper argues that equality mainstreaming in the migration field shows good potential, while also encountering some structural limits. Therefore, it can hardly be considered a silver bullet against the problem of migrants' discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]