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Introduction. Accidents in the home are a major public health issue in most industrialised countries, as they are a frequent cause of injury and death. Moreover, since a considerable por- tion of such accidents involve elderly people, it is important to assess their social impact in this population. In Italy, the avail- able data indicate that well over 3 million people per year suffer accidents in the home, and that this number is rising. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the number, characteristics and causes of domestic accidents among the elderly. Materials and methods. The study population was made up of subjects of both sexes aged between 65 and 92 years admitted to first aid units and emergency departments of hospitals in Genoa. The investigation was conducted by means of an ad hoc question- naire designed to record the circumstances of the accident, the functional capacity of the subject involved, any risky behaviour enacted and the safety profile of the subject?s home. Results. The study enrolled 111 voluntary participants: 62 women and 49 men. At the time of the accident, subjects were engaged in the following activities: housework (36.9%) ?rest? (14.5%), ablutions (10%), gardening (9%), leisure activities (8.1%), eating and drinking (2.7%). The most common injuries were bruises (39.6%), followed by fractures (23.4%) and cuts (23.4%); the frequency of other, some time more severe injures (burns, poisoning, asphyxia, crush injuries, etc.) was, fortunately, very low. Anyway, taking into account their consequences, their surveillance and prevention is very important. Most subjects were deemed to be in good health and, in 76% of cases, the safety profile of their houses proved to be satisfactory. Discussion and conclusions. The data collected during this survey are in line with those yielded by national and inter- national studies. They show that the elderly are very vulner- able to domestic accidents and that, even in the event of only slight injury, the management of elderly victims requires a strong organisational commitment on the part of relatives and considerable financial resources for healthcare services. Fall- ing proved to be the main cause of injury. Clearly, efforts to reduce the cost of accidents in the home should aim to imple- ment preventive intervention among elderly people, since the elderly population is destined to grow as a result of increasing life expectancy. In particular, preventive action should focus on reducing the incidence of falls by eliminating risk-related structural features in domestic settings as far as possible and by raising public awareness of the problem through health education campaigns., Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene, Vol 50, No 1 (2009)

Introduction. Air pollution in confined environments is a serious health problem, in that most people spend long periods indoors (in homes, offices, classrooms etc.). Some people (children, the elderly, heart disease patients, asthmatic or allergic subjects) are at greater risk because of their conditions of frailty. The growing use of air-conditioning systems in many public and private buildings aggravates this health risk, especially when these systems are not correctly installed or regularly serviced. The aim of our study was to verify the capacity of Ag + ions to stop the growth of bacteria and moulds inside the ducts of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning system ducts (HVAC) systems when these ducts were lined with active Ag + ions zeolite-coated panels. Material and methods. A Y-shaped HVAC model with two branches was used; one branch was made of traditional galvanized iron, as was the whole system, while the other was lined with active Ag + zeolite-coated polyurethane panels. During the test, samples of dust present inside both ducts were collected and seeded in liquid and solid media to detect bacteria and moulds. The presence of bacteria was also sought in the air emerging from the outlets of both ducts. Results. Tests made on samples of particulate collected from the two different ducts revealed a lower total bacterial load in the samples collected from the Ag + zeolite-coated duct than in the samples from the traditional Zn galvanized duct. In addition, the values of bacterial load found in the air emerging from the Ag+ ions zeolite-lined duct were 5 times lower than those found in the air from the traditional galvanized iron duct. Conclusions. The utilization of Ag + zeolite-coated panels in air-conditioning systems could improve the quality of the emerging air in comparison with traditional installations in galvanized iron. This innovation could prove particularly advantageous in the event of accidents during the installation of air-conditioning systems or of contaminated aerosols coming from outside., Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene, Vol 49, No 1 (2008)