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The patient activation measure (PAM), a recognized measure of how active patients are in their care, is one of the most extensively used, widely translated, and tested instruments worldwide in measuring patient activation. This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties and construct validity of the Italian version of the 13-item Patient Activation Measure (PAM13-I) among patients undergoing elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy. A multicenter study was conducted across 111 surgical units in Italy. This study involved the preoperative administration of the PAM questionnaire to 4532 patients. The psychometric properties of the PAM were evaluated using Rasch analysis. The PAM13-I demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.95) and reliability indices. While fit statistics were acceptable, ceiling effects were observed. No significant differential item functioning was found. However, issues with targeting and local response dependency were identified. The Italian PAM-13 showed promising psychometric properties among surgical patients, indicating its potential utility in assessing patient activation. However, concerns regarding ceiling effects and targeting suggest the need for further refinement and validation in surgical populations., (© 2025 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Introduction: Clinical simulation has been used as a teaching strategy for students in health programmes, fostering greater preparedness and confidence in performing procedures., Objective: This study aimed to analyse the perception of fourth-semester nursing students and teachers regarding the simulated practice methodology implemented in a private university in Cali, Colombia., Method: A robust mixed-methods approach was used, incorporating quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews with 41 students and 5 teaching nursing faculty members. Data triangulation was applied to ensure the robustness of the results., Results: Both students and teachers reported a positive perception of simulated practice, which contributes to knowledge acquisition and contextual learning. Students emphasised that simulation improved their prior knowledge and motivated them to explore new topics. Lecturers emphasised the importance of well-trained instructors in simulation environments. However, participants identified challenges affecting performance, including simulation duration, group size, realism, and resource constraints., Conclusions: Students and teachers recommend strategic changes to the curriculum to optimise simulation practices.

The aim of this paper is to verify if people with a positive score on the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) without comorbidity of mood disorders showed a worse level of Health-related Quality of life (HRQol) compared to a control-matched sample of MDQ negatives, identifying a specific syndrome. This is a case-control study based on a database from a community survey. Cases: MDQ-positive without mood disorders; Controls: MDQ negatives matched by sex, age, and psychiatric diagnosis according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV) criteria. Tools: MDQ, the Advanced Neuropsychiatric Tools and Assessment Schedule (ANTAS) semi-structured interview for psychiatric diagnosis, and the Health Survey Short Form (SF-12) for measuring HRQol. People scoring positive on the MDQ without a diagnosis of mood disorders showed significantly lower scores on the SF-12 compared to people of the same age and of the same sex with an equal diagnosis of psychiatric disorders not related to mood disorders (35.21 ± 6.30 vs. 41.48 ± 3.39, p < 0.0001). In the debate whether a positive score on the MDQ selects an area of "malaise" due to the presence of disorders differing from Bipolar Disorders, or if a positive score on the MDQ may be considered a "subthreshold" form of bipolar disorder in people who may later develop bipolar disorder, a third hypothesis can be advanced, i.e., that a positive score on the MDQ identifies a specific "Dysregulation of Mood, Energy, and Social Rhythms Syndrome" (DYMERS), characterized by a considerable amount of suffering and not attributable to other disorders, and which might represent a trigger for the previously mentioned disorders with which a positive score on the MDQ is associated, probably including, in severe conditions, bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a relevant public health issue, therefore accurate screening tools could be useful. The objective of this study is to verify the accuracy of the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) and genetic risk as screeners, and their comparison in terms of reliability. Older adults (N = 61, ≥60 years) received a clinical psychiatric evaluation, the MDQ, and were evaluated according to the presence of the genetic variant RS1006737 of CACNA1C. MDQ+ versus the diagnosis of BD as a gold standard shows a sensitivity of 0.286 (Cl 95% 0.14-0.39); a specificity of 0.925 (Cl 95% 0.85-0.08); a predictive positive value (PPV) of 0.667 (Cl 95% 0.33-0.91); and a predictive negative value (PNV) of 0.702 (Cl 95% 0.65-0.75). The positivity for the variant RS1006737 of the CACNA1C against the diagnosis of BD as a gold standard shows a sensitivity of 0.750 (Cl 95% 0.55-0.90); a specificity of 0.375 (Cl 95% 0.28-0.45); a PPV of 0.375 (Cl 95% 0.28-0.45); and a PNV of 0.750 (Cl 95% 0.55-0.90). The reliability between the MDQ+ and positivity for the variant RS1006737 of the CACNA1C was very low (K = -0.048, Cl 95% -0.20-0.09). The study found that both the genetic and the paper and pencil test were quite accurate, but were not reliable in case finding. In fact, despite some validity, albeit specular (in the case of a positive genetic test, the probability of having the disorder is very high, whereas in the case of a negative score on the paper and pencil test, the probability of not having the disorder is very high), the unreliability of the two tests (i.e., they certainly do not measure the same underlying dimension) opens the door to the need for an interpretation and the possibility of a synergistic use for screening. From a heuristic perspective, which obviously requires all of the necessary verifications, this study seems to suggest the hypothesis that a condition of hyperactivation common to disorders and stress conditions, and identified by a positive score on the MDQ (which is common to BD, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety disorders and whose genetic basis has not yet been clarified) can trigger BD in people with a predisposition to hyperactivity (i.e., in people with the condition identified by the analyzed genetic variant).

Under certain conditions, the hyperthymic temperament traits associated with an increased risk of developing bipolar disorders may in fact produce adaptive responses. The purpose of this study is to see if the type of biological material used for genetic analysis (saliva or blood) affects the detection of mutations in the CACNA1C (RS1006737) gene. The first experimental group consisted of Sardinian migrants ("volunteers") in South American and European megacities. The second experimental group consisted of older healthy subjects with hyperactivity and novelty-seeking characteristics from Cagliari, Italy. The genetic procedure included DNA extraction, real-time PCR, and the Sanger method. Nonetheless, the authors believe that saliva is the most appropriate biological material, given its many advantages. In contrast to blood, saliva can be collected by any type of healthcare provider after following a few simple instructions., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2023.)

Background: Aging is marked by a progressive rise in chronic diseases with an impact on social and healthcare costs. Physical activity (PA) may soothe the inconveniences related to chronic diseases, has positive effects on the quality of life and biological rhythms, and can prevent the decline in motor functions and the consequent falls, which are associated with early death and disability in older adults., Methods: We randomized 120 over-65 males and females into groups of similar size and timing and will give each either moderate physical activity or cultural and recreational activities. Being younger than 65 years, inability to participate in physical activity for any medical reason, and involvement in a massive program of physical exercise are the exclusion criteria. The primary outcome measures are: quality of life, walking speed, and postural sway. Participants are tested at baseline, post-treatment, and 6-month (24 weeks) and 12-month (48 weeks) follow-ups., Discussion: This study aims at improving the quality of life, wellness, and cognitive functioning in the elderly through a low-cost affordable program of moderate physical activity. Given the growing aging of the world population and the social and economic burden of disability in the elderly, our results might have a major impact on future practices., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03858114 . Registered on 28 February 2019.

Background: Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most reported diagnoses in psychiatry, but there is some discrepancy between the cases identified in community studies and those identified in tertiary care. This study set out to evaluate whether the use of clinicians as interviewers may provide estimates in a community survey close to those observed in primary or specialized care., Methods: This is a community survey on a randomly selected sample of 2338 adult subjects. The Advanced Neuropsychiatric Tools and Assessment Schedule (ANTAS) was administered by clinicians, providing lifetime diagnosis based on the DSM-IV-TR. Health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) was measured with the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12)., Results: Overall, 55 (2.3%) subjects met the criteria for GAD, with greater prevalence in women (3.6%) than in men (0.9%): OR = 4.02; 95%CI: 1.96-8.26. Up to 40% of those with GAD had at least another diagnosis of mood, anxiety, or eating disorders. The mean score of SF-12 in people with GAD was 32.33 ± 6.8, with a higher attributable burden than in other conditions except for major depressive disorder., Conclusions: We found a relatively lower lifetime prevalence of GAD than in community surveys based on lay interviewers and a structured interview. The identified cases of GAD showed a strong impact on the quality of life regardless of co-morbidity and high risk in women, suggesting a profile similar to the one identified from studies in primary and specialized care.

Background: In cancer care, many clinical contexts still lack a good-quality patient-health professional communication about diagnosis and prognosis. Information transmission enables patients to make informed choices about their own healthcare. Nevertheless, disclosure is still an ethically challenging clinical problem in cancer care. High-quality care can be achieved by understanding the perspectives of others. The perspective of patients, their caregivers, physicians and nurses have seldom been simultaneously studied., Objective: To investigate the phenomenon of diagnosis and prognosis-related communication as experienced by patients, their caregivers, and both their attending nurses and physicians, to enlighten meanings attached to communication by the four parties., Methods: A qualitative study using interpretative phenomenological analysis was performed., Participants and Research Context: Purposive sampling of six patients, six caregivers, seven nurses and five physicians was performed in two oncological hospitals in Italy., Ethical Considerations: Local Ethics Committee approved the study. It was guided by the ethical principles of voluntary enrolment, anonymity, privacy and confidentiality., Results: Three main themes were identified: (a) the infinite range of possibilities in knowing and willing to know, (b) communication with the patient as a conflicting situation and (c) the bind of implicit and explicit meaning of communication., Conclusion: The interplay of meanings attached by patients, their caregivers, and their attending oncologist and nurse to communication about diagnosis and prognosis revealed complexities and ambiguities not yet settled. Physicians still need to solve the ethical tensions in their caring relationship with patients to really allow them 'to choose with dignity and being aware of it'. Nurses need to develop awareness about their role in diagnosis and prognosis-related communication. This cognizance is essential not just to assure consistency of communication within the multi-disciplinary team but mostly because it allows and enables the moral agent to take its own responsibilities and be accountable for them.

Background Providing personal care may be a source of emotional difficulties and negative feelings for students interacting with patients during their first clinical placement. This study was done to describe the role of emotional strategies for first year nursing students providing personal care to patients and the relationship of these strategies to students' emotional exhaustion, self-efficacy, and turnover intention. Method A self-reported questionnaire was administrated to a convenience sample of 226 first-year undergraduate nursing students attending their first clinical placement in one Italian University hospital. Results Results suggested a positive link between students' cognitive re-evaluation of their experiences and their self-perceived self-efficacy. Attentional deployment was the strongest antecedent of emotional exhaustion. Emotional dissonance was the primary contributor to students' turnover intention. Emotional exhaustion mediated the relationship between emotional dissonance and turnover intention. Conclusion This research suggested that there are emotional coping strategies useful for protecting student nurses from emotional exhaustion and turnover intention and that these strategies are positively related to students' self-perceived self-efficacy in providing personal care.

Background: Work-family conflict (WFC) is a crucial problem in nursing because of the demanding conditions of the job, such as strenuous shifts, physical and emotional workload, and intense patient involvement. Using a multilevel approach, this study investigated the moderating role of collective affective commitment as a protective resource in the relationship between WFC and emotional exhaustion., Methods: The sample included 647 nurses from 66 working units in 4 Italian hospitals. A self-administrated questionnaire was administered to nurses. To analyze data, hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine cross-level relationships between variables., Results: The results indicated that emotional exhaustion increased with augmenting of WFC and that this relationship was stronger when collective affective commitment was low and weaker when it was high., Conclusions: The study thus suggests that collective affective commitment may be considered a protective resource for nurses. Moreover, the results show that high work-family conflict should not represent a serious problem when nurses have high affective commitment. Interventions at both individual and group level are discussed in order to mitigate WFC, promoting collective affective commitment and thus reducing emotional exhaustion., Competing Interests: Formal ethics approval was not necessary for the study as the research included nurses’ perception data (through questionnaires), rather than data from patient surveys or therapeutic medication. No ethical approval is required in Italy for observational nature studies as they are not defined as medical\clinical research, referring to the Italian law 211/2003. This study complies with the Declaration of Helsinki in 1995 (as revised in Edinburgh 2000) and with Italian privacy law (Decree n. 196/2003). Verbal consent was given by nurses to participate in the study. Because of the anonymity, written consent was not legally required and returning the completed questionnaire was considered as informed consent.Not applicable.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.