Data about self-perceived food choice (FC) changes and their determinants during COVID-19 lockdowns are limited. This study investigated how the Italian lockdown affected self-perceived food purchases (FP), occurrence of impulse buying (IB), household food waste production (HFWP) and their determinants. A web-based cross-sectional survey was distributed in May 2020, collecting an opportunistic sample of the Italian population. A total of 1865 (70% females) people were enrolled, the median age was 29 (IQR 16.0). Most of the sample increased overall FP (53.4%), food consumption (43.4%), reduced HFWP (53.7%) and halved the prevalence of IB (20.9%) compared to the period before the lockdown (42.5%). Baking ingredients, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit and chocolate had the largest sales increase by individuals, while bakery products, fresh fish and salted snacks purchases highly decreased. Increased FP was associated with the occurrence of IB (adjOR 2.48, p < 0.001) and inversely associated with not having worked during lockdown (adjOR 0.71, p = 0.003). Multivariable logistic regressions revealed occurrence of IB was associated with low perceived dietary quality (adjOR 2.22, p < 0.001), resulting at risk, according to the Emotional Overeating Questionnaire (EOQ, adjOR 1.68, p < 0.001), and inversely associated with decreased HFWP (adjOR 0.73, p < 0.012). Reduced HFWP was associated with higher perceived dietary quality (adjOR 2.27, p < 0.001) and negatively associated with low score at WHO-5 Well-Being Index (adjOR 0.72, p = 0.002). The Italian lockdown highly affected FC behaviours, leading to positive and sustainable habits towards food purchase and consumption. Public health interventions are needed to keep these new positive effects and avoid negative consequences in case of future lockdowns.

This systematic review and meta-analysis sought to explore the prevalence of sexual violence including both sexual harassment and abuse, perpetrated by clients against home healthcare workers (HCWs), including professional and paraprofessional HCWs. To this end, we systematically searched five relevant databases. Two reviewers extracted data from the included studies independently and performed a quality appraisal. Overall and subgroup random-effects pooled prevalence meta-analyses were performed. Due to high heterogeneity, a more robust model using a quality effect estimator was used. Fourteen studies were included, and the prevalence of sexual violence was 0.06 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.01–0.13). Paraprofessionals had a higher prevalence of sexual violence (0.07, 95% CI: 0.00–0.18 vs. 0.05, 95% CI: 0.00–0.12), and the prevalence of sexual abuse was lower than that of sexual harassment (0.04, 95% CI: 0.00–0.10 vs. 0.10, 95% CI: 0.03–0.18). This systematic review estimated the prevalence of sexual violence across home HCWs from different high-income countries, highlighting the presence of this phenomenon to a lesser but nevertheless considerable extent compared to other healthcare settings. Health management should consider interventions to prevent and reduce the risk of home HCWs from being subjected to sexual violence, as the home-care sector presents particular risks for HCWs because clients’ homes expose them to a relatively uncontrolled work environment.

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are an extremely serious complication of hip arthroplasty, estimated to affect up to nearly 3% of procedures. In Italy, SSIs are monitored through a national surveillance system (Sistema Nazionale Sorveglianza delle Infezioni del Sito Chirurgico, SNICh). Several studies suggest bundled interventions are effective in reducing SSI rates in orthopaedic surgery. A bundled intervention was implemented in 2012 in 34 out of the 49 hospitals of the North-West of Italy participating in SNICh. A cohort study was conducted between January 1st, 2012 and December 31st, 2019 to evaluate the impact of the intervention on SSI rates after hip arthroplasty. The four elements of the bundle are: appropriate preoperative shower, preoperative hair removal, perioperative normothermia, antibiotic prophylaxis. Data on compliance with the bundle and the occurrence of infection were collected. In total, 18,791 procedures were included in the study. Full bundle compliance was achieved in 27.9% of procedures. The percentage of fully compliant procedures significantly increased over time from introduction of the bundled intervention (R² 0.799, p-value 0.003). Multivariable analysis found a significant association between full bundle compliance and reduced SSI rate, with a reduction of the odds of infection of 31% (95% CI 0.5-0.96; p 0.026). Results of this study support bundled interventions as an effective implementation strategy for infection prevention and control practices in hip replacement surgery. This simple bundle protocol could be easily implemented in settings with limited resources.

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the prevalence of violence perpetrated by healthcare workers (HCWs) against patients in long-term care (LTC). For this purpose, five relevant databases were searched. Two reviewers extracted data from the included articles independently and assessed their quality. Overall and subgroup random-effects pooled prevalence meta-analyses were performed. A series of meta-analyses stratified by study quality were also performed due to high heterogeneity. Nineteen articles were included, physical restraint (22%; CI: 15–29), verbal abuse (22%; CI: 16–28), and neglect (20%; CI: 15–26) attained the highest overall prevalence, while sexual abuse was less reported (2%; CI: 1–3). The prevalence of witnessed violence is generally higher than those reported by HCWs, and patients and their relatives reported fewer cases of violence than HCWs. Differences in violence perpetrated among LTC settings were found. Neglect (64%; CI: 56–72) and financial abuse (7%; CI: 3–12) reported by HCWs were higher in home care, while verbal abuse (21%; CI: 7–39) reported by patients or their families was higher in nursing homes. Our findings highlight that violence perpetrated by HCWs toward patients represents a significant concern in LTC, suggesting the adoption of reliable monitoring approaches and provision of assistance to victims in reporting abuse.