Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 2030 Agenda represent global development programs. Education can widen the acknowledgement of their relevance and their applications. This survey aims to assess awareness, knowledge and attitudes towards SDGs and sustainability among first-year students in nine Italian Universities. A Likert scale-based online questionnaire of 70 items was compiled by students from March to July 2019. It examined knowledge and expectations referred to sustainable development concepts, indicators and documents/models accounting for sociodemographic variables. Statistical analyses performed were Chi-square test, Fisher’s Exact test, Kendall’s W correlation coefficient, univariate and multivariate analysis. The questionnaire was completed by 1676 students. A low percentage referred a good knowledge of SDGs and 2030 Agenda, most of them had never attended related educational activities previously. Better knowledge of SDGs and 2030 Agenda was observed in case of previous specific educational activities (p < 0.001). The expectation towards university guaranteeing an education on SDGs was high, both for personal wisdom and for usefulness in future professional context. A significant difference (p < 0.001) in such expectations was found, as healthcare students were less interested than colleagues of other areas. The results showed low knowledge but interest towards sustainable development. A scheduled implementation of academic initiatives should be considered.

Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet #Preprint #PeerReviewMe: Warning: This is a unreviewed preprint. Readers are warned that the document has not been peer-reviewed by expert/patient reviewers or an academic editor, may contain misleading claims, and is likely to undergo changes before final publication, if accepted, or may have been rejected/withdrawn. Readers with interest and expertise are encouraged to sign up as peer-reviewer, if the paper is within an open peer-review period. Please cite this preprint only for review purposes or for grant applications and CVs (if you are the author). Background: The eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) is a tool for the self-assessment of perceived comfort and skills in using the Internet as a source for health-related information. Although evidence exists of reliability, construct and structural validity of the scale, there is a lack of evidence for criterion validity in relation to what is proposed by Norman and Skinner in their theoretical model of eHealth literacy (lily model), in particular it is not clear whether having more health literacy can positively influence eHealth literacy as measured by the eHEALS. Objective: Our study aim was to assess whether real-life experiences in the area of health, as a proxy of higher health literacy, could influence eHealth literacy as measured using the eHEALS and proposed in the lily model of e-health literacy, while also validating the scale in the adult Italian population by exploring its internal consistency and component structure. Methods: Two web-based surveys were conducted among adults living in Northeast Italy. In order to be able to measure the impact of a real-life experience in the health field, we divided our sample into two groups, respectively characterized by experience in studying or working in the health sector and by lack thereof. Results: We recruited a total of 1135 subjects, of which 326 were included in the group with studying and working experiences in the health field. After removing subjects who didn’t complete the whole eHEALS, a total of 868 eHEALS respondents were included for further analysis. Mean eHEALS total score was 28.2±6.2 for the whole sample, with statistically significant differences (P<.001) between the two groups, with the higher health literate group scoring significantly better (31.9±5.9 vs 26.7±5.6). Cronbach alpha was high for all groups (.90 for the whole sample of eHEALS respondents, and .91 and .87 for the two groups separately), and Principal Factor Component analysis showed good factor loadings for all items ranging from 0.68 to 0.83 in the whole sample, with an eigenvalue of 4.90 explaining 61% of the total variability. Analysis of convergent validity showed results in line with current literature, with a significant, yet moderate, correlation of eHEALS score with frequency of Internet use for health-related purposes. Conclusions: The study demonstrated health literacy positive influence on eHEALS results and its complex relation with eHealth literacy, corroborating what was initially proposed by Norman and Skinner in the lily model. Also, we have been able to test an alternative Italian translation of the eHEALS (IT-eHEALS), which can be used as a valid tool to measure eHealth literacy in the adult Italian population.

Four percent of the world’s population suffers from depression, which is a major public health issue. Medical students are at risk, as their depressive symptoms (DS) prevalence is reported to be approximately 27% worldwide. Since few data on Italian medical students exist, this study aimed to estimate their DS prevalence and assess risk and protective factors. The PRIMES was a multicentre cross-sectional study performed in 12 Italian medical schools. Questionnaires were self-reported and included 30 sociodemographic items and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). The primary outcome was the presence of DS (BDI-II score≥14). The main analyses were chi-squared tests and multivariable logistic regressions with a p-value<0.05 considered significant. The number of collected questionnaires was 2,513 (117 BDI-II incomplete). Females accounted for 61.3% of the respondents, and the median age was 22 years (IQR = 4). The prevalence of DS was 29.5%. Specifically, 14.0% had mild depression, 11.1% had moderate depression, and 4.5% had severe depression. The main risk factors for DS were age, being female, bisexual/asexual orientation, living with partner/housemates, poor economic status (worsened by living far from home), less than 90 min of weekly exercise, relatives with psychiatric disorders, personal chronic disease, judging medical school choice negatively, unsatisfying friendships with classmates, competitive and hostile climate among classmates, thinking that medical school hinders specific activities and being worried about not measuring up to the profession. Protective factors included family cohesion, hobbies, intellectual curiosity as a career motivation and no worries about the future. Italian medical students are at high risk of reporting DS, similar to the global population of medical students’. Medical schools must make efforts to implement preventive and treatment interventions by offering counselling and working on modifiable factors, such as lifestyle and learning climate.

What is the state of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge among teens? What about adolescents’ attitudes toward SRH and the available supporting network? A cross-sectional study conducted between April and May 2018. An anonymous 36-item questionnaire on SRH knowledge, behaviors, and networks was developed, revised and validated by a multidisciplinary health professional team, then distributed to high school students in Udine (Italy). 747 questionnaires were collected in five high schools; respondents were predominantly male, mean age 14.8 years; 48% of students have sufficient SRH knowledge (considered as above the mean value). Factors associated with higher knowledge levels were female sex, age, SES according to father's profession, first SRH information at age 11–13, Italy as country of origin, and attendance at a technical school. Students’ knowledge on SHR resulted relatively poor. Sex, school type and previous experience of sexuality education were the most important factor associated with SRH knowledge.

Inappropriate use of dietary supplements can be potentially harmful to patients, especially given the uncontrolled information on the Internet and social media. The role that pharmacists play in advising citizens and purchasing these products can help improve their safer use, but the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of these professionals on this topic are still largely unknown.

Background: Despite the availability of thousands of health apps worldwide, when considering those addressing children’s first 1000 days of life, most apps fail to consider the continuity between the prenatal and postnatal stages, and their joint impact on maternal and child health. The reliability, quality, and effectiveness of these apps are largely unknown, and the provided content seems questionable in terms of completeness, updating, and trustworthiness. Objective: This study evaluates available Italian pregnancy and postnatal care apps to highlight the main gaps to be overcome and the resulting future challenges to be met in this mobile health–related field. Methods: A systematic search was conducted on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, and basic information was collected for all identified apps. After deduplication and further selection based on the exclusion criteria, an in-depth analysis of each app was performed by two researchers independently. A 71-item six-domain questionnaire about the desirable features of apps was used to assess information, functionalities, and technical features, while the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) was employed for app quality evaluation. Results: From an initial sample of 684 apps, 22 were deeply analyzed. Most apps did not fulfill the expectations, as just one achieved 50% of all desirable aspects. Postnatal care and counselling for both the mother and child was the least accomplished domain. Moreover, the quality of app information was generally rated more negatively than the quality of their functionality and esthetic features. The lacking aspects were information about methods for postpartum family planning and birth spacing (1/22, 5%) and immunization (2/22, 9%). Conclusions: The identified gaps could serve as a basis for designing and implementing increasingly high-quality, targeted, and effective apps for pregnancy and postnatal health care, which provide comprehensive, reliable, and evidence-based information, as well as appropriate esthetic and functional characteristics, with relevant implications in terms of maternal and newborn health prevention and promotion.