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Responsabile: Dott.ssa Marzia Lazzerini
Il 20 febbraio l’OMS 2020 ha dichiarato lo stato di pandemia da COVID-19. L’Italia è stato il primo paese in Europa a fronteggiare l’epidemia e questa ha richiesto la riorganizzazione di numerosi servizi, inclusi i sistemi di diagnosi e di tracciamento casi. Nonostante l’Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità (OMS) abbia diffuso delle raccomandazioni relative all’importanza del “case finding e contact tracing” (CF&CT), ritenute aspetti essenziali nella strategia di contenimento della pandemia, alcuni report preliminari hanno messo in risalto, sia in Italia che in altri paesi, concrete difficoltà ed eterogeneità nell’implementazione di queste raccomandazioni. Sebbene diverse società scientifiche abbiano sollevato una necessità di investimento per migliorare l’implementazione in maniera omogenea dei criteri per il CF&CT, al momento non esistono molti dati sulle pratiche di CF&CT nelle diverse Regioni italiane, né dati utili per esplorare l’attitudine dei professionisti sanitari al riguardo.
Questo studio ha l’obiettivo di raccogliere tramite una survey online, dati utili per analizzare e descrivere le conoscenze, le attitudini e le pratiche relative al CF&CT per COVID-19, tra operatori sanitari sul territorio nazionale. Una migliore conoscenza di queste informazioni potrebbe essere importante per eseguire interventi mirati a contenere l’epidemia, oltre che per meglio interpretare i dati epidemiologici esistenti.
Italy was the first country in Europe to face the COVID-19 pandemic, which required a reorganization of numerous services including diagnostic and case tracking systems. Despite the fact that WHO stressed the importance of case finding and contact tracing (CF&CT) as essential aspects of the pandemic containment strategy, preliminary reports from Italy and other European countries highlighted concrete difficulties in CF&CT implementation, with great heterogeneity in practices. Epidemiologists have raised the need for more investment to standardize CF&CT practices, with the objective of better containing the epidemic and producing comparable surveillance data. Nevertheless, little data is available on knowledge and practices related to CF&CT, and on the related attitudes of different types of health professionals across Italy.
Aims
This study intends to collect, analyze and describe the knowledge, attitudes and practices related to CF&CT for COVID-19 among different types of health workers in the national territory of Italy.
Study Design
This is a cross sectional study. We expect more than one round of surveys.
Materials and methods
The WHO Collaborating Center (WHO CC) will disseminate the survey online, through newsletters, national health worker associations/federations, and social media. The survey is completely anonymous and voluntary. Participants’ answers will be collected on an anonymous, field-tested, standardized form and stored on a secure online database.
Main Expected Results and Impact
The study will describe attitudes and practices related to CF&CT for COVID-19 among a large population of health professionals across Italy. Results will be important to guide future public health strategies.
Significance and Relevance for National Health System
A better knowledge of attitudes and practices related to CF&CT for COVID-19 among health professionals of different medical specialties will provide important information to perform targeted interventions to contain the epidemic. It may also facilitate better interpret the existing surveillance data. The study will help guide public health policies, care practices and the organization of services, both in Italy and in other countries that will continue to face the epidemic in the coming months.