A. Mannocci, L. Semyonov, R. Saulle, N. Skroza, C. Potenza, E. Tolino, A. Boccia, G. La Torre
Objectives: Cigarette smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the United States. Tobacco related mortality has promoted a massive effort to understand and enhance smoking cessation efforts. In this study, we examine the role of different factors on intentions to quit smoking. Methods: Data is taken from Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 2012. A total of 1745 national representative samples of U.S adults, meeting our research conditions, were included in this study. Results: Multivariate statistical analysis methods were used which showed that employed participants were 6 times more likely to have intentions to quit than participants with other occupational statuses were. Participants who received support sometimes from health professionals were 9 times more likely to have intention to quit smoking as compared to those who never received support from health professionals. In addition, race (Hispanic), and age group (35-39 years) are significantly associated with intentions to quit smoking. Perceived personal risk of cancer, perceived compared risk of cancer, and family history of cancer were not significantly associated with intentions to quit smoking. Conclusion: Our study suggests that age, race, occupational status, and help from health professionals are viable intervention targets for smoking cessation interventions. As a key role can be played by health professionals in smoking cessation interventions, future work should evaluate the extent to which health professionals can play a role in smoking cessation intervention. Smokers should be encouraged to maintain smoke free environments in their homes and offices, by health care providers leading to the protection of non-smokers, lesser convenience for smoking, decreased cigarette consumption, and smoking cues over time.
{"title":"Association of Smoking Cessation and Intentions to Quit: Role of Occupational Status, Health Professional’s Support, and Perceived Risk","authors":"A. Mannocci, L. Semyonov, R. Saulle, N. Skroza, C. Potenza, E. Tolino, A. Boccia, G. La Torre","doi":"10.2427/10987","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/10987","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Objectives: Cigarette smoking continues to be the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the United States. Tobacco related mortality has promoted a massive effort to understand and enhance smoking cessation efforts. In this study, we examine the role of different factors on intentions to quit smoking. \u0000Methods: Data is taken from Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 2012. A total of 1745 national representative samples of U.S adults, meeting our research conditions, were included in this study. \u0000Results: Multivariate statistical analysis methods were used which showed that employed participants were 6 times more likely to have intentions to quit than participants with other occupational statuses were. Participants who received support sometimes from health professionals were 9 times more likely to have intention to quit smoking as compared to those who never received support from health professionals. In addition, race (Hispanic), and age group (35-39 years) are significantly associated with intentions to quit smoking. Perceived personal risk of cancer, perceived compared risk of cancer, and family history of cancer were not significantly associated with intentions to quit smoking. \u0000Conclusion: Our study suggests that age, race, occupational status, and help from health professionals are viable intervention targets for smoking cessation interventions. As a key role can be played by health professionals in smoking cessation interventions, future work should evaluate the extent to which health professionals can play a role in smoking cessation intervention. Smokers should be encouraged to maintain smoke free environments in their homes and offices, by health care providers leading to the protection of non-smokers, lesser convenience for smoking, decreased cigarette consumption, and smoking cues over time. \u0000","PeriodicalId":45811,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiology Biostatistics and Public Health","volume":"128 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82252107","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Personalized PREvention of Chronic DIseases (PRECeDI): a Marie Curie RISE project","authors":"S. Boccia, R. Pastorino","doi":"10.2427/18993","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/18993","url":null,"abstract":" ","PeriodicalId":45811,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiology Biostatistics and Public Health","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82078948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Erratum EBPH 2015;12(1):e10106-1-12.","authors":"Edward B. Ilgren","doi":"10.2427/11451","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/11451","url":null,"abstract":"COMPETING INTEREST","PeriodicalId":45811,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiology Biostatistics and Public Health","volume":"47 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75784136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
C. Magnani, Dario Mirabelli, Francesco Barone-Adesi, Roberto Calisti, R. Compagnoni, B. Fubini, S. Silvestri, Benedetto Terracini
{"title":"Letter","authors":"C. Magnani, Dario Mirabelli, Francesco Barone-Adesi, Roberto Calisti, R. Compagnoni, B. Fubini, S. Silvestri, Benedetto Terracini","doi":"10.2427/11367","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/11367","url":null,"abstract":" ","PeriodicalId":45811,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiology Biostatistics and Public Health","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73423976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. Scotti, S. Romio, A. Ghirardi, A. Arfè, M. Casula, L. Hazell, F. Lapi, A. Catapano, M. Sturkenboom, G. Corrao
Purpose. In pharmacovigilance, spontaneous reporting databases are devoted to the early detection of adverse event ‘signals’ of marketed drugs. A common limitation of these systems is the wide number of concurrently investigated associations, implying a high probability of generating positive signals simply by chance. However it is not clear if the application of methods aimed to adjust for the multiple testing problems are needed when at least some of the drug-outcome relationship under study are known. To this aim we applied a robust estimation method for the FDR (rFDR) particularly suitable in the pharmacovigilance context. Methods. We exploited the data available for the SAFEGUARD project to apply the rFDR estimation methods to detect potential false positive signals of adverse reactions attributable to the use of non-insulin blood glucose lowering drugs. Specifically, the number of signals generated from the conventional disproportionality measures and after the application of the rFDR adjustment method was compared. Results. Among the 311 evaluable pairs (i.e., drug-event pairs with at least one adverse event report), 106 (34%) signals were considered as significant from the conventional analysis. Among them 1 resulted in false positive signals according to rFDR method. Conclusions. The results of this study seem to suggest that when a restricted number of drug-outcome pairs is considered and warnings about some of them are known, multiple comparisons methods for recognizing false positive signals are not so useful as suggested by theoretical considerations.
{"title":"Should methods of correction for multiple comparisons be applied in pharmacovigilance?","authors":"L. Scotti, S. Romio, A. Ghirardi, A. Arfè, M. Casula, L. Hazell, F. Lapi, A. Catapano, M. Sturkenboom, G. Corrao","doi":"10.2427/11654","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/11654","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Purpose. In pharmacovigilance, spontaneous reporting databases are devoted to the early detection of adverse event ‘signals’ of marketed drugs. A common limitation of these systems is the wide number of concurrently investigated associations, implying a high probability of generating positive signals simply by chance. However it is not clear if the application of methods aimed to adjust for the multiple testing problems are needed when at least some of the drug-outcome relationship under study are known. To this aim we applied a robust estimation method for the FDR (rFDR) particularly suitable in the pharmacovigilance context. \u0000Methods. We exploited the data available for the SAFEGUARD project to apply the rFDR estimation methods to detect potential false positive signals of adverse reactions attributable to the use of non-insulin blood glucose lowering drugs. Specifically, the number of signals generated from the conventional disproportionality measures and after the application of the rFDR adjustment method was compared. \u0000Results. Among the 311 evaluable pairs (i.e., drug-event pairs with at least one adverse event report), 106 (34%) signals were considered as significant from the conventional analysis. Among them 1 resulted in false positive signals according to rFDR method. \u0000Conclusions. The results of this study seem to suggest that when a restricted number of drug-outcome pairs is considered and warnings about some of them are known, multiple comparisons methods for recognizing false positive signals are not so useful as suggested by theoretical considerations. \u0000","PeriodicalId":45811,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiology Biostatistics and Public Health","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82267836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. Giraldi, M. Colotto, R. Pastorino, D. Arzani, E. Vayena, C. Ineichen, S. Boccia
Aims: This study reports on the attitudes of 179 Italian Medical Students to direct-to-consumer genetic test and to participation in research practices. Methods: Data were collected using a self-completion online questionnaire sent to 380 medical students at the faculty of Medicine of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome, Italy. Questions pertained issues related to awareness and attitudes towards genetic testing, reactions to hypothetical results, and views about contributing to scientific research. Results: The response rate was 47.1%. Less than 50% of students were aware of DTC genetic test. Seventy-four percent of the sample were interested in undergoing DTC genetic test, and the main reason was being aware on genetic predisposition to diseases. Among those who were not willing to undergo a genetic test, the main reason was the lack of confidence in the results. In the hypothetical situations of an increased disease risk after undergoing DTC genetic testing, respondents would take actions to reduce that risk, while in the opposite scenario they would feel unaffected because of the probabilistic nature of the test. Conclusions: We reported a good level of awareness about DTC genetic test and a high interest in undergoing DTC genetic test in our sample. Nevertheless, opinions and reactions are strongly dependent by the hypothetical good or bad result that the test could provide and by the context whereby a genetic test could be performed. Respondents seem to be exposed to the risk of psychological harms, and a strong regulation regarding their use is required.
{"title":"Medical Students Knowledge and Attitude Towards Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Tests","authors":"L. Giraldi, M. Colotto, R. Pastorino, D. Arzani, E. Vayena, C. Ineichen, S. Boccia","doi":"10.2427/1188","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/1188","url":null,"abstract":"Aims: This study reports on the attitudes of 179 Italian Medical Students to direct-to-consumer genetic test and to participation in research practices. \u0000Methods: Data were collected using a self-completion online questionnaire sent to 380 medical students at the faculty of Medicine of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome, Italy. Questions pertained issues related to awareness and attitudes towards genetic testing, reactions to hypothetical results, and views about contributing to scientific research. \u0000Results: The response rate was 47.1%. Less than 50% of students were aware of DTC genetic test. Seventy-four percent of the sample were interested in undergoing DTC genetic test, and the main reason was being aware on genetic predisposition to diseases. Among those who were not willing to undergo a genetic test, the main reason was the lack of confidence in the results. In the hypothetical situations of an increased disease risk after undergoing DTC genetic testing, respondents would take actions to reduce that risk, while in the opposite scenario they would feel unaffected because of the probabilistic nature of the test. \u0000Conclusions: We reported a good level of awareness about DTC genetic test and a high interest in undergoing DTC genetic test in our sample. Nevertheless, opinions and reactions are strongly dependent by the hypothetical good or bad result that the test could provide and by the context whereby a genetic test could be performed. Respondents seem to be exposed to the risk of psychological harms, and a strong regulation regarding their use is required.","PeriodicalId":45811,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiology Biostatistics and Public Health","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84792447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Millions of people have tattoos. The systemic effects of tattoo colorants (TCs) are mostly unknown. Several tattoos are on the market, which contain carcinogenic compounds such as poly aromatic hydrocarbons compounds or carcinogenic aromatic amines. Using the concept of the EPA for the risk assessment for compounds present in the environment, we estimated an additional lifetime cancer risk of 4.5 per 10000 people with a tattoo of pigment yellow 14. Such a lifetime cancer risk is comparable to the cancer risk estimated for meat consumption.
{"title":"Carcinogenic Tattoos?","authors":"G. Sabbioni, U. Hauri","doi":"10.2427/12018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/12018","url":null,"abstract":"Millions of people have tattoos. The systemic effects of tattoo colorants (TCs) are mostly unknown. Several tattoos are on the market, which contain carcinogenic compounds such as poly aromatic hydrocarbons compounds or carcinogenic aromatic amines. Using the concept of the EPA for the risk assessment for compounds present in the environment, we estimated an additional lifetime cancer risk of 4.5 per 10000 people with a tattoo of pigment yellow 14. Such a lifetime cancer risk is comparable to the cancer risk estimated for meat consumption.","PeriodicalId":45811,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiology Biostatistics and Public Health","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76671401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. Palmieri, G. Veronesi, M. Ferrario, G. Corrao, C. Donfrancesco, F. Carle, S. Giampaoli
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading causes of death and hospitalisation in nearly all European countries and accounted for almost 40% of all deaths in 2013. With the exception of few rigorous but limited studies carried out in some geographical areas, data available on CVD incidence and prevalence is generally limited and of poor quality, despite the magnitude of the CVD phenomenon. The EUROCISS Project, supported by the Health Monitoring Programme of the DG SANCO from 2000 to 2007, provided general guidance and updated methods for the surveillance of Acute Myocardial Infarction and Stroke. The Italian population-based registry of major coronary and cerebrovascular events was set up following EUROCISS recommendations; it also took into account the experience acquired by Italy in the MONICA project since the mid-1980s and continued with the coordination of the EUROCISS The project: “A population-based AMI register: assessing the feasibility for a pilot study to implement a surveillance system of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Mediterranean countries according to EUROCISS recommendations” in the framework of the EuroMed Programme, followed major practical and operative issues for the implementation of a population-based registry for coronary and cerebrovascular events, which are here described. This paper includes the definition of target population, data sources, events, indicators, quality methods, and the description of a software used to implement the registry.
{"title":"Acute myocardial infarction and stroke registries. The Italian experience","authors":"L. Palmieri, G. Veronesi, M. Ferrario, G. Corrao, C. Donfrancesco, F. Carle, S. Giampaoli","doi":"10.2427/12817","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/12817","url":null,"abstract":"Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading causes of death and hospitalisation in nearly all European countries and accounted for almost 40% of all deaths in 2013. With the exception of few rigorous but limited studies carried out in some geographical areas, data available on CVD incidence and prevalence is generally limited and of poor quality, despite the magnitude of the CVD phenomenon. The EUROCISS Project, supported by the Health Monitoring Programme of the DG SANCO from 2000 to 2007, provided general guidance and updated methods for the surveillance of Acute Myocardial Infarction and Stroke. The Italian population-based registry of major coronary and cerebrovascular events was set up following EUROCISS recommendations; it also took into account the experience acquired by Italy in the MONICA project since the mid-1980s and continued with the coordination of the EUROCISS The project: “A population-based AMI register: assessing the feasibility for a pilot study to implement a surveillance system of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Mediterranean countries according to EUROCISS recommendations” in the framework of the EuroMed Programme, followed major practical and operative issues for the implementation of a population-based registry for coronary and cerebrovascular events, which are here described. This paper includes the definition of target population, data sources, events, indicators, quality methods, and the description of a software used to implement the registry.","PeriodicalId":45811,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiology Biostatistics and Public Health","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86500061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
F. Carle, Lidia Di Minco, E. Skrami, R. Gesuita, L. Palmieri, S. Giampaoli, G. Corrao
The assessment of data quality and suitability plays an important role in improving the validity and generalisability of the results of studies based on secondary use of health databases. The availability of more and more updated and valid information on data quality and suitability provides data users and researchers an useful tool to optimize their activities. In this paper, we have summarized and synthesized the main aspects of Data Quality Assessment (DQA) applied in the field of secondary use of healthcare databases, with the aim of drawing attention to the critical aspects having to be considered and developed for improving the correct and effective use of secondary sources. Four developing features are identified: standardizing DQA methods, reporting DQA methods and results, synergy between data managers and data users, role of Institutions. Interdisciplinarity, multi-professionality and connection between government institutions, regulatory bodies, universities and the scientific community will provide the "toolbox" for i) developing standardized and shared DQA methods for health databases, ii) defining the best strategies for disseminating DQA information and results.
{"title":"Quality Assessment of Healthcare Databases","authors":"F. Carle, Lidia Di Minco, E. Skrami, R. Gesuita, L. Palmieri, S. Giampaoli, G. Corrao","doi":"10.2427/12901","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/12901","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The assessment of data quality and suitability plays an important role in improving the validity and generalisability of the results of studies based on secondary use of health databases. The availability of more and more updated and valid information on data quality and suitability provides data users and researchers an useful tool to optimize their activities. \u0000In this paper, we have summarized and synthesized the main aspects of Data Quality Assessment (DQA) applied in the field of secondary use of healthcare databases, with the aim of drawing attention to the critical aspects having to be considered and developed for improving the correct and effective use of secondary sources. \u0000Four developing features are identified: standardizing DQA methods, reporting DQA methods and results, synergy between data managers and data users, role of Institutions. Interdisciplinarity, multi-professionality and connection between government institutions, regulatory bodies, universities and the scientific community will provide the \"toolbox\" for i) developing standardized and shared DQA methods for health databases, ii) defining the best strategies for disseminating DQA information and results. \u0000","PeriodicalId":45811,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiology Biostatistics and Public Health","volume":"50 4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79872221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
F. Rea, Pietro Pugni, D. Pescini, L. Palmieri, S. Giampaoli, F. Carle, G. Corrao
Real-world evidence can provide answers on healthcare utilization and appropriateness, post-marketing drugs safety and comparative effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness profiles of healthcare pathways. Healthcare utilization databases, possibly integrated with drug and disease registries, electronic medical records, survey and cohort data (i.e. real-world data), allow to trace healthcare ‘footprints’ left from beneficiaries of National Health Service. Beaver is a research platform available on demand to Italian regions which we developed for computing indicators of healthcare utilization and clinical outcomes, as well as for generating evidence on effectiveness and cost-effectiveness profile. Two distinct solutions may be adopted. One, the so-called Beaver Light front-end allows to automatically compute health indicators of adherence to official guidelines. Two, the so-called Beaver Full front-end involves an eight-step procedure entirely driven by the study protocol. In order to fulfil the directives recently issued by the European Parliament and Council and the Italian Authority for the protection of individual data, the platform resides in each region’s infrastructure, so limiting the free movement of electronic health data. Indeed, regional authorities should be responsible for data safety and for allowing data accessibility. The use of standardized and validated algorithms enables to obtain regional estimates that, being obtained by employing regional platforms containing data extracted with standardized procedure, may be compared and possibly summarized by using common meta-analytic techniques. In conclusion, the Beaver regional platform is a promising tool which may contribute to stimulate healthcare research in Italy.
{"title":"Real-world assessment of healthcare provided by the National Health Service: The network of regional Beaver research platforms","authors":"F. Rea, Pietro Pugni, D. Pescini, L. Palmieri, S. Giampaoli, F. Carle, G. Corrao","doi":"10.2427/12862","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2427/12862","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Real-world evidence can provide answers on healthcare utilization and appropriateness, post-marketing drugs safety and comparative effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness profiles of healthcare pathways. Healthcare utilization databases, possibly integrated with drug and disease registries, electronic medical records, survey and cohort data (i.e. real-world data), allow to trace healthcare ‘footprints’ left from beneficiaries of National Health Service. \u0000Beaver is a research platform available on demand to Italian regions which we developed for computing indicators of healthcare utilization and clinical outcomes, as well as for generating evidence on effectiveness and cost-effectiveness profile. Two distinct solutions may be adopted. One, the so-called Beaver Light front-end allows to automatically compute health indicators of adherence to official guidelines. Two, the so-called Beaver Full front-end involves an eight-step procedure entirely driven by the study protocol. \u0000In order to fulfil the directives recently issued by the European Parliament and Council and the Italian Authority for the protection of individual data, the platform resides in each region’s infrastructure, so limiting the free movement of electronic health data. Indeed, regional authorities should be responsible for data safety and for allowing data accessibility. The use of standardized and validated algorithms enables to obtain regional estimates that, being obtained by employing regional platforms containing data extracted with standardized procedure, may be compared and possibly summarized by using common meta-analytic techniques. \u0000In conclusion, the Beaver regional platform is a promising tool which may contribute to stimulate healthcare research in Italy. \u0000","PeriodicalId":45811,"journal":{"name":"Epidemiology Biostatistics and Public Health","volume":"2021 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87835161","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}