Federico Fonda

The continuous development of AI presents unprecedented opportunities for public health. This development prompts educators and researchers to consider how AI can be applied to and integrated into a rapidly evolving global landscape in which AI is reshaping health systems. In turn, this generates an urgent need for structured proposals that bridge theory and practice. In this viewpoint, we present perspectives and proposals on AI applications in public health. We operationalize AI literacy as a core public health competency, defined through knowledge, skills, and attitudes and scaled across professional roles. For education, we describe how AI can support learners, teachers, and organizations through personalized learning experiences, dynamic scenarios, immersive simulations, content preparation, and communication strategies. For research, we analyze how AI can be embedded as a transversal enabler supporting the World Health Organization’s essential public health functions. We emphasize that AI should enhance, rather than replace, human capabilities and propose that AI literacy should be recognized as a core public health competency. We suggest that harnessing AI for public health education and research is, therefore, less a technological challenge than a collective responsibility shared by educators, researchers, and institutions.

UNSTRUCTURED The continuous development of artificial intelligence (AI) presents unprecedented opportunities for public health and prompts educators and researchers to consider how AI can be applied and integrated in a rapidly evolving global landscape where AI is reshaping health systems. This generates an urgent need for structured proposals that bridge theory and practice. In this viewpoint, we present perspectives and proposals on AI application in public health education and research. For education, we describe how AI can support learners, teachers and organisations through personalised learning experiences, dynamic scenarios, immersive simulations, content preparation and communication strategies. For research, we analyse how AI can be embedded as a transversal enabler supporting the WHO Essential Public Health Functions. We emphasise that AI should enhance, rather than replace, human capabilities and propose that AI literacy should be recognised as a core public health competency. We suggest that harnessing AI for public health education and research is, therefore, less a technological challenge than a collective responsibility shared by educators, researchers, and institutions.

Fluid therapy is a cornerstone of sepsis management; however, excessive fluid accumulation might be associated with adverse outcomes. The association betwe

Background: Rapid Response Systems (RRS) aim to implement systematic processes for the early detection and management of emergencies in hospitals. Exploring the current characteristics and organisation of RRS in Europe and evaluating clinical outcomes may help identify areas for improvement. Aim: To provide an overview of the studies conducted in Europe, summarising the characteristics of RRS, their organisational structure and the clinical outcomes documented to date. Study Design: A scoping review was conducted according to the framework of Levac and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA‐ScR) guidelines. The review protocol was registered with Open Science Framework (OSF); CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PubMed and Scopus were then searched. Quantitative primary studies about RRS conducted in Europe and published in English were included. Results: Twenty‐three studies were found, of which 18 (78.3%) were published in the last 10 years. Eleven (47.8%) aimed to describe the function and activities of RRS, while 12 (52.2%) analysed patient outcomes and two (8.7%) the effectiveness, feasibility and costs of RRS. Heterogeneous organisational patterns of RRS emerged, including terminologies (Medical Emergency Team [MET], Rapid Response Team [RRT], Cardiac Arrest Team [CAT], Critical Care Outreach [CCO]), team composition, availability, activation systems and activities. Conclusions: The number of RRS studies is increasing, especially to compare their organisational structure under heterogeneous terminologies. Future research should investigate the outcome variations between different RRS structures. In addition, guidelines that standardise the minimum data set in the field of RRS by also introducing registries could increase consistency between European practices and studies. Relevance to Clinical Practise: Knowledge of the current situation of RRS in Europe can serve as a basis for policies and benchmark models to promote better patient care. Study Registration: This scoping review was registered on Open Science Framework (OSF) on 3 August 2024 ( https://osf.io/ekb95 ; https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/EKB95 ).

Healthcare professionals are a fundamental component of the digital health transformation in all healthcare systems. However, the barriers still affecting the digital transformation in the healthcare sector suggest that the processes used to develop policies, mainly top-down, require some innovation. Development and validation of recommendations to support healthcare professionals in the digital transformation of their daily practice, involving multisectoral and international stakeholders. A consensus development method covering the years 2021 to 2023, combining top-down and bottom-up approaches, was employed by the Digital EducationaL programme InvolVing hEalth pRofessionals (DELIVER) consortium. Policy, literature and needs analyses were conducted at national level and then combined at international level to develop recommendations. Subsequently, experts in the field of digital health, healthcare professionals, managers and others were involved in the final DELIVER Transnational Consensus Development Conference to validate the recommendations developed. Ten recommendations classified into three main domains were validated: (a) encouraging healthcare professionals to welcome the digitalization of the workplace (three recommendations); (b) ensuring basic/advanced and general/specific competencies (four recommendations); and (c) offering technical and organizational support (three recommendations). The recommendations should be considered by multi-sectoral stakeholders, particularly policymakers and healthcare managers, to address the still-present critical issues preventing the digital health transformation in the clinical practice.

Aim: To describe (a) recommended changes implemented and their perceived effectiveness at the country level, (b) changes discontinued in the post‐pandemic era with reasons, and (c) research priorities in nursing education for the next five years.Background/Introduction: The COVID‐19 pandemic has pushed several nursing education transformations. However, no studies have documented changes still prevalent in the post‐pandemic era.Design: A national cross‐sectional study following the STROBE guidelines.Methods: All Italian nursing programs (n = 241) were targeted. Eight major and 21 subrecommendations indicating changes expected were included in the online survey to measure their implementation, their perceived effectiveness and status at the time of the survey, discontinuation reasons, and the research priorities. Descriptive and content analyses were used.Results: 113 (45.5%) nursing programs participated reflecting the education received by >70% of Italian nursing students. All recommended changes have been implemented from 60.2% to 100% nursing programs, resulting in a perceived effectiveness from 4.29 (confidence interval [CI] 95%, 4.07–4.51) to 6.37 (CI 95%, 6.19–6.56) out of 7. A few recommendations were still applied at the time of the survey, while several were discontinued (from 4.8% to 61.9%) because, in order, of concern regarding their effectiveness, university/law dispositions, traditional methods reimplemented, technical/logistic difficulties and students’ requests. Digital solutions’ impact on nursing education was identified as a research priority.Conclusion: After the multifaced changes triggered by the pandemic, the pace of transformation of nursing education seems to have been decelerated.Implications for nursing: The potential regressive pattern that has emerged, wherein the previous model of nursing education is repristinated, calls for immediate action, which is also in line with the research priorities.