Rughetti Aurelia, Buonomini Anna Rita, Russo Leonardo, Mazzoli Francesca, Urbano Suleika, Iordanoglou Fotinì, Palagiano Cataldo, Barletta Manuel, Casartelli Samuele, Morrone Aldo, Ercoli Lucia
Solidarity Medicine Institute Onlus, Via Aspertini, 520, 00133 Rome, Italy.
Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena, 324, 00161 Rome, Italy.
Children (Basel). 2025 Mar 30;12(4):443. doi: 10.3390/children12040443.
This retrospective observational study describes the social, health, and psychological conditions of children living in a disadvantaged and degraded suburb of Rome Metropolitan City during the COVID-19 pandemic as registered by the primary healthcare service of the Solidarity Medicine Institute, with the aim of fighting social exclusion and health disparities during lockdown and offering free health care to vulnerable families. The access to pediatric interventions was assessed from April 2020 to December 2022. For each child, biometric parameters were recorded, and the physical and psychological states of health were assessed. Furthermore, data regarding family socio-economic variables were collected. From April 2020 to December 2022, 638 children, aged 0 to 18 years, had access to the healthcare system, which was provided by the Solidarity Medicine Institute, with a total of 2300 pediatric visits. Moreover, food supplements, drugs, and hygiene kits that were necessary for the containment of the COVID-19 infection were freely distributed at the center. The highest proportion of children included in this study were from African and Eastern European families (46% and 35.8%, respectively), and 41% of these children did not have a pediatrician from the public health service. Children aged 0 to 5 years comprised 50.81% of the entire population of this study. Nutritional status assessment indicated that among the 117 infants aged 0-12 months, 5.7% were below the 3rd weight percentile, while 28.9% exceeded the 85th weight percentile. BMI assessment for children aged 2 years and older (i.e., 521 children) indicated that 21.7% of these children were overweight, and 9.5% were obese. Sixty-nine cases of psychiatric disorders were also detected among these children, with a high frequency of cases of Specific Language Disorder (31.8%), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (21.7%), and Specific Learning Disorder (14.5%). Psychiatric and rehabilitative interventions were also offered. The Solidarity Medicine Institute responded to the request of the municipality of Rome to remain open and offer social and health assistance to the most vulnerable people during the pandemic. The Solidarity Medicine Institute has efficaciously served a fragile pediatric population, intercepting social, health, and psychological needs and overcoming social exclusion, health disparity, and the fragmentation of welfare services exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
这项回顾性观察研究描述了在新冠疫情期间，居住在罗马大都会一个处境不利且环境恶化郊区的儿童的社会、健康和心理状况，这些信息由团结医学研究所的初级医疗服务机构记录，目的是在封锁期间消除社会排斥和健康差距，并为弱势家庭提供免费医疗服务。对2020年4月至2022年12月期间儿童获得儿科干预的情况进行了评估。为每个孩子记录了生物特征参数，并评估了他们的身心健康状况。此外，还收集了有关家庭社会经济变量的数据。2020年4月至2022年12月期间，638名0至18岁的儿童获得了团结医学研究所提供的医疗系统服务，总共进行了2300次儿科就诊。此外，该中心还免费分发了控制新冠感染所需的食品补充剂、药品和卫生用品套装。本研究中纳入的儿童中，来自非洲和东欧家庭的比例最高（分别为46%和35.8%），其中41%的儿童没有公共卫生服务体系的儿科医生。0至5岁的儿童占本研究总人口的50.81%。营养状况评估表明，在117名0至12个月大的婴儿中，5.7%的婴儿体重低于第3百分位，而28.9%的婴儿体重超过第85百分位。对2岁及以上儿童（即521名儿童）的BMI评估表明，这些儿童中有21.7%超重，9.5%肥胖。在这些儿童中还检测出69例精神障碍病例，其中特定语言障碍病例（31.8%）、注意力缺陷多动障碍病例（21.7%）和特定学习障碍病例（14.5%）的发生率较高。还提供了精神科和康复干预措施。团结医学研究所响应了罗马市的要求，在疫情期间保持开放，为最脆弱人群提供社会和健康援助。团结医学研究所有效地服务了一个脆弱的儿科人群，满足了他们的社会、健康和心理需求，克服了社会排斥、健康差距以及新冠疫情加剧的福利服务碎片化问题。
