Clinical Research Directory

Clinical Trial Comparing the Efficacy of Two Teletherapy Programs at Improving Psychological Health in People With Brain Injury

The purpose of the study is to test two different training programs to find out which is better at helping people with a concussion or mild TBI (mTBI) improve their emotional health and well-being. Study participation is completely remote and will last approximately 8 months total, involving 4 assessment visits and 8 sessions of brain training via a secure video-conferencing platform. The 4 assessment visits (about 30-90 minutes each) include surveys and questionnaires about participant's emotional health. These assessment visits will take place before the training, immediately after the training, 3 months after training and 6 months after training. The 8 sessions of 1-on-1 training (about 60-90 minutes each) will be completed over the course of approximately 1 month.

Film-Based Medical Education and Social Justice Course: Effects on Alexithymia and Empathy in Medical Students

This study will examine whether a 14-week elective course that uses films and guided discussion on social justice in health care can improve medical students' empathy skills and reduce alexithymia (difficulty recognizing and describing emotions). Approximately 50 volunteer medical students will participate. Students who choose the elective course will form the intervention group, and students who do not take the course will form a comparison group. All participants will complete the same questionnaires/assessments at the beginning and at the end of the semester. The main goal is to compare changes in empathy and alexithymia scores between the two groups.

Visuospatial and Affective Abilities in Parkinson Disease

The aim of the study is to investigate whether prismatic adaptation (PA) and virtual prismatic adaptation (VPA), a non-invasive neuromodulation technique, that involves the use of lenses that deviate the visual field, can modulate alexithyima and performance in visuospatial tasks in patients with Parkinson disease. Furthermore, brain activity during the prismatic adaptation and post-adaptation phases will be recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and high-density electroencephalography (HD-EEG). Based on these premises, the present project aims to investigate the deficits of the affective, motor and visuospatial abilities in Parkinson's patients and the modulation of disorders through prismatic adaptation (PA) and virtual prism adaptation (VPA). Finally, we would like to evaluate production of the tear film and correlate their quantity with the severity of PD as it could be proposed as a new, non-invasive biomarker.

Studio TIARA: Alessitimia ed Emicrania Cronica

The aim of this observational, cross-sectional study is to investigate the relationship between alexithymia and migraine frequency (considering alexithymia a condition that can influence the severity of the clinical phenotype of migraine, favoring its chronicization), in an analysis adjusted for psychiatric comorbidity (for anxiety and depression, potentially influencing migraine chronicization) and for personalogical factor represented by apathy.

Survey of Psychological Well-being of Health Care Workers in the Hospital Setting

The psychological well-being of healthcare workers in hospital settings is a topic of growing interest in the scientific literature, given the crucial importance of their role in ensuring high-quality care. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic health emergency has further accentuated the relevance of this issue, increasing anxiety and stress levels, testing the resilience and resistance of those working in care settings, revealing and highlighting how the accumulation of work-related stress can result in disabling pathologies for the caregiver, with an inevitable impact on the facility and care in general. Recent studies show that health care workers are particularly vulnerable to work-related stress, which can result from various factors such as high work demands, emotional pressure, irregular shifts, and interactions with critically ill patients. Burnout syndrome, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment, is widely documented among hospital staff. Research indicates that burnout not only compromises the psychological health of healthcare workers, but also negatively affects the quality of care provided by increasing the risk of medical errors. In light of these factors, it is crucial to deepen our understanding of the dynamics that influence psychological well-being and work-related stress in health care workers in order to develop effective interventions that can improve their quality of life and consequently the quality of care provided to patients. Preliminary assessment of the emotional burden and motivational aspects of health care workers (showing what very often eludes a first glance, making visible something that is often invisible), along with effective stress management, would allow for greater ability to remain calm under pressure, reduced frustration, increased ability to make informed decisions, and to communicate effectively with patients and colleagues. These aspects translate into an image of a safer and more caring health care system in promoting better quality of care. The aim of this project is to highlight the importance of psychological wellbeing for those working in health care settings and to promote attention to this area, also with a view to identifying possible interventions aimed at identifying preventive and protective factors in relation to health care workers. The aim, therefore, is to show what is very often invisible at first sight, to make visible what is invisible: to explore, accommodate and contain areas of criticality and fragility in the context of work in health care settings, working on interventions aimed at the psychological well-being of workers.