AUTHOR=Milani Chiara , Buscemi Primo , Velpini Beatrice , Naldini Giulia , Cosma Claudia , Giannuzzi Francesco , Ionita Giulia , Monaci Pietro , Landi Ruggero , Pontalti Irene , Baggiani Lorenzo , Nerattini Marco , Lorini Chiara , Bonaccorsi Guglielmo 

TITLE=The Activity of Special Continuity Care Units in the City of Florence During the COVID-19 Pandemic

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 68 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2023.1606338

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2023.1606338

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=Objectives: Worldwide, countries adopted different strategies in primary care (PC) to cope with COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to describe and evaluate functions and activity load of a specific PC organizational model called ‘Special Continuity Care Units’ (SCCU) - in Florence (Italy), and to investigate the characteristics of theCOVID-19 patients assisted by the service.
Methods: the retrospective cross-sectional design used daily updated report by SCCU team members to evaluate the activity load. The retrospective cohort study analyzed data of demographic, clinical characteristics and process outcomes of patients assisted during the 2nd pandemic wave.
Results: the analysis shows how the service activity load changed along with the epidemiological trend. Regarding people assisted by SCCU, the median follow-up duration of symptoms is 6 days; male gender and being symptomatic are predictors of hospitalization.
Conclusion: some key characteristics can be described as indispensable in PC services facing Health Emergencies: model flexibility, availability of resources, networking among services to enhance coordination and resource optimization, and close collaboration with General Practitioners.