Proximity care, activities begin locally: with the first action of Proxy Young cardiology screening, cardiovascular risk prevention and focus on lifestyles for 150 students of the Istituto Superiore di Istruzione in Barga

Activities have begun in the territory of Proximity Care, the multi-year project that combines the caring dimension of care with technological innovation, prevention and promotion to improve the quality of life of those living in the 23 municipalities of the inland areas of the province of Lucca. Proximity Care is being implemented by the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa with the support of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca and the involvement of the Regione Toscana, Asl Toscana Nord Ovest and the Fondazione Monasterio, along with third-sector institutions. The first action of the project, renamed Proxy Young, is aimed at girls and boys living in the Garfagnana, Media Valle and Alta Versilia area, with their involvement in health promotion, education and prevention actions, knowledge and accessibility to services dedicated to them in the area.

In Just Remote - an activity scheduled within the Proxy Young line of action - the project team of the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Fondazione Monasterio, and ASL Toscana Nord Ovest (Francesco Gentile and Francesca Moschetti both PhD Students from the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies; Elisabetta Battistoni, a nurse from ASL Nord-Ovest) involved a total of 150 students and 20 teachers from the Istituto Superiore di Istruzione in Barga. The project is being carried out with the coordination of researcher Francesca Pennucci and professor Alberto Giannoni of the Interdisciplinary Health Science Center of the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, both responsible for the Proxy Young action, and the collaboration of school principal Iolanda Bocci, vice principal Silvia Redini, the institute's contact person for civic education Lucia Frazzetto, exercise science colleagues Mariachiara Marchetti and Lucia Lucchesi and teacher Rossella Piegaia, instrumental function for inclusion.

Cardiology screening activities and cardiovascular risk prevention initiatives have been conducted at the Barga school, particularly to counter cases of juvenile arrhythmias. which can, albeit in rare cases, cause sudden death. This project line picks up and geographically extends a similar project carried out in the province of Pisa, the JUST project, which was the initiative of professor Michele Emdin, coordinator of the interdisciplinary Health Science Center of the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies and head of cardiology at the Fondazione Monasterio in Pisa, and professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Pisa Marco Di Paolo.

The days spent at the school in Barga were also an opportunity for discussion with teachers and the project team on health and lifestyles issues, as well as discussions with third-sector associations already involved in training on cardiopulmonary resuscitation in schools, such as the Associazione Mirco Ungaretti of Lucca. Just Remote will involve the second and fifth classes of Valle del Serchio high schools over the next three years through various appointments. The next one is scheduled for fall 2023, when the team will meet with students from the Istituto di Istruzione Superiore in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana.