Table 5.
Characteristics of Italian physicians (N = 115) having any understanding of N2O by their personal experience in the managing of N2O abuse cases (any vs. never).
| Variable | Previous Personal Experience in the Managing of N2O Abuse Cases | p-Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any (N/24, %) |
Never (N/91, %) |
||
| Gender | 0.353 | ||
| Male | 14, 58.3% | 41, 45.1% | |
| Female | 10, 41.7% | 50, 54.9% | |
| Age ≥ 50 years | 0, - | 4, 4.4% | 0.675 |
| Seniority ≥ 20 years | 4, 16.7% | 14, 15.4% | 1.000 |
| Living in… | 0.068 | ||
| Northern Italy 1 | 17, 70.8% | 43, 47.3% | |
| All other regions 2 | 7, 29.2% | 48, 52.7% | |
| Medical specialty | 0.634 | ||
| Internal medicine | 3, 12.5% | 8, 8.8% | |
| Neurology | 3, 12.5% | 26, 28.6% | |
| Emergency medicine | 4, 16.7% | 14, 15.4% | |
| General practitioner | 4, 16.7% | 17, 18.7% | |
| Psychiatry | 4, 16.7% | 9, 9.9% | |
| Other | 6, 25.0% | 17, 18.7% | |
| Higher knowledge status | 10, 41.7% | 30, 33.0% | 0.579 |
| Higher risk perception score | 11, 45.8% | 40, 44.0% | 1.000 |
| Acknowledging N2O abuse as a frequent/very frequent condition |
0, - | 10, 11.0% | 0.196 |
| Acknowledging N2O abuse as a severe/very severe condition |
7, 29.2% | 54, 59.3% | 0.016 |
| Any information on N2O abuse | 7, 29.2% | 20, 22.0% | 0.639 |
|
Perceiving N2O abuse cases as a likely occurrence during daily activity (agree/totally agree) |
4, 16.7% | 15, 16.5% | 1.000 |
|
Perceiving N2O abuse cases as potentially affecting daily working activities (agree/totally agree) |
8, 33.3% | 6, 6.6% | 0.001 |
|
Confident of being able to recognize N2O abuse cases (agree/totally agree) |
4, 16.7% | 7, 7.7% | 0.347 |
| Information source | |||
| Formation courses | 17, 70.8% | 84, 92.3% | 0.012 |
| Official websites | 20, 83.3% | 70, 76.9% | 0.690 |
| Non-official websites | 0, - | 13, 14.3% | 0.109 |
| Medical journals | 11, 45.8% | 30, 33.0% | 0.352 |
| Other healthcare workers | 10, 41.7% | 53, 58.2% | 0.222 |
| Social media | 3, 12.5% | 13, 14.3% | 1.000 |
1 Aosta Valley, Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Veneto, Autonomous Province of Trento, Autonomous Province of Bolzano, Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, and Emilia Romagna; 2 Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Lazio, Campania, Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and Sardinia.