OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the current prevalence of self-reported interpersonal violence amongst patients consulting at the emergency department (ED) of a university hospital and to describe the characteristics of the violence sustained.

METHODS: Ours was a cross-sectional study using a modified version of the Partner Violence Screen questionnaire, which was distributed to every patient over 16 years old consulting at the ED between the 1st and 30th September 2016. Excluded were those incapable of decision-making, unable to understand owing to language difficulties, or in police detention. Questions pertained to violence endured during the year prior to their attendance at the ED and, where relevant, the date, place, and type of violence (physical or psychological), the perpetrator and the means used (firearms or other weapons). Demographic details were taken from the hospital records.

RESULTS: Of 628 patients included (participation rate 86%), 19% were victims of violence, for 27% of whom it was the motive for ED attendance. The median age of these victims of violence was 28 years (interquartile range 22–43), 39% were female, 71% single and 38% foreign nationals. Typical characteristics of self-reported violence were: (1) violence sustained within the previous 24 h (26%); (2) perpetrators unknown (35%); (3) occurrence at a café, bar, restaurant or nightclub (32%); (4) use of knives (19%); (5) prior consumption of alcohol by the victims themselves (28%). Females were more susceptible to domestic violence than males (45 vs 7%), the latter mostly reporting public violence (64 vs 43% in women).

CONCLUSION: The prevalence of self-reported interpersonal violence has reached one patient in five in our ED. Our results underline the importance of screening for this, as well as providing the means to offer specific follow-up.

The WHO recommends screening of Latin American migrants for Chagas disease to reduce morbidity and mortality and increase the likelihood of eradicating the disease. The objective was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a screening strategy in one Swiss canton. From February 2011 to September 2012, people attending six healthcare centres of different types were offered a rapid diagnostic test if they or their mother were of Latin American origin (or, at the blood donation centre, if they had travelled for ≥1 year in Latin America). In addition, testing was offered during events where Latin Americans gathered. In total, 1,010 people were tested, mainly originating from Brazil (24%), Ecuador (13%) and Chile (10%). 54% were born in Latin America, 15% had a Latin American mother, and 29% were travellers. The prevalence of Chagas disease was 2.3% among migrants (15.5% in the community testing) and 0% among travellers. The prevalence was 18.0%, 0.8%, 0.5% and 0% among Bolivians, Ecuadorians, Brazilians and other countries respectively. Predictors for Chagas disease were: born in Latin America (OR = infinite, p <0.001), Bolivian origin (OR = 95, 95% CI: 19–482, p <0.001), being tested in the community (OR = 56, 95% CI: 14–218, p 0.001), and age >35 years OR = 3.4, 95% CI: 1.1–10.5, p = 0.03). The prevalence of Chagas disease was much higher in people attending social events than healthcare centres, suggesting that observations based only on health facility data underestimate the real prevalence of Chagas disease. Screening in the community was well accepted and should be promoted to reach the population at highest risk.

AIMS: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. We assessed changes in the use of breast cancer screening 2007–2012 in Switzerland, and associations with socioeconomic and health-related determinants.

METHODS: We used the nationwide and representative data from the Swiss Health Surveys 2007 and 2012. We analysed the self-reported use of mammography in the last 12 months (proportion of population) among women aged 40–79 years, and opportunistic (without clinical symptoms, initiated by the woman or a physician) and programmatic screening mammography (as part of a systematic screening programme). We performed multivariate logistic regression analyses (presented as adjusted odds ratios, aORs).

RESULTS: The use of any mammography in the last 12 months declined from 19.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 17.7–20.5%) in 2007 to 11.7% (95% CI 10.7–12.6%) in 2012. This decline was more pronounced in regions with a long-standing or no cantonal breast cancer screening programme (aOR 0.5, 95% CI 0.4–0.6, and aOR 0.5, 95% CI 0.4–0.6, respectively), but remained relatively stable in regions with a recently introduced programme (aOR 0.9, 95% CI 0.6–1.3, p-value from test for interaction 0.01). Opportunistic screening dropped from 12.0% (95% CI 10.9–13.2%) in 2007 to 6.2% (95% CI 5.5–6.9%; p