The internet has become an integral part of our lives. The use of web-connected tools has grown in recent years, also due to the restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, the attention of experts on the risk of web addiction has increased and now from the National Center for Addiction and Doping of the Higher Institute of Health (Iss) comes the first map of the socio-health structures that deal with disorders related to the use of the internet.
“Offering users help to immediately identify the most suitable service can facilitate easier access to the management and treatment of this addiction and thus prevent the chronicization of the discomfort”, comments Roberta Pacifici, director of the National Center for Addiction and Doping.
The mapping, carried out as part of the CCM’s “Wireless network: many possible connections” project, surveyed 99 Addiction Help Centers in December 2021, for a total of 3,500 users taken care of for disorders related to use of the internet. The age groups most at risk are 15-17 years and 36-45 years.
The problem, however, could be much wider, because “there are about 650 Local Dependency Services (SERDs) in Italy”, explains Adele Minutillo, scientific director, for the ISS, of the “Rete senza fili. Health” project. and Internet Addiction Disorder “. However, it is still early for Minutillo to understand what the impact of Covid will be on internet addictions.
Of the 99 centers currently identified on the map, 83 are related to the National Health Service and 16 to the private social sector. The offer, explained by the National Center for Addiction and Doping, is not homogeneous on the national territory: “Lombardy for the North, the Marche for the Center and Sardinia for the South and the Islands are the regions with the greatest presence of territorial resources for Internet addictions “.
As regards the activity of the centers, the most proposed intervention is psychological support for the patient (93%), followed by individual psychotherapy (91%). The territorial resources make use of various professional figures who offer integrated treatments. They are mainly psychotherapists (29%), social workers and professional educators (both 16%), doctors specializing in psychiatry or neuropsychiatry (15%).
Source: Ansa
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