Elisabetta De Vito

• MS, PhD
• Professor at University of Cassino and Southern Lazio

The VAX-TRUST project addresses vaccine hesitancy in seven European countries with a systematic and evidence-based approach. Interventions, targeting healthcare professionals, draw from behavioural and social theories. A checklist, inspired by the TIDieR (Template for Intervention Description and Replication), ensures a detailed description of acti...

Italy’s education landscape witnessed a significant reform with the introduction of alternating school–work programs known as the School–Work Alternating System (PTCO). This innovative approach aims to enhance students’ transversal skills and career orientation while addressing crucial health concerns, including indoor air and environmental quality...

This article presents the design of a seven-country study focusing on childhood vaccines, Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy in Europe (VAX-TRUST), developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study consists of (a) situation analysis of vaccine hesitancy (examination of individual, socio-demographic and macro-level factors of vaccine hesitancy and analysi...

Vaccine hesitancy is a wide and varied phenomenon and represents a challenge for healthcare professionals (HCPs), who may encounter obstacles in building trusting relationships with parents and patients. Depicting the multifaceted aspects of hesitancy and finding effective tools that could help HCPs in addressing this issue are major public health...

Background: Vaccine hesitancy is relevant for healthcare professionals (HCPs) who face challenges in building trusting relationships with patients. Accordingly, the VAX-TRUST project has been developed to improve experiences of HCPs and patients dealing with vaccinations. To support VAX-TRUST, this work aimed to identify latest interventions targe...

Introduction: After COVID-19 outbreak, governments adopted several containment measures. Risk perception and knowledge may play a crucial role since they can affect compliance with preventive measures. This study aimed to explore the extent and the associated factors of risk perception, knowledge regarding SARS-CoV2, and perception towards prevent...

Addressing HCV represents a public health priority, especially in Italy, which has the highest HCV prevalence in Europe. This study primarily aimed to explore knowledge about the HCV infection and awareness of the existence of the HCV screening test in Italy, before the implementation of awareness campaigns in 2022. An online cross-sectional survey...

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced schools and universities to shift their activities online, influencing the adoption of health-related behaviours such as physical activity and healthy dietary habits. The present study investigates the changes in adherence to a healthy diet and regular physical activity in university students in Italy before and dur...

Background: The aim of the study was to assess the perceived quality of life and the psychosocial impact of the various restrictive measures due to COVID-19 pandemic on cancer patients in Italy, as well as their perception of the relationship with doctors and caregivers. Methods: This study compares three population-based observational studies o...

The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life and the psychosocial impact of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer patients in Italy using a questionnaire aiming to detect the psychosocial impact of the lockdown. Among their basic needs, psychological and medical support appeared to be prevalent followed by the need for safe...

Mental health issues are common among university students. Nevertheless, few studies focused on Italian students. This study aimed to assess prevalence and associated factors of perceived stress (PS), depressive symptoms (DS) and suicidal ideation (SI) in an Italian sample. A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst a convenience sample of stude...

In this talk, EdV will discuss barriers and facilitators to vaccination uptake in a range of diverse migrant groups in Europe, explore the role of vaccine hesitancy in vaccine uptake in migrant populations, and define effective and cost-effective strategies to improve coverage.

Background Depression is a major public health issue in Europe. The prevalence of depressive symptoms (DS) in university students (US) is considerably higher than in the general population. Since few data on DS among Italian US exist, this study aimed to estimate perceived stress (PS) and DS prevalence and assess associated factors in Italian US....

Background Pictorial warnings may contribute to lower attractiveness of smoking, particularly among adolescents. The present study compared the impact of two different label styles of tobacco product warnings (textual and pictorial) among adolescents in a new standardized way, using the Adolescent Label Impact Index (ALII). Methods A school-based...

Background. In the UK it has been titled "student mental health crisis". The decline of students' health is not a new phenomenon anymore and health problems and unhealthy lifestyle habits are common among many students. Yet, it is often underestimated and factors influencing students' health and are not fully understood.

(In italiano) Le amebe a vita libera sono protozoi unicellulari che possono vivere all’interno di un ospite in condizioni di parassitismo facoltativo o avere un’esistenza autonoma nell’ambiente dove sono ubiquitarie e cosmopolite. Tra gli agenti microbici responsabili di patologie umane trasmesse attraverso l’acqua le amebe a vita libera rivestono...

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate in the Italian smokers, the effects of implementation of the law about Pictorial Health Warnings (PHWs) on tobacco products. Methods: A quasi-experimental longitudinal design was conducted between 2016 and 2017. The data were collected before (pre-PHW/Wave 1) and after (post-PHW/Wave 2) the implem...

Background: The decline of health among university students represents an important and growing public health concern. Health problems and unhealthy lifestyle habits are common among many students, but factors influencing students' health are not fully understood. Methods: Italian university students from different study programs and curriculum...

Background: Progressive patient care (PPC) has been defined as a systematic classification and segregation of patients based on their medical and nursing needs. Aim of the present research was to perform a systematic literature review about existing medical intermediate care unit organizational models and their performance strengths and weaknesses...

The management of healthcare facilities has become increasingly complex in recent years, leading to a greater demand for public health physicians in Italy. Public Health physicians are responsible for evaluating community needs, with particular attention to health determinants and, at the same time, to final user feedback. During their training, th...

Providing equitable access to safe and cost-effective vaccines is vital to protect vulnerable groups in any country and to reduce morbidity and mortality from vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs), particularly among children. Migrants and refugees in the WHO European Region may be particularly vulnerable to VPDs. Children, who constitute approximate...

Vaccinations in Italy show a downward trend since 2013 due to an evergrowing mistrust of the population with regard to vaccination that has resulted in lesser adherence to vaccination programs. The main cause of the reduction is due to a tendency observed in recent years, even at the international level, known as 'vaccine hesitancy'. A growing numb...

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the reliability of the Adolescent Label Impact Index (ALII) , it is an adolescent adapted version of Italian LII of the tobacco products warnings. Material and methods: A sample including students aged 13-15 years was considered. The ALII is constructed by 4 items: salience, harm, quitting and forgo....

The aim of the study is to analyze the smoking attitudes of women in their working environment before and after a prevention campaign on the damage of smoking. 831 questionnaires were administered, before and after the educational intervention, with special attention to smoking habits and to the behaviours typical of the working circle. 26% of the...

The objective of this research is to assess the social awareness of Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy (VTP) in order to develop adequate information and training programmes. An observational study was carried out on a sample of individuals aged between 14 and 68. In social-aggregation areas 800 questionnaires were distributed, prior to the assuran...

The aim of the study is to analyze the smoking attitudes of women in their working environment before and after a prevention campaign on the damage of smoking. 831 questionnaires were administered, before and after the educational intervention, with special attention to smoking habits and to the behaviours typical of the working circle. 26% of the...

Undocumented migrants (UMs) are at higher risk for health problems because of their irregular status and the consequences of economic and social marginalization. Moreover, the emergent reality of undocumented migration in Europe calls for action in the field of management of UM’s health demands as their access to health services has become a sensit...

Background: The misuse of antibiotics is one of the leading causes of antibiotic resistance. Paediatric patients are highly involved in this issue, as they are those who receive the largest amount of prescriptions of these drugs. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the general knowledge regarding the use of antibiotics, as well as the attit...

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the frequency and the kind of home injuries among the children and to have information on the sources of risk and hazardous behaviors in the home setting. Methods: An anonymous questionnaire was administered to parents. In order to evaluate the risk perception in relation to the home environment, dra...

To acquire essential knowledge and skills for Public Health practice, residents in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine programs should be provided with excellent training. On behalf of the Roman Public Health Academy (ARSP), the authors, representing the three Hygiene and Preventive Medicine residency training programs in Rome (Italy) aimed to propose...

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that physical activity is now identified as the fourth factor the main risk for overall mortality. L’Organizzazione mondiale della sanità (OMS) dichiara che l’inattività fisica è ora identificata come il quarto fattore di rischio principale per la mortalità globale.

Objectives: Tobacco packaging represents an important form of promotion of tobacco products and for this reason plain packaging (PP) can be considered an additional tobacco control measure. In Italy the current tobacco packaging is branded with textual warnings. The study investigated the perception of PP with textual warnings (PPTWs) and pictoria...

Since the new millennium, the number of e-health users has significantly increased. Among these, a particular category of people who are interested by this phenomenon is the one of pregnant women. The aim of the present study is to assess the sociodemographic and geographic differences existing in a sample of Italian pregnant women who search for i...

Background: Improvements have been made in terms of STIs mortality, but young women still have a lack of attention to the STIs prevention. We investigated the knowledge and attitudes about STIs and their prevention among a sample of Italian university female students. MeThodS: We designed a questionnaire about knowledge and attitudes toward STIs, P...

This study evaluated quality of life and level of satisfaction of elderly persons receiving home health care. Data was collected through a questionnaire and by examining medical records of 500 elderly patients. The mean age of study participants was 81 years. Results shows a high level of satisfaction with the quality of care received, the training...

AIM: This study evaluated the knowledge and attitudes of Italian mothers - whose daughters had been vaccinated in 2012 - towards primary (anti-HPV vaccination) and secondary (Pap test screening) cervical cancer prevention, as well as sources of information and mother-daughter communication on health issues. METHODS: The survey - part of a multicen...

Background: Despite knowledge about HPV may be an important determinant for vaccine acceptance and uptake, only few studies have assessed HPV-related knowledge in young females. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the questionnaire, in Italian women ≥18 years old, as a tool to examine knowledge, attitudes and behavio...

Objective: The aim of this survey is to compare the main sources of information about vaccination against Human papillomavirus (HPV) of young women aged over-18 and under-18 years. Methods: A multicenter study was carried out in Italy through the administration of a questionnaire. Univariate analyses were conducted to evaluate possible differences...

Our study aimed to estimate the prevalence of pregnancy e-health seekers in a large Italian sample; to explore the factors influencing the choices of the childbearing women regarding their lifestyles after internet consultation; and finally to investigate potential differences between primiparous and multiparous women in internet use to find inform...

The aim of this survey is to compare the main sources of information about vaccination against Human papillomavirus (HPV) of young women aged over-18 and under-18 years. A multicenter study was carried out in Italy through the administration of a questionnaire. Univariate analyses were conducted to evaluate possible differences between age groups a...

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease in many regions of the world. 15% was found in women aged 15 - 19 years but the highest incidence of infection from HPV can be found in sexually active adolescents: between 50% and 80% of them catch the infection within two to three years from their first sexual relationship. Methods: A communi...

p> Abstract : Background: this study in the prospect of promoting adherence to the primary and secondary preven- tion programmes will research knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of the student population attending high schools regarding HPV infections and will also promote health education sessions based on peer education. Methods : we carried out...

Aim To define food safety and risk perception of foodborne diseases in the private home setting and identify specific behaviours during food purchase, storage and preparation in a large survey study. Subject and methods A large sample of individuals (n = 1,000) living in the area of Cassino, Italy, volunteered to participate in the study. All part...

Aim The aim of the study is to evaluate changes in opinions and behaviors of university students about sexual attitudes, use and effectiveness of contraceptive methods and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Subjects and methods The study was carried out through three surveys in 1998, 2003 and 2008. A self-completion questionnaire, divided into...

A cross-sectional, multicenter study was carried out in 6 Italian cities (Cassino, Chieti, Naples, Rome, Siena, Turin) in order to highlight differences in Web use to find out health information and its related consequences on behavioral choices and to describe the distribution of the phenomenon in Italy. Data were collected from October 2009 to Se...

Recent international sources have described how the rapid expansion of the Internet has precipitated an increase in its use by the general population to search for medical information. Most studies on e-health use investigated either through the prevalence of such use and the social and income patterns of users in selected populations, or the psych...

p> Background : A standardized method for the assessment of physical activity, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), was developed in the late 1990s as instrument for cross-national assessment. This study aims to evaluate the reliability and validity of the IPAQ short and long version questionnaire in a Italian sample. Methods...

Aim A randomised field trial was conducted to evaluate a school-based programme to prevent tobacco use in children and adolescents. Subject and methods The trial included 534 children and 308 adolescents who were randomly selected to receive or not to receive the prevention programme. The prevention programme included: (a) health facts and the effe...

Aims: A survey was conducted amongst university students to assess their level of susceptibility to and knowledge about measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and their prevention, and to find factors associated to their seropositivity for MMR viruses. Subjects, and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 961 students from the University...

p> Background : An educational intervention on Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) accompanied by a multimedia exhibition was proposed in order to verify the effectiveness of an exhibition as a tool for prevention, to increase awareness in youth and to evaluate whether it yielded changes in the sexual behaviour of its’ visitors. The Target populat...

p> Background : Congenital rubella infection can be prevented by protecting women of reproductive age through vaccination. The aims of this study were to estimate the seroprevalence of rubella virus antibodies among females aged between 15 and 45 years in the province of Frosinone and to assess knowledge about Rubella and Congenital Rubella Syndrom...

p> Background : Several studies have tried to clarify the role that malocclusion has on an individual’s selfconcept or on level of satisfaction with one’s dental or facial appearance, but little research on psycho-social attitudes towards malocclusion has been conducted on pre-adolescent children. The aim of our study was to investigate the impact...

In recent years there has been a constant increase in the number of elderly people being admitted to nursing homes. Elderly nursing home residents seem to have a higher risk of malnutrition with respect to the community dwelling elderly population. A study was therefore performed to evaluate the nutritional status of elderly subjects living in 8 nu...

Alzheimer's disease presents a social and public health problem affecting millions of Italians. Those affected receive home care from caregivers, subjected to risk of stress.The present investigation focuses on stress, anxiety and depression in caregivers. Data on 200 caregivers and their patients were collected using a specific form to assess cogn...

This study evaluated the indoor air quality of 26 classrooms of secondary schools in the city of Cassino (Italy). Two types of school buildings were assessed: buildings specifically designed as schools, and former dwellings converted to schools. Measurements were taken in both winter and spring months, before students entered the classrooms and whi...

A study has been made of the behaviour of preventable infectious diseases by means of vaccination in the developmental age, reported between 1995 and 2003, in the area of Frosinone and Province, Italy. . Analysis of the distribution of the 185 cases of hepatitis B notified, demonstrates that the mean age has increased from 26.5 to 41.1 years. Notif...

The coinfections HIV/HCV/HBV are an important health issue in penitentiary communities. The aim of the study was to examine HIV, HBV and HCV coinfections determinants amongst prisoners in the jails of Southern Lazio (Central Italy), in the period 1995-2000. Diagnosis of seropositivities for HIV, HBV and HCV was made using ELISA method. A multiple l...

Aquaculture is becoming increasingly diffuse even in Italy. The increased production introduces new problems such as product quality control and process safety. This article presents the results of a research project, funded by the Ministry of the Environment, whose aim was to evaluate and promote aquaculture product quality and safety in an enviro...

The present study evaluates the presence of Listeria spp and particularly of L. monocytogenes in bovine, pork and poultry meats sold by retail in supermarkets and butchers in the city of Cassino. The sensibility to the antibiotics mostly used in the veterinary practice has been tested on the isolated strains. The different species of Listeria have...

p> Background : Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) represents one of the main causes of hospitalization, disability and mortality worldwide; it is predicted that by the year 2020 it will become the third leading cause of death and the fifth leading cause of disability in industrialized countries. An educational programme has been proposed...

Repression and control have been shown to be inadequate for drug addiction issues. Recent history, however has proved that information is one of the most effective measures against the spread of drugs. The wide range of drug circulation and the need for the spread of correct information on the effects of drugs in man, especially his brain, have led...

The relationship between physical activity and health status has been thoroughly investigated in several studies, while the relation between physical activity and socio-economic status (SES) is less investigated. The aim of this study was to measure the extra-curricular physical activity of adolescents related to the socio-economic status (SES) of...

The goal of this investigation has been to assess the vaccination coverage for the infectious diseases preventable with the mandatory and recommended vaccinations envisaged by the routine immunization programme for the age of development, within the 4 Health Districts of the LHA (Local Health Agency) of the province of Frosinone through direct cons...

The Authors carried out a survey on private and public managers of 80 Italian swimming pools to evaluate the hygienic aspects and safety of the swimming pools. Participants were submitted to a set of questions about the modifications recently brought to the Act on management of the swimming pools during 2003. The study showed a poor knowledge about...

Aim. The relation between physical activity and health status has been deeply investigated in several studies, while the relation between physical activity and socio-economic status (SES) is less investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a questionnaire in paying attention to the relation between extra-school physical acti...

In order to calculate the incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies in blood donors and to verify the efficacy of the pre-donation method (testing blood samples of potential donors at least 3 months in advance of their first donation), we performed a retrospective cohort study in 1995 and in the period 1996-2000 at the blood transfusion unit...

p> Obiettivi : lo studio in questione mirava a valutare le conoscenze circa gli effetti e l’uso personale del fumo di tabacco e delle droghe in generale in un campione di insegnanti delle Scuole Medie Superiori della provincia di Frosinone. Metodi : sono stati somministrati questionari anonimi a 350 docenti frequentanti un Corso di Aggiornamento s...

p> Obiettivi : valutare la prevalenza sieropositività per HIV, HBV e HCV nei tossicodipendenti afferenti al Ser.T di Formia (LT). Materiali e metodi : sono state consultate le cartelle cliniche degli afferenti al Ser.T. nel 2002, estraendo dati relativi ai parametri socio-demografici ed alle sieropositività. L’analisi statistica ha previsto l’impi...

p> Obiettivi : obiettivo del lavoro è sondare le conoscenze sul concetto di fumo come droga e sui danni ad esso relativi. Metodi : lo studio comparativo ha coinvolto 107 alunni della IV° e V° elementare e 191 studenti della I° media di Pontecorvo (FR), ai quali è stato somministrato un questionario anonimo prima dell’intervento educativo. Risult...

In order to plan a health education programme in high schools in Southern Latium, a survey on knowledge, attitude and behaviour about Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS was carried out among students of three high schools in Cassino. An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was submitted to all students of the last two years in those schoo...

The presence of bacterial food pathogens was evaluated in 154 food samples collected from supermarkets and butchers in the city of Cassino (South-Central Italy). Food pathogens were identified in 17.5% of the total food samples. In the raw meat samples, 24.6% tested positives for Listeria monocytogenes, 4.3% for Salmonella and 2.9% for Escherichia...

The occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. in Italian water supplies is not yet well documented. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of Cryptosporidium oocysts in ground, surface and treated water in Cassino (Central Italy) and its surroundings. Results showed a high percentage of samples positive for Cryptosporidium spp. from all sources:...

Childhood and adolescent obesity prevalence rates have steadily increased in industrialised countries in the last 20 years. Current rates of obesity range between 6 and 30%. Several studies showed that risk factors for weight gain in school age are strongly linked to low physical activity and family environmental factors (parents' education and job...

Blood pressure in a population of 1357 students aged 11-19 years (mean age 14.9, S.D. 2.55, males n. 804, female n. 553) was measured during a larger study about nutritional status and food habits in a school district of central Italy. Data analysis showed that 27.8% of schoolchildren had blood pressure values higher than 90° percentile, in particu...

A sample survey was conducted in order to estimate the prevalence of tobacco smoking among the students of the University of Cassino. We studied through a questionnaire administered to 800 students quantitative and qualitative aspects related to tobacco smoking. The response rate was 74.5%. The results show a higher smoking prevalence among females...

217 serum samples from women aged 15-44 living in the Southern Latium provinces of Latina and Frosinone were tested for Toxoplasma Gondii, Cytomegalovirus and Rubella IgG antibodies. Results show high naturally acquired immunity rates for Cytomegalovirus and Rubella, while immunity rates for Toxoplasma Gondii were lower than other groups of women s...

A study on the health and economic impact of a human Brucellosis outbreak in central Italy was conducted. Using the United States Committee on Communicable Diseases evaluation scheme, the Authors estimated the global cost of the epidemic, including health care services and epidemiological investigation costs and productivity losses. Results showed...

The state of health of the world population has costantly improved in recent years. However, quality of life and life expectancy show huge variations in the different demografic regions of the world. To explain such differences three main factors can be considered: 1 - patterns of disease, which are largely determined by geography and climate; 2 -...

The antimicrobial effects of sodium nitrite and sodium and potassium nitrate against Yersinia enterocolitica were investigated in solution and in treated pork meat. Potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate showed only feeble antimicrobial activity in cultures; no antimicrobial activity was detected with sodium nitrite. Conversely, all three salts displ...