Feasibility of a questionnaire on asbestos awareness among students: a pilot study

Adriana Canepa; Carlo Degiacomi; Maria Cristina Portinaro; Grazia Gatti; Stefania Crivellari; Carlotta Bertolina; Marianna Farotto; Melissa Pozzi; Leonardo Deambrogio; Riccardo Belvisotti; Marinella Bertolotti; Antonio Maconi

doi:10.4081/wpph.2023.9783

Authors

Adriana Canepa Cesare Balbo High School, of the Network “ScuoleInsieme”, Casale Monferrato, Italy.
Carlo Degiacomi Carlo Degiacomi, Ecofficina S.r.l., Torino, Italy.
Maria Cristina Portinaro Leardi High School, of the Network “ScuoleInsieme”, Casale Monferrato, Italy.
Grazia Gatti Ascanio Sobrero High School, of the Network “ScuoleInsieme”, Casale Monferrato, Italy.
Stefania Crivellari Research Training Innovation Infrastructure, Research and Innovation Department (DAIRI), Azienda Ospedaliera “SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo”, Alessandria; SS. Progetti, Ricerca e Innovazione, Ospedale “Michele e Pietro Ferrero”, ASL CN2, Verduno (CN), Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1997-8792
Carlotta Bertolina Research Training Innovation Infrastructure, Research and Innovation Department (DAIRI), Azienda Sanitaria Locale, Alessandria, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5458-6914
Marianna Farotto
mfarotto@aslal.it
Research Training Innovation Infrastructure, Research and Innovation Department (DAIRI), Azienda Sanitaria Locale, Alessandria, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4159-6755
Melissa Pozzi Cesare Balbo High School, of the Network “ScuoleInsieme”, Casale Monferrato, Italy.
Leonardo Deambrogio Leardi High School, of the Network “ScuoleInsieme”, Casale Monferrato, Italy.
Riccardo Belvisotti Ascanio Sobrero High School, of the Network “ScuoleInsieme”, Casale Monferrato, Italy.
Marinella Bertolotti Research Training Innovation Infrastructure, Research and Innovation Department (DAIRI), Azienda Ospedaliera “SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo”, Alessandria, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2152-4930
Antonio Maconi Research Training Innovation Infrastructure, Research and Innovation Department (DAIRI), Azienda Ospedaliera “SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo”, Alessandria, Italy. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1904-7277

Background: there is no resolutive treatment for asbestos-related diseases, but prevention plays a key role. This survey was conducted to test the feasibility of a questionnaire to measure the awareness on asbestos among the students in a specific asbestos polluted area. Furthermore, we carried out a preliminary assessment of student awareness on this topic. Methods: a questionnaire was used among secondary school students of Casale Monferrato. This considered the levels of sensitivity, knowledge, and experienced emotions. Results: 788 students completed the questionnaire out of a total of 3600 (22.2%). Thirty-five percent of the students were poorly informed about the asbestos issue, 26% felt that they had basic information on this topic. Twelve percent of the students thought that asbestos is no longer a problem. Conclusions: it emerges the strong need to become more knowledgeable on asbestos’ history. A questionnaire is a useful tool, but structural changes are needed to facilitate the analysis of the results.

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Canepa, A., Degiacomi, C., Portinaro, M. C., Gatti, G., Crivellari, S., Bertolina, C., Farotto, M., Pozzi, M., Deambrogio, L., Belvisotti, R., Bertolotti, M., & Maconi, A. (2023). Feasibility of a questionnaire on asbestos awareness among students: a pilot study. Working Paper of Public Health, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.4081/wpph.2023.9783

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Copyright (c) 2023 Adriana Canepa, Carlo Degiacomi, Maria Cristina Portinaro, Grazia Gatti, Stefania Crivellari, Carlotta Bertolina, Marianna Farotto, Melissa Pozzi, Leonardo Deambrogio, Riccardo Belvisotti, Marinella Bertolotti, Antonio Maconi