{
  "abstract": "Background Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, may lead to severe short and long-term consequences for sexual and reproductive health. Young people often underestimate their risk, resulting in delayed diagnoses in the absence of symptoms, and frequently rely on unreliable online sources before accessing appropriate services.This study examines an intervention conducted in the metropolitan area of Rome to assess students’ knowledge needs regarding STI risk and prevention.Material and Methods This study, carried on through the collaboration between Istituto Superiore di Sanità and some schools in Rome, from January 2025 to April 2025, targeting 359 students from high schools. The study focused on the students’ knowledge needs and in order to do this a short anonymous questionnaire was submitted to them.The questionnaire is structured in closed and open questions in the following areas:Knowledge of terms such as HIV, AIDS, STIs;Information channels through which students get information;Information channels through which students would like to be informed;Specific questions about HIV, AIDS and STIs to which students would like timely answers.The responses to the 359 questionnaires were analysed through a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including topic modelling, clustering and text mining techniques, the study analysed student responses and identified key informational gaps, concerns, and preferences.Results With regard to students’ knowledge, the term HIV/AIDS had previously been heard by 63% of respondents, whereas STIs were recognized by only 37%. Although 65.1% of students reported a preference for receiving information through schools and teachers, this does not correspond to their actual behaviour: 68.8% indicated social media as their primary source of information.The qualitative analysis of open-ended responses, conducted through word cloud visualization and thematic examination, identified ‘knowledge,’ ‘further understanding,’ and ‘prevention’ as the most frequently recurring terms. These findings suggest a strong interest and willingness among young people to deepen their understanding of these topics, consistent with the quantitative results.Conclusions Such interventions represent a valuable opportunity to gather meaningful insights into the language and communication patterns of the school-age population involved. Identifying communication strategies tailored to the target group is crucial to ensure that interventions effectively fulfill their objectives of promoting young people’s sexual and reproductive health, guiding them beyond mere online information gathering, and equipping them with the skills to critically assess the content they encounter on their phone screens.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Unità Operativa Ricerca psico-socio-comportamentale, Comunicazione, Formazione, Dipartimento Malattie Infettive, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "A Colucci"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Unità Operativa Ricerca psico-socio-comportamentale, Comunicazione, Formazione, Dipartimento Malattie Infettive, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "C Gallo"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Unità Operativa Ricerca psico-socio-comportamentale, Comunicazione, Formazione, Dipartimento Malattie Infettive, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "M Schwarz"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Unità Operativa Ricerca psico-socio-comportamentale, Comunicazione, Formazione, Dipartimento Malattie Infettive, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "R Dalla Torre"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Unità Operativa Ricerca psico-socio-comportamentale, Comunicazione, Formazione, Dipartimento Malattie Infettive, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "E Fanales Belasio"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Unità Operativa Ricerca psico-socio-comportamentale, Comunicazione, Formazione, Dipartimento Malattie Infettive, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "P Gallo"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Unità Operativa Ricerca psico-socio-comportamentale, Comunicazione, Formazione, Dipartimento Malattie Infettive, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "A D'Agostini"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Unità Operativa Ricerca psico-socio-comportamentale, Comunicazione, Formazione, Dipartimento Malattie Infettive, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy"
      ],
      "name": "R Valli"
    }
  ],
  "title": "P57 Beyond the screen: identifying informational gaps and communicative patterns in STI prevention for students of some schools in the area of Rome",
  "uid": "d4f02d72-ede3-56a9-ae52-4b3ffa147c2b"
}