Fri, 11/02/2022
TRUST IN SCIENCE AND INFORMATION: HOW ADOLESCENTS ARE FACING THE PANDEMIC
Today, the launch of the second edition of Factor J – the programme that aims to increase the trust of youth in science promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale in collaboration with Janssen Italia – included the presentation of the results of the study conducted by the University of Siena on the behaviour and lifestyles of Gen Z during the pandemic.
“A responsible choice to protect others and return to normality.” This is the main motivation that drives over 90% of the interviewed young men and women to get vaccinated. It’s an awareness generated by conscience: 2 out of 3 young individuals believe they are sufficiently informed about the emergency and tend to seek more information than during the pre-pandemic period.
Adolescents are one of the categories that was most impacted by the pandemic. They experienced a dramatic reduction in opportunities to exchange ideas with their peers, both at school and during their free time. In fact, 40% of young men and women declare that they go out far less than before the Covid pandemic. Moreover, 40% claim that they no longer – or far less than before – engage in their hobbies or sporting activities.
Notwithstanding these issues, youth have reacted with a strong sense of responsibility, as emerges from the results of a recent study: many young individuals feel they are informed about the pandemic (2 out of 3), with 74% who actively seek information (as much or more than before the pandemic). The majority also reveals a strong trust in science and has been vaccinated (over 90% of interviewees). Their main motivations are to not transmit the virus to others and to return to normality.
The study, conducted by the Department of Political Economics and Statistics at the University of Siena, was presented today at the launch of the second edition of Factor J, the programme promoted by the Fondazione Mondo Digitale in collaboration with Janssen Italia, the pharmaceutical branch of the Johnson & Johnson Group, and with the patronage of the Istituto Superiore - Sanità. Factor J aims to increase the trust of new generations in the progress of science, raise awareness on the importance of correct scientific information and the choice of responsible behaviour for everyone’s wellbeing and health.
The second edition of the project, with its slogan “In the Hands of Science,” has established a multi-sector network to promote trust in the progress of science during the infodemic. Thirteen patient associations, the Rome “Campus Biomedico” University, the University of Siena, and three institutional partners - Società Italiana - Igiene Medicina Preventiva e Sanità Pubblica (SItI), VaccinarSì and Società Italiana - Farmacologia (SIF) – collaborate on the project.
A further objective of the second edition is to reach 100,000 students through a communications campaign involving “Science Fact Checks” to test the students’ ability to evaluate the correctness of scientific news, the selection the 20 young digital ambassadors for peer training and the collaborative drafting with doctors, patients and health managers of a “Health Manifesto,” written by those who will be the protagonists of the future and conceived to test new communication paradigms that are clearer, more empathic and transparent to promote scientific understanding.
10,000 high school students will continue to enjoy on-line educational sessions with patient associations, a winning choice that involves students in true stories with the empathy of experts and doctors. The webinars, which address key issues in several therapeutic areas (oncology, haematology, immunology, infectious diseases, pulmonary hypertension and neuroscience) allow for dialogue that places health and wellbeing at the centre of the educational process.
In recent months, over 6000 students from 109 schools in 16 Italian regions have participated in interactive educational sessions with patient associations and experts from the various therapeutic areas.
Speakers at today’s event, which involved the entire project “hybrid network”, included MP Patrizia Prestipino (video), Culture, Science And Education Commission; Mirta Michilli, Director General of the Fondazione Mondo Digitale; Massimo Scaccabarozzi, Chairman of Janssen Italia, Head of External Affairs Johnson & Johnson; Alessio Muscillo, Researcher, University of Siena; Antonio Ferro, President, Società Italiana - Igiene Medicina Preventiva e Sanità Pubblica (SItI); Giorgio Racagni, President, Società Italiana - Farmacologia (SIF); Paolo Castiglia, Member of the VaccinarSì Scientific Committee; Gilberto Corbellini, Professor of Medicine and Bioethics History, Sapienza University of Rome, and Pietro Del Soldà, RAI Journalist.
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