“UNisaInSAlute”: Overcoming Barriers to Screening in University of Salerno
Abstract
Issue/problem: The “UNisaInSAlute” project addresses the challenge of low participation in secondary prevention programs among university staff. The significance of this issue lies in the difficulty workers face in balancing professional commitments with access to traditional health services, which often leads to delayed diagnoses for conditions such as Hepatitis C. This intervention demonstrates how workplaces can serve as primary public health hubs, reducing inequalities in healthcare access and offering a scalable model to improve health surveillance.
Description of the problem: In April 2025, the project implemented an HCV screening intervention targeting staff born between 1969 and 1989. The initiative utilized rapid capillary blood tests providing results in under 20 minutes. This innovative policy sought to decentralize diagnostics by moving the clinical process from healthcare facilities directly to the workplace. The project aimed to determine whether proximity-based health offerings could successfully engage reluctant individuals.
Results: The screening involved 178 participants (100 F, 78 M). The sample included 107 technical-administrative staff, 48 professors, 8 researchers, 8 post-doctoral fellows, and several scholarship holders. All tests yielded negative results, with no invalid outcomes recorded. The strategy successfully engaged a heterogeneous target population, fulfilling the objective of maximizing adherence through the radical simplification of diagnostic access.
Lessons: Physical proximity to health services eliminates the logistical resistance, fostering high participation rates. The model’s innovation lies in its seamless integration of academic and healthcare resources for efficient prevention. These results suggest that this model is highly replicable and adaptable to various screening types, offering a valuable blueprint for other institutional settings aiming to implement structured, worker-centered public health actions.
Key messages: • Bringing screening to the workplace breaks logistical barriers. This replicable model proves that proximity boosts participation, making health prevention accessible, rapid, and efficient.
• We validated the sustainability of an integrated coordination model between academic institutions and local health authorities, proving workplace screening effectively boosts staff participation.
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BibTeX
@article{mea2026unisainsalute,
title = {{“UNisaInSAlute”: Overcoming Barriers to Screening in University of Salerno}},
author = {A Mea and G Moccia and F Della Rocca and M Tomeo and F Malatesta and N Pecoraro and E Santoro and G Boccia and M Capunzo and F De Caro},
journal = {The European Journal of Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1454},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1454},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - “UNisaInSAlute”: Overcoming Barriers to Screening in University of Salerno
AU - A Mea
AU - G Moccia
AU - F Della Rocca
AU - M Tomeo
AU - F Malatesta
AU - N Pecoraro
AU - E Santoro
AU - G Boccia
AU - M Capunzo
AU - F De Caro
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The European Journal of Public Health
DO - 10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1454
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1454
AB - Issue/problem: The “UNisaInSAlute” project addresses the challenge of low participation in secondary prevention programs among university staff. The significance of this issue lies in the difficulty workers face in balancing professional commitments with access to traditional health services, which often leads to delayed diagnoses for conditions such as Hepatitis C. This intervention demonstrates how workplaces can serve as primary public health hubs, reducing inequalities in healthcare access and offering a scalable model to improve health surveillance. Description of the problem: In April 2025, the project implemented an HCV screening intervention targeting staff born between 1969 and 1989. The initiative utilized rapid capillary blood tests providing results in under 20 minutes. This innovative policy sought to decentralize diagnostics by moving the clinical process from healthcare facilities directly to the workplace. The project aimed to determine whether proximity-based health offerings could successfully engage reluctant individuals. Results: The screening involved 178 participants (100 F, 78 M). The sample included 107 technical-administrative staff, 48 professors, 8 researchers, 8 post-doctoral fellows, and several scholarship holders. All tests yielded negative results, with no invalid outcomes recorded. The strategy successfully engaged a heterogeneous target population, fulfilling the objective of maximizing adherence through the radical simplification of diagnostic access. Lessons: Physical proximity to health services eliminates the logistical resistance, fostering high participation rates. The model’s innovation lies in its seamless integration of academic and healthcare resources for efficient prevention. These results suggest that this model is highly replicable and adaptable to various screening types, offering a valuable blueprint for other institutional settings aiming to implement structured, worker-centered public health actions. Key messages: • Bringing screening to the workplace breaks logistical barriers. This replicable model proves that proximity boosts participation, making health prevention accessible, rapid, and efficient. • We validated the sustainability of an integrated coordination model between academic institutions and local health authorities, proving workplace screening effectively boosts staff participation.
SN - 1101-1262
SN - 1464-360X
ER -