Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014;10(9):2536-42.
doi: 10.4161/21645515.2014.969614. Epub 2014 Oct 30.

Vaccination against human papilloma virus infection in male adolescents: knowledge, attitudes, and acceptability among parents in Italy

Aida Bianco  1 , Claudia Pileggi, Francesca Iozzo, Carmelo Giuseppe A Nobile, Maria Pavia
Affiliations

Vaccination against human papilloma virus infection in male adolescents: knowledge, attitudes, and acceptability among parents in Italy

Aida Bianco et al. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2014.

Abstract

Objectives: To elicit information about parents' knowledge, attitudes, and acceptability toward HPV infection and vaccination of male adolescents in Italy; to identify subgroups of this population who exhibit poor knowledge about prevention of HPV infection and reveal negative attitudes toward HPV vaccination in relation to their male sons.

Study design: Data were collected via self-administered anonymous questionnaire from 1021 parents of males aged 10 to 14 y who were recruited from a random sample of public secondary schools in the South of Italy.

Results: Three-quarters (72.6%) reported that the vaccine is a preventive measure for HPV infection and 55.8% that condom use reduces the risk of HPV infection. A high education level, abundant sources of information about HPV infection received from physicians, and knowledge about HPV infection were factors significantly associated with high level of knowledge about preventive measures for HPV infection. 71% revealed their intentions to vaccinate their sons, and this intention was significantly associated with perceived benefits both for HPV vaccination for girls and for childhood recommended vaccinations as well as a need for additional information about HPV vaccination. 53.7% of the eligible parents reported that their daughters had been vaccinated against HPV.

Conclusion: Results of the study suggest that the risk of acquiring HPV infection and HPV-related diseases is sorely underestimated. Knowledge on the benefits of adolescents' HPV vaccination in cancer prevention in both sexes should be improved to maximize uptake of HPV vaccination.

Keywords: CI, confidence intervals; HPV, human papilloma virus; OR, odds ratio; acceptability; adolescents; attitudes; immunization; males; parents; prevention; sexually transmitted infection; vaccine acceptance.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Markowitz LE, Dunne EF, Saraiya M, Lawson HW, Chesson H, Unger ER. Quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine. Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization. MMWR Recomm Rep 2007; 56:1-24; PMID:17380109 - PubMed
    1. Villa LL, Ault KA, Giuliano AR, Costa RL, Petta CA, Andrade RP, Brown DR, Ferenczy A, Harper DM, Koutsky LA, et al. Immunologic responses following administration of a vaccine targeting human papillomavirus Types 6, 11, 16, and 18. Vaccine 2006; 24:5571-83; PMID:16753240; http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/j.vaccine.2006.04.068 - DOI - PubMed
    1. GlaxoSmithKline Vaccine HPV-007 Study Group . Sustained efficacy and immunogenicity of the human papillomavirus (HPV)–16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine: analysis of a randomised placebo-controlled trial up to 6.4 years. Lancet 2009; 374:1975-85; PMID:19962185; http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1016/S0140-6736(09)61567-1 - DOI - PubMed
    1. FUTURE II Study Group . Quadrivalent vaccine against human papillomavirus to prevent high-grade cervical lesions. N Engl J Med 2007; 356:1915-27; PMID:17494925; http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1056/NEJMoa061741 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brisson M, Van de Velde N, Boily MC. Economic evaluation of human papillomavirus vaccination in developed countries. Pub Health Genomics 2009; 12:343-51; http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1159/000214924 - DOI - PubMed

Substances

LinkOut - more resources