Burden and Prevention of HPV. Knowledge, Practices and Attitude Assessment Among Pre-Adolescents and their Parents in Italy

Abstract

Despite infections due to HPV nowadays represent the most common sexually transmitted diseases worldwide with recognized effective and safe preventive strategies, knowledge, attitudes; however, awareness on HPV is considerably low. The present study has two main objectives: 1. To conduct a literature review to analyze the evolution of preventive tools, the complexity of the vaccine choice process, and the challenges posed by HPV vaccine hesitancy and refusal among pre-adolescents and their parents; 2. To assess knowledge, practices and attitudes toward HPV infection and vaccination in a sample of Italian pre-adolescents and their parents. The observational study was carried out through the use of two anonymous and self-administered pre- and postintervention questionnaires dedicated to the target populations. Between the administrations of the pre- and postintervention questionnaires, an educational intervention on HPV infection and related diseases, and prevention strategies was conducted. All participants demonstrated suboptimal knowledge and positive attitudes in the preintervention questionnaire. Higher levels of knowledge and attitudes were observed among pre-adolescents thatused social networks and had heard of sexually transmitted diseases at home/school/physician and from parents and also who had heard of HPV from General Practitioners, Gynecologists, family members and newspapers. A significant increase in HPV vaccination awareness was observed among pre-adolescents after the educational sessions. Health education programs aimed at increasing knowledge, attitudes and awareness on HPV are needed to implement the outcomes of HPV immunization programs, especially if supported by the physicians involved in counselling and recommendation processes.

Italian Health Care Workers’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Human Papillomavirus Infection and Prevention

“…To address this criticism, in May 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted the relevance of cervical cancer and other HPV-related diseases as a global public health threat, and conformed the recommendation to include HPV vaccines into national immunization programs as part of a coordinated and comprehensive strategy to prevent HPV-related diseases [10]. The successful implementation of primary prevention of HPV infection is based on an integrated approach that includes the analysis and management of organizational aspects of immunization campaigns and raising awareness among the general population and high-risk subjects [11][12][13][14][15][16]. This requires active involvement by the healthcare workers, who play a key role in promoting the HPV vaccination and its acceptability, since they can influence the whole health behavior of their patients.…”

Knowledge, Information Needs and Risk Perception about HIV and Sexually Transmitted Diseases after an Education Intervention on Italian High School and University Students

“…In fact, in the early HIV epidemic, higher HIV infections were found among more educated people [ 14 , 15 ], while more recent studies indicated that education acted as a social vaccine against HIV risk [ 16 , 17 ]. Worldwide, numerous scientists assessed the level of knowledge about these infections among students of different ages and attending different types of schools and universities [ 6 , 12 , 18 , 19 ], while others evaluated the impact of STDs educational interventions [ 1 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. An interesting theoretical framework employed in prevention programs regarding both STDs infections and other health-related risks is based on exploring “knowledge”, “information needs”, and “risk perception” [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ].…”

Human Papilloma Virus Infection and Vaccination: Pre-Post Intervention Analysis on Knowledge, Attitudes and Willingness to Vaccinate Among Preadolescents Attending Secondary Schools of Palermo, Sicily

“…A multicenter project coordinated by the Department of Health Sciences of the University of Genoa was conducted in four Italian Regions (Liguria, Veneto, Apulia, Sicily) with the main objective being to evaluate the offer of vaccination, coverage rates, and determinants associated with HPV vaccination uptake or refusal in different age classes and target groups [ 13 , 14 , 15 ].…”