title: Estimated acceptance of HPV vaccination among Italian women aged 18-26 years.
abstract: In Italy vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) was introduced in the national immunization programme in 2007; the primary target for this vaccination is 11-year-old females, whereas vaccination for older age groups is still a matter of debate. This project was carried out in the period 2007-2009 to estimate the acceptance rate among 18-26-year-old, to whom free-of-charge vaccination was actively offered. Socio-demographic factors associated with acceptance were also investigated. A sample of 1159 women was randomly selected from resident population lists of 10 Local Health Units in 6 of Italy's 21 Regions; 1032 women were deemed eligible for the study. Of the eligible women, 580 received at least one vaccine dose for an acceptance rate of 56.2% and 542 received all three vaccine doses (52.6%). The acceptance rate was significantly higher for: residents of northern and central Italy (OR(adj)=2.22, 95%CI 1.64-3.01 and OR(adj)=1.77, 95%CI, 1.20-2.61 respectively), compared to southern Italy; women with a high educational level (OR(adj)=1.41; 95%CI: 1.02-1.93); and students (OR(adj)=1.64; 95%CI: 1.13-2.37). The low immunization rate highlights the difficulties of reaching young adult women, although the current coverage rates observed in the primary target population of HPV vaccination campaign (64%) emphasize that achieving high coverage rates is challenging also in younger age groups. Our results suggest that it would be premature to extend the active free-of-charge offer of HPV vaccination to older women and that efforts should be focused on the priority target, considering that the objective of 95% coverage established for this age group is still far from being attained.
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Epidemiology, Surveillance and Health Promotion, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. cristina.giambi@iss.it
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giambi
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Donati
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Declich
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salmaso
authors.forename: Marta Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ciofi Degli Atti
authors.forename: Maria Pia
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Alibrandi
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brezzi
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Carozzi
authors.forename: Natalina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Collina
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Franchi
authors.forename: Amedeo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lattanzi
authors.forename: Margherita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meda
authors.forename: Maria Carmela
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Minna
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nannini
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Scherillo
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bella
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014611:Vaccination / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines