title: Limited awareness of vaccines recommended for adolescents and other results from two national consumer health surveys in the United States.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study describes the vaccine-related knowledge and attitudes of adolescents aged 11-18 years and parents of adolescents aged 11-18 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed the 2007 HealthStyles and YouthStyles surveys related to vaccine knowledge and attitudes of parents (n = 1,208) and adolescents (n = 1,087).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, 21% of parents and 11% of adolescents correctly identified the three vaccines recommended at the time of the survey for adolescents. Regarding the hypothetical scenario that minor adolescents should be allowed to consent to vaccination without parental knowledge, 70% of parents and 72% of adolescents disagreed. The majority of parents and adolescents recognized the importance of vaccines in protecting an adolescent's health yet a substantial minority of both groups also reported concerns about vaccine safety.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Many parents and adolescents surveyed were not aware of all vaccine recommendations for adolescents and did not support adolescents receiving vaccinations independent of parental knowledge and/or consent.
authors.affiliation: Immunization Services Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA. akennedy@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: Shannon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stokley
authors.forename: C Robinette
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Curtis
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gust
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States; D014612:Vaccines; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014612:Vaccines