title: Vaccination against human papilloma virus infection in male adolescents: knowledge, attitudes, and acceptability among parents in Italy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Health Sciences ; Medical School ; University of Catanzaro "Magna Græcia;" Catanzaro , Italy.
authors.forename: Aida
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bianco
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pileggi
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Iozzo
authors.forename: Carmelo Giuseppe A
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Nobile
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pavia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology*; D010290:Parents; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014611:Vaccination / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines
keywords: CI, confidence intervals; HPV, human papilloma virus; OR, odds ratio; acceptability; adolescents; attitudes; immunization; males; parents; prevention; sexually transmitted infection; vaccine acceptance