Knowledge About HPV and the HPV Vaccine: Observational Study on a Convenience Sample of Adolescents from Select Schools in Three Regions in Italy
Background/Objectives: HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infectious agent worldwide and adolescents are at high risk of contracting HPV. The aim of our study was to find out how much adolescents know about the virus and its effects, and to obtain information on attitudes and behaviors rega...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Vaccines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/3/227 |
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| author | Laura Brunelli Francesca Valent Manola Comar Barbara Suligoi Maria Cristina Salfa Daniele Gianfrilli Franz Sesti Giuseppina Capra Alessandra Casuccio Erik De Luca Emily Bertola Silvia Gazzetta Lorenza Driul Andrea Isidori Patrizia Ferro Nicolò Piazza Palmira Immordino Teresa Fasciana Vincenzo Restivo |
| author_facet | Laura Brunelli Francesca Valent Manola Comar Barbara Suligoi Maria Cristina Salfa Daniele Gianfrilli Franz Sesti Giuseppina Capra Alessandra Casuccio Erik De Luca Emily Bertola Silvia Gazzetta Lorenza Driul Andrea Isidori Patrizia Ferro Nicolò Piazza Palmira Immordino Teresa Fasciana Vincenzo Restivo |
| author_sort | Laura Brunelli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background/Objectives: HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infectious agent worldwide and adolescents are at high risk of contracting HPV. The aim of our study was to find out how much adolescents know about the virus and its effects, and to obtain information on attitudes and behaviors regarding HPV vaccination to close these gaps. Methods: As part of the ESPRIT project, 598 lower secondary (11–14 years) and upper secondary (14–19 years) school students from three Italian regions were surveyed between December 2023 and March 2024 using a seven-question online questionnaire on awareness, knowledge, and attitudes about HPV and the HPV vaccine. Count and zero-inflation models were used to determine correlations between sexes, urban/suburban, province of residence, and school type with knowledge. Results: Lower secondary students believed that HPV causes HIV/AIDS (8.9%) or hepatitis C (3.0%) and rarely mentioned anal (21%) and oral sex (9.6%) as ways of transmission. Among upper secondary students, misconceptions were similar, with worrying rates of students stating that HPV only causes cancer in females (18%) or males (2.4%), and low rates of identifying transmission risk through anal (41%) and oral (34%) sex and genital contact (38%). The HPV vaccination rate was quite low (47% in lower secondary students, 61% in upper secondary students). In the regressions, sex, urban/suburban area, and province were the variables associated with higher levels of knowledge for lower secondary students; for upper secondary students, level of knowledge was associated with sex, urban/suburban area, school type, and province of residence. Conclusions: Awareness and knowledge of HPV and the HPV vaccine are low among Italian students in this study and reported vaccination coverage is below the national target. Coordinated efforts at the national level are needed to address this public health issue. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9b196f6ca301410d9bdb47ccf49a4c09 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-393X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vaccines |
| spelling | doaj-art-9b196f6ca301410d9bdb47ccf49a4c092025-08-20T03:43:55ZengMDPI AGVaccines2076-393X2025-02-0113322710.3390/vaccines13030227Knowledge About HPV and the HPV Vaccine: Observational Study on a Convenience Sample of Adolescents from Select Schools in Three Regions in ItalyLaura Brunelli0Francesca Valent1Manola Comar2Barbara Suligoi3Maria Cristina Salfa4Daniele Gianfrilli5Franz Sesti6Giuseppina Capra7Alessandra Casuccio8Erik De Luca9Emily Bertola10Silvia Gazzetta11Lorenza Driul12Andrea Isidori13Patrizia Ferro14Nicolò Piazza15Palmira Immordino16Teresa Fasciana17Vincenzo Restivo18Dipartimento di Medicina, Università degli Studi di Udine, 33100 Udine, ItalySOC Igiene e Sanità Pubblica, Dipartimento di Prevenzione, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, 33100 Udine, ItalyDiagnostica Avanzata Microbiologica Traslazionale, IRCSS Burlo Garofolo, 34137 Trieste, ItalyCentro Operativo AIDS, Dipartimento Malattie Infettive, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, ItalyCentro Operativo AIDS, Dipartimento Malattie Infettive, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, ItalyDipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Università Sapienza di Roma, 00185 Rome, ItalyDipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Università Sapienza di Roma, 00185 Rome, ItalySezione di Microbiologia, Dipartimento PROMISE, Università di Palermo, 90127 Palermo, ItalySezione di Igiene, Dipartimento PROMISE, Università di Palermo, 90127 Palermo, ItalySOC Accreditamento, Qualità e Rischio Clinico, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, 33100 Udine, ItalySOC Igiene e Sanità Pubblica, Dipartimento di Prevenzione, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, 33100 Udine, ItalyDipartimento di Medicina, Università degli Studi di Udine, 33100 Udine, ItalySOC Ostetricia e Ginecologia, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale, 33100 Udine, ItalyDipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Università Sapienza di Roma, 00185 Rome, ItalySezione di Igiene, Dipartimento PROMISE, Università di Palermo, 90127 Palermo, ItalySezione di Igiene, Dipartimento PROMISE, Università di Palermo, 90127 Palermo, ItalySezione di Igiene, Dipartimento PROMISE, Università di Palermo, 90127 Palermo, ItalySezione di Microbiologia, Dipartimento PROMISE, Università di Palermo, 90127 Palermo, ItalyDipartimento di Medicina, Università Kore di Enna, 94100 Enna, ItalyBackground/Objectives: HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infectious agent worldwide and adolescents are at high risk of contracting HPV. The aim of our study was to find out how much adolescents know about the virus and its effects, and to obtain information on attitudes and behaviors regarding HPV vaccination to close these gaps. Methods: As part of the ESPRIT project, 598 lower secondary (11–14 years) and upper secondary (14–19 years) school students from three Italian regions were surveyed between December 2023 and March 2024 using a seven-question online questionnaire on awareness, knowledge, and attitudes about HPV and the HPV vaccine. Count and zero-inflation models were used to determine correlations between sexes, urban/suburban, province of residence, and school type with knowledge. Results: Lower secondary students believed that HPV causes HIV/AIDS (8.9%) or hepatitis C (3.0%) and rarely mentioned anal (21%) and oral sex (9.6%) as ways of transmission. Among upper secondary students, misconceptions were similar, with worrying rates of students stating that HPV only causes cancer in females (18%) or males (2.4%), and low rates of identifying transmission risk through anal (41%) and oral (34%) sex and genital contact (38%). The HPV vaccination rate was quite low (47% in lower secondary students, 61% in upper secondary students). In the regressions, sex, urban/suburban area, and province were the variables associated with higher levels of knowledge for lower secondary students; for upper secondary students, level of knowledge was associated with sex, urban/suburban area, school type, and province of residence. Conclusions: Awareness and knowledge of HPV and the HPV vaccine are low among Italian students in this study and reported vaccination coverage is below the national target. Coordinated efforts at the national level are needed to address this public health issue.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/3/227HPVadolescentspreventionpublic healthschool |
| spellingShingle | Laura Brunelli Francesca Valent Manola Comar Barbara Suligoi Maria Cristina Salfa Daniele Gianfrilli Franz Sesti Giuseppina Capra Alessandra Casuccio Erik De Luca Emily Bertola Silvia Gazzetta Lorenza Driul Andrea Isidori Patrizia Ferro Nicolò Piazza Palmira Immordino Teresa Fasciana Vincenzo Restivo Knowledge About HPV and the HPV Vaccine: Observational Study on a Convenience Sample of Adolescents from Select Schools in Three Regions in Italy Vaccines HPV adolescents prevention public health school |
| title | Knowledge About HPV and the HPV Vaccine: Observational Study on a Convenience Sample of Adolescents from Select Schools in Three Regions in Italy |
| title_full | Knowledge About HPV and the HPV Vaccine: Observational Study on a Convenience Sample of Adolescents from Select Schools in Three Regions in Italy |
| title_fullStr | Knowledge About HPV and the HPV Vaccine: Observational Study on a Convenience Sample of Adolescents from Select Schools in Three Regions in Italy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Knowledge About HPV and the HPV Vaccine: Observational Study on a Convenience Sample of Adolescents from Select Schools in Three Regions in Italy |
| title_short | Knowledge About HPV and the HPV Vaccine: Observational Study on a Convenience Sample of Adolescents from Select Schools in Three Regions in Italy |
| title_sort | knowledge about hpv and the hpv vaccine observational study on a convenience sample of adolescents from select schools in three regions in italy |
| topic | HPV adolescents prevention public health school |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/13/3/227 |
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