Knowledge, attitude on prevention from Human Papilloma Virus infection (HPV) and related factors among parents of male students at junior high schools in Hue city

Introduction: Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is a common sexually transmitted virus. HPV causes many diseases and the risk for many types of cancer which has been reported in both sexes, not just cervical cancer in females. However, the prevention of HPV infection is quite limited among males in Vietnam. The study is to evaluate knowledge, attitude on prevention of HPV infection among parents of male students at some junior high schools in Hue city and explore some related factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 785 parents of male students at four junior high schools in Hue city. Data were collected by direct interviews with structured questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify the related factors. Results: Participants who got good knowledge and positive attitude of HPV infection prevention accounted for 18.9% and 15.2%, respectively. Occupation, educational level of parents, number of sons and family history of HPV related diseases influenced on knowledge about HPV infection prevention. Relations with son, educational level of parents, defect/chronic disease of son and knowledge of parents were significantly associated with their attitude toward HPV infection prevention (p < 0.05). Conclusions: This study highlighted that knowledge, attitude on HPV infection prevention of the parents of male students in Hue city was still low. The health sector needs to implement comprehensive health education and communication programs to improve knowledge, attitude about prevention of HPV infection for people, especially males. Key words: knowledge, attitude, human papilloma virus, HPV, parents, male students