HIV information campaigns in Italy since 2004

Background: Because of its high incidence, long duration and socio-economic relevance, HPV infection can be considered a social disease, which requires the intervention of the state through appropriate communication strategies. The aim of such action is to educate people to understand, choose and implement adequate methods of prevention. Methods: This research presents a descriptive analysis of HPV public health campaigns in Italy since the first campaign in 2004 until today. The analysis focused on the distribution of the campaigns in terms of geographical distribution and time, the target audience, the style of the message, the medium used and the prevention message. Results: Forty campaigns have been identified, the most numerous of these occurring in the regions of Central and Northern Italy between 2008 and 2014. The main target was women and the most used style was the informative. The most used medium was print. However, in 92% of cases the campaign included a web portal. Primary prevention was the main message. Conclusions: The campaigns were inadequate both in terms of time and geographical distribution. Moreover, the campaigns were addressed mostly to adult females and did not include teenagers and omitted the male target, adopting ineffective communication strategies. Finally, the additional factors that may increase the risk of HPV infection and related diseases were ignored.