MALE AND FEMALE COLLEGE STUDENTS HAVE A POOR UNDERSTANDING OF HPV AND HPV VACCINES

Purpose:

   Uptake rates of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among college-attending women and men in the United States remain below national recommendations. Study objectives were to identify knowledge, attitudes and beliefs related to the decision to receive the vaccine at ages older than 11-12 years. 

Method:

   Students enrolled at a metropolitan university were invited to complete an IRB-approved, web-based survey. Following data cleaning, descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using SPSS v21.

Result:

   209 respondents (69% female, 71% white, mean age: 22 years) completed the survey. 67% of women and 16% of men reported having received at least 1 dose of Gardasil or Cervarix. 50.7% of females had received 3 doses vs 12.5% of males (p<0.01). Compared to doctors, parents or others, 70% of respondents said the most important opinion in the choice to vaccinate was their own.

   Respondents provided their perceptions of whether 12 health outcomes were associated with HPV. The number of correct answers approximated the respondents’ knowledge of the vaccine’s effectiveness. The mean number correct was 5.3 (SD: 2.9) with no gender differences in mean knowledge scores. The perceived risk of acquiring HPV in their lifetime did not differ between males and females, nor did it differ among those who had at least some vaccine coverage vs. those who did not.

   Risk perceptions of getting an HPV-linked cancer, like cervical cancer or anal cancer, were high (31 out of 100, where 100 is complete certainty); women estimated their risks higher than men did (p=.059); but, having some vaccine coverage did not change risk perceptions (p=.57) and the interaction was non-significant (p=.84).

   Having some HPV-vaccine coverage was predicted by gender (OR: 11.42, 95%CI 5.04 to 25.88), but not race, ethnicity, sexuality, or number of sexual partners (logistic regression; Cox & Snell R-square .21, p<.001).

Conclusion:

   Knowledge about the HPV vaccine remains low and inaccurate among men and women. Attitudes and risk perceptions reveal little confidence in its effectiveness at preventing HPV and HPV-linked cancers. While women receive the HPV vaccine more often, they share a similar lack of knowledge, and similar attitudes and beliefs about it as men. Personalized education may improve decisions to vaccinate college-age women and men.