Knowledge about human papillomavirus and the HPV vaccine – a survey of the general population

Abstract

Background: The United States (US) Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine with the purpose of reducing the risk of cervical cancers caused by HPV 16 and HPV 18. It is important that the general population be educated about HPV and the HPV vaccine in order to make the appropriate decision whether or not to vaccinate against this virus. Participants from the adult US general population of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA and Hampton, Virginia, USA (18+ years old) were surveyed to determine their knowledge about HPV and the HPV vaccine, and to evaluate their perception of the vaccine efficacy and safety.

Knowledge, Perception and Attitude Towards Human Papillomavirus among Pre-university Students in Malaysia

“…Our findings agreed with the population based survey done by Ragin et al that 87% respondents had heard of HPV vaccine (Ragin et al, 2009). However, this was contradicting with Al-Dubai et al where only 21.7% of their respondents heard of HPV vaccine and 25.3% respondents correctly answered: 'HPV vaccine protects against cervical cancer' (Al- Dubai et al, 2010).…”

“…Ragin et al in their population based survey noted that 87% respondents heard about HPV vaccine (Ragin et al, 2009). This was inconsistent with the other studies done by Al-Dubai et al and AL-Nagaar et al, as only 21.7% and 22.4% of their respondents respectively heard about HPV vaccine (Al-Dubai et al, 2010;AlNagaar et al, 2012).…”

Parental Knowledge and Attitudes about Human Papilloma Virus in Iran

“…We know that our study had some limitations making it difficult to generalize the findings to whole society but further studies can make the unanswered questions clear. Creating proper opportunities to improve health communication, decrease the rate of STIs, and improve health status are also the major goals in all societies (Ragin et al, 2009;Villar et al, 2011). Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) education campaigns and messages could be useful as models that we can create similar campaigns to release information about HPV infection in societies (Merchant, 2006).…”

Reported Adverse Events in Young Women Following Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus Vaccination

“…[12][13][14][15][16] Although most young women are generally aware of HPV disease and the availability of the vaccine, their knowledge about virus transmission, screening recommendations and practices, and treatment is less reliable. 6,11,[17][18][19][20][21] Knowledge about and attitudes toward HPV vaccine vary by race and ethnicity, education, and socioeconomic status (SES), 6,10,17,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28] with lower rates of knowledge among the less educated and among nonwhites. 21,22,24,26 Commonly reported barriers to receiving HPV4 include cost and concerns about vaccine safety.…”