National HPV Vaccination Program in Poland—Public Awareness, Sources of Knowledge, and Willingness to Vaccinate Children against HPV

Abstract

Since 1 June 2023, a nationwide HPV vaccination program was implemented in Poland. This study aimed to identify factors associated with public awareness of the national HPV vaccination program among adults in Poland and willingness to vaccinate children against HPV. This cross-sectional study was carried out between 14 and 17 July 2023 among 1056 adults in Poland. A self-prepared questionnaire was used. Among the respondents, 51.3% had heard about the free HPV vaccination program. The major source of knowledge on the national HPV vaccination program was TV (62%). Only 31.9% of respondents correctly indicated girls and boys aged 12 and 13 as the HPV-vaccination-eligible population. Willingness to vaccinate children against HPV was declared by 63.3% of respondents. Female gender (OR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.11–1.81; p < 0.01), age 35–64 years (p < 0.05), having higher education (OR: 1.43; 95% CI: 1.11–1.84; p < 0.01), and living in cities with more than 500,000 residents (OR: 1.51; 95% CI: 1.01–2.28; p < 0.05) were significantly associated with higher odds to hear about the national HPV vaccination program. Age 50 years and over (p < 0.05), having higher education (OR: 1.43; 95% CI: 1.09–1.88; p < 0.05), living in cities with more than 500,000 residents (OR: 1.80; 95% CI: 1.14–2.83; p < 0.05), and no children under 18 in the home (OR: 1.39; 95% CI: 1.01–1.89; p < 0.05) were significantly associated with willingness to vaccinate children against HPV.

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“…This is particularly important because Poland is among the countries with the lowest acceptance of vaccinations against COVID-19 [46]. Similarly, the vaccination rate against influenza is systematically decreasing in Poland and is one of the lowest in Europe [47], and the HPV vaccination coverage rate in the country does not exceed 15-20% [48].…”