Women’s Knowledge of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Their Attitudes Toward HPV Vaccine

Abstract

To explore women's knowledge of human papillomavirus (HPV) and attitudes toward the HPV vaccine in Zhejiang, China, women attending the checkup clinics were invited to participate. A questionnaire-guided interview was conducted with a representative sample of 1490 women, and 1432 effective questionnaires were obtained. The authors found 39.1% of women in urban areas and 27.1 % in rural areas had heard of HPV, whereas 23.7% and 15.1%, respectively, had heard of the HPV vaccine. The mean score of HPV knowledge was 3.75 in urban areas and 3.18 in rural areas, with a significant difference (P = .016). Of the sample who had heard of the HPV vaccine, the supportive mean score was 2.59 and 2.11, with a significant difference (P = .003). Women with more HPV knowledge were more likely to support the HPV vaccination (r = 0.50 and r = 0.61). The authors conclude that inadequate knowledge and misconceptions about HPV are common. Attitudes toward HPV vaccine are unsatisfactory. Education campaigns targeting different populations are needed prior to the introduction of an HPV vaccine.

Awareness and knowledge of human papillomavirus vaccination and their influential factors among Chinese women: a systematic review

“…In all, 17 studies only used quantitative survey methodology. 8,9,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] The rest used a qualitative-quantitative approach and conducted by focus group discussions. A supplementary questionnaire was administered to participants before and after group discussion to assess their knowledge attitudes and intention.…”

“…10 The majority of studies used random or cluster sampling methods. 8,9,[11][12][13][14]16,[18][19][20][23][24][25][26] Two studies in Taiwan, China used convenient sampling, 15,17 a study in Hong Kong, China used purposive sampling, 10 a study in Shanxi Province used systematic sampling, 22 while another study did not mention the methods of conducting survey. 21 There were 30,176 participants in this review and the sample sizes ranged from 64 to 6,024.…”

“…Awareness of HPV was assessed by asking if the participants had heard of HPV in 18 studies. 8,10,11,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] The overall awareness of HPV among Chinese women was at a low level. A study in Gansu Province, an area with high incidence of cervical cancer, showed that 94.3% of women had not heard of HPV and only 2.4% of women had known that HPV was linked to cervical cancer.…”

“…Similarly, awareness of HPV vaccine was assessed by asking if the participants had heard of anti-cervical cancer vaccine or HPV vaccine in ten studies. 8,10,11,14,15,18,21,22,24,26 More than half of participants in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, China studies indicated that they had heard of HPV vaccine. 10,14,15 Only 5.5% of participants in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region 26 had heard of HPV vaccine.…”

“…Mothers mainly worried that acceptance of the vaccine may be seen as an admission of risky or early sexual behavior by her daughter. 9,18 Young women worried that vaccination would give others the impression that they were sexually active. 9,28 A previous research in the Gaborone also revealed that participants were more likely to be vaccinated when they were involved in decision-making.…”