Date of Publication
2023
Abstract
Background: The HPV vaccine is recommended for people aged 11 to 26 and is effective at preventing against certain types of cancers. Current vaccination rates among college-aged individuals remain inadequate. This study aims to assess attitudes to HPV vaccination and elucidate differences in awareness among individuals of different vaccination status.
Methods: Medical students and premedical undergraduate students engaged individuals in a central campus student location to collect survey responses and educate about HPV and HPV vaccination. A peer-education approach was utilized to engage students. Knowledge gaps were generally assessed via a true/false questionnaire during peer-to-peer interactions and a link to a REDCap survey was shared. Respondents completed it themselves. We used one-way ANOVA and T-tests to compare levels of awareness levels and HPV vaccination status.
Results: 209 survey responses from UVM students qualified for analysis. A majority of students had completed an HPV vaccine series. Survey results showed respondents learned of HPV and the vaccine from a variety of sources, but primarily from family or in a clinical setting. Average awareness also varied amongst individuals with differing HPV vaccination status.
Conclusion: There may be associations linking greater knowledge of HPV with “Completed” vaccination status. Results demonstrate that awareness may not equate to general knowledge of HPV, possibly contributing to disparities in vaccination rate. With year-to-year HPV vaccine awareness declining, there is an increased need for educational campaigns to not only raise awareness about HPV but also on HPV topics like its transmission, disease prevention, and federal guidelines.
Advisor(s)
Jan Carney, MD, MPH
Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont
William Couzens
LessCancer.org
Subjects
Access to Health Services, Adolescent Health, Cancer, Child and Adolescent Development, Community, Family Planning, Health Care, Health Care Access and Quality, Health Communication, Health Policy, Health-Related Quality of Life & Well-Being, Social Determinants of Health
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License
Recommended Citation
Grewal, Arman S.; Messier, Katina; Pham, Christopher; Rattu, Aina K.; Schuler, Susanna L.; Singh, Deepinder; Vien, Peter; and Wootton, Abigail B., "Assessing College-Age Adult Attitudes and Perceived Barriers and Facilitators to HPV Vaccination" (2023). Public Health Projects, 2008-present. 342.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/342
