Dataset Information

Attitudes of undergraduate university women towards HPV vaccination: a cross-sectional study in Ottawa, Canada.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Persistent infection with certain subtypes of human papillomavirus (HPV) is a necessary cause of cervical cancer. Although two prophylactic vaccines have been licensed in Canada against cancerous subtypes of HPV, vaccine uptake has been lower than anticipated. The primary objective of this study was to determine the acceptability of catch-up HPV vaccination to undergraduate university women under the age of 25, by assessing their perceptions of HPV vaccination.

Methods

A total of 401 University of Ottawa female undergraduate students participated in a cross-sectional bilingual web-based survey on HPV vaccination.

Results

The prevalence of immunization with at least 1 HPV vaccine dose was 49% in the study population. Although the overall attitude of study participants towards the vaccine was positive, vaccinated respondents had a more favourable attitude towards the vaccine than non-vaccinated respondents. Approximately half of the non-vaccinated respondents were interested in receiving the vaccine at some point in the future. The primary barriers to HPV vaccination identified by non-vaccinated respondents were lack of knowledge about the vaccines, potential vaccine side effects and cost of vaccination. Multivariable analysis comparing non-vaccinated respondents who intended to be vaccinated and those who did not suggests that the former group had a more favourable attitude towards the vaccine and would be influenced by doctor recommendation.

Conclusions

Offering HPV vaccination for women aged 18 to 25 provides an opportunity to address suboptimal vaccination coverage in the population and may reduce health inequities demonstrated by variations in cervical cancer incidence within jurisdictions.

SUBMITTER: Fernandes R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6090914 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Background. The high prevalence of HPV infection among Kazakhstani women and the absence of an HPV vaccination program are directly reflected in increasing rates of cervical cancer incidence and mortality. Kazakhstan made its first attempt at introducing the HPV vaccine in 2013, but was unsuccessful due to complications and low public acceptance. The attitudes of Kazakhstani women towards the vaccine were never measured. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the attitudes of women towards the HPV vaccine and determine factors associated with positive, negative, or neutral attitudes. Methods. A 29-item survey consisting of 21 demographic and contextual questions and 8 Likert-scale questions was distributed among women attending gynecological offices in four major cities of Kazakhstan from December 2021 until February 2022. Attitudes of women were measured based on their answers to the eight Likert-scale questions. Ordinal logistic regression was built to find associations between demographic characteristics and attitudes of women. Results. Two hundred thirty-three women were included in the final analysis. A total of 54% of women had positive attitudes towards the vaccine. The majority of women did not trust or had a neutral attitude towards the government, pharmaceutical industry, and traditional and alternative media. However, the trust of women was high in medical workers and scientific researchers. Women's age, education, number of children, effect of the 2013 HPV program, and trust in alternative medicine were included in the ordinal logistic model. Women with a low level of education, a high number of children, who believe in alternative medicine, and who were affected by the failed 2013 vaccination program were less likely to have a positive attitude towards the vaccine. Conclusions. Contrary attitudes towards HPV vaccination exist among Kazakhstani women, with approximately half having positive and almost half having negative or neutral attitudes towards the vaccine. An informational campaign that takes into consideration women's levels of trust in different agencies, as well as targets those who are the most uninformed, might help in a successful relaunch of the HPV vaccination program. However, more studies that cover a higher number of women are required.

Project description:BackgroundAlthough recommended for all member states of World Health Organization, there is no national human papillomavirus vaccination program in Kazakhstan. Furthermore, there are no studies in Kazakhstan that evaluate the mothers' perception of human papillomavirus vaccines.ObjectivesThis study aims to assess the knowledge and attitudes toward human papillomavirus vaccination among mothers in Kazakhstan and the factors associated with their attitudes.DesignA cross-sectional study was performed during the period of December 2021-February 2022. The STROBE guideline for cross-sectional studies was applied.MethodsPaper-based structured questionnaires were filled out by 191 mothers, 141 of whom had daughters. The attitude score was assessed as per the Likert-type scale. The Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests, with a significance value of < 0.05 were used to analyze the relationships between the characteristics of mothers and their attitude scores.ResultsThe following factors were significantly associated with mothers' attitudes toward human papillomavirus vaccination: a place of residence, family income, number of children, and refusal of vaccination for themselves (p < 0.005). Of all participants, only 45% of all mothers, 41% of mothers with a female, and 46% of mothers with male children had positive attitudes toward human papillomavirus vaccination. The child's gender was not a significant determinant. Overall, the level of knowledge about human papillomavirus vaccination was found to be low. The median total score is 0 out of 12 for women who have negative and neutral attitudes toward human papillomavirus vaccines. Among women who have positive attitudes toward HPV vaccines, the median score is around 3 points.ConclusionBefore the implementation of the human papillomavirus vaccination program into the Kazakhstani national vaccination calendar, comprehensive and adequate information and education campaigns are required on the national level for parents and the population in general.