Adolescents are the primary target population for HPV vaccination. This study aims to explore the acceptability of HPV vaccines and evaluate factors related to the willingness to be vaccinated among Chinese adolescents.
A nationwide survey was conducted across 14 schools in mainland China. Four thousand sixty-two students participated in this study. Among them, only 17.1% of students reported having heard of HPV vaccines; however, 67.3% were willing to receive the HPV vaccine. Multivariable regression analysis showed that students from rural areas had received sexual health education, have heard of cervical cancer or HPV vaccine, have a positive attitude toward vaccination, reported they were at the risk of developing cervical cancer. Those who value their parents’ and teachers’ opinions were more willing to receive the HPV vaccination.
The study concluded that awareness about the HPV vaccine is low among Chinese adolescents. Most related to willingness to vaccinate among Chinese adolescents were school location, education about vaccination, HPV, and HPV vaccines. Integrating health education on HPV vaccination into existing school-based sexual health curricula may be an effective way to increase HPV vaccination coverage in mainland China.
Reference: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21645515.2020.1812314
