Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and vaccination: A cross-sectional study of college students’ knowledge, awareness, and attitudes in Villanova, PA
Human papillomaviruses are major causative agents of multiple cancers including cervical, vulvar, penile, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers. Almost all sexually active individuals are exposed to HPV in their lifetime and although not all HPV genotypes are capable of causing cancers, several high-risk...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Vaccine: X |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590136222000018 |
| _version_ | 1819050073463455744 |
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| author | Jennifer A. Goldfarb Joseph D. Comber |
| author_facet | Jennifer A. Goldfarb Joseph D. Comber |
| author_sort | Jennifer A. Goldfarb |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Human papillomaviruses are major causative agents of multiple cancers including cervical, vulvar, penile, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers. Almost all sexually active individuals are exposed to HPV in their lifetime and although not all HPV genotypes are capable of causing cancers, several high-risk subtypes widely circulate. Several HPV vaccines have been developed and successfully utilized to limit the spread of these viruses and reduce rates of associated cancers. Despite their success, HPV vaccination rates in the United States remain low. Studies estimate the highest prevalence of HPV in the United States is among college students. This makes college students an important target for interventions that promote HPV vaccination and prevention. To this end, we were interested in investigating the relationship between low HPV vaccine uptake and attitudes and awareness about HPV vaccination among college aged students. We designed a survey to assess knowledge and perception of HPV and HPV vaccination that could help identify correlations between this knowledge and vaccination status. Overall, the data suggest that factors beyond basic knowledge about HPV infections, such as vaccine safety and social acceptance of vaccination, may have important impacts on vaccination rates. More robust education in these areas, supplemented with education about the benefits of HPV vaccination could be utilized to improve vaccination rates. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T11:42:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6aeb28486dba48378cd7576a7556f299 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2590-1362 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T11:42:15Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Vaccine: X |
| spelling | doaj.art-6aeb28486dba48378cd7576a7556f2992022-12-21T19:05:16ZengElsevierVaccine: X2590-13622022-04-0110100141Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and vaccination: A cross-sectional study of college students’ knowledge, awareness, and attitudes in Villanova, PAJennifer A. Goldfarb0Joseph D. Comber1Department of Biology, Villanova University, PA 19085, USACorresponding author at: Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Ave. Villanova, PA 19085, USA.; Department of Biology, Villanova University, PA 19085, USAHuman papillomaviruses are major causative agents of multiple cancers including cervical, vulvar, penile, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers. Almost all sexually active individuals are exposed to HPV in their lifetime and although not all HPV genotypes are capable of causing cancers, several high-risk subtypes widely circulate. Several HPV vaccines have been developed and successfully utilized to limit the spread of these viruses and reduce rates of associated cancers. Despite their success, HPV vaccination rates in the United States remain low. Studies estimate the highest prevalence of HPV in the United States is among college students. This makes college students an important target for interventions that promote HPV vaccination and prevention. To this end, we were interested in investigating the relationship between low HPV vaccine uptake and attitudes and awareness about HPV vaccination among college aged students. We designed a survey to assess knowledge and perception of HPV and HPV vaccination that could help identify correlations between this knowledge and vaccination status. Overall, the data suggest that factors beyond basic knowledge about HPV infections, such as vaccine safety and social acceptance of vaccination, may have important impacts on vaccination rates. More robust education in these areas, supplemented with education about the benefits of HPV vaccination could be utilized to improve vaccination rates.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590136222000018Human papillomavirus (HPV)GardasilVaccinationVaccine hesitancy |
| spellingShingle | Jennifer A. Goldfarb Joseph D. Comber Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and vaccination: A cross-sectional study of college students’ knowledge, awareness, and attitudes in Villanova, PA Vaccine: X Human papillomavirus (HPV) Gardasil Vaccination Vaccine hesitancy |
| title | Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and vaccination: A cross-sectional study of college students’ knowledge, awareness, and attitudes in Villanova, PA |
| title_full | Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and vaccination: A cross-sectional study of college students’ knowledge, awareness, and attitudes in Villanova, PA |
| title_fullStr | Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and vaccination: A cross-sectional study of college students’ knowledge, awareness, and attitudes in Villanova, PA |
| title_full_unstemmed | Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and vaccination: A cross-sectional study of college students’ knowledge, awareness, and attitudes in Villanova, PA |
| title_short | Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and vaccination: A cross-sectional study of college students’ knowledge, awareness, and attitudes in Villanova, PA |
| title_sort | human papillomavirus hpv infection and vaccination a cross sectional study of college students knowledge awareness and attitudes in villanova pa |
| topic | Human papillomavirus (HPV) Gardasil Vaccination Vaccine hesitancy |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590136222000018 |
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