HPV Infection Awareness and Self-Reported HPV Vaccination Coverage in Female Adolescent Students in Two German Cities

Abstract

Low levels of human papillomavirus (HPV) awareness and knowledge have been observed in the few studies conducted among school-going adolescents. Such data are lacking in Germany. To assess awareness of HPV and of vaccination status among girls attending grades 8-13 in Bremen and Bremerhaven, two German cities. Participants completed a questionnaire in school including questions on demographic characteristics, about HPV awareness and on vaccination status. We analysed the relationship between awareness of HPV, of vaccination status and vaccine uptake and several variables including age and migrant background using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. Six hundred and thirty-two girls aged 12-20 years completed the questionnaire. 50 % had no awareness of HPV, 12 % reported being vaccinated against HPV and 57 % did not know whether or not they were vaccinated against HPV. In multivariate analyses, ever had sex was associated with awareness of HPV, and ever been to a gynaecologist with awareness of vaccination status. Our results may be an indication that female adolescents in Germany are not adequately informed and counselled about HPV and associated issues.

Awareness of human papillomavirus after introduction of HPV vaccination: a large population-based survey of Scandinavian women

“…With regard to sexual behaviour, virgins were less likely than nonvirgins to have heard of HPV, which is similar to previous findings (Blodt et al, 2012;Samkange-Zeeb et al, 2012;Donadiki et al, 2013). Among nonvirgins, women who were less sexually experienced in terms of late sexual debut or (in Denmark) a low number of sexual partners were less likely to have heard of HPV.…”

HPV vaccine uptake after introduction of the vaccine in Germany

“…6 Previously conducted coverage studies from Germany, which were mainly based on survey data, have shown heterogeneous results, depending on the considered age group, region, and study population. [3][4][5]7 Direct comparability of our results with those studies is hampered by different aspects. First of all, an estimation of the vaccination coverage rather than the vaccine uptake was not possible in the context of the present study due to the limited study period (only the year 2008), for which the data was available.…”

“…2 Based on data from several surveys, HPV vaccination coverage in Germany with at least one vaccine dose ranged from 12% in females aged 12-20 y to 67% in females aged 18-20 y. [3][4][5] In one of these studies, the proportion of girls not knowing, whether they had received the vaccination was shown to be 57%, 5 suggesting that recall bias might considerably affect the validity of self-reported data in this context. 6 Vaccination record review (n = 161) including females aged 14-19 y showed an HPV vaccination coverage with all three recommended doses of 41% in the federal state of Berlin.…”

“…Furthermore, due to the administrative character of the data, the results of the present study cannot be affected by volunteer or recall bias, while these limitations might affect information on the vaccination status from surveys through selective participation or impaired recall. 5,6 To the best of the authors' knowledge this is the first study that describes the uptake of the HPV vaccine in females using individual data from an SHI in Germany on a broad regional level and for different age groups based on a large study population. The study reflects the situation shortly after the recommendation of HPV vaccination in Germany and the observed trends by age might be affected by the recent introduction of the vaccine.…”

Impfstatus und Determinanten der Impfung gegen humane Papillomviren (HPV) bei Mädchen in Deutschland

“…Mädchen scheinen überwiegend über den Zusammenhang zwischen HPV und Krebs und über die Möglichkeit der Impfung informiert zu sein; allerdings ist der Mehrheit der Befragten die hohe Wahrscheinlichkeit für eine Infektion nicht bewusst [8,27,28]. Immerhin fast 20 % der im Auftrag der BZgA im Jahr 2012 befragten jungen Frauen kannten die HPV-Impfung nicht oder hatten keine Meinung zur Bedeutung der Impfung [5].…”