Knowledge and Beliefs Regarding Human Papillomavirus Among College Nursing Students at a Minority-Serving Institution

Abstract

Background Cervical cancer is a leading cause of death in U.S. women, with Hispanic women at higher risk of mortality than non-Hispanic white women. While the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine represents substantial progress towards cervical cancer prevention, little is currently known about Hispanic student’s beliefs regarding the HPV vaccine. Objective To assess the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs of college students in the U.S.-Mexico border region following the release of the HPV vaccine for both males and females. Methods This survey was conducted using a convenience sample where participants were recruited from pre-nursing and nursing courses. The self-administered questionnaire ascertained HPV vaccination status, and knowledge and beliefs regarding the HPV vaccine. Results 202 male and female students responded. 28.9% of respondents reported having received the HPV vaccine. Of the non-vaccinated students under age 27, 27.3% Hispanic students reported an intention to receive the vaccine. Misinformation about HPV was common and among non-Hispanic white students was associated with intention to get vaccinated. Conclusions We found a relatively small proportion of unvaccinated Hispanic and non-Hispanic nursing students intending to be vaccinated for HPV. Findings indicate an intervention to increase vaccination rates among college-aged students may not be as straightforward as increasing knowledge of HPV. Implications for Practice Nurses are in a unique position to educate and recommend HPV to underserved patients. Thus, educating nursing students regarding HPV and the associated cancers is paramount if we are to encourage ethnic minorities to receive the HPV vaccine.

Protection motivation theory in predicting intention to receive cervical cancer screening in rural Chinese women

“…Among many factors for intervention programming, attention must be paid to 2 PMT subconstructs: the Perceived Risk and the Response Cost. Perceived risk from no screening was positively associated with intention, consistent with reported studies . On the contrary, perceived response cost (feeling embarrassed, anxiety, and impersonal about screening) was negatively associated with screening intention.…”

Knowledge of undergraduate nursing students about human papillomavirus vaccine

“…The results regarding the socio-demographic profile of research subjects confirm the literature on the subject under study. There was a predominance of females, which is in line with other studies that have addressed the same theme (7)(8)(9)(10) . With respect to age, the result of this research corroborates a study in another private university of the state São Paulo, Brazil, that had the same objective (7) .…”

“…In the present study, there was a deficit of knowledge related to the characteristics of the human papillomavirus vaccine, including the interval between doses and the vaccination plan, route of administration, contraindications, adverse events and age groups recommended to receive the vaccine in the public health network. These data corroborate the study conducted with nursing students at a university located in the border region of the United States-Mexico, which showed that the level of knowledge among participants was below expectations (8) .…”

“…With respect to age, the result of this research corroborates a study in another private university of the state São Paulo, Brazil, that had the same objective (7) . Research studies indicate that nursing undergraduate students of private institutions tend to be older than undergraduate students of public institutions of higher education (7)(8)(9) . Most participants (65.0%) reported exercising paid work.…”

Human Papillomavirus Infection and Vaccination: Knowledge, Attitude and Perception among Undergraduate Men and Women Healthcare University Students in Switzerland

“…The content's validity was evaluated by three experts (nurse, midwife, and epidemiologist), and a feasibility study was previously performed on 15 nurses and five midwives (not publish). The questionnaire was developed in French, based on previous surveys evaluating HPV knowledge, attitudes and perceptions [12][13][14][15][16][17].…”