Why are people hesitant about the HPV vaccine?
Human Papillomavirus is an extremely prevalent sexually transmitted infection that can be prevented with vaccination. The CDC reports that practically all men and women get the virus at some point in their lives. This disease can affect the oral and genital regions of the body and can lead to the development of several types of cancers. Luckily, there is a vaccine that effectively prevents HPV, however, vaccination rates particularly in the US are quite low. This is astounding to me, given the effectiveness and availability of the vaccine. However, one of the many reasons that people are hesitant to get their children vaccinated is because they believe it will encourage sexual behavior. Part of me understands this concern while another large part of me does not. This is because, I believe the focus should be on prevention and the child’s long term health, rather than their sexual behavior. A study looked at the association between HPV vaccination and sexual behavior in college aged men and women. The results showed no link between HPV vaccination and sexual behavior, showing that people should highly consider vaccinating their children.
How knowledgeable are people about HPV?
Public knowledge surrounding HPV is quite low despite the fact that practically all sexually active men and women get the virus at some point in their lives, and that it can lead to several cancers. Personally, before starting this class I had very little knowledge about HPV and its severity. I believe this is because in many cases there is discomfort around the discussion of sexual activity and its consequences. However, I think conversations around prevention strategies are critical to avoid transmission and cancer. A recent study showed that only 33.2% of participants (who were cancer survivors) actually knew that their cancers were HPV-related cancers. Additionally, only 56.8% of participating HPV-related cancer survivors reported that they believed that the HPV vaccine is safe. This shows that measures should be taken by health care providers and by people in general to increase awareness about HPV, its implications, and prevention.
HPV Educational Intervention
One way that the prevalence of HPV can be reduced is through education about it’s severity and how common it is among sexually active individuals. Another interesting thing to consider is at what age is it considered to be appropriate to start these conversations surrounding preventions. One study was conducted in Chengdu, China to learn about the knowledge and attitudes toward HPV the HPV vaccine. In the study one group of these middle school students were provided with information about HPV and the HPV vaccine, while the other group was not provided with this information. A year later they were surveyed and it was found that the group that was educated about HPV was more willing to be vaccinated. This shows that school-based health education can be effective. I think this is important to consider, because with more education at a younger age, it is a possibility that vaccination rates can increase and the prevalence of HPV can be reduced.
Dallis' Blog 