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The human papilloma virus (HPV) is the most commonly reported sexually transmitted infection in the United States (U.S.), with an estimated 6.2 million new infections diagnosed each year and costs of 1.7 billion dollars per year. Overall 50% of men and women will have contracted HPV in their lifetime. HPV is a leading etiology of 70% of cervical, 90% of anal, 40% of penile, and 30% of laryngeal cancers. The HPV vaccine is recommended for males and females ages 9 to 26 years. This vaccine is effective against four major strains of HPV that causes cancers and genital warts. Although research suggests high HPV rates in uniformed personnel; the U.S. military reports lower vaccination uptake rates than the national average. There are a few studies that examine HPV in female military personnel; however, there are no military studies that examine HPV knowledge and HPV vaccine uptake among both genders. When developing HPV immunization campaigns, the U.S. Navy needs to establish a baseline level of HPV knowledge and vaccine uptake among their service members. The research questions guiding this study will be as follows: What is the HPV vaccination uptake among U.S. Navy personnel 18 to 26 years of age? The study will have 3 specific aims: 1) to describe the general HPV knowledge, HPV testing knowledge, HPV vaccination knowledge, HPV vaccine uptake, and socio-demographics 2) to describe the relationship between HPV knowledge, HPV vaccine uptake, and socio-demographics and 3) identify select variables accounting for variance in HPV vaccine uptake among U.S. Navy personnel 18 to 26 years of age.
Methods:
This study will use a descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational research design using an Internet-delivered survey. IRB oversight will be provided by Naval Medical Center San Diego and the University of San Diego. Participants will be U.S. Navy, Active Duty or Activated Reservists, 18 to 26 years of age stationed in San Diego, California. Participants will be recruited using advertisements via flyers, poster, emails, and command announcements. The total sample size is set at 197 participants. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be used to analyze the results. Descriptive statistics will be utilized to describe the general HPV knowledge, HPV testing knowledge, HPV vaccination knowledge, and socio-demographics using frequency distributions and measures of central tendency. Bivariate analysis will be used to determine the relationship between HPV knowledge, HPV vaccine uptake, and socio-demographic factors. Logistic regression will be used to determine factors that account for variance in HPV vaccine uptake among U.S. Navy personnel. Analyses will be carried out using SSPS and the level of significance set at p < 0.05.
Results:
The study is a work in progress and the results are pending.
Conclusions:
Results are pending. The results of this study will enhance existing knowledge within military research by allowing health care professionals and policy makers to further understand the content needed to develop effective HPV immunization programs and policies. Furthermore, the results will assist in the eliminating barriers to the HPV vaccine among this high-risk group by increasing awareness of HPV and the HPV vaccine.