HPV: A Comparison of Awareness Between Vaccinated Versus Non-Vaccinated Persons

Purpose: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) currently affects more than 79 million Americans (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2017). The Healthy People 2020 goal of an 80% vaccination rate is not being reached (CDC, 2016). Osazuwa-Peters, Boakye, Mohammed, Tobo, Geneus, and Schootman (2017) found that less than 30% of people knew that HPV led to penile, cervical, and anal cancer with minority men and women having the lowest knowledge rates. While condoms prevent the spread of many sexually transmitted infections, condoms do not prevent the spread of HPV meaning that HPV vaccination is one of the most effective methods to prevent the spread of the virus (Digangi, 2017). Berman (2016) explains that while there has been a decrease in HPV cancer rates, there are still two-thirds of the American female population that have not completed their full vaccination schedule. A study of college students by Yacobi, Tennant, Fernandez, Pal, and Roetzheim (1999) showed a lack of knowledge of HPV as well as a disinterest in prevention of HPV almost 10 years before the vaccine was even available. Unger et al. (2015) found that there was an increased incidence of vaccination among women who understood the risks associated with HPV infection. The objective of this study is to determine if knowledge about HPV is a driving force for individuals to get themselves or their children vaccinated.

Methods: This research study is an observational study taking place in September through December of 2017 in which the researchers plan to understand the driving forces behind HPV vaccination. To adequately measure the data, the researchers have chosen to use a survey created by Unger et al. (2015) combined with Yacobi etal. (1999) to quantitatively measure knowledge of HPV. The study will also address demographic data including questions regarding whether the participant or the participant’s child has been vaccinated with the HPV vaccine. This survey will be distributed via email to students, faculty, and staff on The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s (UTC) campus, and should only take the participants about 15 minutes to finish the questions. The survey will address basic demographic data without personal identifiers, whether the participant or their child were vaccinated, and the participants general knowledge of HPV. Once an adequate number of respondents have taken the survey, the researchers will compare the correct responses to the questions about HPV knowledge to whether the participant or their child has received the HPV vaccine. The survey will be constructed on Qualtrics for easy conversion to Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS). The data will be collected in a natural, uncontrolled setting.

Results: The data collection will occur in October and November of 2017 with the completion of the study in December of 2017. There are currently no results available.

Conclusion: This study is attempting to understand the driving forces behind HPV vaccination. Through the data collection, the researchers will attempt to understand the influence of knowledge on individual’s decisions to vaccinate themselves or their children. This is an ongoing study and will be completed in December of 2017.