Designing and evaluating a health belief model-based intervention to increase intent of HPV vaccination among college...

Since 2009, HPV vaccine has been approved by the FDA for use in boys and young men, but less than 1% of eligible males in the United States have taken this vaccine. This study developed and evaluated a Health Belief Model (HBM)-based intervention to increase vaccination rates in college men. In a randomized controlled trial, HBM-based intervention was compared with a traditional knowledge-based intervention in 90 U.S. college-aged men ages 18-25 years. Repeated measures of ANOVA indicated significant positive changes in the intervention group for knowledge and HBM constructs. Results from the pretest/posttest regression analysis indicated self-efficacy for taking the vaccine (p = 0.000), perceived barriers (p = 0.007), and perceived severity (p = 0.004) were significant positive predictors of vaccine acceptability. The model had an adjusted R2 of 0.351. Overall, the intervention proved to be effective in creating positive change toward HPV vaccine acceptability.