Student HPV vaccine attitudes and vaccine completion by education level

We describe HPV vaccine attitudes among students of different education levels.

High school, college, and graduate-level health care professional students were surveyed regarding HPV vaccine knowledge, attitudes, and receipt. Relationships between categorical variables were analyzed using chi-square tests of independence and z-tests for proportions. Means for quantitative variables were compared using t-tests and one-way analysis of variance.

57% and 42% of the 889 students reported starting and completing HPV vaccine series, respectively, with no statistical difference by education level. 61% of students who reported receiving a provider recommendation had completed the series, compared to 6% of those who did not receive recommendation (p<0.001). The belief that HPV vaccine prevents cancer was strongly associated with vaccine completion (p=0.003).

HPV vaccine coverage rates remain suboptimal. Future interventions should focus on improving provider recommendation and patient belief that HPV vaccine prevents cancer.