Australian Newspaper Coverage of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination, October 2006–December 2009

Abstract

Vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) is now routine practice for adolescent females in Australia. Media information about HPV vaccination is likely to affect girls’ and parents’ decisions about vaccination. This article reports a content analysis of 131 Australian print media news stories published between October 2006 and December 2009. Each story was coded for main themes of the article; completeness and accuracy of information presented; potential issues and concerns related to HPV vaccination; phrasing, emphasis, and language used; and representation of experts. Resulting themes were as follows: Australian pride in vaccine development; details and progress of the National Vaccination Program; vaccine safety; HPV vaccination's future; whether or not males could and/or should get the vaccine; issues related to sexual activity and the vaccine; and issues about decision making for acceptance of HPV vaccine. To fill gaps that are created by media representations of HPV vaccination, educational interventions should include information about HPV transmission and male vaccination and should promote adolescent involvement in decision making.

Notes

If articles mentioned an issue, but the issue was misstated by either the article author or someone quoted in the article, then it was categorized as “mentioned incorrectly.”

**For genital warts, 6.1% (n = 8) mentioned protection against genital warts, but no details or numbers were provided.