A survey of 20-year-old Japanese women: how is their intention to undergo cervical cancer screening associated with their childhood HPV vaccination status?

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of the internet survey responders – Occupation the distribution of occupations between the two groups was not different

	Inoculated	Non-inoculated	p-value
	N (%)	N (%)
Occupation
Civil servant	2 (0.6)	0 (0)	0.37
Manager	7 (2)	9 (2.9)
Office worker	2 (0.6)	5 (1.6)
Self-employed	12 (3.9)	6 (1.9)
Housewife	24 (7.8)	31 (10)
Part-time	30 (9.7)	32 (10)
Student	220 (71)	195 (63)
Unemployed, other	12 (3.9)	31 (10)
Answer about economic status compared with a normal family
Much better	41 (13.3)	42 (13.6)	0.697
Better	120 (38.8)	120 (38.8)
Same	99 (32)	93 (30)
Worse	40 (12.9)	38 (12.3)
Much worse	9 (2.9)	16 (5.1)
Sexuality status
Already experienced	129 (41.7)	136 (44)	0.493
Never experienced	152 (49.2)	150 (48.5)
Did not answer	28 (9.1)	23 (7.4)
Wilcoxon signed-rank analysis

Table 2. Responses regarding cervical cancer or cancer screening

	Yes	No	p-value
Cervical cancer is observed at a younger age compared to other cancers.
Inoculated	176 (57.5%)	130 (42.5%)	0.185
Non-inoculated	164 (53.6%)	142 (46.4%)
Cervical cancer is increasing in younger aged women.
Inoculated	184 (60.1%)	122 (39.9%)	0.5
Non-inoculated	185 (60.5%)	121 (39.5%)
Hysterectomy is the standard treatment for cervical cancer.
Inoculated	174 (56.9%)	132 (43.1%)	0.285
Non-inoculated	166 (54.2%)	140 (45.8%)
Suffering from cervical cancer sometimes deprives younger women of fertility.
Inoculated	236 (77.1%)	70 (22.9%)	0.385
Non-inoculated	240 (78.4%)	66 (21.6%)
Cervical cancer is commonly caused by HPV infection.
Inoculated	90 (29.4%)	216 (70.6%)	0.299
Non-inoculated	97 (31.7%)	209 (68.3%)
HPV is transmitted by sexual intercourse.
Inoculated	106 (49.1%)	110 (50.9%)	0.015
Non-inoculated	120 (39.2%)	186 (60.8%)
Cervical cancer sometimes threatens your life.
Inoculated	173 (56.5%)	133 (43.5%)	0.256
Non-inoculated	182 (59.5%)	124 (40.5%)
HPV vaccination has a preventive effect for 60–70% of cervical cancers.
Inoculated	150 (49.0%)	156 (51.0%)	0.001
Non-inoculated	104 (34.0%)	202 (66.0%)
The government recommends cancer screening for 20-y olds.
Inoculated	158 (51.6%)	148 (48.4%)	0.343
Non-inoculated	164 (53.6%)	142 (46.4%)
It is ideal to have cancer screening every 2 y (or annually) for early detection.
Inoculated	194 (63.3%)	112 (36.6%)	0.041
Non-inoculated	172 (56.2%)	134 (43.8%)
You can go to residential medical checkup institutions for cancer screening.
Inoculated	162 (52.9%)	144 (47.1%)	0.343
Non-inoculated	168 (54.9%)	138 (45.1%)
I understand what cervical cancer is like.
Inoculated	152 (49.7%)	154 (50.3%)	0.166
Non-inoculated	165 (53.9%)	141 (46.1%)

Fisher’s exact test

Table 3. Responder’s reasons for why, as 20-y-old women, they are not going to visit a clinic for cervical cancer screening within the next 2 y

	Yes	No	p-value
It is because I do not know what cervical cancer is.
Inoculated	112 (44.6%)	139 (55.4%)	0.409
Non-inoculated	108 (43.2%)	142 (56.8%)
It is because I do not think I am affected with cervical cancer.
Inoculated	50 (19.9%)	201 (80.1%)	0.035
Non-inoculated	68 (27.2%)	182 (72.8%)
It is because I think it would be OK to get my cancer screening several years later.
Inoculated	127 (50.6%)	124 (49.4%)	0.063
Non-inoculated	113 (45.2%)	147 (58.8%)
It is because I am scared to be diagnosed with cervical cancer.
Inoculated	65 (25.9%)	186 (74.1%)	0.449
Non-inoculated	67 (26.8%)	183 (73.2%)
It is because, for now, I have no symptoms.
Inoculated	185 (73.7%)	66 (26.3%)	0.056
Non-inoculated	167 (66.8%)	83 (33.2%)
It is because I am afraid what the cancer screening examination is like.
Inoculated	139 (55.4%)	112 (44.6%)	0.219
Non-inoculated	148 (59.2%)	102 (40.8%)
It is because I do not want to go to a hospital or clinic.
Inoculated	113 (45.1%)	138 (54.9%)	<0.05
Non-inoculated	150 (60.1%)	100 (39.9%)
It is because I am hesitant to go a hospital or clinic.
Inoculated	95 (37.8%)	156 (62.2%)	0.477
Non-inoculated	93 (37.2%)	157 (62.8%)
It is because I have not experienced sexual intercourse.
Inoculated	115 (45.8%)	136 (54.2%)	0.345
Non-inoculated	120 (48.0%)	130 (52.0%)
It is because I do not want to spend my time for a medical checkup.
Inoculated	118 (47.1%)	133 (52.9%)	0.519
Non-inoculated	118 (47.2%)	132 (52.8%)
It is because it bothers me to go to the hospital or clinic.
Inoculated	142 (56.6%)	109 (43.4%)	0.065
Non-inoculated	159 (63.6%)	91 (36.4%)
It is because I think it costs money to go to the hospital or clinic.
Inoculated	151 (60.2%)	100 (39.8%)	0.163
Non-inoculated	162 (64.8%)	88 (35.2%)
It is because I do not know where to go for cancer screening.
Inoculated	96 (38.3%)	155 (61.7%)	0.441
Non-inoculated	93 (37.2%)	157 (62.8%)

Fisher’s exact test

Table 4. Questionnaire responses about home environment regarding cervical cancer

	Yes	No	p-value
Have you talked about cervical cancer with your mother or another family member?
Inoculated	116 (37.9%)	190 (62.1%)	0.803
Non-inoculated	120 (39.2%)	186 (60.8%)
Has your mother or another family member advised you to have cervical cancer screening?
Inoculated	84 (27.5%)	222 (72.5%)	0.784
Non-inoculated	80 (26.1%)	226 (73.9%)
(If you answered Yes to the previous question) Did the advice your mother or another family member gave you motivate your intention to receive cancer screening?
Inoculated (N = 84)	62 (73.8%)	22 (26.2%)	0.108
Non-inoculated (N = 80)	54 (67.5%)	26 (32.5%)
(If you answered No to the question two questions before) If your mother or other family member would advise you now to get cancer screening, do you think you would be motivated to get it?
Inoculated (N = 222)	142 (64.0%)	80 (36.0%)	0.159
Non-inoculated (N = 226)	131 (58.0%)	95 (42.0%)
If your partner or husband advised you to get cancer screening, do you think you would be motivated to do it?
Inoculated	237 (77.5%)	69 (22.5%)	0.043
Non-inoculated	214 (69.9%)	92 (30.1%)

Fisher’s exact test

Figure 1. Women who received cervical cancer screening within the 2-y window. Significantly more women in the inoculated group received cervical cancer screening

Figure 2. The effects of reading the informational leaflet. Their intention to receive cervical cancer screening within the next 2 y were significantly improved in both groups after reading the leaflets

Table 5. Reasons why responders still did not intend to receive cancer screening after reading the leaflet

	Yes	No	p-value
It is because I still do not know what cervical cancer is.
Inoculated (N = 208)	10 (5.0%)	198 (95.2%)	0.244
Non-inoculated (N = 201)	6 (3.0%)	195 (97.0%)
It is because I do not think I am affected with cervical cancer.
Inoculated (N = 208)	6 (2.9%)	202 (97.1%)	0.523
Non-inoculated (N = 201)	5 (2.5%)	196 (97.5%)
It is because I think it would be OK to receive cancer screening several years later.
Inoculated (N = 208)	15 (7.2%)	193 (92.8%)	0.46
Non-inoculated (N = 201)	13 (6.5%)	188 (93.5%)
It is because I am scared I will be diagnosed with cervical cancer.
Inoculated (N = 208)	6 (2.9%)	202 (97.1%)	0.368
Non-inoculated (N = 201)	8 (4.0%)	193 (96.0%)
It is because I have no symptoms related to cervical cancer.
Inoculated (N = 208)	29 (13.9%)	179 (86.1%)	0.271
Non-inoculated (N = 201)	23 (11.4%)	178 (88.6%)
It is because I am afraid of what cancer screening is like.
Inoculated (N = 208)	10 (4.8%)	198 (95.2%)	0.531
Non-inoculated (N = 201)	9 (4.5%)	192 (95.5%)
It is because I do not want to go to a hospital. *
Inoculated (N = 208)	16 (7.7%)	192 (92.3%)	0.019
Non-inoculated (N = 201)	31 (15.4%)	170 (84.6%)
It is because I am hesitant to go to a hospital.
Inoculated (N = 208)	12 (5.8%)	196 (94.2%)	0.357
Non-inoculated (N = 201)	9 (4.5%)	192 (95.5%)
It is because I have not experienced sexual intercourse yet.
Inoculated (N = 208)	32 (15.4%)	176 (84.6%)	0.55
Non-inoculated (N = 201)	31 (15.4%)	170 (84.6%)
It is because I do not have enough time for a medical checkup.
Inoculated (N = 208)	31 (14.9%)	177 (85.1%)	0.062
Non-inoculated (N = 201)	19 (9.5%)	182 (90.5%)
It is because it bothers me to go to a hospital or clinic.
Inoculated (N = 208)	24 (11.5%)	184 (88.5%)	0.423
Non-inoculated (N = 201)	21 (10.4%)	180 (89.6%)
It is because cancer screening costs too much.
Inoculated (N = 208)	12 (5.8%)	196 (94.2%)	0.357
Non-inoculated (N = 201)	9 (4.5%)	192 (95.5%)
It is because I do not know where to receive cancer screening.
Inoculated (N = 208)	2 (1.0%)	206 (99.0%)	0.675
Non-inoculated (N = 201)	2 (1.0%)	199 (99.0%)

Fisher’s exact test

*p <.05.