The roles of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) test awareness and knowledge in HPV vaccination initiation and completion among college students in the Deep South of the United States: applying the Andersen’s Behavioral Model

ABSTRACT

Human papillomavirus (HPV) has the highest prevalence of all sexually transmitted infections in the United States (U.S.). Despite the effectiveness in preventing HPV-related cancers, HPV vaccination rates were still low among young adults. Thus, this study aimed to (1) investigate HPV vaccination initiation and completion rates among college students, (2) examine relevant factors associated with HPV vaccine initiation and completion. A convenient sample of 327 college students was recruited from universities in the Deep South of the U.S. via online surveys. Logistic regressions were conducted to examine factors associated with HPV vaccination initiation and completion. About 54% of participants in the current study initiated HPV vaccination, and most of the participants who initiated the vaccination completed the series (52%). Participants who were female (odds ratio [OR] = 3.01, confidence interval [CI] = 1.38 to 6.58; OR = 2.28, CI = 1.07 to 4.85), aware of the HPV tests (OR = 16.53, CI = 5.60 to 48.83; OR = 7.36, CI = 2.99 to 18.13), and aware that ‘men should have HPV vaccination’ (OR = 2.33, CI = 1.07 to 5.09; OR = 3.27, CI = 1.50 to 7.12) were more likely to initiate the HPV vaccination and complete the vaccine series. The finding that only half of the students initiated and completed the HPV vaccine series indicates that further studies and intervention strategies are needed. Particular attention should be focused on college student populations who are male and with little HPV health knowledge.

KEYWORDS:

• HPV vaccination initiation
• HPV vaccination completion
• HPV knowledge
• college students
• Deep South of the U.S

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Endowed Academic Chair Research Fund awarded to the first author at her institution.