To date, no studies have been conducted assessing acceptance of vaccination in the young, sexually naïve adolescents who would be the targets of HPV vaccination. Studies have been conducted, however, in adolescent and young adult women in their teens and 20s.
Boehner et al
9 assessed factors affecting acceptance of HPV vaccine among college aged men (n=127) and women (n=129). The vaccine was presented as either a vaccine against genital warts or a vaccine against genital warts and genital and cervical cancer. Type of vaccine had no statistically significant effect on acceptance; overall, 74% of respondents were interested in receiving a vaccine for HPV. Factors predicting acceptance of HPV vaccine included having had a greater number of sexual partners, thinking that their parents would encourage vaccination, and low cost and safety of the vaccine.
9
Kahn et al
10 assessed acceptability of HPV vaccination to prevent cervical cancer in adult women aged 18 to 30 years, as well as their acceptability of vaccinating their hypothetical 12-year-old daughters.
10 Of the women surveyed, 89% endorsed HPV vaccination for themselves, and 81% endorsed it for their “daughters.” The following were associated with vaccine acceptance: knowledge about HPV (
P = .004); belief that getting the vaccine was a good idea (
P = .004); number of lifetime sexual partners (
P = .028); and belief that people such as healthcare providers (
P = .028), parents (
P = .015), a husband or steady sexual partner (
P = .016), and “most people” important to the individual (
P = .005) would support vaccination.
10
Both of these studies found that vaccine acceptance correlated with level of sexual activity. Unfortunately, although individuals with a greater number of sexual partners might be more accepting of HPV vaccination, it is likely that these people have already been infected with HPV. These studies also demonstrated that potential vaccinees are more accepting of vaccination when they think that individuals important to them, such as their parents, would support vaccination. This finding suggests that educating parents about HPV and HPV vaccination may be crucial to obtaining not just their consent, but also that of their children.