Knowledge, perceptions, and uptake of the human papillomavirus vaccine in a sample of US high school adolescents

OBJECTIVE To assess high school students’ knowledge and perceptions of human papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV vaccines and evaluate high school students’ self-reported uptake of the HPV vaccine. METHODS This was an observational, descriptive study using a 44-question survey. Participants were ninth grade students in a Colorado public school district. The survey was administered as part of a health education course. RESULTS Ninety-two surveys were included in the analysis. Demographic characteristics included 64/92 (69.6%) male and 55/92 (59.8%) Hispanic/Latino students. There was no difference between males and females regarding self-reported vaccination status. Non-Hispanic students were 71.6% less likely to have received the HPV vaccine than Hispanic students (OR 0.284; 95% CI, 0.088–0.920; p = 0.036). The average score on the knowledge section was 42.7% with a standard deviation of 22.6%. When assessing students’ perceptions, 71/92 (77.2%) disagreed or strongly disagreed that they felt at risk for getting an HPV infection. There was no significant difference between males and females regarding awareness of the HPV vaccine (p = 0.14). More than half of students (58.7%) did not know if they had received the HPV vaccine. CONCLUSION HPV vaccine awareness was low and many students did not know if they had received the HPV vaccine. Ninth grade students did not have accurate knowledge of HPV and HPV vaccines and this study presents opportunities for increased education.