Abstract
The limited access to vaccination and vaccine hesitancy are prevalent even among health care providers in less developed countries. This study assessed the relationships between (i) health care providers’ knowledge on human papillomavirus (HPV) and vaccination for HPV and (ii) their perceptions, demographic characteristics, and the use of information sources. In this large-scale online survey, participants (n = 1394) were recruited from hospitals of three big cities in China (Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen). Descriptive analysis, the chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis were used to answer different research questions. Health care providers’ overall knowledge scores are consistent with their perceptions about HPV and HPV vaccine. Occupation, specialty, the type of hospitals, and the frequency of participants’ search for information using professional informational sources are the most significant characteristics that are closely associated with their knowledge of HPV and its vaccine. Targeted educational interventions are needed to improve health care providers’ engagement in the promotion of the HPV vaccine. Such interventions, besides increasing knowledge, should also emphasize the importance of appropriate information sources to acquire information.
Highlights
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most prevalent viral infection of the reproductive tract and is a major cause for cervical cancer [1]
In terms of the type of hospital, it seems that participants who worked at general and specialist hospitals had the best understanding of human papillomavirus (HPV), while our results indicated that they had the lowest understanding of the HPV vaccine
All data collected in this study were self-reported, and that may generate bias. In this large-scale survey, we examined the health care providers’ knowledge and perceptions on HPV and the HPV vaccine, as well as whether their self-reported perceptions of their own knowledge were consistent with their knowledge in the context of vaccine hesitancy
Summary
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most prevalent viral infection of the reproductive tract and is a major cause for cervical cancer [1]. Cervical cancer was the fourth most common cancer in women and was responsible for 7.5% of all female cancer deaths in 2018 [1]. The HPV vaccination is for use in females aged 9–45 years and it is not free-of-charge [3]. Up to when this survey finished in December 2018, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are the first group of cities in China where the HPV vaccine was available [4]
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