College students' knowledge, attitudes and informational behaviors in regards to the Human Papillomavirus (HPV)

Objective: To assess college students' knowledge, attitudes and informational behaviors in regards to the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Participants/Methods: Students (N=1,282) at a large, public university in the Northeastern United States completed a questionnaire during February 2008 assessing HPV knowledge, prevalence, transmission, cervical cancer risk and stigma; sexual behavior, vaccination status, as well as past and preferred sources of information about HPV and sexual health. Results: A majority of respondents have heard of HPV. However, their understanding was insufficient and spotty in several important areas including routes of transmission and the high prevalence rate of this common virus. Overwhelmingly, respondents heard about HPV via television commercials yet preferred to obtain sexual health information from physicians. Hearing about HPV on a television commercial was associated with increased knowledge about HPV. Increased knowledge of HPV is associated with less stigma about the virus. Men exhibit a higher level of stigma in regards to HPV as well as less knowledge than do women. Conclusions: Publicly funded health campaigns aimed at increasing knowledge and health literacy about HPV are overdue and necessary. This is especially true for efforts targeting young adults about this extremely common sexually transmitted infection.