216057 Knowledge and attitudes about HPV and HPV vaccination in people attending Baltimore City Health Department vaccination clinics

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Fiona G. Kouyoumdjian, MD MPH PhD(Candidate) , Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Anne Bailowitz, MD MPH , Division of Maternal and Child Health, Baltimore City Health Department, Baltimore, MD
  
Objectives: To examine knowledge and attitudes about human papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV vaccination in Baltimore City Health Department vaccination clinic attendees.

Methods: All people who attended Baltimore City Health Department vaccination clinics between December and February 2009 were invited to participate in an interviewer-administered survey if they spoke English and were at least 16 years of age. For persons under 18, a parent or guardian was required to sign a consent form for their child.

Results: 143 people participated in the survey, including 44 females aged 18-26 and 19 parents with daughters aged 9-17. Ninety-three participants (65%) had heard of the HPV vaccine, 50 (53.8%) from television only and 30 (32.3%) from a physician. A majority of females aged 18-26 (74.4%) and of those with daughters aged 9-17 (72.7%) knew that the HPV vaccine protected against a type of cancer in females. Fewer knew that the vaccine protected against infection in females, at 43.6% of females aged 18-26 and 54.6% of parents with daughters aged 9-17, respectively. Most females aged 18-26 (86.4%) and parents with daughters aged 9-17 (84.2%) indicated that if the vaccine were available and suitable, they would consider getting the vaccine for themselves or for their daughters, respectively.

Conclusions: Improved communication is needed to inform the public about HPV vaccination, including about its potential benefits, especially for eligible persons. As this study revealed that most eligible persons are interested to receive the vaccine, efforts should be made to increase education as well as to improve access.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Provision of health care to the public

Learning Objectives:
1. To define how people commonly access information about HPV vaccination. 2. To describe knowledge of parents and eligible girls and women regarding HPV and HPV vaccination.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I conducted this work under the supervision of co-author Dr. Anne Bailowitz, an experienced pediatric infectious disease physician, while doing a residency rotation at the Baltimore City Health Department. Understanding policy and programming for the prevention and control of vaccine-preventable diseases is a focus of my residency program in Community Medicine at the University of Toronto.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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