Vaccine Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: a Global Cross-sectional Study (VAC-M)

This study aims to investigate vaccine-related knowledge, attitude, vaccine confidence and vaccine hesitancy among MSM across multiple countries and regions.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Vaccination
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: No Interventions

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 2000

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Huachun Zou; Phone Number: +86-21-54237707; Email: zouhuachun@fudan.edu.cn
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Feiyang Yin; Phone Number: +86 18008631217; Email: fyyin25@m.fudan.edu.cn

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Male

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Self-identify as MSM, with eligibility in certain participating countries and regions potentially extended to transgender women and non-binary individuals who have sexual relations with men, using the same questionnaire.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants will be eligible for the study if they meet all of the following conditions:

  1. Have resided in a participating country or region for at least six months.
  2. Are aged 18 years or older.
  3. Self-identify as MSM, with eligibility in certain participating countries and regions potentially extended to transgender women and non-binary individuals who have sexual relations with men, using the same questionnaire.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participants will be excluded if they meet any of the following conditions:

  1. Are aged under 18 years.
  2. Decline to participate in the study or fail to complete the informed consent process.
  3. Have not resided, or do not currently reside, in a participating country or region.
  4. Submit duplicate responses from the same IP address or device.
  5. Fail data quality checks, including automated or fraudulent submissions and failure to pass human verification procedures.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Observational Models: CASE_ONLY
• Time Perspectives: CROSS_SECTIONAL

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Men who have sex with men	Other: No Interventions; No interventions because it is a observational cross-sectional study
transgender women and non-binary individuals; transgender women and non-binary individuals who have sexual relations with men	Other: No Interventions; No interventions because it is a observational cross-sectional study

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Vaccine uptake	Percentage(%) of participants who have received at least one dose of HPV vaccine, assessed by self-reported vaccination history	Baseline, at enrollment in this cross-sectional study

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Vaccine knowledge	Vaccine knowledge will be measured based on participants' scores on the vaccine knowledge items included in the study questionnaire, which will assess general vaccine knowledge and HPV vaccine-specific knowledge. Responses to individual items will be scored according to the predefined scoring criteria and summed to generate domain-specific knowledge scores. Higher scores indicate greater knowledge in the corresponding domain.	Baseline, at enrollment in this cross-sectional study
Vaccine attitude	Vaccine attitudes will be measured based on participants' scores on the Vaccination Attitudes Examination Scale included in the study questionnaire, which assesses four dimensions of vaccination attitudes: mistrust of vaccine benefits, worries about unforeseen future effects, concerns about commercial profiteering, and preference for natural immunity. Responses to individual items will be scored according to the predefined scoring criteria and combined to generate an overall vaccine attitude score. Higher scores indicate more negative attitudes toward vaccination.	Baseline, at enrollment in this cross-sectional study
Vaccine confidence	Vaccine confidence will be measured based on participants' scores on the Vaccine Confidence Index included in the study questionnaire, which assesses perceptions of vaccine importance, safety, effectiveness, and compatibility with religious beliefs. Responses to individual items will be scored according to the predefined scoring criteria and combined to generate an overall vaccine confidence score. Higher scores indicate greater confidence in vaccines.	Baseline, at enrollment in this cross-sectional study
Vaccine hesitancy	Vaccine hesitancy will be measured based on participants' scores on the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale included in the study questionnaire. The scale assesses participants' perceptions of vaccine importance and effectiveness, trust in vaccine information and recommendations, perceived benefits of vaccination, and concerns about vaccine risks and adverse effects. Responses to individual items will be scored according to the predefined scoring criteria and summed to generate a total vaccine hesitancy score. Higher total scores indicate greater vaccine hesitancy.	Baseline, at enrollment in this cross-sectional study

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Fudan University
• Collaborators: University of Malaya; Mahidol University; University of Westminster

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): January 1, 2027
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 11, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 30, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): October 2, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 2, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 30, 2026
• Last Verified: September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: H2026163

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No