Characteristics of HPV-unvaccinated undergraduate health students in Switzerland, a cross sectional study
Mona Amadane, Charlotte de Pree, Manuela Viviano, Pierre Vassilakos, Emilien Jeannot, Patrick Petignat, Mona Amadane, Charlotte de Pree, Manuela Viviano, Pierre Vassilakos, Emilien Jeannot, Patrick Petignat
Abstract
Background: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, intended for young women aged 11-14 years old, has been introduced in Switzerland in 2007. Ten years after its introduction, only a few studies have explored the reasons associated with uptake and non-uptake of the vaccination. Our objective was to identify the sociodemographic characteristics of a population of vaccinated and unvaccinated undergraduate healthcare female students, to define the reasons of non-uptake of vaccination, and compare our findings with those found in other Swiss cantons.
Methods: Between January and November 2017, women studying in Health Sciences School and Medical School in Geneva, aged 18-31 years old, were recruited in a large trial assessing HPV prevalence. As part of a smaller, observational study nested in this larger trial, women were invited to complete a questionnaire. Self-reported HPV vaccination uptake or non-uptake, as well as knowledge and attitude about HPV vaccination were assessed. T-Test and Chi square test were used to compare characteristics of vaccinated and unvaccinated women.
Results: Overall, 409 women were recruited in the study. The majority of them (69.1%) reported having been vaccinated for HPV, while 30.9% of them had never received any dose of the HPV vaccine. The only factor associated with a higher vaccination rate was the participants' origin, as women from Geneva were more represented in the vaccinated group than women from other Swiss regions or countries. Unvaccinated women were more likely to consider HPV vaccination as less important than the vaccinated ones (50.4% vs 3.5% p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Although no typical profile can be established in this studied population of unvaccinated women, a lack of information was a major reason of non-uptake of vaccination among the study participants. An effort by health authorities and carefully designed messages are essential to increase the population's awareness over cervical cancer and its prevention.
Trial registration: The trial was registered under cliniclatrials.gov with the identifier: NCT03474211.
Keywords: Cervical cancer; Human papillomavirus (HPV); Undergraduate students; Unvaccinated.
Conflict of interest statement
Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Figures
References
- Carmona-Gutierrez D, Kainz K, Madeo F. Sexually transmitted infections: old foes on the rise. Microb Cell. 2016;3(9):361–362. doi: 10.15698/mic2016.09.522.
- Wang CJ, Palefsky JM. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and the importance of HPV vaccination. Curr Epidemiol Rep. 2015;2(2):101–109. doi: 10.1007/s40471-015-0039-3.
- Ingles DJ, Lin HY, Fulp WJ, Sudenga SL, Lu B, Schabath MB, et al. An analysis of HPV infection incidence and clearance by genotype and age in men: the HPV infection in men (HIM) study. Papillomavirus Res. 2015;1:126–135. doi: 10.1016/j.pvr.2015.09.001.
- Ault KA. Epidemiology and natural history of human papillomavirus infections in the female genital tract. Infect Dis Obstet Gynecol. 2006;2006(Suppl):40470.
- Burton-Jeangros C, Cullati S, Manor O, Courvoisier DS, Bouchardy C, Guessous I. Cervical cancer screening in Switzerland: cross-sectional trends (1992-2012) in social inequalities. Eur J Pub Health. 2017;27(1):167–173.
- Ochs K, Meili G, Diebold J, Arndt V, Gunthert A. Incidence trends of cervical Cancer and its precancerous lesions in women of Central Switzerland from 2000 until 2014. Front Med (Lausanne) 2018;5:58. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2018.00058.
- Maine D, Hurlburt S, Greeson D. Cervical cancer prevention in the 21st century: cost is not the only issue. Am J Public Health. 2011;101(9):1549–1555. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300204.
- Bonanni P, Bechini A, Donato R, Capei R, Sacco C, Levi M, et al. Human papilloma virus vaccination: impact and recommendations across the world. Ther Adv Vaccines. 2015;3(1):3–12. doi: 10.1177/2051013614557476.
- Jeannot E, Petignat P, Sudre P. Successful implementation and results of an HPV vaccination program in Geneva Canton, Switzerland. Public Health Rep. 2015;130(3):202–206. doi: 10.1177/003335491513000306.
- Office Fédérale de la Santé Publique . La vaccination contre le HPV en Suisse: résultats d’une enquête nationale réalisée en 2014. 2015.
- Jeannot E, Sudre P, Chastonay P. HPV vaccination coverage within 3 years of program launching (2008-2011) at Geneva State, Switzerland. Int J Public Health. 2012;57(3):629–632. doi: 10.1007/s00038-012-0352-2.
- Jeannot E, Viviano M, de Pree C, Amadane M, Kabengele E, Vassilakos P, et al. Prevalence of vaccine type infections in vaccinated and non-vaccinated young women: HPV-IMPACT, a self-sampling study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(7):1447. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15071447.
- Wymann MN, Zographos AS, Altpeter E, Spicher VM, Low N, Mausezahl-Feuz M. Human papillomavirus vaccine uptake in adolescence and adherence to cervical cancer screening in Switzerland: a national cross-sectional survey. Int J Public Health. 2018;63(1):105–114. doi: 10.1007/s00038-017-1050-x.
- Loke AY, Kwan ML, Wong YT, Wong AKY. The uptake of human papillomavirus vaccination and its associated factors among adolescents: a systematic review. J Prim Care Community Health. 2017;8(4):349–362. doi: 10.1177/2150131917742299.
- Office Fédérale de la Santé Publique. Programmes de vaccination contre les HPV en Suisse: synthèse des années 2007 à 2010. Office Fédéral de la Santé Publique; 2010.
- Restivo V, Costantino C, Fazio TF, Casuccio N, D'Angelo C, Vitale F, et al. Factors associated with HPV vaccine refusal among young adult women after ten years of vaccine implementation. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(4):770. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15040770.
Source: PubMed