The study concluded that to maximize the benefits of HPV vaccination, uptake needs to be high. The researchers examined the psychosocial predictors of HPV vaccine uptake and the association between vaccine intention and uptake 1 year later in adolescent girls.
The researchers recruited adolescent girls in the catch-up cohort from colleges in the South East of England. Participants completed a questionnaire half year before and half a year after being offered the vaccine, which assessed vaccine intention, vaccine uptake, demographics, and attitudes based on the Health Belief Model and Theory of Planned Behaviour.
Several demographic and psychological factors, including intention, showed associations with vaccine uptake in uni-variable analyses. In multivariable analyses, the only ethnicity was independently associated with vaccine uptake. Participants from Black or ‘Other’ ethnic backgrounds were less likely to have received the HPV vaccine than White participants.
The study concluded that further research is needed to help understand the variation in vaccine coverage between ethnic groups. Further research is required to explore the benefits of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to maximize the benefits based on the Health Belief Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour.
Reference: https://srh.bmj.com/content/40/1/14
