Knowledge of HPV and acceptability of HPV vaccine among women in western China: a cross-sectional survey

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide, with an estimated 528, 000 new cases and 266, 000 deaths in 2012 [1]. In China, 130,000 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed annually, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in Chinese women aged 15–45 [2], despite the fact that the Pap smear test is well integrated into the Chinese healthcare system and widely accepted by women.

Most cervical cancer cases are caused by persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection [3‐5]. HPV infection is sexually transmitted, and most HPV infections are temporary and asymptomatic, and cleared by body’s immune response without treatment, co-factors to the suspected viruses are necessary [6]. Current clinical guidelines recommend screening women aged 30 and older using a Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-based HPV test. This test is also recommended for women of any age with abnormal cytology results [7]. Therefore, promoting awareness of HPV and its link to cervical cancer among sexually active women is essential for the clinical practice of HPV-DNA test in cervical cancer screening.

Two HPV vaccinations have proven effective at protecting against infection with HPV strains 16 and 18 which might lead to cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) lesions and cervical cancer [8, 9], and they are available in China in 2016. 4-valent HPV vaccine is recommended for female aged 20–45 [10]. The acceptance of HPV vaccination will be expected to depend on factors such as knowledge of HPV infection and its link to cervical cancer [11].

However, levels of HPV awareness among the general population are poor throughout the world. Systematic review of studies from several countries suggests that only 15–31% of respondents have even heard of HPV, regardless of age, while only 0.6–11% know that HPV is a risk factor for cervical cancer [12]. Surveys in China paint a similar picture: Among the general population of Chinese women, 24% have heard of HPV [13]. In a cross-sectional survey on parents in Jinan, China, 22.63% have heard of HPV, 40.8% parents are willing to accept HPV vaccination for children [14]. Only 10% of high school students have heard of HPV, and only 19% know that HPV infection can lead to cervical cancer [15]. Among junior middle school students in Jinan, China, 15.5% have heard of HPV, and 66.9% are willing to receive the HPV vaccination [16].

It is unclear how much knowledge the general population in western China has about HPV, such as how the virus is transmitted, how infection can be detected, and whether it is linked to cervical cancer. Therefore, we wanted to examine in detail the HPV knowledge of women and their attitude to HPV vaccination. The results of this study may help guide the design and improvement of interventions and campaigns to sensitize women to HPV infection and vaccination, thereby helping reduce incidence of cervical cancer.

This study provides the first insights into HPV awareness and attitudes towards the HPV vaccine among women in western China. Only 29% of our respondents had heard of HPV, and few knew that it is associated with cervical cancer. Women with a family history of cervical cancer, women who regularly underwent Pap testing and women with at least a high school education were more likely to have greater knowledge about HPV. Despite the low level of knowledge about HPV and HPV infection, half of respondents (51%) reported being willing to take the HPV vaccine. These results suggest the urgent need to disseminate knowledge about HPV and its association with cervical cancer, and they further suggest that such campaigns are likely to be effective at increasing willingness to be vaccinated.

The level of HPV knowledge among our respondents is lower than that reported in a 2010 survey of wealthier women in Australia [20], 63% of whom knew what HPV was. At the same time, the awareness level in our study is higher than that reported in Africa [21], suggesting that women in richer countries may know more about HPV. The potential relationship between socioeconomics and HPV knowledge requires further study, since published study populations show a range of cultural, socioeconomic and other differences. In 2012, a multi-center epidemiological survey of women aged 15–59 in China found that only 24% had heard of HPV [13]. This discrepancy from our results may reflect the lower literacy rate among the women in that study. Our observation that annual income was not significantly associated with HPV knowledge in our study population may reflect that most women in our sample were economically secure and had completed university. These women have likely been exposed to information about HPV to a greater extent than the general public.

Our results identified several factors that positively correlated with HPV knowledge: family history of any cancer, regular Pap testing and an educational background of high school or above. HPV knowledge was not, however, associated with age, ethnicity, health status, family annual income, relationship status, frequency of sexual relations, history of STDs, or condom use. Our results suggest that HPV awareness depends more on education and exposure to HPV or cancer than on family income. One implication of our findings is that HPV awareness campaigns should be targeted at groups that normally receive little or no education about health in general or cancer in particular, including poorer, less educated groups without access to advanced healthcare facilities.

Such education campaigns should aim not merely to raise awareness of HPV but also to emphasize its link with cervical cancer. Most women in our sample who had heard of HPV did not know that the virus causes cervical cancer. Women who had a higher educational background or a family history of cervical cancer or who regularly underwent Pap testing were more likely to know about this link. Education programs about HPV have been shown to be effective at improving awareness of cervical cancer, the association between HPV and cervical cancer and perception of HPV vaccines [22, 23]. Studies in China and other countries suggest that healthcare providers often lack HPV knowledge, which in part reflects the fact that DNA-based HPV tests have only recently arrived in the clinic [13, 24‐26]. Given that women prefer to obtain health information from trusted sources, including physicians, health workers and audiovisual media [27], campaigns to raise awareness of HPV and its link to cervical cancer should target healthcare professionals as well as the general population.

Strikingly, our study found that despite quite low rates of knowledge about HPV and its association with cervical cancer, half of respondents were willing to take the HPV vaccine once they knew that the HPV vaccine can protect against HPV infection. The reason for this high willingness may be the rising incidence of cancer in China [2]. Interestingly, willingness to take the HPV vaccine did not depend on educational background or family annual income; instead, it depended on age and family history of cervical cancer. Women aged 18–29 and women with a family history of cervical cancer were more likely to be willing to take the vaccine. Other studies have also reported that younger people have more positive attitudes towards the HPV vaccine than older individuals [28‐31]. Future work should explore reasons why women report that they are unwilling to take the vaccine.

The results of this survey should be interpreted with caution given that the format, wording of questions and sequence of questions can bias responses [32, 33]. In addition, our respondents were women who went to the Health Management Center of our university hospital for a physical examination, so they are likely to be more educated and financially better-off than the general population. Third, only a handful of respondents were non-Han, limiting our ability to assess effects of ethnicity. Previous work showed that HPV awareness can vary among ethnic groups [34], so this question should be pursued further. Fourth, our questionnaire did not take into account possible adverse effects and price of HPV vaccine in the survey, we might overestimate the willingness to take the HPV vaccine. Fifth, the multiple-choice format of the questionnaire increases the risk that our results overestimate HPV awareness in women in West China.

Despite these limitations, our results may be more reliable than some other studies because we did not analyze the responses of several questions for women who had not heard of HPV; as a result, our analysis of those questions should more accurately reflect knowledge among women previously exposed to HPV information. In addition, we added a statement that HPV had no relationship with breast cancer, a misconception that occurred in the pilot study because the Chinese name of HPV includes the word “papilla”.

Our results point to an urgent need for education and intervention to raise awareness of HPV and its link to cervical cancer. At the same time, they provide encouragement that such education can increase willingness to take the HPV vaccine, since even in the absence of prior knowledge about HPV. Future work should examine the effects of such education on the psychology and health-seeking behaviors of women, and ultimately on the incidence of cervical cancer.