TY - JOUR
T1 - Barriers to receiving human papillomavirus vaccination among female students in a university in Hong Kong
AU - Siu, Judy Yuen man
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2013 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2013/10
Y1 - 2013/10
N2 - This paper investigates, using a qualitative approach, barriers to receiving Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among female undergraduate students in a Hong Kong university. By conducting individual semi-structured interviews with 35 young women aged 19 to 23, seven intertwining perceptual, social and cultural, healthcare provider and financial barriers were identified. These barriers included the perception as being low-risk due to an absence of sexual contact, lack of confidence in the safety of the vaccine, suspicion of parents concerning the intention to get vaccinated, lack of positive discussion among peers, insufficient information from primary-care doctors, difficulty in choosing a suitable HPV vaccine and cost of the vaccine. Future HPV-vaccination promotion therefore not only needs to enhance risk perception and needs awareness of young women, but also educate parents and correct their misconceptions. As primary care doctors are the first line of contact with patients, providing more support to enhance their knowledge of the HPV vaccine and to encourage their enthusiasm in providing responsive disease-prevention education can motivate young women to get vaccinated.
AB - This paper investigates, using a qualitative approach, barriers to receiving Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among female undergraduate students in a Hong Kong university. By conducting individual semi-structured interviews with 35 young women aged 19 to 23, seven intertwining perceptual, social and cultural, healthcare provider and financial barriers were identified. These barriers included the perception as being low-risk due to an absence of sexual contact, lack of confidence in the safety of the vaccine, suspicion of parents concerning the intention to get vaccinated, lack of positive discussion among peers, insufficient information from primary-care doctors, difficulty in choosing a suitable HPV vaccine and cost of the vaccine. Future HPV-vaccination promotion therefore not only needs to enhance risk perception and needs awareness of young women, but also educate parents and correct their misconceptions. As primary care doctors are the first line of contact with patients, providing more support to enhance their knowledge of the HPV vaccine and to encourage their enthusiasm in providing responsive disease-prevention education can motivate young women to get vaccinated.
KW - barriers
KW - female university students
KW - Hong Kong
KW - HPV vaccination
KW - perceptions
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84885389394&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13691058.2013.807518
DO - 10.1080/13691058.2013.807518
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 23826650
AN - SCOPUS:84885389394
SN - 1369-1058
VL - 15
SP - 1071
EP - 1084
JO - Culture, Health and Sexuality
JF - Culture, Health and Sexuality
IS - 9
ER -