The Human Papillomavirus Barriers and Initiatives
The Human Papillomavirus Barriers and Initiatives
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Date
2019-07-25
Authors
Eccles, Rachel
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University Honors College, Middle Tennessee State University
Abstract
The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted
infection (STI) in the world. This study aims to examine why the HPV vaccine
administration rates remain so low even when the vaccine has been proven safe and
effective while heavily recommended by healthcare professionals and the media. The
hypothesis of this study is if MTSU students are surveyed about their HPV vaccination
rates, then under vaccination will be found to occur due to three primary reasons: low
awareness, insufficient patient-doctor communication, and lack of acceptance.
The survey instrument was administered to five different courses at MTSU for a
total of 107 responses to the survey with ages ranging from 18-45. According to the
results, 14% of respondents have never heard of HPV before the survey. When asked
how many doses they had received, 37% had successfully completed the HPV vaccine
three-part series while 37% had not received a single dose. There were 47% of the
students who did not know that HPV can cause cancer, and 32% of the survey population
who were still unsure of how the virus is spread.
The results showed that fewer people than expected were aware of HPV.
Hopefully, this project will be able to eliminate the variable that insurance is a major
factor that affects vaccination rates for the HPV vaccine in that students are able to
receive it for free through government funding (Gardasil 9, 2018). The information
gained from this project has been shared with the Middle Tennessee State University
students who participated in the study and the university faculty in an effort to increase
awareness.
Description
Keywords
HPV,
cervical cancer,
genital warts,
preventative medicine