Impact of web-based health education on HPV vaccination uptake among college girl students in Western and Northern China: a follow-up study

• Published in: BMC women's health 2022-02, Vol.22 (1), p.46-46, Article 46
• Main Authors: Zhang, Xi, Chen, Hui, Zhou, Jing, Huang, Qian, Feng, Xiao-Yu, Li, Jing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cervical cancer; China; Female; Female college students; Follow-Up Studies; Health aspects; Health Education; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; HPV vaccine uptake; Humans; Influencing factors; Internet; Knowledge and attitudes; Medical personnel; Methods; Papillomaviridae; Papillomavirus Infections - prevention & control; Papillomavirus Vaccines - therapeutic use; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Prevention; Psychological aspects; Risk factors; Students; Surveys and Questionnaires; Training; Vaccination; Web-based health education; Women college students
• ISSN: 1472-6874; 1472-6874
• DOI: 10.1186/s12905-022-01625-0

To investigate the effect of a web-based educational intervention on changing female college students' willingness and uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, and factors associated with HPV vaccination acceptance in Western and Northern China. A web-based cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted in Western and Northern China from February to May 2020. A total of 967 female freshmen were recruited from two universities through convenience sampling, stratified sampling (liberal arts or sciences), and cluster sampling. Eligible students were randomized into intervention and control group with a 1:1 allocation ratio. The intervention group received seven days of web-based health education regarding HPV and HPV vaccines, whereas the control group received non-HPV-related materials. All students were asked to complete a post-intervention questionnaire to measure their awareness, uptake, and willingness to receive HPV vaccination at 7-day and one-month intervals. The chi-square test and Student's t-test were employed to examine the differences between the intervention and control groups for categorical and continuous data. Logistic regressions were used to analyze factors associated with vaccination intentions. Nine hundred forty-six female freshmen aged 18.99 ± 0.63 years were enrolled in the study, with 532 in the intervention group and 414 in the control group. Prior to the intervention, 63.8%, 66.3%, and 60.8% of students had heard of HPV, HPV-related diseases, and HPV vaccines, respectively. Only 2.2% of students reported being vaccinated, but 33.0% were willing to be vaccinated against HPV. After seven days of education, students in the intervention group exhibited higher awareness (p