A Gender-Oriented Approach to Human Papillomavirus Vaccination: A Cross-Sectional Study Among Preclinical Medical Students
ABSTRACT
Objective:
The first line of defense against cervical cancer is human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. The perception that HPV vaccination is primarily intended for women hinders progress in the fight against HPV. This study aimed to examine preclinical medical students’ gender-based perspectives on the current HPV vaccination program and to assess the potential impact of gender-based approaches to cervical cancer prevention programs on their knowledge of HPV vaccination recommendations.
Materials and Methods:
This descriptive cross-sectional study assessed preclinical medical students’ awareness of HPV vaccination recommendations. The HPV Knowledge Scale was administered to eligible preclinical students. Incomplete questionnaires were excluded from the analysis.
Results:
A total of 448 questionnaires were analyzed, corresponding to an 88.3% response rate. Regarding the recommendation of the HPV vaccine for males aged 11–26 years, only 34.8% of male students (n=46) and 31.0% of female students (n=98) correctly identified this indication. For females aged 11–26 years, the proportion of correct responses was higher, at 60.6% (n=80) among male students and 69.3% (n=219) among female students.
Conclusion:
Improving medical students’ knowledge of vaccination programs is an important step toward achieving primary prevention, a key objective of public health practice. Our findings demonstrate that preclinical medical students have lower awareness of HPV vaccination recommendations for males than for females, indicating an urgent need to strengthen gender-neutral HPV vaccination content in undergraduate medical education.
Keywords:
Gender
HPV
vaccination
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