Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infection Awareness and Vaccine Acceptance among High-risk Men in Perak, Malaysia
HPV Awareness and Vaccine Acceptance
Abstract
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) causes anogenital warts and malignancies in both men and women. In Malaysia, HPV vaccine is currently available for young girls while men are expected to benefit from herd immunity. However, high-risk men e.g. those who practice homo and bisexual activities may not benefit from this herd immunity. Hence, it is important to assess their awareness of HPV and vaccine acceptance for appropriate counselling on vaccination. The objective of this study was to assess HPV and vaccine awareness, its acceptance, facilitators, and barriers among high-risk men. Men between the ages of 18 to 45 years from the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Sexually transmitted Disease (STD) clinics of a tertiary hospital and six Health Clinics in Perak were invited to participate. HPV awareness, vaccine acceptance, facilitators, and barriers to vaccination were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 194 men participated in this study. Only a small percentage of them (35.6%) were aware about HPV and HPV vaccine (21.6%). However, most of them (87.1%) were willing to accept vaccination after receiving the necessary information. Common facilitators for vaccination were doctor’s recommendation (94.3%) government approval (84.5%) and free vaccination (82%) while the most common barriers were cost (68.0%) and side effects of the vaccine (49.5%). Our study showed low-level HPV and vaccine awareness among high-risk men. However, majority of them were willing to accept HPV vaccination. Recommendations from doctors and government approval were the two most important facilitators while cost and side effects were the common barriers to HPV vaccination.
Keywords :
human papillomaviruses,
Papillomavirus Vaccines,
Vaccination,
Abstrak
Jangkitan Human Papillomavirus (HPV) boleh menyebabkan masalah ketuat pada kemaluan dan pelbagai kanser. Di Malaysia, perlindungan terhadap HPV disediakan untuk kaum perempuan manakala kaum lelaki dijangka mendapat manfaat dari imuniti kelompok. Walau bagaimanapun, lelaki homoseksual and biseksual tidak akan mendapat manfaat ini. Oleh itu, adalah penting untuk menilai kesedaran mereka tentang penyakit ini dan vaksin HPV supaya mereka boleh diberi kaunseling yang sewajarnya. Objektif kajian ini adalah untuk menilai kesedaran tentang HPV, tahap penerimaan vaksin, faktor pendorong dan penghalang untuk vaksin di kalangan lelaki berisiko tinggi dengan menggunakan soal selidik. Seramai 194 lelaki berumur antara 18 hingga 45 tahun dari klinik "Human Immunodeficiency Virus" (HIV) dan "Sexually Transmitted Disease" (STD)sebuah hospital rujuk dan enam klinik kesihatan di Perak telah mengambil bahagian dalam kajian ini. Hanya 35.6% pernah mendengar tentang HPV dan vaksin HPV (21.6%). Walau bagaimanapun, kebanyakan daripada mereka (87.1%) bersedia untuk menerima vaksin setelah mendapat maklumat tentang HPV dan vaksin HPV. Faktor pendorong utama untuk mendapatkan vaksin adalah saranan dari doktor (94.3%), kelulusan kerajaan (84.5%) dan vaksinasi percuma (82%), manakala penghalang utama adalah kos (68.0%) dan kesan sampingan (49.5%). Hasil kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa tahap kesedaran tentang HPV dan vaksin adalah rendah di kalangan lelaki yang berisiko tinggi. Walau bagaimanapun, mereka bersedia menerima vaksin HPV setelah mendapat maklumat tentang HPV dan vaksin. Galakan daripada doktor dan kelulusan kerajaan merupakan pendorong utama untuk menerima vaksin manakala kos dan kesan sampingan merupakan halangan utama terhadap vaksin HPV.
Kata Kunci :
HPV,
human papillomavirus,
vaksin papillomavirus,
vaksinasi,
Correspondance Address
Associate Professor Dr. Leelavathi Muthupalaniappen. Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: +603-9145 5555/+6016-454 4551 Email: drleelaraj@gmail.com
