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Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Among Academic and Community Physicians in Mangalore, India

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Abstract

Cervical cancer is the most common cancer found in Indian women. Two human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines were approved for use in India in 2006; however, neither has become readily accepted. Physician attitudes and recommendations are crucial in the uptake of HPV vaccines among adolescent women in the USA; thus, we ought to investigate provider attitudes and practices related to HPV vaccination in India via a survey administered to 210 Indian physicians. Of the 210 physicians, 46 % were community physicians and 54 % were academic physicians. The correct response to HPV knowledge questions was identified around 50 % of the time in 6/11 questions. Only 47 % of the physicians knew that there was an HPV vaccine approved for use in India. Only 11 % and 15 % of physicians strongly agree that the HPV vaccine will lead to long-lasting immunity and has a safe side effect profile, respectively. A total of 30 % of those surveyed reported that they would recommend the HPV vaccine to their patients, while 73 % agreed that the cost of the HPV vaccine is a major barrier to acceptance. After multivariate analysis, there were two significant variables independently associated with a physician’s decision to recommend HPV vaccine. These variables were as follows: “whether the vaccine was freely available from the government sector” and “uncertainty about whether HPV must be persistent to cause cervical cancer vs not.” Given the lack of knowledge among practicing physicians in Mangalore, increasing the education about HPV infection and HPV vaccination towards health care providers has the potential to increase vaccine recommendations.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all of the physicians who participated in this study and Nitte University for their support. We would also like to thank Ashwitha Fernandes for her language support without which this study would not have been possible.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157, USA

    Chelsea Canon & Avinash K. Shetty

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157, USA

    Valery Effoe

  3. Department of Microbiology, K.S. Hegde Medical Academy and Nitte University, Deralakatte, Mangalore, Karnataka, India

    Veena Shetty

Authors
  1. Chelsea Canon
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  2. Valery Effoe
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  3. Veena Shetty
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  4. Avinash K. Shetty
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Avinash K. Shetty.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Funding

Financial support was provided by the Infectious Disease Society of America Medical Scholars Program, the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Benjamin Kean Fellowship, and the Wake Forest School of Medicine Pennell Pro Humanitate Vitae Fund. There are no financial conflicts of interests among the authors.

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Canon, C., Effoe, V., Shetty, V. et al. Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Among Academic and Community Physicians in Mangalore, India. J Canc Educ 32, 382–391 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-016-0999-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-016-0999-0

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