A Systematic Review of Literature About Women's Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination

Objective: A systematic review was conducted to examine and describe women's knowledge of and attitudes toward HPV vaccination.

Design And Sample: Electronic databases, including MEDLINE, Ovid, CINAHL, the ISI Web of Science and the British Nursing Index, were systematically searched to locate empirical research studies about women''s knowledge of and attitudes toward HPV vaccination. All empirical studies published in English between January 2005 and January 2010 that aimed at examining and describing women's knowledge of and attitudes toward HPV vaccination were included.

Measurements: Studies were assessed based on the inclusion criteria. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool was used to evaluate the methodological quality of these studies. Key themes and concepts were extracted and synthesized.

Results: A total of 36 articles were retrieved and reviewed. Four main themes relating to HPV and HPV vaccination were identified, including "attitudes toward HPV vaccination", "factors affecting the acceptance of HPV vaccination", "intention to receive HPV vaccination" and "knowledge toward HPV or cervical cancer".

Conclusions: Most women have positive attitudes and high intentions toward HPV vaccination. Factors affecting women's acceptance of HPV vaccination include knowledge, safety, cost and the efficacy of the vaccine. Many women lack knowledge about HPV and cervical cancer.