Table 4. Beliefs and knowledge about HPV* and HPV vaccination with respect to vaccination status.
| HBM**-related construct | Statements | Vaccinated Agree/ do not agree/do not know n = 216 |
Not vaccinated Agree/ do not agree/do not know n = 175 |
p-value (MannWhitney U-test) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (%) | (%) | |||
| Severity |
HPV can lead to a serious disease | 68/5/26 | 59/8/33 | 0.02 |
| Cervical cancer can be life-threatening | 63/15/22 | 57/13/31 | 0.01 | |
| Susceptibility | Women can be infected with HPV | 73/7/21 | 65/6/30 | 0.02 |
| Men can be infected with HPV | 10/46/44 | 12/35/53 | 0.33 | |
| Knowledge |
HPV can spread through sexual contact | 48/17/36 | 47/14/40 | 0.41 |
| You always notice if you are HPV infected | 4/44/52 | 5/40/55 | 0.65 | |
| HPV can cause other types of cancer | 13/14/74 | 17/17/66 | 0.12 | |
| Barrier |
The HPV vaccine has severe side effects | 17/45/38 | 23/25/52 | 0.56 |
| It’s difficult to make an appointment for HPV vaccination | 2/63/35 | 2/39/58 | <0.01 | |
| I am afraid of needles | 38/61/1 | 45/51/5 | 0.08 | |
| Benefits |
HPV vaccination protects against condyloma | 12/27/61 | 18/18/63 | 0.75 |
| HPV vaccination protects against cervical cancer | 73/2/23 | 57/8/35 | <0.01 | |
| Intention to behaviour |
I intend to use condom if I have sex with a new partner | 86/8/7 | 78/8/14 | 0.01 |
| I intend to attend Pap-smear testing (only girls) | 54/11/36 | 40/15/46 | 0.01 |
Missing values excluded from the analysis
*HPV = Human papillomavirus
**HBM = The Health Belief Model