The role of health beliefs in HPV vaccine uptake among young men during the Dutch catch-up campaign in 2023

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is associated with the development of various cancers. An effective way to prevent HPV-related cancer is vaccination. In 2023, the Dutch government started a vaccination catch-up campaign in which, particularly, young men between the ages of 19 and 26 were invited to receive the HPV vaccine free of charge. This study aimed at estimating the relevance of the determinants proposed by the Health Belief Model (HBM) regarding HPV vaccine uptake among young men.Method: A cross-sectional survey was completed by 155 Dutch young men aged 19-26 years. The HBM determinants perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, and perceived barriers were measured along with HPV vaccine uptake as outcome. The relevance of the HBM determinants for HPV vaccine uptake was determined by confidence interval-based estimation of relevance (CIBER).Results: In total, 54 participants got vaccinated since the start of the campaign. Perceived benefits and barriers were strongly related to vaccine uptake, while most young men perceived many benefits and little barriers. Perceived severity showed a moderate association with vaccine uptake, while most young men perceived the consequences of HPV infections as moderately severe. Perceived susceptibility was not significantly related to vaccine uptake.Conclusion: Public health interventions should focus on increasing the perceived severity, while simultaneously reinforcing beliefs about many benefits and few barriers.

背景：人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）感染与多种癌症的发生密切相关。预防HPV相关癌症的有效途径之一为疫苗接种。2023年，荷兰政府启动了一项疫苗接种补种活动，特别邀请19至26岁的年轻男性免费接种HPV疫苗。本研究旨在评估健康信念模型（HBM）中提出的决定因素对于年轻男性HPV疫苗接种的相关性。方法：通过对155名19至26岁的荷兰年轻男性进行的横断面调查，测量了HBM决定因素，包括感知易感性、感知严重性、感知益处和感知障碍，并将HPV疫苗接种作为结果指标。通过基于置信区间的相关性估计（CIBER）来确定HBM决定因素对HPV疫苗接种的相关性。结果：总共有54名参与者自活动开始以来接受了疫苗接种。感知益处和障碍与疫苗接种率密切相关，大多数年轻男性认为疫苗接种具有众多益处而障碍微乎其微。感知严重性与疫苗接种率呈现中等程度的关联，而大多数年轻男性将HPV感染的后果视为中等严重。感知易感性与疫苗接种率无显著关联。结论：公共卫生干预措施应专注于提高公众对HPV感染严重性的认知，同时强化对众多益处和少量障碍的信念。