FC 14-02A NATIONAL SURVEY OF CANADIANS ON HPV: COMPARING KNOWLEDGE, BARRIERS AND PREVENTIVE PRACTICES OF PHYSICIANS TO THOSE OF CONSUMERS

33. Advocacy, acceptability and psychology
N. Durand 1, J. Blake 2, J. Guichon 3, S. Mcfaul 4, G. Ogilvie 5, M. Steben 6.
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Toronto (Canada), 2Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (Canada), 3Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary (Canada), 4Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Ottawa (Canada), 5School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia (Canada), 6STI Unit, Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec (Canada)

Background / Objectives

This Canadian survey of physicians and consumers aimed to explore similarities and differences in knowledge, barriers and preventive practices about HPV between the two groups. 


Methods

General Practitioners (GP) (n=337) and Obstetrician Gynaecologists (OB/GYN) (n=81), vaccinated women (VW) (n=337) and unvaccinated women (UW) (n=802) aged 18-45, and men (M) (n=200) aged 18-26 were surveyed in May and June 2016 using an online questionnaire.  A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of +/- 4.8% for physicians and +/-2.7% for consumers, 19 times out of 20.  Two posters with more detailed individual information about both groups were presented at the IPVS meeting in Cape Town, South Africa in March 2017.


Results

83% GPs recommend or administer HPV vaccine to adults.  93-98% of consumers said doctors are trustworthy sources of information. 99-100% of physicians compared to VW (93%), UW (85%) and M (59%) somewhat or strongly agree that vaccination is an important aspect of disease prevention.  A higher proportion of patients were concerned about vaccine safety (VW (26%), UW (40%) and M (36%)) than were physicians (5-11%). 58-61% of consumers were generally cautious about taking any vaccine. Cost was seen as the highest barrier to getting vaccinated by 90-95% of physicians; however only 18-20% of consumers considered cost a barrier.  Consumers accurately answered a majority of questions about HPV, however physicians rated consumers’ understanding of HPV to be low (11% very good and 48-56% somewhat good knowledge). Among those already vaccinated, VW (30-34%) and VM (13-31%) said physician recommendations/discussions did motivate them to be vaccinated. In the unvaccinated group, UW (38-55%) and UM (49-57%) said physician recommendations and discussions would motivate them to be vaccinated.  60-66% of physicians say they routinely discuss HPV vaccination with patients.


Conclusion

Divergent views about HPV knowledge, barriers and preventive practices exist between physicians and consumers. These divergent views should be considered and addressed during physician education and consumer counselling. 


References