I thought cancer was one of those random things. I didn’t know cancer could be caught…: Adolescent girls’ understandings and experiences of the HPV programme in the UK

摘要

BackgroundThe UK human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme aims to provide girls aged 12–13 with protection against two of the most carcinogenic strains (types 16 and 18) of this sexually transmitted virus which together account for 70% of cases of cervical cancer. Despite evidence suggesting a general lack of knowledge about HPV and its link with cervical cancer, vaccine uptake rates were generally high in the UK for the first year of the HPV vaccination programme. In countries that implemented the HPV programme ahead of the UK, studies have found that girls’ and parents’ levels of awareness about HPV have increased since implementation of the programme but that knowledge continues to be limited. This study offers some of the first insights from the UK into adolescent girls’ understandings of HPV, its link with cervical cancer, and experiences of vaccination, since the programme was introduced in September 2008.