HPV prophylactic vaccine coverage in France: Results of a survey among high school and university students in marseilles' area

Objective. - To assess HPV prophylactic vaccine coverage among French high school and university students as well as their level of education about this vaccine. Patients and methods. - An anonymous survey was conducted among 2500 high school and university students from the area of Marseilles, France, from December 2009 to April 2010. Results. - A total of 2018 questionnaires were collected (80.7% participation rate). Mean age of participants was 20 years (range, 15-45 years). Only 671 (35.4%) participants reported having been vaccinated against HPV, of whom 510 (73.4%) had completed the three injections scheme. Practice of cytological cervical cancer screening was not significantly influenced by vaccination status. Thus, 578 (45.2%) participants who had not been vaccinated already had had a cervical cytology performed, versus 295 (43.3%) vaccinated ones (P=0.445). Among those not being vaccinated, 671 (49.8%) fulfilled criteria for a catch-up vaccination, of whom only 325 (48.4%) agreed for such a catch-up. Main reasons given for refusal for a catch-up vaccination were the lack of information about HPV vaccine and fear of side effects. In total, 1722 (90%) considered themselves as educated about the HPV vaccine. Source of education was attributed to doctors and media by 54.4% and 53.7% of participants, respectively. Educational role attributed to school and university was poor (3.4%). Conclusion. - Despite apparent satisfactory level of education, HPV prophylactic vaccine coverage among high school and university students appears to be insufficient. (C) 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.