34.3 and 37.6 percent of U.S. adults were reportedly unaware of HPV and lacked awareness about the HPV vaccine, respectively
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Aug. 14, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Public awareness about human papillomavirus (HPV), HPV vaccination, and HPV-associated cancers is low, according to a research letter published online Aug. 14 in JAMA Oncology.
Ashvita Garg, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.B.B.S., from the Medical University of South Carolina, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study analyzing the 2017 to 2020 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 5, cycles 1 to 4, and the 2022 HINTS cycle 6 to quantify awareness of HPV, the HPV vaccines, and HPV’s association with cancer.
A total of 22,344 respondents were included in the final sample. The researchers found that 34.3 and 37.6 percent of U.S. adults were unaware of HPV and lacked awareness of the HPV vaccine, respectively. In seven states, mostly from the Midwest and South, lack of HPV awareness exceeded 40 percent; similarly, more than 40 percent of individuals from 13 states — nine from the Midwest and South — were unaware of the HPV vaccine. Overall, 70.8 and 28.3 percent of respondents who knew about HPV nationally were unaware that HPV causes oral and cervical cancers, respectively. More than 60 percent of individuals in 45 states and Washington, D.C., lacked awareness that HPV causes oral cancers; lack of awareness that HPV causes cervical cancer was less common (6.9 to 57.4 percent).
“Given the importance of timely HPV vaccination and the risk of early-life exposure, there is a critical need to enhance HPV awareness among adolescents, young adults, parents or caregivers, and pediatric and adult health care professionals,” the authors write.
One author disclosed financial ties to Merck.
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