The stigma surrounding the human papillomavirus (HPV) has led to many gaps in patients’ and clinicians’ education. Fears and prejudices related to the HPV vaccine stem from religious and personal beliefs. According to Krakow et al., many young women choose to vaccinate because they believe that it will lower their risk of cancer. This view of vaccination overpowers one’s religiosity or social stigma (Krakow et al., 2015). Therefore, patients’ awareness of HPV vaccine purpose can help providers to eliminate the stigma surrounding vaccination. Such concepts as morality and promiscuity have to be addressed from a medical point of view. It should show that HPV vaccination protects one’s health in many ways regardless of people’s sexual experiences.
Moreover, as this issue is related to the topic of sexual education, HPV-related information and its presentation have to be reviewed by providers as well. Sherman et al. find that patients’ and clinicians’ lack of knowledge about the vaccine and HPV leads to lower levels of protection against the virus. For instance, the researchers note that some people falsely believe that HPV causes HIV/AIDS (Sherman et al., 2018). Others think that the virus requires treatment and try to seek assistance from medical institutions, searching for a cure that does not exist. Furthermore, some patients do not know about the connection between HPV and cancer. Health professionals may also lack the necessary education about HPV and its risk of cervical cancer (Sherman et al., 2018). These failures should be attributed to the lack of sex education and addressed in future policies. Overall, the stigma about HPV and vaccination can be combated with increased vaccine accessibility, training, and positive reinforcement to eliminate confusion among patients.
References
Krakow, M. M., Jensen, J. D., Carcioppolo, N., Weaver, J., Liu, M., & Guntzviller, L. M. (2015). Psychosocial predictors of human papillomavirus vaccination intentions for young women 18 to 26: Religiosity, morality, promiscuity, and cancer worry. Women’s Health Issues, 25(2), 105-111.
Sherman, S. M., Bartholomew, K., Denison, H. J., Patel, H., Moss, E. L., Douwes, J., & Bromhead, C. (2018). Knowledge, attitudes, and awareness of the human papillomavirus among health professionals in New Zealand. PloS One, 13(12), e0197648.