A systematic review of measures used in studies of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine acceptability

BackgroundThe recent proliferation of studies describing factors associated with HPV vaccine acceptability could inform health care providers in improving vaccine coverage and support future research. This review examined measures of HPV and HPV-vaccine knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and acceptability, described psychometric characteristics, and provided recommendations about their use.MethodsA systematic search of Medline, CINAHL, PsychoInfo, and ERIC through May 2008 for English language reports of quantitative data from parents, young adults or adolescents yielded 79 studies.ResultsThe majority of studies were cross-sectional surveys (87%), self-administered (67%), conducted before prophylactic vaccines were publicly available (67%) and utilized convenience samples (65%). Most measured knowledge (80%), general attitudes about HPV vaccination (40%), and willingness to vaccinate one's daughter (26%). Two-thirds did not report reliability or validity of measures. The majority did not specify a theoretical framework.ConclusionsUse of a theoretical framework, consistent labeling of constructs, more rigorous validation of measures, and testing of measures in more diverse samples are needed to yield measurement instruments that will produce findings to guide practitioners in developing successful community and clinical interventions.