Knowledge of and acceptability towards human papilloma virus vaccine in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional survey study

Vaccination against human papilloma virus (HPV) play a major role in preventing infection with HPV among heterosexual couples. The aim of this study was to assess public knowledge and attitude towards HPV vaccine in Saudi Arabia. This is an online cross-sectional survey study that was conducted between May and June 2023. This study utilized the convenience sampling technique to recruit the study participants. The study participants were invited to participate in this study through social media platforms (X, Facebook, and WhatsApp). Multiple logistic regression was performed to assess the factors associated with better knowledge level and the findings were presented as odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and corresponding p-values. A total of 819 participants were included in the analysis. A total of 355 participants (43.3%) had a good knowledge score and 464 participants (56.7%) had poor knowledge. The total mean of knowledge score was (3.22 ± 2.44). As the table shown, single participants reported a significant higher knowledge score mean (3.59 ± 2.52) compared to married (2.84 ± 2.32) (P = .0001). Participants aged between 18 to 29 years reported a significant higher knowledge score mean (3.57 ± 2.52) compared to participants aged between 40 and 49 years (2.60 ± 2.21) (P = .0001). Participants who lived in Eastern area had significantly higher odds of knowledge compared to other areas (OR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.45 - 3.33, P = .001). Participants who worked in medical field had significantly higher odds of having good knowledge compared to other jobs (OR = 3.65, 95% CI = 2.39-5.57, P = .0001). Participants who had 2 sexual partners have you had in the past 2 years had a significant higher odd of having good knowledge (OR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.02-4.12, P = .04). This study identified that a considerable proportion of the study participants demonstrated poor level of knowledge of HPV vaccine. Participants who lived in Eastern area, those who worked in medical field, and those who had 2 sexual partners have you had in the past 2 years had a significant higher odd of having good knowledge. Future studies should be directed towards developing educational campaign to improve public awareness of HPV.