Sexual health literacy and factors associated with the intention to receive the HPV vaccination among university students in Chon Buri Province

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with the intention to receive the HPV vaccination among university students in Chon Buri Province. The sample consisted 470 students presently enrolled in the 2023 academic year at a university in Chonburi Province, selected through stratified Multistage sampling. Data were gathered through an online questionnaire. The instrument's quality was evaluated for content validity and reliability. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, encompassing frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values, in addition to Chi-Square analysis. The research findings indicated that the majority of students were female (62.8%), studying in the humanities and social sciences (47.4%), and had prior experience with a partner or romantic relationship (76.4%). Furthermore, most students had a high level of knowledge about HPV, a high level of sexual health literacy related to the prevention of HPV infection, a high level of social support for HPV infection prevention, and a strong intention to receive the HPV vaccination. The factors found to be significantly associated with the intention to receive the HPV vaccination included gender, GPA, the number of sexual experiences, knowledge about HPV, sexual health literacy for HPV prevention, and social support for HPV infection prevention (p<0.05). The results of this study suggest the need to develop programs to promote HPV vaccination in order to achieve appropriate prevention and reduce HPV-related diseases among university students.