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Young MSM willing to disclose sexuality for free HPV vaccine
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Young men who have sex with men were open to receiving the HPV vaccine and disclose their sexuality if the vaccine was offered for free through a program specifically designed for young MSM.
“Overall acceptance of HPV vaccination in this young population of MSM and willingness to disclose their sexuality in order to obtain it indicates that opportunistic vaccination of young MSM may be feasible,” the researchers wrote in Vaccine. “However, the effectiveness of this approach depends on whether vaccination can occur early enough to prevent infection.”
For this study, the researchers recruited 200 MSM aged 16 to 20 years from several sources in Melbourne, including gay community organizations, gay community media, social media networks and sexual health clinics. The participants were eligible if they have had or potentially will have oral or anal sex with other men. The participants attended four study visits within a 12-month period and completed a questionnaire that encompassed demographic information and knowledge of HPV and HPV vaccine. The men were offered free HPV vaccine at the end of the study.
The researchers found that most of the participants answered HPV-related questions correctly, knowing that it caused cervical cancer and genital warts and that condoms did not protect 100% against HPV. They also found that few were willing to purchase the HPV vaccine series at a cost of approximately 450 Australian dollars ($424). However, if the vaccine was offered to MSM for free, 85.5% would be willing to disclose their sexuality to a health care practitioner to receive the vaccine. However, 54% would only disclose this information after their first anal intercourse experience.
“The preventive impact of HPV vaccination is greatest in individuals not already infected with the vaccine HPV types,” the researchers wrote. “Given the potential consequences of HPV infection in MSM including anal cancer, further research into how this could be implemented including how parents, schools and health care providers can best support early vaccination of young MSM is warranted.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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