Designing and Evaluating a Health Belief Model-Based Intervention to Increase Intent of HPV Vaccination among College Males

Abstract

Since 2009, HPV vaccine has been approved by the FDA for use in boys and young men, but less than 1% of eligible males in the United States have taken this vaccine. This study developed and evaluated a Health Belief Model (HBM)-based intervention to increase vaccination rates in college men. In a randomized controlled trial, HBM-based intervention was compared with a traditional knowledge-based intervention in 90 U.S. college-aged men ages 18–25 years. Repeated measures of ANOVA indicated significant positive changes in the intervention group for knowledge and HBM constructs. Results from the pretest/posttest regression analysis indicated self-efficacy for taking the vaccine (p = 0.000), perceived barriers (p = 0.007), and perceived severity (p = 0.004) were significant positive predictors of vaccine acceptability. The model had an adjusted R² of 0.351. Overall, the intervention proved to be effective in creating positive change toward HPV vaccine acceptability.