Many people don’t know HPV causes cervical cancer

Americans have become less aware that the human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical cancer in recent years, according to survey data from 2014 to 2020 presented at a 2023 scientific meeting. Researchers found that 70.2% of respondents knew that HPV can cause cervical cancer in 2020, down from 77.6% in 2014.

The decline in awareness about HPV and cervical cancer most likely has multiple causes and will require multiple strategies to reverse, said researcher Eric Adjei Boakye of the academic medical center Henry Ford Health in Detroit. He suggested one cause could be an increased focus in training health care providers to promote and administer the vaccine may have diverted resources from public information campaigns. Boosting awareness will require a concerted effort from health care providers and public health experts, he suggested.

• See “Awareness of the Link Between HPV and Cervical Cancer Has Declined” on the American Association for Cancer Research website (April 17, 2023)
• See the abstract of the scientific report “Over 10 years since HPV vaccine approval, awareness of the causal link between HPV and HPV-associated cancers remains low in the US” by Eric Adjei Boakye et al.