Objective: To understand the willingness to receive human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination of men who have sex with men (MSM) and the male clients of sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics and related factors in China.
Methods: MSM were enrolled from the community through snowball sampling and male clients of STD clinics were enrolled from a sexual health clinic through convenience sampling in Wuxi, China. A questionnaire survey on the subjects' socio-demographic characteristics and the awareness of HPV was conducted.
Results: A total of 186 MSM and 182 STD clients were recruited. The awareness rates of HPV were 18.4% and 23.1%, respectively and the awareness rates of HPV vaccination were 10.2% and 15.4%, respectively. STD clinic clients (70.9%) were more likely to receive HPV vaccination than MSM (34.9%) (χ² = 47.651, P<0.01). Only 26.2% of MSM and 20.2% of STD clinic clients were willing to receive free HPV vaccination before the age of 20 years. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that MSM who had passive anal sex (OR=2.831, 95% CI: 1.703-13.526) , MSM who never used condom in anal sex in the past 6 months (OR=3.435, 95% CI: 1.416-20.108) , MSM who had been diagnosed with STDs (OR=1.968, 95% CI: 1.201-8.312) and STD clinic clients who had commercial sex with females in the past 3 months (OR=1.748, 95% CI: 1.207-8.539) , STD clinic clients who never used condom in commercial sex in the past 3 months (OR=1.926, 95% CI: 1.343-5.819) and STD clinic clients who had been diagnosed with STDs in past 12 months (OR=2.017, 95% CI: 1.671-7.264) were more likely to receive free HPV vaccination.
Conclusion: Sexually active MSM and male clients in STD clinics in China had lower awareness of the HPV related knowledge. Their willing to receive HPV vaccination were influenced by their behavior related factors. It is necessary to strengthen the health education about HPV and improve people's awareness of HPV vaccination.