Acceptability, access, and uptake of human papillomavirus vaccination in mental health populations: a scoping review

Aim The purpose of this study is to describe the scope, breadth, and depth of the existing literature on the acceptability of, access to, and uptake of HPV vaccine in mental health populations. Subject and methods Human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for significant cancer morbidity and mortality. Effective vaccines are available; however, uptake is suboptimal. Mental disorders are common, and people with mental disorders are known to have lower rates of cancer screening and reduced uptake of preventive health measures than the general population. This scoping review involved a comprehensive search of published literature. Two independent reviewers screened articles in duplicate and extracted data. Data were analyzed and mapped using quantification of study characteristics. Results There were 16 quantitative studies included, all conducted in high-resource countries. Studies were focused on youth and adolescents ( n = 8), youth and adults ( n = 3), or adults ( n = 5); and explored substance use disorder ( n = 9), mental disorders such as anxiety, depression or others ( n = 6), or developmental/intellectual disabilities ( n = 4). One study looked at gender identity disorder. There were studies about access to ( n = 4), acceptability of ( n = 4), and uptake of ( n = 13) HPV vaccination. No studies described a theoretical approach to their work. Conclusion There is limited research available on the relationship between mental health and HPV vaccination acceptability, access, or uptake. Efforts should be made to extend both quantitative and qualitative literature in this area, including using theoretical frameworks to improve the transferability of research into practice.