Associations Between Risk Perception and HPV Knowledge and Vaccine Uptake: Highlighting the LGBTQ+ Population

Introduction Gay and bisexual males and other LGBTQ+ communities are more frequently exposed to factors associated with an increased risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) acquisition. Vaccination is critical to protect against HPV+ head and neck cancer (HNC). We characterized the association of perceived level of risk of contraction with HPV knowledge, and vaccine decision‐making. Study Design Cross‐sectional cohort. Setting LGBTQ and general survey Reddit forums (control). Methods A survey was shared amongst the online forums. Descriptive statistics characterized the data. Multivariable logistic regression was used to understand factors associated with vaccination, self‐perceived high risk, and knowledge of HPV + HNC. Results Of 718 respondents, most were female (41.09%), Caucasian (59.89%), college‐educated (33.01%), and insured (77.15%) with a mean age of 30.75 years. Half were vaccinated (49.16%), with most unvaccinated endorsing interest (60.58%). Few dependents were vaccinated (25.91%), with interest in vaccination among parents of unvaccinated children (38.58%). Knowledge of HIV's association with HPV (62.95%), HPV causing HNC (55.57%), and the vaccine's efficacy against HNC (55.57%) was also moderate. Identifying female (P = .042), a self‐perceived high‐risk (P