HPV vaccination in Japan: results of a 3-year follow-up survey of obstetricians and gynecologists regarding their opinions toward the vaccine

Masaaki Sawada, Yutaka Ueda, Asami Yagi, Akiko Morimoto, Ruriko Nakae, Reisa Kakubari, Hazuki Abe, Tomomi Egawa-Takata, Tadashi Iwamiya, Shinya Matsuzaki, Eiji Kobayashi, Kiyoshi Yoshino, Tadashi Kimura

In Japan, the cervical cancer preventative HPV vaccination rate has dramatically declined, directly as a result of repeated broadcasts of so-called adverse events and the resulting suspension of the government's recommendation. Our previous survey of obstetricians and gynecologists in Japan regarding their opinions toward HPV vaccination revealed that these key specialists were as negatively influenced by the reports of purported negative events as were the general population. Here, we report a 3-year follow-up survey of these clinicians. We reused the same questionnaire format as used in our 2014 survey, but added new questions concerning opinions regarding a WHO statement and reports of a Japanese nation-wide epidemiological study related to the adverse events, released in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The response rate was 46% (259/567): 5 (16.1%) of 31 doctors had inoculated their own teenaged daughters during the time period since the previous survey, despite the continued suspension of the governmental recommendation, whereas in the previous survey none of the doctors had done so. Among the respondents, the majority claimed awareness of the recent pro-vaccine WHO statement (66.5%), and of the report of a Japanese epidemiological study (71.5%), and a majority affirmed they currently held positive opinions of the safety (72.7%) and effectiveness (84.3%) of the HPV vaccine. Our re-survey of Japan's obstetricians and gynecologists regarding their opinions about the HPV vaccine found that their opinions have changed, potentially leading to a more positive future re-engagement for HPV vaccination in Japan.