- Wadhera, Priya;
- Evans, Jennifer L;
- Stein, Ellen;
- Gandhi, Monica;
- Couture, Marie-Claude;
- Sansothy, Neth;
- Sichan, Keo;
- Maher, Lisa;
- Kaldor, John;
- Page, Kimberly;
- Kaldor, John;
- Kien, Serey Phal;
- Page, Kimberly;
- Palefsky, Joel M;
- Saphonn, Vonthanak;
- Vun, Mean Chhi
Human papillomavirus is a common sexually transmitted infection and the causative agent for cervical cancer, a frequently occurring malignant disease among women in developing countries. We assessed human papillomavirus awareness prior to the delivery of a brief information and education intervention, and human papillomavirus vaccine provision to female entertainment and sex workers (N = 220). At baseline, only 23.6% of women had heard of human papillomavirus. Following the educational intervention, 90% answered all the human papillomavirus knowledge questions correctly. Of 192 participants attending the first quarterly cohort visit where vaccine was offered, 149 (78%) were eligible for vaccination; HIV-positive (n = 32) and pregnant (n = 11) women were excluded. Acceptance of vaccine among eligible women was universal, and 79.2% completed the three-dose vaccination series. Women who reported use of amphetamine-type stimulants had significantly and independently lower odds of vaccine completion (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.24; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.08, 0.69). New pregnancies also had an impact on vaccine completion: 5.4% (8/149 5.4%) who started the series had to stop due to new pregnancy. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of a simple education intervention designed to increase human papillomavirus knowledge and the feasibility of successful human papillomavirus vaccine in a population that is often difficult to engage in preventive health care.