Keywords: Keywords: HPV vaccination, vaccine myths, vaccine hesitancy, rural healthcare, health communication, public health

Background:

Romania reports the highest cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates in the EU, emphasizing the urgency of effective HPV vaccination strategies. Despite the vaccine's introduction in 2008, coverage remains low due to misinformation and vaccine hesitancy, particularly in rural areas with limited resources and access.

Aim of the study:

This study investigates Romanian family doctors' perceptions of persistent HPV vaccine-related myths. It aims to classify HPV vaccine-related myths by age group and compare their prevalence across rural and urban settings, highlighting geographic disparities in vaccine perceptions among Romanian family doctors.

Methodology:

A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 466 family doctors from urban and rural settings. The 17-item questionnaire was based on input from Romania’s National Society of Family Medicine and focused on common HPV myths. Data were analyzed using Kruskal–Wallis tests with Dunn’s post-hoc comparisons and Chi-square tests to examine demographic associations.

Results:

The most commonly endorsed myths were: “M2 –The HPV vaccine is only for girls” (mean ± SD: 2.91 ± 1.27), ”M4 –The HPV vaccine causes severe and long-term side effects” (2.83 ± 1.27), and “M7 –There are too many new vaccines” (2.77 ± 1.30). Respondents from rural areas showed significantly higher agreement with myths related to vaccine safety, efficacy, the growing number of vaccines, its necessity in monogamous individuals, fear of injections, and beliefs linking vaccination to promiscuity—especially when referring to parents of adolescent girls.

Conclusions:

The study underscores the need to strengthen research capacity and communication skills among rural GPs to effectively address HPV vaccine myths. Targeted, evidence-based interventions are crucial for increasing vaccine uptake in underserved areas, where family doctors are key public health advocates.