Factors associated with school nurses' HPV vaccine attitudes for school-aged youth.

AbstractSchool nurses are at the intersection of the healthcare and school communities, thus, they can be considered opinion leaders in providing health advice – including information about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine – to parents and students. This study examined school nurses’ attitudes toward the HPV vaccine based on age, years as a school nurse, geographic location, urban vs. rural work setting, HPV and vaccine knowledge, perception of role as opinion leaders, and school district support in providing health education. Participants (n = 413) were systematically sampled from the National Association of School Nurses’ membership and completed a web-based survey. Multiple regression was used to predict positive HPV vaccine attitudes. The model was statistically significant accounting for 50.8% of the variance (F [9, 400] = 45.96, p < .001). Positive attitudes regarding the HPV vaccine were predicted by higher HPV and vaccine knowledge (β = .096, p < .001) and stronger perceptions of role as opi...