A Content Analysis of News Coverage of the HPV Vaccine by U.S. Newspapers, January 2002–June 2005

Genital Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Of the 100 HPV types, HPV type 16 and HPV type 18 have been demonstrated to cause cervical cancer. Two pharmaceutical manufacturers have developed and tested HPV vaccines and are applying to the FDA for licensure. This research describes the content of HPV vaccine information contained in news articles. The Lexis-Nexis database was used to identify 25 articles on HPV that were published in 285 U.S. newspapers from January 1, 2003 to June 17, 2005. The coding schema captured information about the news event and source, as well as HPV and cervical cancer, transmission, vaccine, potential impact of the vaccine, and its relationship to PAP tests. The content analysis revealed that the news coverage of HPV vaccine provides information on the experimental status and efficacy of the vaccine, explains link between HPV and cervical cancer, and reports the manufacturers by name, as well as relies on them for a...