{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T18:21:10Z","timestamp":1788459670788,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788393600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000024","name":"Canadian Institutes of Health Research","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["FRN 175314"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FRN 175314"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000024","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000024","name":"Canadian Institutes of Health Research","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["FRN 172676"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FRN 172676"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000024","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common sexually transmitted infection linked to several cancers, including cervical cancer, which ranks fourth in cancer incidence and mortality among women globally. Despite its significance, awareness of HPV and the HPV vaccine remains limited across many populations. This project assessed HPV and HPV vaccine awareness among Indigenous adults in Northwest Territories communities in Canada and explored factors influencing HPV vaccine utilization; such data have never been available or explored.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Using a community-based participatory research approach, quantitative and qualitative data were collected in 11 Indigenous communities in Northwest Territories. Indigenous adults aged 18 years and older were invited to complete a semi-structured questionnaire administered by trained local research assistants. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine potential associations among age, gender, education, and awareness of HPV and the HPV vaccine. A thematic analysis of qualitative data explored reasons for non-vaccination.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Among the 221 participants (66.5% women; mean age 43.6 years (\u00b113.9)), approximately half had heard of HPV, and fewer than one-third had heard of the HPV vaccine. Education emerged as a key factor, with individuals with lower educational attainment being significantly less aware of HPV (p\u2009&lt;\u2009.000). Age (p\u2009&lt;\u2009.033), gender (p\u2009&lt;\u2009.019), and education (p\u2009&lt;\u2009.004) predicted vaccine awareness, with women, individuals with higher education, and younger adults being more likely to have heard about the vaccine. Only 26.3% of participants aged up to 26 years had received the HPV vaccine. Qualitative data revealed that limited awareness and insufficient information about HPV and the vaccine are the main barriers to vaccination. Participants recommended enhancing vaccine promotion by raising awareness about the connection between HPV and cancer, as well as increasing educational efforts in schools and communities.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"sec004\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Limited awareness of the HPV vaccine may contribute to low vaccination rates. Tailored and targeted interventions are crucial to increasing HPV vaccine utilization in Indigenous communities in Northwest Territories.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0357586","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T17:54:02Z","timestamp":1788458042000},"page":"e0357586","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Human papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV vaccine awareness in Indigenous communities in Northwest Territories, Canada"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Afsaneh","family":"Omidimorad","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta","place":["Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"],"department":["Indigenous and Global Health Research Group, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fariba","family":"Kolahdooz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta","place":["Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"],"department":["Indigenous and Global Health Research Group, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ghazal","family":"Kolahdooz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta","place":["Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"],"department":["Indigenous and Global Health Research Group, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adrian","family":"Wagg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta","place":["Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"],"department":["Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paul","family":"Veugelers","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta","place":["Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"],"department":["Population Health Intervention Research Unit"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andr\u00e9","family":"Corriveau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Independent Public Health Consultant","place":["Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7775-1011","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Kami","family":"Kandola","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Government of Northwest Territories","place":["Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada"],"department":["Department of Health and Social Services"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stephanie","family":"Irlbacher-Fox","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hot\u0131\u00ec ts\u2019eeda Northwest Territories SPOR SUPPORT Unit","place":["Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gina","family":"Ogilvie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of British Columbia","place":["Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada"],"department":["School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine"]},{"name":"Women\u2019s Hospital and Health Centre","place":["Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Carolyn","family":"Gotay","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of British Columbia","place":["Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada"],"department":["School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4995-0010","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Sangita","family":"Sharma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta","place":["Edmonton, Alberta, Canada"],"department":["Indigenous and Global Health Research Group, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0357586.ref001","volume-title":"Human Papillomaviruses. 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HPV immunization for the prevention of cervical cancer. 2023. https:\/\/www.partnershipagainstcancer.ca\/topics\/hpv-immunization-policies\/"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0357586.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"159","DOI":"10.1007\/s10900-024-01369-y","article-title":"Indigenous Mothers\u2019 Perspective on Sexual Health in Northwest Territories, Canada: Results from the Maternal and Infant Health Project","volume":"50","author":"F Kolahdooz","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Commun Health"},{"key":"pone.0357586.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"727","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jogc.2019.02.216","article-title":"Cervical cancer and HPV infection among Indigenous women in Canada","volume":"41","author":"J Nault","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Obstet Gynaecol Can"},{"key":"pone.0357586.ref008","unstructured":"World Health Organization (WHO). Human papillomavirus vaccines: WHO position paper, December 2022 n.d. 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