Objective  To assess knowledge of and attitudes toward prophylactic HPV vaccines among the mainland Chinese population and to determine possible influencing factors in order to provide reference data for policymakers to develop HPV vaccination strategies in China.

  Methods  This large-scale national cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted from May 2009 to May 2012. The general population, medical personnel, and school students participated in the investigation. Participants'basic information, as well as their knowledge of and attitudes toward HPV vaccines were collected through questionnaires. Chi-square tests and Logistic regression were performed for the statistical analysis.

  Results  A total of 18, 677 people responded effectively, with a median age of 32 (ranging from 15 to 79 years). In terms of vaccine awareness, only 24.5% had heard of prophylactic HPV vaccines and 14.1% knew that HPV vaccines can prevent diseases such as cervical cancer. The good news was that 83.5% of respondents were willing to vaccinate themselves, their partners, or their children. People who knew more about vaccines, the rural population, and female participants were more likely to hold positive attitudes toward vaccination (adjusted ORs were 2.81, 2.14, and 1.25, respectively). Those participants who were reluctant to accept HPV vaccination were concerned mainly about the safety of the vaccines (64.7%). Furthermore, 66.3% of the respondents expected the maximum price of the HPV vaccine to be less than 300 RMB.

  Conclusions  Mainland Chinese people generally know little about HPV vaccines. However, most of them think positively about the vaccinations after learning about them. It is high time for the government to launch HPV and cervical cancer health education or promotional campaigns to eliminate concerns about HPV vaccine safety. Furthermore, discounted or free vaccines are needed.