Objective  To assess statuses of knowledge, attitude and practices about human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among female nurses working in a tertiary hospital in Hengyang city of Hunan province and to provide evidences for promoting application of HPV vaccine in China.

  Methods  A total of 286 nurses working in a tertiary hospital were selected with convenience sampling for a questionnaire survey in Hengyang from November to December 2017.

  Results  All the nurses were aware of cervical cancer and HPV and the awareness rate of HPV was relevant to the department in which the nurses worked, with a significantly higher awareness rate among the nurses working in obstetrics and gynecology and oncology department than that of the nurses in other departments (P < 0.05). Of all the nurses, 182 (63.7%) reported the cognition on HPV vaccine and a significantly higher cognition rate was observed among the nurses in obstetrics and gynecology department than among those in other departments (χ² = 12.724, P = 0.026); 137 (48.0%) nurses reported acquiring HPV vaccine related information via internet; and 252 (88.1%) expressed a desire to have HPV vaccine inoculation, but only 20 (7.0%) had actually received the first dose of HPV vaccine. The safety and cost of HPV vaccine were major concerns for the nurses being reluctant to get HPV vaccine inoculation.

  Conclusion  Targeted health education on HPV vaccine should be conducted among nurses to improve their cognition level for promoting public acceptance of HPV vaccine inoculation in China.