What Influences Parents on Their Decision to Vaccinate Their Daughters Against HPV?

Elissavet Bogka; Panagiota Naoum; Elpida Pavi; Kostas Athanasakis

doi:10.1016/j.jpag.2024.02.001

What Influences Parents on Their Decision to Vaccinate Their Daughters Against HPV?

J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2024 Feb 15:S1083-3188(24)00182-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jpag.2024.02.001. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Elissavet Bogka¹, Panagiota Naoum², Elpida Pavi², Kostas Athanasakis²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health Policy, Laboratory for Health Technology Assessment, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece. Electronic address: elissavetbogka@gmail.com.
² Department of Public Health Policy, Laboratory for Health Technology Assessment, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece.

PMID: 38367952
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpag.2024.02.001

Abstract

Study objective: To investigate and compare the attitudes of parents who initiated their daughters' HPV vaccination with parents who did not.

Methods: Data were collected through telephone interviews with a close-end questionnaire on parents' knowledge, attitudes towards the vaccine, and the reasons for vaccinating or not their daughters against HPV. The sample was random, stratified by geographic region and urbanization level, national, and representative of the general population of parents of girls aged 11-18 in Greece. Statistical analysis consisted of descriptives, an inferential analysis with hypothesis testing, and a logistic regression model.

Results: Overall, 996 parents were included in the analysis, 99.0% of which were women. Forty-seven percent of them initiated their daughters' HPV vaccination, with physician recommendation stated as the most important reason for this decision (50.2%). For those who had not initiated their daughters' HPV vaccination (53%), lack of information was the most important reason (25.6%). In the hypothesis testing, parents with unvaccinated daughters agreed more with the statements "I do not have enough information for the HPV vaccine to decide," and "My child is very young to be vaccinated for an STD" (P < .05), but no significant difference found for the statement "It's more possible for a vaccinated girl to begin sexual activities" (P > .05).

Conclusions: Lack of information, young age of the daughter, and perceived effectiveness of the vaccine are the most important hesitation factors. Physician recommendation is the most important reason to initiate vaccination.

Keywords: Cervical cancer; HPV vaccine; Vaccine hesitation.