Factors associated with HPV vaccine acceptability and hesitancy among Black mothers with young daughters in the United States

Abstract

IntroductionCompared to other-race peers, Black women are disproportionately impacted by human papillomavirus [HPV] infection, related health outcomes, and cervical cancer mortality as a result of suboptimal HPV vaccine uptake during adolescence. Few studies in the United States have examined psychosocial determinants of HPV vaccine acceptability and hesitancy among Black parents. The current study integrated the health belief model and the theory of planned behavior to evaluate the extent to which psychosocial factors are associated with pediatric HPV vaccination intentions among this population.MethodsBlack mothers (N = 402; age range = 25 to 69 years, M = 37.45, SD = 7.88) of daughters ages 9 to 15 years completed an online survey assessing HPV infection and vaccine beliefs and attitudes across four domains: Mother’s HPV Perceptions, Mother’s Vaccine Attitudes, Cues to Action, and Perceived Barriers to HPV Vaccination. Participants indicated their willingness to vaccinate their daughter on a 5-level ordinal scale (“I will definitely not have my daughter get the vaccine” to “I will definitely have my daughter get the vaccine”) which was dichotomously recoded for binomial logistic regressions.ResultsHalf of the sample (48%) intended to vaccinate their daughter. Number of daughters, mother’s HPV vaccine status, perceived HPV vaccine benefits, HPV vaccine safety concerns, pediatric HPV vaccine peer norms, and doctor recommendations emerged as independent factors of Black mothers’ intentions to vaccinate their daughters against HPV when controlling for all other factors.DiscussionIn addition to medical training to increase doctor recommendation of the HPV vaccine for Black girls, population-tailored public health messaging aimed at promoting HPV vaccine acceptance among Black mothers is urgently needed. This messaging should engage community support and emphasize the benefits of vaccination for adolescent Black girls while also addressing parental concerns regarding the safety of pediatric HPV vaccination.

Parents’ Uptake and Willingness towards Recommended Vaccinations for Their Children with Underlying Chronic Medical Conditions in Italy

“…Indeed, parents who had received a recommendation and those who had acquired information from physicians were more likely to have vaccinated their child and to intend to vaccinate their child with all recommended vaccinations. These findings highlight the central role played by physicians in the parents’ education and decisions and confirm previous studies that showed the positive influence of receiving a physicians’ recommendation on the populations’ attitudes and behaviors with a higher vaccination willingness and coverage [ 15 , 19 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. However, it is necessary to underline that only one-fourth of the sample had received a recommendation from physicians and, therefore, it is imperative to provide educational activities to the healthcare workers particularly aiming to raise their awareness about vaccines’ efficacy and to recommend vaccinations for children with chronic medical conditions.…”

Respiratory Syncytial Vaccination: Parents’ Willingness to Vaccinate Their Children

“…In addition, these results could be used to better target the development of approaches aimed at increasing the acceptance of the RSV vaccine. These factors have been studied for other recommended vaccinations [15][16][17][18], but few surveys have been conducted to explore the acceptance of a future RSV vaccine among pregnant women [19,20] and healthcare workers (HCWs) [21]. Therefore, the primary outcome of this study was to assess parents' willingness to vaccinate their children with the RSV vaccine and to identify the key predictors of this intention.…”