Healthcare providers’ perspectives on the acceptability and uptake of HPV vaccines in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This study provides insight from healthcare providers about barriers to implementation and possible solutions that can be used by policy makers, practitioners, and other stakeholders to facilitate the successful implementation of forthcoming HPV immunization programs in Zimbabwe.

Stakeholders’ Understandings of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Rapid Qualitative Systematic Review

“…[24]. Some male stakeholders expressed disinterest in HPV vaccination, assuming that since it is a female-directed vaccine aimed at addressing cervical cancer, that HPV must not affect men [15,23,36]. The focus on cervical cancer (and by extension, the necessity of having a cervix in order to be directly affected), coupled with a traditional cultural focus of reproductive health being a part of a "woman's job", reinforced feminization of HPV and caused feelings of resentment, confusion, and distrust towards HPV vaccination from some stakeholders of both sexes in SSA [15,28].…”

HPV vaccine acceptance is high among adults in Mexico, particularly in people living with HIV

“…In order to make this public policy decision, it is essential to consider acceptability of the vaccine among healthcare users, 29,34,35,38,39,48 logistical aspects of vaccine implementation 42,[52][53][54] as well as the need for providing current, accurate information to healthcare professionals about the safety and efficacy of HPV vaccination among adults in general and specifically those living with HIV. [55][56][57][58] Although our findings must be interpreted with care given the cross-sectional design, they indicate, as other studies have shown, that healthcare provider recommendation is an extremely important factor for encouraging HPV vaccination among people living with or without HIV. 45,53,55,56 This is especially important if healthcare providers are to support such public policies by recommending the HPV vaccine to their patients.…”

“…[55][56][57][58] Although our findings must be interpreted with care given the cross-sectional design, they indicate, as other studies have shown, that healthcare provider recommendation is an extremely important factor for encouraging HPV vaccination among people living with or without HIV. 45,53,55,56 This is especially important if healthcare providers are to support such public policies by recommending the HPV vaccine to their patients. 45,53,55,56 Knowledge about HPV was high; in our study, 84% of participants knew that HPV can cause cancer, which compares favorably to another study of women living with HIV where only 50% knew about this association.…”

“…45,53,55,56 This is especially important if healthcare providers are to support such public policies by recommending the HPV vaccine to their patients. 45,53,55,56 Knowledge about HPV was high; in our study, 84% of participants knew that HPV can cause cancer, which compares favorably to another study of women living with HIV where only 50% knew about this association. 59 The Mexican men in this study also had more knowledge than that observed in others, such a study of heterosexual, gay and bisexual men, which found that among those who had heard of HPV, less than a third correctly responded that HPV can cause oral, anal and penile cancers.…”

“…These findings support the need for providing healthcare personnel with the resources they need in order to promote HPV knowledge and especially to recommend HPV vaccination among their patients. [53][54][55][56] A limitation of this analysis is that given that data on knowledge and attitudes regarding vaccination against HPV were not collected among participants from Mexico City, the analysis cannot provide a complete view on the relationship between these aspects and the acceptance of the first dose of HPV vaccine, even for this study population. Also, information was not collected from healthcare users about whether their healthcare providers recommended they get the HPV vaccine, nor was data collected from the healthcare providers themselves.…”