Human Papillomavirus Vaccine - Knowledge and Attitudes among Parents of Children Aged 10-14 Years: a Cross-sectional Study, Tîrgu Mureş, Romania

Abstract

SUMMARYAim: Romania ranks first in Europe in terms of mortality from cervical cancer, recording 6.3 times more deaths than the mean in EU countries. Although vaccination campaigns were launched by health officials in Romania, the acceptance rate remained insignificant and programmes were discontinued. A successful vaccination programme requires a high rate of acceptance and accurate information for health professionals and parents. The aim of the study was to evaluate the level of parental knowledge about human papilomavirus (HPV) infection and HPV vaccination including the information obtained from general practitioners and identification of barriers in implementing a vaccination strategy.Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire for the parents of pupils in grades 5-8, in three randomly selected secondary schools in Tîrgu Mureş, Romania.Results: We surveyed 918 parents. Of the respondents, 85.8% have heard of HPV infection. Most reported an average level of knowledge about HPV infection and HPV vaccination. The two main sources of information were specialized healthcare professionals (42.8% for HPV infection, 39.1% for HPV vaccination) and the Internet browsing (42.3% and 42.9%, respectively). Based on current knowledge, only one third of parents would have their child vaccinated against HPV infection. According to most parents surveyed, the main reasons for not wanting to have their child vaccinated is the fear of side effects; the vaccine is new and insufficiently studied; or parents do not know details about the vaccine.Conclusions: The parents showed the average level of knowledge about HPV infection and HPV vaccination. The implementation of an effective programme to increase the acceptance rate of HPV vaccination requires educational strategies aimed at involving parents and their children and supported by general practitioners and public health professionals.

Gender and Sexual Orientation Differences in Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Uptake among Chinese Young Adults

“…The low HPV uptake rate in both males and females in Hong Kong can be attributed to the attitude and knowledge of parents because it is usually up to parents to decide whether their child is vaccinated [ 24 ] and this decision is often influenced by the knowledge and attitude of parents [ 25 , 26 ]. A multicenter national survey in China reported that only 36.2% of the parents were willing to vaccinate their child [ 27 ].…”

Association between parent attitudes and receipt of human papillomavirus vaccine in adolescents

“…Notably, the CHIAS harms score was also among the strongest predictors of HPV vaccine initiation after one year among parents of adolescent girls in North Carolina [ 21 ]. Also, fear of side effects was among the main reasons cited for avoiding HPV vaccination (or intent to vaccinate) in cross-sectional studies with Dutch [ 22 ] and Romanian parents [ 23 ]. This suggests that public awareness and patient education interventions should emphasize the HPV vaccine’s post-licensure safety profile [ 9 ].…”

HPV strain distribution in patients with genital warts in a female population sample

“…Although vaccination campaigns were launched by health officials in Romania, the acceptance rate remained low and thus the programs were discontinued. A successful vaccination program requires a high rate of acceptance and accurate information for health professionals and parents (2). In 2014, Salavastru et al published an epidemiological study stating that genital infection with HPV has become one of the most frequently viral sexually transmitted diseases.…”