Knowledge, attitudes, practices and willingness to vaccinate in preparation for the introduction of HPV vaccines in Bamako, Mali

Abstract

Although screening for pre-cancerous cervical lesions and human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination are accepted and effective means to prevent cervical cancer, women in Mali have limited access to these interventions. In addition, cervical cancer prevention by HPV vaccination has been controversial in some settings. To reduce cervical cancer prevalence and increase HPV vaccine uptake, it is important to understand the level of knowledge about cervical cancer screening and practices related to vaccination in at-risk populations. In this study, the level of knowledge about HPV and cervical cancer and attitudes towards vaccination were assessed among 301 participants (male and female, adults and adolescents) in a house-to-house survey in two urban neighborhoods in Bamako, Mali. The survey was combined with a brief educational session on HPV. Prior to the education session, overall knowledge of HPV infection and cervical cancer was very low: only 8% knew that HPV is a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Less than 20% of women had ever consulted a gynecologist and less than 3% had ever had cervical cancer screening. After hearing a description of HPV vaccine, more than 80% would accept HPV vaccination; fathers and husbands were identified as primary decisions makers and local clinics or the home as preferred sites for vaccination. This study provides information on STI knowledge and vaccine acceptance in Bamako, Mali in 2012, prior to the introduction of HPV vaccination.

Parental willingness to vaccinate adolescent daughters against human papilloma virus for cervical cancer prevention in western Nigeria

“…In this study, almost half of the respondents were aware of HPV infection. This is in contrast to a study in Bamako, Mali where awareness about HPV was much lower, with only 8.6% knowing about HPV as an STI [ 24 ]. This could be as a result of the spatial differential as the Bamako study was conducted in a peri-urban area.…”

Prevalence of HPV 16 and 18 and attitudes toward HPV vaccination trials in patients with cervical cancer in Mali

“…In addition, 97% of the participants agreed that the HPV vaccine should be made available to adolescent girls. This data and similar data published in a companion study [ 32 ] provide support for the introduction of preventive vaccines and suggest that acceptance would be high. Acceptance of vaccination is critically important to the success of a vaccination campaign [ 33 ].…”

“…Most of the participants identified men (husbands and fathers) as the primary decision-makers regarding their participation in HPV vaccination trials. In our parallel study, we also assessed autonomy regarding vaccination [ 32 ] among community members. The results were consistent with data collected here.…”

“…Even though cervical cancer screening is available in certain health clinics in Bamako, lack of public awareness about HPV and CC is one of the most important barriers to effective CC prevention. Additional studies by our group [ 32 ] have demonstrated that limited knowledge about the purpose and location of CC screens is a problem that must be addressed in order to achieve greater HPV and CC prevention.…”

Knowledge and acceptance of HPV vaccine among adolescents, parents and health professionals: construct development for collection and database composition

“…Due to this condition of development and exposure, they are vulnerable, becoming exposed to, for example, sexually transmitted diseases, thus requiring physical, psychological and social protection from the family, school and community 21,22 . Knowledge about HPV was considered low among adolescents from several countries 23,24 , a common finding evidenced by the construct. This finding corroborates the need to reaffirm the importance of sex education programmes and the provision of information on the disease and vaccine.…”