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

Abstract

Introduction cervical cancer, which is vaccine preventable, is the commonest gynaecological cancer worldwide. This study aimed to assess parental willingness to vaccinate adolescent girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) for cervical cancer prevention. Methods this was a descriptive cross-sectional study among 301 parents of adolescent girls who reside in Surulere Local Government Area in Lagos, Nigeria. A pretested, semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data and analysis was done using Epi-info™ version 7. The chi-square (or Fisher’s exact) test and the t-test were used to test for associations between categorical and continuous variables respectively. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Results over half (53.5%) of the respondents had heard of cervical cancer. Of these, two thirds (62.1%) were aware that it could be prevented, 19.0% had good knowledge of cervical cancer prevention, only 4% had their daughters vaccinated though 79.2% were willing to vaccinate. The poor vaccine uptake was mostly due to lack of awareness of vaccination centres and the high cost of the vaccine. Willingness was significantly associated with level of education (p = 0.047) and knowledge of HPV vaccination (p < 0.001), however once aware, most parents were willing to get their daughters vaccinated. Conclusion awareness about cervical cancer prevention was high though uptake was low. A high level of education and good knowledge of cervical cancer prevention were facilitators of willingness to vaccinate, though once aware parents were willing. Creating awareness and educating parents about cervical cancer prevention is essential in improving the uptake of the vaccine.

Parents’ willingness to vaccinate their daughters with human papillomavirus vaccine and associated factors in Debretabor town, Northwest Ethiopia: A community-based cross-sectional study

“…This study depicted that more than three-quarters (79.1%) of parents were willing to HPV vaccination of their daughters. This is in line with studies done in India, 79.9%, 34 Nigeria in different periods, 80.9% and 82%, 21 , 35 and Ethiopia; Gondar town 81.3%, 3 and Bench-Sheko zone, 79.5%. 20 This may be due to the similarity in some of the socio-demographic characteristics, such as the marital and educational status of participants.…”

“… 20 This may be due to the similarity in some of the socio-demographic characteristics, such as the marital and educational status of participants. From studies done in India and Nigeria, the majority (91.5%, 34 and 84.4% 21 of the study participants were married, respectively, and around 50% had accomplished college and above to their educational level, 21 which is almost similar to this study’s finding. This can be explained by being in a relationship and level of education significantly increases the acceptance and vaccination of HPV vaccine.…”

“…In addition, despite not having adequate knowledge about cervical cancer prevention, the majority of the parents were willing to have their daughters vaccinated with the HPV vaccine. This is supported by studies done in Poland, 32 Malaysia, 55 Nigeria, 19 , 21 Kenya, 15 and Ethiopia. 3 , 16 , 20 This might be probably because, due to the seriousness of the disease and people’s fear of developing cancer, parents might seek to protect their daughters from cervical cancer that knowledge of parents to HPV infection and its vaccination is an important factor in the vaccination of their daughters.…”

“…This can be explained by being in a relationship and level of education significantly increases the acceptance and vaccination of HPV vaccine. 20 , 21 , 36 Therefore, educational programs on HPV prevention should be designed targeting those who are single and have a lower level of education, thereby increases parents’ willingness to the vaccination of their daughters.…”

A story-telling cloth approach to motivating cervical cancer screening in Mali

“…This study and various others have shown that having higher levels of education in general and knowledge about HPV/CC increase willingness to receive vaccination. However, it has also been shown that vaccination rates in low-resource settings remain low despite willingness to vaccinate due to high cost and limited access to healthcare providers ( 34 – 36 ). In Pakistan, many young adult respondents believed the vaccine to be costly and time-consuming ( 37 ).…”