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Parental concerns common barrier against adolescent HPV vaccination
A recommendation from a health care provider is one of the most important factors in parents’ decisions to vaccinate their children against HPV, according to recent study findings published in JAMA Pediatrics.
Dawn M. Holman, MPH, of the division of cancer prevention and control at the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, and colleagues evaluated 55 research articles that described barriers to HPV vaccine initiation and completion from 2009 and later.
Financial challenges and parental attitudes were often reported by health care professionals as barriers to HPV vaccine uptake.
Parents frequently reported needing more information before vaccinating their children and cited a health care provider’s recommendation as a key factor in their decision to vaccinate. Concerns about the vaccine’s effect on sexual behavior, low perceived risk for HPV infection, social influences, vaccine costs and irregular preventive care as reasons for not having their children vaccinated. Parents of boys specifically noted lack of benefit as a reason for not having their sons immunized with HPV vaccine.
“HPV vaccination rates remain low,” Holman told Infectious Diseases in Children. “We must do more to ensure that health care providers and parents understand the importance of vaccinating preteens before they become sexually active. By addressing the barriers identified in this report, we can increase HPV vaccine use and protect the health and well-being of our nation’s children.” — Amber Cox
Dawn M. Holman, MPH, can be reached at dholman@cdc.gov.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
