Parental Human Papillomavirus Knowledge and Intentions to Vaccinate Their Daughters

INTRODUCTION: The human papillomavirus (HPV) causes 66 percent of cervical cancers. Although vaccination during adolescence can prevent HPV-associated cervical cancers before sexual debut, less than half of adolescent girls are vaccinated. This study examined the association between HPV knowledge and parental intentions to have their daughters vaccinated against HPV. METHODS: A retrospective, cross-sectional, national dataset for 2006-2007 from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) was used, after adjusting weights to account for nonindependence within the primary sampling unit. The subanalysis used data from parents who reported having a female child aged ≤18 (n = 1,039). Bivariate analysis assessed the association between various study characteristics and PIVD for HPV. Multivariate multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the association between intent to vaccinate and HPV knowledge, after controlling for other covariates in the final model using a forward stepwise, manual selection process. RESULTS: Parental intentions to have their daughters vaccinated against HPV were: no (18%, n = 196), not sure (22%, n = 256), and yes (60%, n = 585). Most parents were knowledgeable about HPV (88%, n = 918). Differences were observed among those who were knowledgeable about HPV and intended to vaccinate their daughters: no (14%, n = 164), not sure (18%, n = 208), and yes (56%, n = 544); F_{1.61, 78.68} = 10.66***. After controlling for other covariates, parents/guardians who intended to vaccinate their daughters were more likely to be knowledgeable about HPV than those who did not intend to have their daughters vaccinated (aRRR = 3.96**). CONCLUSION: Results suggest that if more parents knew about HPV, vaccination against the disease would increase significantly. Program managers and healthcare practitioners should integrate HPV-related education for parents with their services, and policymakers should explore the idea of recommending HPV vaccination as a requirement for school attendance with stakeholders.