Understanding vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV): knowledge and perceptions among parents or guardians and healthcare workers, Germany, 2023.

Abstract

BACKGROUNDVaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) is effective against certain types of cancer. Despite longstanding vaccination recommendation, HPV vaccination has the lowest coverage among all recommended vaccines for children and adolescents in Germany, with notable differences between sexes.AIMWe aimed to investigate attitudes towards vaccination against HPV and HPV-related knowledge among parents or guardians and healthcare workers (HCW) in Germany, alongside vaccination intentions and determinants in parents/guardians and vaccination counselling in HCWs.METHODSIn autumn 2023, we conducted telephone interviews with 1,508 parents/guardians of children and adolescents aged 9-14 years and 503 HCWs from paediatric practices. We used weighting and analysed the responses with t test and ANOVA.RESULTSOverall, 34.5% children of the interviewed parents/guardians were already vaccinated against HPV, while 24.8% of parents/guardians reported a high intention, 5.6% opposed to vaccination and 35.2% were considered vaccine hesitant. Parents/guardians and HCWs considered vaccination of females more important than of males (p < 0.001). Parents/guardians exhibited knowledge gaps, for example, by overestimating alternative measures (e.g. condom use) for cancer prevention; HCWs expressed uncertainties about the risk of HPV infection. Vaccination decisions were most strongly influenced by the paediatricians the parents/guardians consulted. Although 97% of HCWs reported recommending the vaccine, only 43.7% of parents/guardians recalled receiving a recommendation.CONCLUSIONThese findings highlight the need for tailored vaccination communication, alongside timely, active physician recommendations and appropriate education to support HPV vaccination decisions.