Cultural barriers and facilitators of the parents for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake by their daughters: A systematic review.

Objective: There is a pressing need for public health practitioners to understand cultural values influencing parents on the uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for their daughters, which is presenting a growing challenge to close the immunization gap worldwide. Parental decisions were predominantly shaped by cultural norms and values. This systematic review encompasses parental perspectives on the influence of cultural values on the uptake of HPV vaccination by their daughters.

Method: This systematic review was registered on PROSPERO CRD42020211324. Eligible articles were selected from CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE, PubMed and Science Direct. Original qualitative studies exploring parental perspectives on the influence of cultural values on the uptake of HPV vaccination by their daughters under the age of 18, published in the English language with no restriction dates were reviewed. Two authors independently screened abstracts, conducted the fill-text review, extracted information using a standardized form, and assessed study quality. A third author is needed to resolve the disagreements if necessary.

Results: Of the 1552 citations, 22 were included, with information on 639 parents. Five themes emerged from the data: sexuality-related concerns; upbringing and moral values; obligation to protect; external influences; and vaccine-related concerns.

Conclusion: This systematic review is beneficial to identify and understand the culturally related facilitators and barriers to HPV vaccination among young women for the development of strategies to optimize HPV vaccine coverage among this population group by the policymakers.