Parent’s attitude and knowledge on HPV vaccination: A descriptive study

Objective: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common sexually transmitted disease and can be prevented by vaccination. The most important factors affecting the vaccination rates may be parents’ knowledge levels and opinions on the issue and their total income levels. Moreover, parental hesitancy against vaccination, including even those in the national vaccination programs, has recently gradually increased in Turkey and worldwide. Ultimately, in this study, it was aimed to determine parents’ knowledge and opinions on the HPV vaccination and the factors affecting their vaccination decisions. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with 552 parents of 9-18-year-old daughters and sons at two research hospitals in 2020 in Turkey. Face-to-face interviews were carried out to collect data on the parental knowledge levels and attitudes regarding HPV vaccination, as well as reasons for refusal. Results: Of the 552 parents, 438 were mothers and 114 were fathers. More than half of the parents (69%) stated that they had not heard of HPV vaccines. After a short briefing, the parents were separately asked did not have enough information about vaccines [59.6% (n = 37)]. Conclusion: Most of the parents did not have enough information about HPV vaccines. The parental vaccine acceptance rates were significantly affected by the paid vaccination. Healthcare professionals have a great responsibility for enlightening families on raising vaccination awareness and increasing vaccine acceptance rates among parents.