Perceived HPV Vaccine Safety, Efficacy May Drive Uptake

Major Finding: Compared with parents whose adolescent daughters had not been vaccinated for HPV, parents with vaccinated daughters were more likely to believe that vaccines are safe (94% vs. 76%) and that the HPV vaccine prevents cervical cancer (91% vs. 50%).

Data Source: A survey of 95 parents of adolescent girls who were visiting a free clinic that serves a largely Latino population.

Disclosures: None was reported.

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Parental beliefs regarding both vaccine safety in general and the effectiveness of the human papillomavirus vaccine appear to be one of the main drivers of this vaccine's receipt among adolescent girls from a predominantly Latino population, according to the results of a small study.

A physician recommendation to vaccinate is also key, Dr. Nava Yeganeh reported in a poster at the meeting.

In a survey of 95 parents of adolescent girls who visited a free clinic in Los Angeles, 37% of the daughters had been vaccinated. Compared with parents of nonvaccinated daughters, parents of vaccinated daughters were more likely to believe that vaccines in general are safe (94% vs. 76%) and that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine prevents cervical cancer (91% vs. 50%).

Parents most often cited the prevention of cervical cancer and a physician's recommendation as their reasons for having vaccinated their daughter, or for wanting her to get the vaccine.

“Our findings support that clinical physicians should emphasize the vaccine, recommend it, and talk about its safety as well as its efficacy in preventing cervical cancer,” Dr. Yeganeh said in an interview.

HPV-related disease disproportionately affects Latino Americans. “And they have the highest morbidity and mortality with it,” she noted.

Hence, understanding the facilitators of and barriers to HPV vaccination in this population is especially important.

She and her colleagues approached parents who were waiting for an appointment at the clinic, where the HPV vaccine had been offered at no charge for more than 1 year.

Those having daughters aged 11–17 years were asked to complete a verbally administered questionnaire in private.

Of the 95 parents who participated, most were the mothers (98%) and were Latino (91%), reported Dr. Yeganeh, an infectious disease fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles. On average, the daughters were 14.6 years old.

Overall, 77% of the parents had heard of the HPV vaccine, and 37% had already had their daughters vaccinated.

In analyses that were restricted to the parents who had heard of the vaccine, those with vaccinated daughters were more likely to be Latino (100% vs. 82%; P = .01), and to believe that vaccines in general are safe (94% vs. 76%; P = .03) and that the HPV vaccine prevents cervical cancer (91% vs. 50%; P less than .01).

In contrast, the groups did not differ significantly with respect to other demographic factors (education, household income, or political views) and other health-related factors (having a primary care provider, having health insurance, believing that the HPV vaccine prevents warts, having received a Pap test in the past year, or being concerned about cervical cancer, among others).

The leading sources of information about the HPV vaccine were the TV, news, and the Internet, cited by 70% of parents, followed by doctors and clinics, cited by roughly 60%. None of the parents mentioned their daughter's school as an information source.

The leading reasons for having vaccinated their daughters or wanting them to receive the vaccine were to prevent cervical cancer, cited by 97% of parents, and because a doctor recommended it, cited by about 55%.

“That, I think, is really key,” Dr. Yeganeh commented. “A lot of studies have shown that if a doctor recommends it, people are more likely to vaccinate their child.”

When the parents who had heard of the vaccine but had not had their daughters vaccinated were asked why, 55% said they needed more information and 29% cited missed opportunities (for example, the clinic did not have the vaccine or their doctor did not recommend it).

“There has been a lot of backlash in the media about this being a sexually transmitted disease,” she continued.

However, only 8% of these parents said that they had not had their daughters vaccinated because they were worried that doing so would encourage promiscuity. About 18% had concerns about safety.

Major Finding: Compared with parents whose adolescent daughters had not been vaccinated for HPV, parents with vaccinated daughters were more likely to believe that vaccines are safe (94% vs. 76%) and that the HPV vaccine prevents cervical cancer (91% vs. 50%).

Data Source: A survey of 95 parents of adolescent girls who were visiting a free clinic that serves a largely Latino population.

Disclosures: None was reported.

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Parental beliefs regarding both vaccine safety in general and the effectiveness of the human papillomavirus vaccine appear to be one of the main drivers of this vaccine's receipt among adolescent girls from a predominantly Latino population, according to the results of a small study.

A physician recommendation to vaccinate is also key, Dr. Nava Yeganeh reported in a poster at the meeting.

In a survey of 95 parents of adolescent girls who visited a free clinic in Los Angeles, 37% of the daughters had been vaccinated. Compared with parents of nonvaccinated daughters, parents of vaccinated daughters were more likely to believe that vaccines in general are safe (94% vs. 76%) and that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine prevents cervical cancer (91% vs. 50%).

Parents most often cited the prevention of cervical cancer and a physician's recommendation as their reasons for having vaccinated their daughter, or for wanting her to get the vaccine.

“Our findings support that clinical physicians should emphasize the vaccine, recommend it, and talk about its safety as well as its efficacy in preventing cervical cancer,” Dr. Yeganeh said in an interview.

HPV-related disease disproportionately affects Latino Americans. “And they have the highest morbidity and mortality with it,” she noted.

Hence, understanding the facilitators of and barriers to HPV vaccination in this population is especially important.

She and her colleagues approached parents who were waiting for an appointment at the clinic, where the HPV vaccine had been offered at no charge for more than 1 year.

Those having daughters aged 11–17 years were asked to complete a verbally administered questionnaire in private.

Of the 95 parents who participated, most were the mothers (98%) and were Latino (91%), reported Dr. Yeganeh, an infectious disease fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles. On average, the daughters were 14.6 years old.

Overall, 77% of the parents had heard of the HPV vaccine, and 37% had already had their daughters vaccinated.

In analyses that were restricted to the parents who had heard of the vaccine, those with vaccinated daughters were more likely to be Latino (100% vs. 82%; P = .01), and to believe that vaccines in general are safe (94% vs. 76%; P = .03) and that the HPV vaccine prevents cervical cancer (91% vs. 50%; P less than .01).

In contrast, the groups did not differ significantly with respect to other demographic factors (education, household income, or political views) and other health-related factors (having a primary care provider, having health insurance, believing that the HPV vaccine prevents warts, having received a Pap test in the past year, or being concerned about cervical cancer, among others).

The leading sources of information about the HPV vaccine were the TV, news, and the Internet, cited by 70% of parents, followed by doctors and clinics, cited by roughly 60%. None of the parents mentioned their daughter's school as an information source.

The leading reasons for having vaccinated their daughters or wanting them to receive the vaccine were to prevent cervical cancer, cited by 97% of parents, and because a doctor recommended it, cited by about 55%.

“That, I think, is really key,” Dr. Yeganeh commented. “A lot of studies have shown that if a doctor recommends it, people are more likely to vaccinate their child.”

When the parents who had heard of the vaccine but had not had their daughters vaccinated were asked why, 55% said they needed more information and 29% cited missed opportunities (for example, the clinic did not have the vaccine or their doctor did not recommend it).

“There has been a lot of backlash in the media about this being a sexually transmitted disease,” she continued.

However, only 8% of these parents said that they had not had their daughters vaccinated because they were worried that doing so would encourage promiscuity. About 18% had concerns about safety.

Major Finding: Compared with parents whose adolescent daughters had not been vaccinated for HPV, parents with vaccinated daughters were more likely to believe that vaccines are safe (94% vs. 76%) and that the HPV vaccine prevents cervical cancer (91% vs. 50%).

Data Source: A survey of 95 parents of adolescent girls who were visiting a free clinic that serves a largely Latino population.

Disclosures: None was reported.

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Parental beliefs regarding both vaccine safety in general and the effectiveness of the human papillomavirus vaccine appear to be one of the main drivers of this vaccine's receipt among adolescent girls from a predominantly Latino population, according to the results of a small study.

A physician recommendation to vaccinate is also key, Dr. Nava Yeganeh reported in a poster at the meeting.

In a survey of 95 parents of adolescent girls who visited a free clinic in Los Angeles, 37% of the daughters had been vaccinated. Compared with parents of nonvaccinated daughters, parents of vaccinated daughters were more likely to believe that vaccines in general are safe (94% vs. 76%) and that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine prevents cervical cancer (91% vs. 50%).

Parents most often cited the prevention of cervical cancer and a physician's recommendation as their reasons for having vaccinated their daughter, or for wanting her to get the vaccine.

“Our findings support that clinical physicians should emphasize the vaccine, recommend it, and talk about its safety as well as its efficacy in preventing cervical cancer,” Dr. Yeganeh said in an interview.

HPV-related disease disproportionately affects Latino Americans. “And they have the highest morbidity and mortality with it,” she noted.

Hence, understanding the facilitators of and barriers to HPV vaccination in this population is especially important.

She and her colleagues approached parents who were waiting for an appointment at the clinic, where the HPV vaccine had been offered at no charge for more than 1 year.

Those having daughters aged 11–17 years were asked to complete a verbally administered questionnaire in private.

Of the 95 parents who participated, most were the mothers (98%) and were Latino (91%), reported Dr. Yeganeh, an infectious disease fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles. On average, the daughters were 14.6 years old.

Overall, 77% of the parents had heard of the HPV vaccine, and 37% had already had their daughters vaccinated.

In analyses that were restricted to the parents who had heard of the vaccine, those with vaccinated daughters were more likely to be Latino (100% vs. 82%; P = .01), and to believe that vaccines in general are safe (94% vs. 76%; P = .03) and that the HPV vaccine prevents cervical cancer (91% vs. 50%; P less than .01).

In contrast, the groups did not differ significantly with respect to other demographic factors (education, household income, or political views) and other health-related factors (having a primary care provider, having health insurance, believing that the HPV vaccine prevents warts, having received a Pap test in the past year, or being concerned about cervical cancer, among others).

The leading sources of information about the HPV vaccine were the TV, news, and the Internet, cited by 70% of parents, followed by doctors and clinics, cited by roughly 60%. None of the parents mentioned their daughter's school as an information source.

The leading reasons for having vaccinated their daughters or wanting them to receive the vaccine were to prevent cervical cancer, cited by 97% of parents, and because a doctor recommended it, cited by about 55%.

“That, I think, is really key,” Dr. Yeganeh commented. “A lot of studies have shown that if a doctor recommends it, people are more likely to vaccinate their child.”

When the parents who had heard of the vaccine but had not had their daughters vaccinated were asked why, 55% said they needed more information and 29% cited missed opportunities (for example, the clinic did not have the vaccine or their doctor did not recommend it).

“There has been a lot of backlash in the media about this being a sexually transmitted disease,” she continued.

However, only 8% of these parents said that they had not had their daughters vaccinated because they were worried that doing so would encourage promiscuity. About 18% had concerns about safety.