Human Papilloma Virus Vaccination Knowledge and Willingness to Vaccinate Adolescents among Parents Attending an Out-Patient Clinic in South-South Nigeria

Abstract

Background:  Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection is the primary cause of cervical cancer, a leading cause of cancer-related mortality in Nigeria. Nigeria recently integrated the HPV vaccine into its national routine immunization program to combat this burden. Parental knowledge and willingness are crucial to increasing vaccine coverage, as parental consent is required for adolescent vaccination. The study aims to assess the knowledge and willingness of parents to vaccinate their children with the HPV vaccine. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted between November 2024 to January 2025. Participants were 227 parents of adolescent girls, recruited using systematic random sampling technique. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain data. Logistic regression was conducted to identify predictors of parents’ willingness to vaccinate their children with HPV vaccine. The level of significance was evaluated at p<0.05 at 95% confidence interval. Results: The mean age was 46.94 ± 9.53 years and 55.5% were females. Participants who knew about HPV vaccine was 40.3% (95%CI= 35-85%, 44.68%) and 37.9% knew it offers protection against cervical cancer. Majority (71.4%, 95%CI= 65.29%, 77.19%) expressed their willingness to vaccinate their children. Fear of vaccine side effects (18.4%) and not having enough information about the vaccine (12.3%) were the common reasons among those unwilling to vaccinate children. Only 12.3% parents had vaccinated their children. Participants’ knowledge of HPV vaccine (P=0.001) and mothers who had ever done Papanicolaou smear test (P=0.017) was significantly associated with parents’ willingness to vaccinate their children. Mothers who had done a Papanicolaou smear test (AOR=2.001;95% CI=1.709-10.157) was the only predictor for parents to vaccinate their children. Conclusion: The knowledge and uptake of HPV vaccine was poor although, majority were willing to vaccinate their children. The development of a population-based education program incorporating cervical cancer screening of mothers with HPV vaccination of their daughters could help to improve the vaccine uptake.