Knowledge and perception of HPV vaccination among Lebanese mothers of children between nine and 17-year-old

AbstractbackgroundHuman papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted viruses in the world, and is associated with many medical conditions cervical cancer being the most common and serious HPV-related diseases. Therefore, it is highly important to introduce HPV vaccination as a strategy for preventing cervical cancer and other problems associated with HPV. However, HPV vaccination seems to be limited worldwide among adolescents and one of the main factors responsible for low HPV vaccination uptake was a general lack of awareness and knowledge about HPV infection and its outcomes among parents. Hence, our study aimed to evaluate the level of knowledge, attitude, intention, and HPV vaccination among parents in Lebanon, as well as the factors influencing Lebanese mothers' intentions to vaccinate their childrenMethodsAn analytical and descriptive cross-sectional survey-based study that enrolled 392 participants was conducted between May and June 2022. The study included parents of students aged between nine and 17 years in order to assess their intention to vaccinate their children against HPV, their knowledge about HPV and HPV vaccine. A self-administered anonymous electronic questionnaire served as the survey instrument and was designed to cover all the necessary sections “Demographic characteristic, Knowledge about HPV , Information about the child , Knowledge about HPV and HPV vaccine and Intention to Vaccinate”. The analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 and Basic descriptive statistics and frequency calculations was performed on all variables A bivariate relationship was enrolled between the dependent variable “Intention to vaccination” and the secondary variables (demographics, Knowledge about HPV, Knowledge about HPV vaccine, Information about HPV and all the secondary variables). Tests used in the bivariate settings were student t-test and ANOVA test. The level of statistical significance was set at 0.05 for all data.ResultsOur findings showed that only 63% of the 392 participants claimed they would give their child the HPV vaccination. A positive significant association between "Intention to vaccinate against HPV" and mother's nationality, father's educational level, family income per month, information received about the HPV vaccine, parents' HPV vaccination, insurance coverage of the HPV vaccine, children's vaccinations with all required vaccines, knowledge of HPV, and knowledge of the HPV vaccine. Furthermore, when parents have knowledge about HPV, their desire to vaccinate their child increases by 1.832 times, and by 1.207 times when their knowledge level increases by one point.ConclusionThe majority of parents lacked general knowledge about the majority of HPV statements and the HPV vaccination, highlighting the necessity of educational interventions to improve parental awareness, understanding, and attitudes concerning HPV, which will thus contribute to greater acceptance by parents of vaccinating their children. In addition, government officials should ensure that the HPV vaccine is accessible in all hospitals and medical clinics and should provide it free of charge, which will help improve the vaccination rate among adolescents.CategoriesFamily/General Practice, Infectious disease, Preventive medicine