Parents’ knowledge, beliefs, and acceptance of the HPV vaccination in relation to their socio-demographics and religious beliefs: A cross-sectional study in Thailand

Abstract

Thailand has one of the world’s highest prevalence of cervical cancer, mainly caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV infections can successfully be prevented by vaccination, which is available at a cost but not yet implemented in the national vaccination program. Parents play a critical role in deciding whether to vaccinate their child against HPV. Thus, the aim was to examine the association between parents’ knowledge, beliefs, and acceptance of the HPV vaccination for their daughters, considering their socio-demographics and religious beliefs. A cross-sectional design was used among three schools in Thailand: Nakorn Phatom province (suburban) and Bangkok (urban). Parents of 9–12-year-old daughters completed the questionnaires, guided by the Health Belief Model. In total, 359 parents completed the questionnaires; of those, 301 were included in the final analyses. The ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis showed that background knowledge of HPV and the HPV vaccine was positively related to knowledge of HPV and cervical cancer. For beliefs, knowledge was positively associated with susceptibility (i.e., parents’ perceived risk of an HPV infection/ related disease), severity, and benefit. However, knowledge was not significantly related to barriers. For acceptance, higher susceptibility and benefit were related to higher acceptance, and greater knowledge was associated with higher acceptance. Thus, we found associations between parents’ knowledge, beliefs, and acceptance of the HPV vaccination for their daughters, considering their socio-demographics and religious beliefs. Parents, who reported religion as important, as opposed to those who did not, were more favorable toward the HPV vaccination. Four out of ten mothers had never undergone a cervical cancer screening, but most had accepted previous childhood vaccinations for their daughters. The overall acceptance of the vaccine was high, and we believe our results are promising for future implementation of the HPV vaccination in the national childhood vaccination program in Thailand.

The odds that working women will accept cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination

“…16 It has also been suggested that statements of evidence supporting effectiveness of cervical services could improve perceptions, especially as beliefs threaten existing programs; hence the need for context-specific evidence-based strategies advocated. [16][17][18] What this report contributes is an empirical data from Delta State, Nigeria. The implication is in the need to advance the knowledge of cervical screening procedure.…”

Demographics and knowledge of cervical cancer of female civil servants in Delta State on Nigeria

“…6 Also, a recent report has resonated that improvement in knowledge improves acceptance of cervical cancer prevention services. 11 What this paper contributes to the discourse is additional recommendation of need for the knowledge of female healthcare workers about Pap smear to be improved upon in order for them (i.e. health workers) to match the mass media in being source of information about cervical cancer screening.…”

“…Delta can be described as a micro Nigeria with numerous languages, cultural values, religions and beliefs; 9 which could impact on the uptake of cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination. 4,10,11 Therefore, this study aims to investigate the demographics of women in conjunction with knowledge and perception of cervical cancer screening. Specifically, consideration will be on female civil servants in Delta State ministries; thereby cut across all educational classes, cultural groups and different reproductive age group.…”

Factors influencing the acceptance of HPV vaccine among civil servants in Delta State Secretariat

“…This observation is in agreement with the recent report from Thailand, which highlighted that parents' beliefs and knowledge level influence acceptance of HPV vaccination. 13 That is, improvement in level of knowledge of mothers about HPV can be attributed for the high willingness to vaccinate later and encourage others e.g. daughters to take up the vaccine.…”

“…12 • Thailand-parents' beliefs and knowledge level were reported to influence acceptance of HPV vaccination. 13 Delta State is located at the coastal region bound on the south by Atlantic Ocean and composed of a microcosm of multiple social cultures. There are lots of oil exploration activities with associated immigrant employees allowing for high level of sexual activities, hence the importance of cervical screening and HPV vaccination cannot be overemphasized.…”