New research published today has shown that mothers are
more likely to have decided to have their girls immunised
for HPV than their boys, and more than 45% percent are
undecided about their children having the HPV vaccine at
all.
The research, funded by the Ministry of Social
Development’s Children and Families Research Fund, sought
to understand mother’s intentions to vaccinate their
children against human papillomavirus (HPV).
The
research drew on information from nearly 4,500 mothers and
their eight-year-olds in the Growing Up in New
Zealand longitudinal study.
The findings come
amidst growing concern about low rates of HPV vaccine uptake
in Aotearoa New Zealand, despite proven efficacy in cancer
prevention and demonstrated vaccine safety.
According
to Professor Cameron Grant, a paediatrician at Auckland’s
Starship Children’s Hospital and a research lead for
Growing Up in New Zealand, it was concerning that
such a high proportion of mothers were undecided about the
vaccine as parental intent is closely linked with vaccine
uptake.
“We found a significant number of mothers
undecided about the HPV vaccine. The percentage of mothers
who were undecided was larger for boys (50%) than girls
(43%), but high for both. The research showed seven percent
of mothers hadn’t even heard of the vaccine. A larger
proportion of Māori (12%) and Pacific (14%) mothers than
non-Māori and non-Pacific mothers (6%) had not heard of the
HPV vaccine, which is concerning as these groups have higher
rates of cervical cancer and mortality.”
Professor
Grant says there needs to be increased public awareness of
the efficacy and safety of the HPV vaccine.
“The HPV
vaccine can help save lives and protect children now for
their future. Our research shows that for New Zealand to
increase HPV vaccine rates more needs to be done to improve
the delivery of information to caregivers about the efficacy
and safety of the HPV vaccine with a particular focus on the
mothers of boys, and mothers of Māori and Pacific
children.”
The research showed:
- The
proportion of mothers who stated they would vaccinate their
8-year-olds against HPV was higher for girls than boys (41%
vs 32%), whereas the proportion of mothers who were
undecided about HPV vaccination was higher for boys than
girls (50% vs 43%). - Mothers whose daughters were of
Māori or Pacific ethnicity or whose sons were of Pacific
ethnicity were less likely to have decided about vaccinating
their child against HPV. - For mothers of both
daughters and sons, receipt of previous scheduled childhood
vaccines was associated with the intentions for their child
to receive the HPV vaccine.
Professor Grant
hopes the findings will help primary healthcare
organisations and vaccine delivery services develop
context-specific interventions to increase awareness of and
improve confidence in HPV vaccination, and for community
specific engagement strategies be
developed.
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