Understanding barriers and motivations to papillomavirus vaccination in a middle school in Reunion Island

In Reunion Island, papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination coverage is low. A study encouraging vaccination in middle school showed low rate of participation. The main objective of the study was to understand barriers and motivations to HPV vaccination in populations yet sensitized to its benefits.

The study focused on population around the intervention school where a health promotion program was conducted during school year 2020-2021. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews among children, children's parents, school staff, general practitioners (GP) and association members were conducted. A qualitative study was adopted using a grounded theory approach to obtain an in-depth understanding of issues pertaining to HPV vaccination.

A total of 19 school staff members, 20 parents of middle school children, 39 children, 5 GPs and 3 association members were interviewed in May 2021. Anti-vaccination attitudes included: fear of serious adverse effects (such as fertility) due to poor knowledge, fear of encouraging sexuality among teenagers, mistrust towards scientists and the pharmaceutical industry and the negative impact from social networks. However, we found that the influence of the school, GP's and 'story-telling' study testimonials were crucial to invert the balance and motivate children's vaccination.

Reproductive adverse events related to the HPV vaccine may be strongly perceived amongst our population, either regarding fertility or negative fetal effects; though Reunion island has 5% of pregnancies among teenagers. It is crucial to lift this taboo related to sexuality and encourage dialogue between children and their close social network. This better understanding of barriers and motivations will help us increase the impact of school-based HPV vaccination, which will be introduced in September 2023 in whole France.