Effect of an Educational Intervention on Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Hesitancy in a Pediatric Clinic

Despite numerous accredited health organizations recommending the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine in adolescence, an estimated 26% of parents across the US are hesitant to vaccinate their children against HPV. We aim to describe HPV vaccine hesitancy (VH) among parents of children using a previously validated VH scale (VHS) for the HPV vaccine and to reduce HPV VH among parents through direct HPV vaccine education.

Our study sampled parents of patients aged 9-18 years who attended an outpatient pediatric clinic. Two groups (parents of unvaccinated and vaccinated patients against HPV) completed an identical VHS HPV before and after watching an educational video. Survey responses were collected using a 4-point Likert scale, score ranged from 9 to 45. Pre- to postintervention scores and vaccine uptake 12 months later were analyzed.

The VH score decreased for both the unvaccinated and vaccinated groups, while likelihood to vaccinate increased in the unvaccinated group. In addition, 48.1% of the adolescents in the unvaccinated group expressed their willingness to receive the HPV vaccination.

Overall, education on the HPV vaccine increased likelihood to vaccinate while also decreasing VH among parents. The results from our study could encourage additional clinical sites to adapt similar strategies to increase HPV vaccination.