Trust versus concerns—how parents reason when they accept HPV vaccination for their young daughter

Abstract

Background. From spring of 2012, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine against cervical cancer is offered free of charge to all girls aged 10–12 years through a school-based vaccination programme in Sweden. The aim of this study was to explore how parents reason when they accept HPV vaccination for their young daughter and also their views on HPV-related information.

Methods. Individual interviews with parents (n = 27) of 11–12-year-old girls. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using thematic content analysis.

Results. Three themes emerged through the analysis: Trust versus concern, Responsibility to protect against severe disease, and Information about HPV and HPV vaccination is important. The parents expressed trust in recommendations from authorities and thought it was convenient with school-based vaccination. They believed that cervical cancer was a severe disease and felt a responsibility to protect their daughter from it. Some had certain concerns regarding side effects and vaccine safety, and wished for a dialogue with the school nurse to bridge the information gaps.

Conclusions. Trust in the recommendations from authorities and a wish to protect their daughter from a severe disease outweighed concerns about side effects. A school-based vaccination programme is convenient for parents, and the school nurse has an important role in bridging information gaps. The findings from this qualitative study cannot be generalized; however, it can provide a better understanding of how parents might reason when they accept the HPV vaccination for their daughter.

Key words::

• Decision-making
• HPV vaccination
• parents
• school-based vaccination
• school nurses

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Swedish Cancer Society, the Uppsala-Örebro Regional Research Council, the Medical Faculty at Uppsala University, the Solstickan Foundation, and the Swedish Society of Nursing. We are grateful to the parents who took part in the interviews and to the school nurses who helped with the recruitment.

Declaration of interest: In 2010, M.Go. and T.T. lectured about their own research on events for school nurses organized by Sanofi Pasteur (MSD). The authors have no other potential competing interests to declare. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.