Effects of a Presidential Candidate's Comments on HPV Vaccine

Abstract

During and after the 2011 Republican presidential debate, a candidate questioned the safety of HPV vaccine. The authors aimed to determine the effect of these comments on parents. A national sample of 327 parents with adolescent sons ages 11–17 years completed online surveys in fall 2010 (baseline, about 1 year before the debate) and 2011 (follow-up, about 1 month after the debate). The authors used regression models to examine the association of parents’ awareness of the candidate's comments with HPV vaccine initiation among their sons, their willingness to get sons free HPV vaccine, and their beliefs about potential harms of HPV vaccine. Overall, 17% of parents reported hearing about the Republican presidential candidate's comments about HPV vaccine. Parents aware of the comments had a larger increase between baseline and follow-up in the belief that HPV vaccine might cause short-term health problems compared with parents who were not aware. Although the candidate's comments may have increased some parents’ beliefs about the short-term harms of HPV vaccine, the comments had no effect on other beliefs, willingness to vaccinate, or behavior. Having accurate information about HPV vaccine that is readily available to the public during such controversies may diminish their effect.