Parents May Be Reluctant for HPV Vaccines

While a vaccine against human papillomavirus, or HPV, has been found to be highly effective, some U.S. parents may be against vaccinating their children.

Simply providing parents with general information about HPV and HPV vaccines won’t be enough to gain their acceptance or influence their decision to vaccinate their young, non-sexually active children against an STD, according to researchers at the University of Michigan Health System’s Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit.

Some medical experts have been concerned that parents might avoid vaccinating their children at age 11 or 12 against HPV because of the fear that it might condone risky sexual behavior or harm their child’s health.

Many people feel that ‘education’ is the key to improving acceptance of HPV vaccines, says lead author Dr. Amanda F. Dempsey, a member of the CHEAR team. However, we found that educating parents by providing them with written information about HPV did little to influence their attitudes about HPV. Instead, these attitudes seemed to be related to a person’s beliefs and life experiences.

The findings are published in Pediatrics.